WO2022090315A1 - Double suivi d'actif basé sur des technologies d'accès radio différentes - Google Patents

Double suivi d'actif basé sur des technologies d'accès radio différentes Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2022090315A1
WO2022090315A1 PCT/EP2021/079831 EP2021079831W WO2022090315A1 WO 2022090315 A1 WO2022090315 A1 WO 2022090315A1 EP 2021079831 W EP2021079831 W EP 2021079831W WO 2022090315 A1 WO2022090315 A1 WO 2022090315A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
positioning
reference signal
network node
radio access
access technology
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/EP2021/079831
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Benny Vejlgaard
Ryan Keating
Johannes Harrebek
Oana-Elena Barbu
Klaus Pedersen
Original Assignee
Nokia Technologies Oy
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Nokia Technologies Oy filed Critical Nokia Technologies Oy
Publication of WO2022090315A1 publication Critical patent/WO2022090315A1/fr

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S5/00—Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more direction or position line determinations; Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more distance determinations
    • G01S5/02—Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more direction or position line determinations; Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more distance determinations using radio waves
    • G01S5/0257—Hybrid positioning
    • G01S5/0263—Hybrid positioning by combining or switching between positions derived from two or more separate positioning systems
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S5/00—Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more direction or position line determinations; Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more distance determinations
    • G01S5/01—Determining conditions which influence positioning, e.g. radio environment, state of motion or energy consumption
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W64/00—Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S2205/00—Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more direction or position line determinations; Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more distance determinations
    • G01S2205/001—Transmission of position information to remote stations
    • G01S2205/008—Transmission of position information to remote stations using a mobile telephone network
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W4/00—Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
    • H04W4/02—Services making use of location information
    • H04W4/029—Location-based management or tracking services
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W4/00—Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
    • H04W4/70—Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W88/00—Devices specially adapted for wireless communication networks, e.g. terminals, base stations or access point devices
    • H04W88/02—Terminal devices
    • H04W88/06—Terminal devices adapted for operation in multiple networks or having at least two operational modes, e.g. multi-mode terminals

Definitions

  • a device such as for example a user equipment (UE) or any suitable tracking device, may be configured with radios for communicating with base stations or access points according to different standards, or variants or subsets thereof, for example the 3GPP 5G New Radio (NR), 3GPP LTE (Long Term Evolution), 3GPP LTE-MTC or LTE-M (LTE Machine Type Communications), or 3GPP NB- IoT (Narrowband Internet of Things).
  • NR 3GPP 5G New Radio
  • 3GPP LTE Long Term Evolution
  • 3GPP LTE-MTC or LTE-M LTE Machine Type Communications
  • 3GPP NB- IoT Narrowband Internet of Things
  • an apparatus may comprise means for obtaining, by a device, positioning data associated with a first positioning accuracy based on a first radio access technology associated with a first network node; means for transmitting a first positioning report to the first network node, wherein the first positioning report comprises the positioning data; means for detecting triggering of at least one second positioning measurement; means for receiving a second positioning reference signal from a second network node associated with a second radio access technology, wherein the second positioning reference signal is associated with a second positioning accuracy; means for performing the at least one second positioning measurement based on the second positioning reference signal; and means for transmitting a second positioning report to the first network node, wherein the second positioning report is based on the at least one second positioning measurement.
  • the apparatus may further comprise means for performing at least one first positioning measurement based on a first positioning reference signal received from the first network node.
  • a bandwidth of the second positioning reference signal may be higher than a bandwidth of the first positioning reference signal.
  • the positioning data may be based on the at least one first positioning measurement.
  • the apparatus may further comprise means for receiving the first positioning reference signal by a transceiver compliant with the first radio access technology; means for transmitting the first positioning report by the transceiver associated with the first radio access technology; means for enabling a receiver at least partially compliant with the second radio access technology, in response to detecting the triggering of the at least one second positioning measurement; means for receiving the second positioning reference signal by the receiver at least partially compliant with the second radio access technology; and/or means for transmitting the second positioning report by the transceiver compliant with the first radio access technology.
  • the apparatus may further comprise means for transmitting an indication of at least one capability of the device to the first network node.
  • the at least one capability of the device may be associated with reception of the second positioning reference signal.
  • the at least one capability of the device may comprise at least one of: a bandwidth of the receiver at least partially compliant with the second radio access technology, or a link quality threshold for a radio link between the device and the second network node.
  • the apparatus may further comprise means for receiving, from the first network node, a configuration of the second positioning reference signal; and/or means for receiving the second positioning reference signal based on the configuration of the second positioning reference signal.
  • the apparatus may further comprise means for detecting the triggering of the at least one second positioning measurement, in response a second positioning measurement trigger received from the first network node; or means for detecting the triggering of the at least one second positioning measurement and transmitting an indication of the triggering of the at least one second positioning measurement to the first network node, in response to detecting internal triggering of the second positioning measurement trigger at the device.
  • the apparatus may further comprise means for performing a cell search to detect at least one cell associated with the second radio access technology; and/or means for transmitting an identifier of the at least one cell associated with the second radio access technology to the first network node.
  • the apparatus may further comprise means for receiving, from the first network node, positioning assistance information associated with the second radio access technology.
  • the positioning assistance information may comprise at least one of: a set of cell identifiers for a set of cells associated with the second radio access technology; or a set of frequencies for the set of cells associated with the second radio access technology.
  • the apparatus may further comprise means for performing the cell search based on the positioning assistance information.
  • first radio access technology may comprise 3GPP NB-IoT.
  • the second radio access technology may comprise 3GPP 5G New Radio.
  • the transceiver compliant with the first radio access technology may comprise a 3GPP NB-IoT transceiver.
  • the receiver at least partially compliant with the second radio access technology may comprise 3GPP 5G NR downlink receiver with a reduced capability enabling reception of the second positioning reference signal.
  • the first positioning accuracy may comprise a coarse positioning accuracy and the second positioning accuracy may comprise an enhanced positioning accuracy.
  • a method may comprise: obtaining, by a device, positioning data associated with a first positioning accuracy based on a first radio access technology associated with a first network node; transmitting a first positioning report to the first network node, wherein the first positioning report comprises the positioning data; detecting triggering of at least one second positioning measurement; receiving a second positioning reference signal from a second network node associated with a second radio access technology, wherein the second positioning reference signal is associated with a second positioning accuracy; performing the at least one second positioning measurement based on the second positioning reference signal; and transmitting a second positioning report to the first network node, wherein the second positioning report is based on the at least one second positioning measurement.
  • the method may further comprise performing at least one first positioning measurement based on a first positioning reference signal received from the first network node.
  • a bandwidth of the second positioning reference signal may be higher than a bandwidth of the first positioning reference signal.
  • the positioning data may be based on the at least one first positioning measurement.
  • the method may further comprise receiving the first positioning reference signal by a transceiver compliant with the first radio access technology; means for transmitting the first positioning report by the transceiver associated with the first radio access technology; means for enabling a receiver at least partially compliant with the second radio access technology, in response to detecting the triggering of the at least one second positioning measurement; means for receiving the second positioning reference signal by the receiver at least partially compliant with the second radio access technology; and/or means for transmitting the second positioning report by the transceiver compliant with the first radio access technology.
  • the method may further comprise transmitting an indication of at least one capability of the device to the first network node.
  • the at least one capability of the device may be associated with reception of the second positioning reference signal.
  • the at least one capability of the device may comprise at least one of: a bandwidth of the receiver at least partially compliant with the second radio access technology, or a link quality threshold for a radio link between the device and the second network node.
  • the method may further comprise receiving, from the first network node, a configuration of the second positioning reference signal; and/or receiving the second positioning reference signal based on the configuration of the second positioning reference signal.
  • the method may further comprise detecting the triggering of the at least one second positioning measurement, in response a second positioning measurement trigger received from the first network node; or detecting the triggering of the at least one second positioning measurement and transmitting an indication of the triggering of the at least one second positioning measurement to the first network node, in response to detecting internal triggering of the second positioning measurement trigger at the device.
  • the method may further comprise performing a cell search to detect at least one cell associated with the second radio access technology; and/or transmitting an identifier of the at least one cell associated with the second radio access technology to the first network node.
  • the method may further comprise receiving, from the first network node, positioning assistance information associated with the second radio access technology.
  • the positioning assistance information may comprise at least one of: a set of cell identifiers for a set of cells associated with the second radio access technology; or a set of frequencies for the set of cells associated with the second radio access technology.
  • the method may further comprise performing the cell search based on the positioning assistance information.
  • first radio access technology may comprise 3GPP NB-IoT.
  • the second radio access technology may comprise 3GPP 5G New Radio.
  • the transceiver compliant with the first radio access technology may comprise a 3GPP NB-IoT transceiver.
  • the receiver at least partially compliant with the second radio access technology may comprise 3GPP 5G NR downlink receiver with a reduced capability enabling reception of the second positioning reference signal.
  • the first positioning accuracy may comprise a coarse positioning accuracy and the second positioning accuracy may comprise an enhanced positioning accuracy.
  • a computer program may comprise instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the following: obtaining, by a device, positioning data associated with a first positioning accuracy based on a first radio access technology associated with a first network node; transmitting a first positioning report to the first network node, wherein the first positioning report comprises the positioning data; detecting triggering of at least one second positioning measurement; receiving a second positioning reference signal from a second network node associated with a second radio access technology, wherein the second positioning reference signal is associated with a second positioning accuracy; performing the at least one second positioning measurement based on the second positioning reference signal; and transmitting a second positioning report to the first network node, wherein the second positioning report is based on the at least one second positioning measurement.
  • an apparatus may comprise at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: obtain, by a device, positioning data associated with a first positioning accuracy based on a first radio access technology associated with a first network node; transmit a first positioning report to the first network node, wherein the first positioning report comprises the positioning data; detect triggering of at least one second positioning measurement; receive a second positioning reference signal from a second network node associated with a second radio access technology, wherein the second positioning reference signal is associated with a second positioning accuracy; perform the at least one second positioning measurement based on the second positioning reference signal; and transmit a second positioning report to the first network node, wherein the second positioning report is based on the at least one second positioning measurement.
  • an apparatus may comprise means for receiving, by a first network node associated with a first radio access technology, a first positioning report associated with a first positioning accuracy from a device; means for transmitting, to a second network node associated with a second radio access technology, a request to transmit a second positioning reference signal associated with a second positioning accuracy; and means for receiving a second positioning report from the device, wherein the second positioning report is based on the second positioning reference signal.
  • the apparatus may further comprise means for causing computation of a first location of the device based on the first positioning report; and/or means for causing computation of a second location of the device based on the second positioning report.
  • the apparatus may further comprise means for transmitting a first positioning reference signal.
  • the first positioning report may be based on the first positioning reference signal.
  • a bandwidth of the second positioning reference signal may be higher than a bandwidth of the first positioning reference signal.
  • the apparatus may further comprise means for transmitting the first positioning reference signal by a transceiver compliant with the first radio access technology; means for receiving the first positioning report by the transceiver compliant with the first radio access technology; and/or means for receiving the second positioning report by the transceiver compliant with the first radio access technology.
  • the apparatus may further comprise means for transmitting the request to transmit the second positioning reference signal over a communication interface separate from the first radio access technology and the second radio access technology.
  • the communication interface may comprise an internet protocol interface.
  • the apparatus may further comprise means for transmitting the request to transmit the second positioning reference signal, in response to receiving, from the device, an indication of a second positioning measurement trigger detected at the device; or means for transmitting the request to transmit the second positioning reference signal and transmitting a second positioning measurement trigger to the device.
  • the apparatus may further comprise means for receiving, from the device, an indication of at least one capability of the device. The at least one capability of the device may be associated with reception of the second positioning reference signal.
  • the apparatus may further comprise means for transmitting the indication of the at least one capability of the device to the second network node; means for receiving a configuration of the second positioning reference signal from the second network node; and/or means for transmitting the configuration of the second positioning reference signal to the device.
  • the at least one capability of the device may comprise at least one of: a bandwidth of a receiver of the device, the receiver being at least partially compliant with the second radio access technology, or a link quality threshold for a radio link between the device and the second network node.
  • the apparatus may further comprise means for transmitting, to the device, positioning assistance information associated with the second radio access technology.
  • the positioning assistance information may comprise at least one of: a set of cell identifiers for a set of cells associated with the second radio access technology; or a set of frequencies for the set of cells associated with the second radio access technology.
  • the apparatus may further comprise means for receiving, from the device, an identifier of at least one cell associated with the second radio access technology detected by the device; and/or means for requesting the second positioning reference signal to be transmitted by the at least one cell associated with the second radio access technology detected by the device.
  • the first radio access technology may comprise 3GPP NB- IoT.
  • the second radio access technology may comprise 3GPP 5G New Radio.
  • the transceiver compliant with the first radio access technology may comprise a 3GPP NB-IoT transceiver.
  • the first positioning accuracy may comprise a coarse positioning accuracy and the second positioning accuracy may comprise an enhanced positioning accuracy.
  • a method may comprise receiving, by a first network node associated with a first radio access technology, a first positioning report associated with a first positioning accuracy from a device; transmitting, to a second network node associated with a second radio access technology, a request to transmit a second positioning reference signal associated with a second positioning accuracy; and receiving a second positioning report from the device, wherein the second positioning report is based on the second positioning reference signal.
  • the method may further comprise causing computation of a first location of the device based on the first positioning report; and/or causing computation of a second location of the device based on the second positioning report.
  • the method may further comprise transmitting a first positioning reference signal.
  • the first positioning report may be based on the first positioning reference signal.
  • a bandwidth of the second positioning reference signal may be higher than a bandwidth of the first positioning reference signal.
  • the method may further comprise transmitting the first positioning reference signal by a transceiver compliant with the first radio access technology; receiving the first positioning report by the transceiver compliant with the first radio access technology; and/or receiving the second positioning report by the transceiver compliant with the first radio access technology.
  • the method may further comprise transmitting the request to transmit the second positioning reference signal over a communication interface separate from the first radio access technology and the second radio access technology.
  • the communication interface may comprise an internet protocol interface.
  • the method may further comprise transmitting the request to transmit the second positioning reference signal, in response to receiving, from the device, an indication of a second positioning measurement trigger detected at the device; or transmitting the request to transmit the second positioning reference signal and transmitting a second positioning measurement trigger to the device.
  • the method may further comprise receiving, from the device, an indication of at least one capability of the device.
  • the at least one capability of the device may be associated with reception of the second positioning reference signal.
  • the method may further comprise transmitting the indication of the at least one capability of the device to the second network node; receiving a configuration of the second positioning reference signal from the second network node; and/or transmitting the configuration of the second positioning reference signal to the device.
  • the at least one capability of the device may comprise at least one of: a bandwidth of a receiver of the device, the receiver being at least partially compliant with the second radio access technology, or a link quality threshold for a radio link between the device and the second network node.
  • the method may further comprise transmitting, to the device, positioning assistance information associated with the second radio access technology.
  • the positioning assistance information may comprise at least one of: a set of cell identifiers for a set of cells associated with the second radio access technology; or a set of frequencies for the set of cells associated with the second radio access technology.
  • the method may further comprise receiving, from the device, an identifier of at least one cell associated with the second radio access technology detected by the device; and/or requesting the second positioning reference signal to be transmitted by the at least one cell associated with the second radio access technology detected by the device.
  • the first radio access technology may comprise 3GPP NB- IoT.
  • the second radio access technology may comprise 3GPP 5G New Radio.
  • the transceiver compliant with the first radio access technology may comprise a 3GPP NB-IoT transceiver.
  • the first positioning accuracy may comprise a coarse positioning accuracy and the second positioning accuracy may comprise an enhanced positioning accuracy.
  • a computer program may comprise instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the following: receiving, by a first network node associated with a first radio access technology, a first positioning report associated with a first positioning accuracy from a device; transmitting, to a second network node associated with a second radio access technology, a request to transmit a second positioning reference signal associated with a second positioning accuracy; and receiving a second positioning report from the device, wherein the second positioning report is based on the second positioning reference signal.
  • the computer program may further comprise instructions for causing the apparatus to perform any example embodiment of the method of the sixth aspect.
  • an apparatus comprise at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: receive, by a first network node associated with a first radio access technology, a first positioning report associated with a first positioning accuracy from a device; transmit, to a second network node associated with a second radio access technology, a request to transmit a second positioning reference signal; and receive a second positioning report from the device, wherein the second positioning report is based on the second positioning reference signal.
  • the at least one memory and the computer code may be further configured to cause the apparatus perform any example embodiment of the method of the sixth aspect.
  • an apparatus may comprise means for receiving, by a second network node from a first network node, a request to transmit a second positioning reference signal associated with a second positioning accuracy, wherein the first network node is associated with a first radio technology, and wherein the second network node is associated with a second radio access technology; and means for transmitting the second positioning reference signal to a device, in response to receiving the request to transmit the second positioning reference signal from the first network node.
  • the first network may be configured to transmit a first positioning reference signal associated with a first positioning accuracy.
  • a bandwidth of the second positioning reference signal may be higher than a bandwidth of the first positioning reference signal.
  • the apparatus may further comprise means for transmitting the second positioning reference signal by a transceiver compliant with the second radio access technology.
  • the apparatus may further comprise means for receiving the request to transmit the second positioning reference signal over a communication interface separate from the first radio access technology and the second radio access technology.
  • the communication interface may comprise an internet protocol interface.
  • the apparatus may further comprise means for receiving, from the first network node, an indication of at least one capability of the device. The at least one capability of the device may be associated with reception of the second positioning reference signal.
  • the apparatus may further comprise means for determining a configuration of the second positioning reference signal based on the indication of the at least one capability of the device; and/or means for transmitting the configuration of the second positioning reference signal to first network node.
  • the at least one capability of the device may comprise at least one of: a bandwidth of a receiver of the device, the receiver being at least partially compliant with the second radio access technology, or a link quality threshold for a radio link between the device and the second network node.
  • the apparatus may further comprise means for receiving, from the first network node, an identifier of at least one cell associated with the second radio access technology; and/or means for causing the second positioning reference signal to be transmitted by the at least one cell associated with the second radio access technology.
  • the first radio access technology may comprise 3GPP NB- IoT.
  • the second radio access technology may comprise 3GPP 5G New Radio.
  • the transceiver compliant with the second radio access technology may comprise a 3GPP 5G New Radio transceiver.
  • the first positioning accuracy may comprise a coarse positioning accuracy and the second positioning accuracy may comprise an enhanced positioning accuracy.
  • a method may comprise: receiving, by a second network node from a first network node, a request to transmit a second positioning reference signal associated with a second positioning accuracy, wherein the first network node is associated with a first radio technology, and wherein the second network node is associated with a second radio access technology; and transmitting the second positioning reference signal to a device, in response to receiving the request to transmit the second positioning reference signal from the first network node.
  • the first network may be configured to transmit a first positioning reference signal.
  • a bandwidth of the second positioning reference signal may be higher than a bandwidth of the first positioning reference signal.
  • the method may further comprise transmitting the second positioning reference signal by a transceiver compliant with the second radio access technology.
  • the method may further comprise receiving the request to transmit the second positioning reference signal over a communication interface separate from the first radio access technology and the second radio access technology.
  • the communication interface may comprise an internet protocol interface.
  • the method may further comprise receiving, from the first network node, an indication of at least one capability of the device.
  • the at least one capability of the device may be associated with reception of the second positioning reference signal.
  • the method may further comprise determining a configuration of the second positioning reference signal based on the indication of the at least one capability of the device; and/or transmitting the configuration of the second positioning reference signal to first network node.
  • the at least one capability of the device may comprise at least one of: a bandwidth of a receiver of the device, the receiver being at least partially compliant with the second radio access technology, or a link quality threshold for a radio link between the device and the second network node.
  • the method may further comprise receiving, from the first network node, an identifier of at least one cell associated with the second radio access technology; and/or causing the second positioning reference signal to be transmitted by the at least one cell associated with the second radio access technology.
  • the first radio access technology may comprise 3GPP NB- IoT.
  • the second radio access technology may comprise 3GPP 5G New Radio.
  • the transceiver compliant with the second radio access technology may comprise a 3GPP 5G New Radio transceiver.
  • the first positioning accuracy may comprise a coarse positioning accuracy and the second positioning accuracy may comprise an enhanced positioning accuracy
  • a computer program may comprise instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the following: receiving, by a second network node from a first network node, a request to transmit a second positioning reference signal associated with a second positioning accuracy, wherein the first network node is associated with a first radio technology, and wherein the second network node is associated with a second radio access technology; and transmitting the second positioning reference signal to a device, in response to receiving the request to transmit the second positioning reference signal from the first network node.
  • an apparatus comprise at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: receive, by a second network node from a first network node, a request to transmit a second positioning reference signal associated with a second positioning accuracy, wherein the first network node is associated with a first radio technology, and wherein the second network node is associated with a second radio access technology; and transmit the second positioning reference signal to a device, in response to receiving the request to transmit the second positioning reference signal from the first network node.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a communication network for location tracking, according to an example embodiment
  • FIG. 2 illustrates an example of an apparatus configured to practice one or more example embodiments
  • FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a communication network for location tracking, according to an example embodiment
  • FIG. 2 illustrates an example of an apparatus configured to practice one or more example embodiments
  • FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a communication network for location tracking, according to an example embodiment
  • FIG. 2 illustrates an example of an apparatus configured to practice one or more example embodiments
  • FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a communication network for location tracking, according to an example embodiment
  • FIG. 2 illustrates an example of an apparatus configured to practice one or more example embodiments
  • FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a communication network for location tracking, according to an example embodiment
  • FIG. 2 illustrates an example of an apparatus configured to practice one or more example embodiments
  • FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a communication network for location tracking, according to an example embodiment
  • FIG. 2 illustrates an example of an apparatus configured
  • FIG. 3 illustrates an example of enhanced location tracking of an NB-IoT UE based on 5G NR positioning reference signal, according to an example embodiment
  • FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a message sequence and operations for enhanced location tracking of an NB-IoT UE based on 5G NR positioning reference signal, according to an example embodiment
  • FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a method for enabling enhanced location tracking at a device, according to an example embodiment
  • FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a method for enabling enhanced location tracking at a first network node, according to an example embodiment
  • FIG. 7 illustrates an example of a method for enabling enhanced location tracking at a second network node, according to an example embodiment.
  • Narrowband (NB) IoT Internet of Things
  • 3GPP 3 rd Generation Partnership Project
  • Radio access technologies such as NB- IoT may not provide sufficient location tracking accuracy for some applications.
  • 3GPP 5G NR New Radio
  • 3GPP 5G NR provides another radio access technology, which is targeted for various types of services such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) communications, ultra reliable low latency communications (URLCC), and massive machine type communications (mMTC).
  • eMBB enhanced mobile broadband
  • URLCC ultra reliable low latency communications
  • mMTC massive machine type communications
  • power consumption and complexity of a full NR UE may be too high for some IoT type of applications. It would be therefore desired to enable better positioning accuracy without causing excessive increase of power consumption or complexity at the UE.
  • An NR-Light (LITE) variant of the NR system may be provided in order to reduce complexity and power consumption.
  • LITE NR-Light
  • Such variant may address use cases with IoT type of requirements, which may not be met by NB-IoT or any other lower power technology, for example eMTC (enhanced machine type communications) of LTE-M.
  • IoT type of requirements which may not be met by NB-IoT or any other lower power technology, for example eMTC (enhanced machine type communications) of LTE-M.
  • eMTC enhanced machine type communications
  • LTE-M enhanced machine type communications
  • NR-Light may be designed to various targets and use cases, such as for example: - data rates up to 10-100 Mbps to support applications such as live video feed, visual production control, process automation, or the like; - latency of around 10-30 ms to support applications such as remote drone operation, cooperative farm machinery, time- critical sensing and feedback, remote vehicle operation, or the like; - positioning accuracy of 30 cm to 1 m to support applications such as indoor asset tracking, coordinated vehicle control, remote monitoring, or the like; - radio module cost may be comparable to an LTE radio module; - coverage enhancement of 10 to 15 dB compared to eMBB; and/or - battery life 2 to 4 times longer than eMBB.
  • NR-Light may provide reduced bandwidth operation, complexity reduction techniques, coverage and reliability enhancements, device-to-device communication, early data transmission, wake-up signal in idle mode, and/or grant- free transmission.
  • Hyper tags provide ubiquitous localization of assets without requiring massive scale ecosystem deployment. Outdoors, tags may be localized through the public cellular network, which may provide practically global coverage and 10-20 meter accuracy with no dedicated positioning equipment. In an indoor environment, the tags may be located for example based on densely deployed infrastructure locators and flexible perception gateways offering accuracy down to 1-2 meters. Furthermore, the tags may provide an infrared (IR) beacon feature that allows infrastructure camera based algorithms to enhance localization.
  • IR infrared
  • tags may maintain a motion vector, an ambience vector, and a co-presence vector, for example based on onboard accelerometer, temperature and humidity sensors. These vectors may be offloaded periodically to the perception gateways in an energy-efficient way.
  • Support for positioning may be provided natively in communication standards, such as for example NB-IoT or NR. Such positioning may be based on various methods such as measurements of for example downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA), uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA, UTDOA), downlink angle of departure (DL-AoD), uplink angle of arrival (UL-AoA), or multi-cell round trip time (Multi-RTT).
  • Methods may be provided to enable both radio access technology (RAT) dependent and RAT independent positioning techniques.
  • RAT radio access technology
  • PRS positioning reference signal
  • SRS sounding reference signal
  • Further enhancements and solutions may be however provided to support high positioning accuracy (horizontal and/or vertical), low latency, network efficiency (scalability, reference signal overhead, etc.), and device efficiency (power consumption, complexity, etc.) requirements for commercial uses cases, for example industrial IoT, (I)IoT.
  • Low cost asset tracking is one target for communication systems. One target for asset tracking is to accurately provide the location of low cost and low power tags.
  • Requirements for the accuracy of asset tracking positioning may vary. For example, lower accuracy may be acceptable for items that are commuting on highways or at sea, while better positioning accuracy may be required for items in denser areas such as for example factories or storage/delivery facilities.
  • Accurate positioning may be achieved based on either receiving or transmitting a wideband positioning reference signal, for example for downlink-based or uplink-based positioning. Bandwidth of such signal may be for example 100 MHz or more depending on the targeted positioning accuracy.
  • Relationship between signal bandwidth and obtainable positioning accuracy may be approximated by , where ⁇ is the speed of light in vacuum and ⁇ ⁇ is the bandwidth of the positioning reference signal. For example, bandwidth of 100 MHz may result in approximately 75 cm accuracy. Both downlink and uplink-based positioning may therefore require a wideband device, which may be expensive and have high power consumption. And, performance of IoT devices may be assessed in terms of cost and power consumption. The requirement of wide bandwidth may conflict with design targets of NR-Light, for which a reduced bandwidth (e.g. 5 to 20 MHz) may be desired in order to reduce cost. Therefore, the NR-Light variant may not provide sufficiently high bandwidth, and thereby sufficient positioning accuracy for all applications.
  • a reduced bandwidth e.g. 5 to 20 MHz
  • a device may provide positioning data associated with a first positioning accuracy to a first network node associated with a first radio access technology. A first location of the device may be determined based on the positioning data. The first location of the device may be computed at the core network.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a communication network for location tracking, according to an example embodiment.
  • Communication network 100 may comprise at least one device, which may be also referred to as an asset tracking device, an asset tracking node, user node, user equipment, a mobile terminal, a terminal, or the like.
  • UE 110 may communicate with one or more base stations, such as for example an evolved NodeB (eNB) of LTE or NB-IoT and/or a next generation NodeB (gNB) of NR, over wireless radio channel(s).
  • eNB evolved NodeB
  • gNB next generation NodeB
  • One of the base stations may be a serving base station to which the UE 110 may connected.
  • There may be also one or more neighbor base stations.
  • the UE 110 may be located within a coverage area of the neighbor base stations.
  • the UE 110 may receive downlink positioning reference signals from the serving base station and/or one or more of the neighbor base stations.
  • Base stations may be also called radio access network (RAN) nodes or just network nodes.
  • RAN radio access network
  • a base station may comprise any suitable radio access point.
  • a first network node may be configured to operate according to a first standard and a second network node may be configured to operate according to a second standard.
  • a standard may be also understood as a variant or a subset of a certain specification or a group of specifications.
  • the first standard may comprise NB-IoT and the second standard may comprise NR.
  • NB-IoT may comprise a variant of LTE.
  • the first radio access technology may therefore comprise NB-IoT.
  • the second radio access technology may comprise NR.
  • a first network node may be configured to operate according to a wireless local area network standard, specified for example by IEEE 802.11 series or Wi-Fi alliance and the second network may be configured to operate according to a cellular standard, specified for example by 3GPP.
  • the various example embodiments may be therefore applied in any present or future communication networks, for example other type of cellular networks, short-range wireless networks, multicast or broadcast networks, or the like.
  • the network 100 may further comprise a core network 140.
  • the core network 140 may functionally connect different types of base stations and thereby enable co-operation between RAN nodes.
  • the core network 140 may be implemented by any suitable means.
  • the core network 140 may be configured according to the service based architecture (SBA) of a 5G core network (CN), which enables a plurality of interconnected network functions (NF) to access each other’s service via a service based interface (SBI).
  • SBA service based architecture
  • CN 5G core network
  • NF interconnected network functions
  • SBI service based interface
  • the core network 140 may be configured to operate according to the evolved packet core (EPC) of LTE.
  • EPC evolved packet core
  • the core network 140 may comprise a location server.
  • the location server may be responsible for providing a localization service within the communication network 100.
  • the location server may be configured to determine location of UE 110 based on positioning protocol data received from the UE 110, for example via the serving base station.
  • the positioning protocol may comprise for example an LTE positioning protocol (LPP).
  • LPF LTE positioning protocol
  • the location server may provide location services for a specific radio access technology.
  • a 5G location server may comprise a location management function (LMF).
  • LMF location management function
  • An LTE location server may comprise an evolved serving mobile location centre (E-SMLC). It is however possible that a single device provides location services for different radio access technologies.
  • a location server, such as for example an LMF may be also implemented within the RAN, for example as a location measurement component (LMC).
  • LMC location measurement component
  • FIG. 2 illustrates an example embodiment of an apparatus 200, for example a device such as for example UE 110, or a network node such as for example an eNB or a gNB.
  • the apparatus 200 may comprise at least one processor 202.
  • the at least one processor may comprise, for example, one or more of various processing devices or processor circuitry, such as for example a co-processor, a microprocessor, a controller, a digital signal processor (DSP), a processing circuitry with or without an accompanying DSP, or various other processing devices including integrated circuits such as, for example, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a microcontroller unit (MCU), a hardware accelerator, a special-purpose computer chip, or the like.
  • the apparatus 200 may further comprise at least one memory 204.
  • the memory may be configured to store, for example, computer program code or the like, for example operating system software and application software.
  • the memory may comprise one or more volatile memory devices, one or more non-volatile memory devices, and/or a combination thereof.
  • the memory may be embodied as magnetic storage devices (such as hard disk drives, floppy disks, magnetic tapes, etc.), optical magnetic storage devices, or semiconductor memories (such as mask ROM, PROM (programmable ROM), EPROM (erasable PROM), flash ROM, RAM (random access memory), etc.).
  • the apparatus 200 may further comprise a communication interface 208 configured to enable apparatus 200 to transmit and/or receive information to/from other devices.
  • apparatus 200 may use communication interface 208 to transmit or receive signaling information and data in accordance with at least one cellular communication protocol.
  • the communication interface may be configured to provide at least one wireless radio connection, such as for example a 3GPP mobile broadband connection (e.g. 3G, 4G, 5G).
  • the communication interface may be configured to provide one or more other type of connections, for example a wireless local area network (WLAN) connection such as for example standardized by IEEE 802.11 series or Wi-Fi alliance; a short range wireless network connection such as for example a Bluetooth, NFC (near- field communication), or RFID connection; a wired connection such as for example a local area network (LAN) connection, a universal serial bus (USB) connection or an optical network connection, or the like; or a wired Internet connection.
  • WLAN wireless local area network
  • USB universal serial bus
  • the communication interface 208 may comprise, or be configured to be coupled to, at least one antenna to transmit and/or receive radio frequency signals.
  • One or more of the various types of connections may be also implemented as separate communication interfaces, which may be coupled or configured to be coupled to a plurality of antennas.
  • the apparatus 200 may further comprise a user interface 210 comprising an input device and/or an output device.
  • the input device may take various forms such a keyboard, a touch screen, or one or more embedded control buttons.
  • the output device may for example comprise a display, a speaker, a vibration motor, or the like.
  • some component and/or components of the apparatus such as for example the at least one processor and/or the memory, may be configured to implement this functionality.
  • the at least one processor 202 when configured to implement some functionality, this functionality may be implemented using the program code 206 comprised, for example, in the at least one memory 204.
  • the functionality described herein may be performed, at least in part, by one or more computer program product components such as software components.
  • the apparatus comprises a processor or processor circuitry, such as for example a microcontroller, configured by the program code when executed to execute the embodiments of the operations and functionality described.
  • the functionality described herein can be performed, at least in part, by one or more hardware logic components.
  • the apparatus 200 comprises means for performing at least one method described herein.
  • the means comprises the at least one processor 202, the at least one memory 204 including program code 206 configured to, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus 200 to perform the method.
  • the apparatus 200 may comprise for example a computing device such as for example a base station, a server, an asset tracking tag, a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a laptop, an internet of things (IoT) device, or the like.
  • IoT devices include, but are not limited to, consumer electronics, wearables, sensors, tags, and smart home appliances.
  • the apparatus 200 may comprise a vehicle such as for example a car.
  • apparatus 200 is illustrated as a single device it is appreciated that, wherever applicable, functions of the apparatus 200 may be distributed to a plurality of devices, for example to implement example embodiments as a cloud computing service.
  • FIG. 3 illustrates an example of enhanced location tracking of an NB-IoT UE based on 5G NR positioning reference signal, according to an example embodiment.
  • the general principles of dual asset tracking based on different radio access technology are illustrated with the example of NB-IoT and NR.
  • An enhanced positioning method for NB-IoT devices with extended downlink capabilities is provided. The method enables enhanced positioning capabilities using NR downlink reception.
  • NB-IoT may be provided as an air interface for low cost asset tracking communication with and within the network infrastructure.
  • downlink reception circuitry may be included in UE 110 to enable wideband (e.g. 100 MHz) NR reception at the UE 110.
  • Initial positioning may be performed using the NB-IoT radio interface, for example based on technologies such as uplink time difference of arrival (UTDOA), observed time difference of arrival (OTDOA), or E-CID (enhanced cell identifier).
  • the initial positioning may be associated with a first (coarse) positioning accuracy.
  • the coarse positioning accuracy provided for example by NB-IoT, may be sufficient for example for items in transit or in remote rural areas.
  • the UE 110 may obtain positioning data, for example by performing positioning measurement(s) based on a positioning reference signal of NB- IoT received from eNB 120.
  • the positioning reference signal of NB-IoT is provided as an example of a coarse positioning reference signal, which may be also referred to as a first positioning reference signal.
  • the positioning data may be obtained by any other suitable manner.
  • the positioning data may for example comprise the E-CID of a current cell of the UE 110. Therefore, in some example embodiments the positioning data may be obtained without performing measurements on any positioning reference signal.
  • the positioning data may be reported to the eNB 120.
  • the eNB 120 may forward the positioning data to the core network 140, where a coarse (first) location of the UE 110 may be computed, for example by the evolved serving mobile location centre (E-SMLC) 142.
  • E-SMLC evolved serving mobile location centre
  • the eNB 120 may hence cause computation of the coarse location of the UE 110 by the E-SMLC 142.
  • Coarse positioning may in general comprise any positioning method provided by a first RAT, for example NB-IoT, that has lower positioning accuracy compared to positioning accuracy provided by a second RAT, for example NR.
  • the system may be configured with a trigger for initiating enhanced positioning aiming for higher positioning accuracy.
  • the trigger may be either UE or network based, and it may result in activating or de-activating downlink NR reception at UE 110, optionally with a wider bandwidth compared to NB-IoT.
  • the eNB 120 may request the gNB 130 to enable transmission of positioning reference signal(s) of the NR system (NR PRS).
  • the PRS of NR is provided as an example of an enhanced positioning reference signal, which may be also referred to as a second positioning reference signal.
  • the eNB 120 may also provide the gNB 130 with signaling information, for example requirement(s), associated with the NR PRS transmission.
  • the gNB 130 may determine a configuration for the NR PRS, which may be optionally signaled to UE 110 via eNB 120. Further signaling data, such as for example information assisting in positioning of UE 110 may be also exchanged between the eNB 120, the gNB 130, and/or the UE 110, as will be further described below.
  • the radio access network may comprise multiple eNBs and/or multiple gNBs that may be configured for positioning of UE 110, similar to eNB 120 or gNB 130.
  • the gNB 130 may enable transmission of the NR PRS.
  • the UE 110 may perform enhanced (second) positioning measurement(s) based on the NR PRS and report them to eNB 120.
  • the eNB 120 may forward the enhanced positioning measurement(s) to the core network 140, where an enhanced (second) location of the UE 110 may be computed, for example by the location management function (LMF) 144.
  • LMF location management function
  • the NR PRS may be configured such that it enables more accurate positioning accuracy compared to the positioning data obtained based on NB- IoT.
  • the NR PRS may be associated with a second positioning accuracy, which may be higher than the positioning accuracy of NB-IoT.
  • NB-IoT may provide a cell level positioning accuracy, e.g. by E-CID, or a positioning accuracy dependent on the bandwidth of the NB-IoT positioning reference signal.
  • the NR PRS may have a higher bandwidth compared to the positioning reference signal of NB-IoT, and therefore the NR PRS may enable positioning with a second (higher) accuracy.
  • NB-IoT may provide a first positioning accuracy of 30- 50 m and the NR PRS may provide a second positioning accuracy of 30 cm to 1 m. The latter may be considered to be higher positioning accuracy.
  • a positioning reference signal may for example comprise a reference signal dedicated for positioning purposes.
  • CSI-RS channel state information reference signal
  • TRS tracking reference signal
  • Example embodiments disclosed herein enable a low-cost asset tracking solution. Positioning may be for example based on low cost/power NB-IoT connectivity with the radio access network. This also enables to ensure good coverage. Whenever needed, a simple NR downlink-only module may be enabled for improving positioning accuracy.
  • a simple NR downlink-only module may be implemented with low cost, for example because it may be configured to receive a subset of channels, such as for example synchronization signal block(s) (SSB), and certain reference signals, for example PRS.
  • the downlink NR receiver may be implemented for example without functionality such as decoding physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) or physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) operation, channel state information (CSI) or channel quality indicator (CQI) measurements, or the like.
  • PDCCH physical downlink control channel
  • PDSCH physical downlink shared channel
  • HARQ hybrid automatic repeat request
  • CSI channel state information
  • CQI channel quality indicator
  • Another advantage is that the example embodiments may be realized without modifications to the layer 1 or layer 2 functionality of NB-IoT or NR.
  • FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a message sequence and operations for enhanced location tracking of an NB-IoT UE based on 5G NR positioning reference signals, according to an example embodiment.
  • a UE 110 may comprise an NB-IoT modem 112.
  • the NB-IoT modem 112 may be included in a transceiver that is compliant with NB-IoT.
  • the UE 110 may further comprise an NR positioning receiver (RX) 114.
  • the NR positioning receiver 114 may comprise an NR (downlink) receiver. As discussed above, the NR positioning receiver 114 may have reduced capability compared to a fully NR compliant device.
  • the NR positioning receiver 114 may not have data connection capabilities, for example ability to decode downlink control or data channels such as PDCCH or PDSCH. However, the NR positioning receiver 114 may enable reception of the NR PRS.
  • the reduced capabilities may be according to a reduced capability variant of NR, for example according to a reduced set of relevant radio resource management (RRM) requirements of NR, or another standard.
  • RRM radio resource management
  • the UE 110 comprises a fully compliant NR receiver or even a fully compliant NR transceiver. Therefore, the NR positioning receiver 114 may be at least partially (partially or fully) compliant with NR.
  • the eNB 120 may comprise a transceiver compliant with NB-IoT, which the eNB 120 may use when communicating with the UE 110.
  • the gNB 130 may comprise a transceiver compliant with NR, which the gNB 130 may use when transmitting signals to the UE 110.
  • the eNB 120 of NB-IoT and gNB 130 of NR may be part of a radio access network (RAN) supporting different radio access technologies.
  • RAN radio access network
  • the eNB 120 and gNB 130 may be associated with different radio access networks conforming to different radio access technologies.
  • the core network 140 may comprise functionality to support localization of UE 110 based on both NB-IoT and NR, for example by means of E-SMLC 142 and LMF 144.
  • the E-SMLC 142 and LMF 144 may communicate with each other, and/or other network functions or devices, over a network interface, which may be according to 3GPP standards.
  • the E-SMLC 142 and LMF 114 may exchange positioning data, for example positioning measurement data, or signaling information received over the different radio access technologies and/or to collectively compute a location of UE 110.
  • the UE 110 may transmit a positioning report to eNB 120.
  • the positioning report may be transmitted by the NB-IoT modem 112 of the UE 110.
  • the positioning report may comprise NB-IoT positioning data.
  • the positioning data may be obtained by UE 110 based on NB-IoT positioning.
  • the positioning data may comprise positioning measurement data obtained based on measurements performed based on NB-IoT positioning reference signals, and/or, other positioning data such as for example an E-CID of a current NB-IoT cell.
  • the positioning measurements based on the NB-IoT may be performed by NB-IoT modem 112, which may provide lower positioning accuracy compared to NR. Therefore, the positioning report may be regarded as a coarse positioning report, in contrast to an enhanced positioning report of operation 412.
  • the positioning measurement data may comprise measured values for various positioning parameters such as for example a time difference of arrival (TDoA), an angle of arrival (AoA), or received signal strength indicator (RSSI) of NB-IoT positioning reference signals.
  • the eNB 120 may receive the transmitted positioning data from the UE 110.
  • the eNB 120 may forward the positioning data to the core network 140, for example to the E-SMLC 142.
  • the core network 140 may compute a first (coarse) location of the UE 110 based on the NB-IoT positioning data received from eNB 120.
  • the first location may be computed for example by E-SMLC 142.
  • the eNB 120 may therefore cause computation of the first location of the UE 110, for example by providing the NB-IoT positioning data to E-SMLC 142.
  • the core network 140 may detect triggering of NR positioning measurement(s).
  • the core network 140 may transmit an NR positioning measurement trigger to eNB 120.
  • the NR positioning measurement trigger may be provided in response to determining, for example based on the coarse location computed at operation 402, that the UE 110 has moved from outdoors to indoors or from a rural area to an urban area.
  • triggering the NR positioning measurement(s) may be based on the computed coarse location of the UE 110. For example, the computed location may be compared to predetermined locations or areas associated with configuration of coarse or enhanced positioning.
  • the eNB 120 may receive the NR positioning measurement trigger from the core network 140.
  • the eNB 120 may transmit the NR positioning measurement trigger to UE 110.
  • the UE 110 may receive the NR positioning measurement trigger, for example by NB-IoT modem 112.
  • the UE 110 may internally provide an indication of the NR positioning measurement trigger to the NR positioning receiver 114.
  • Operation 403 may be associated with an option of network based triggering of NR positioning measurement(s).
  • the NR positioning measurement trigger may comprise an external NR positioning measurement trigger, since it is originated external to UE 110.
  • the UE 110 may detect triggering of the NR positioning measurement(s), in response to the NR positioning measurement trigger received from the eNB 120.
  • the UE 110 may detect triggering of NR positioning measurement(s) at operation 404. This may be in response to detecting an internal NR positioning measurement trigger at the UE 110.
  • the enhanced positioning measurement(s) may be triggered at the UE 110 for example in response to detecting availability of at least one downlink positioning reference signal from one or more NR cells.
  • the enhanced positioning measurements may be configured to be triggered periodically, or in general at configured time(s) and/or with configured time interval(s).
  • the eNB 120 may for example transmit a configuration of enhanced positioning measurement time(s) to UE 110.
  • the UE 110 may configure the enhanced positioning measurement(s) to be triggered at the configured time(s), for example in response to receiving the configuration from the eNB 120.
  • the UE 110 may transmit, for example by NB-IoT modem 112, an indication of the triggering of the NR positioning measurement(s) to the eNB 120. This may be in response to detecting the internal NR positioning measurement trigger.
  • the eNB 120 may receive this trigger indication.
  • the eNB 120 may forward the trigger indication to the core network 140.
  • the eNB 120 and/or the core network 140 may determine to configure NR positioning for UE 110.
  • Operations 404 and 405 may be associated with an option of device based triggering of NR positioning measurement(s). Operations 404 and 405 may be alternative to operation 403.
  • the UE 110 may enable the NR positioning receiver 114.
  • the UE 110 may turn the NR positioning receiver on, or in general, transition the NR position receiver 114 from a low-power state (e.g. a sleep mode) to an active state.
  • the active state may enable the UE 110 to receive the NR PRS transmission at operation 410.
  • the NR positioning receiver 114 may be switched off, or transitioned back to the low-power state, once the triggered NR positioning measurement(s) have been performed, that is, after more accurate positioning information has been acquired.
  • This functionality may be realized via explicit signaling between the network, for example eNB 120, and the UE 110.
  • the eNB 120 may for example transmit a request to the UE 110 to enable the NR positioning receiver 114 for a signaled time period.
  • the eNB 120 may transmit a request to switch off the NR positioning receiver 114, for example in response to successful reception of the NR positioning measurements at operation 412 (either at eNB 120 or the core network 140) or computation of the second (enhanced) location of the UE 110 at operation 413, which the relevant network node(s), for example LMF 144, may indicate to the eNB 120.
  • the UE 110 may also perform a cell search to detect NR cell(s).
  • Cell search may comprise detecting synchronization signal(s) such as for example one or more synchronization signal blocks (SSB).
  • the cell search may further comprise decoding a master information block (MIB) and one or more system information blocks (SIB).
  • MIB master information block
  • SIB system information blocks
  • a physical cell identifier (PCI) of a cell may be determined based on the SSB(s).
  • the UE 110 may also perform time and frequency synchronization, for example based on the SSB(s).
  • the cell search may comprise a blind cell search, where the UE 110 looks for signals for any available NR cells.
  • the eNB 120 may transmit to UE 110 positioning assistance information associated with NR.
  • the positioning assistance information may comprise a set of cell identifiers for a set of NR cells.
  • the positioning assistance information may further comprise a set of frequencies, for example center frequencies, for the set of NR cells.
  • the set of cell identifiers or frequencies may comprise one or a plurality of cell identifiers or frequencies, respectively, and be provided as a list of cell identifiers or a list of (center) frequencies.
  • a cell identifier may comprise a global cell identifier (GCI) or a physical cell identifier (PCI).
  • the global cell identifier may comprise an NR cell global identifier (NCGI).
  • the positioning assistance information may further comprise line-of-sight (LOS) information, response latency information, or the like.
  • Latency information may comprise latency information related to the UE capability, discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle, and other settings to get the location process completed.
  • the UE 110 may perform the cell search based on the positioning assistance information received from the eNB 120.
  • the UE 110 may prioritize the cell(s) or frequency ranges indicated in the positioning assistance information.
  • the cell search may result in detecting one or more NR cells.
  • the UE 110 may internally deliver the information about the detected cells from the NR positioning receiver 114 to the NB-IoT modem 112.
  • the UE 110 may transmit identifier(s) of the detected NR cell(s) to eNB 120, for example by the NB-IoT modem 112.
  • the identifier(s) of the detected NR cell(s) may be provided as an NR cell list.
  • the cell list may for example comprise GCI(s) or PCI(s) of the detected NR cell(s).
  • the UE 110 may transmit other signaling information to eNB 120.
  • the signaling data may for example comprise an indication of capability(ies) of the UE 110.
  • the capability information may be associated with reception of the NR PRS.
  • the UE 110 may indicate a bandwidth of the NR positioning receiver 114 or a link quality threshold for the radio link between the gNB 130 and the UE 110.
  • the bandwidth capability enables the UE 110 to ensure that it is able to receive the configured NR PRS.
  • the link quality threshold enables the UE 110 to ensure that the NR PRS is received with sufficient quality, for example with sufficient received power and/or without intolerable deterioration or interference in the transmission channel.
  • the link quality threshold may be provided for example as a threshold for the link quality indicator (LQI) parameter.
  • the eNB 120 may receive the signaling information provided by UE 110.
  • the positioning assistance information and/or the other signaling information may be called low cost asset tracking configuration information.
  • the eNB 120 may transmit, to gNB 130, a request to enable transmission of NR PRS. This may be in response to receiving the external NR positioning measurement trigger from the core network 140 at operation 403, in response to receiving the trigger indication of the triggered internal NR positioning measurement trigger from UE 110 at operation 405, and/or in response to receiving the NR cell list and/or other signaling information from the UE 110 at operation 407.
  • the eNB 120 may transmit the request to transmit NR PRS to the gNB 130 over a communication interface, which may be separate from NB-IoT or NR specifications, or in general separate from the radio access technologies of the RAN.
  • the communication interface may for example comprise an internet protocol (IP) interface between eNB 120 and gNB 130.
  • IP internet protocol
  • signaling between the core network 140, eNB 120, and/or the UE 110, such as for example the positioning assistance information, the NR positioning measurement triggers or trigger indications, the NR cell list, or the indication of the UE capabilities, may be provided as IP signaling message(s).
  • the request to enable transmission of NR PRS may comprise, or be transmitted along with, the signaling information received from UE 110.
  • the eNB 120 may indicate to the gNB the identifier(s) of the NR cell(s) detected by UE 110 or the capability information of the UE 110.
  • the eNB 120 may transmit the request to gNB(s) associated with the identified cell(s). Therefore, transmission of the NR cell list may be avoided.
  • the request and/or the signaling information may be transmitted to the core network 140, which may configure the NR PRS transmission by one or more gNBs.
  • the NR PRS transmission may be also enabled without the indication of the NR cell(s) available to UE 110.
  • the eNB 120 or the core network may determine a set of candidate NR cells based on location of the UE 110, for example the coarse location computed at operation 402. Based on the location of the UE, the eNB 120 or the core network 140 may determine NR cell(s) that are most likely available to the UE 110.
  • Determination of these cell(s) may be also based on historical data received from UE 110 or other UEs, for example an indication of NR cell(s) that were previously available at particular location(s).
  • the gNBs to be requested to enable NR PRS transmission may be selected based on the determined cell(s). This reduces the amount of NR measurements to be performed by the UE 110.
  • a configuration of the NR PRS may be determined based on the received signaling information, for example the indication of the capability(ies) of the UE 110. The configuration may be determined by gNB 130 or the core network 140.
  • the bandwidth of the NR PRS may be for example configured based on the indicated bandwidth capability of the UE 110, in particular the NR positioning receiver 114, or a number of PRSs may be configured based on the power constraints of the UE 110.
  • the NR PRS configuration may be further determined based on a positioning accuracy target. For example, the bandwidth of the NR PRS may be configured lower than the bandwidth capability of the UE 110, if the configured bandwidth provides sufficient positioning accuracy.
  • the transmission of the NR PRS may be enabled or disabled based on the link quality threshold indicated by UE 110.
  • the gNB 130 may determine not to enable NR PRS transmission. This enables to avoid unnecessary NR PRS transmissions over radio links, for which the link quality is not sufficient for positioning measurements at the UE 110.
  • the decision of disabling the NR PRS transmission for particular cell(s) may be indicated to eNB 120.
  • the eNB 120 may forward the indication to the UE 110.
  • the UE 110 may prevent or terminate monitoring the indicated cells for which NR PRS transmission was disabled.
  • the gNB 130 may transmit the configuration of the NR PRS to eNB 120.
  • the configuration may for example comprise the bandwidth of the NR PRS, or in general any parameters to enable the UE 110 to locate and receive the NR PRS transmissions on the NR cell(s).
  • the eNB 120 may transmit the PRS configuration to UE 110, which may receive it, for example by the NB-IoT modem 112.
  • the UE 110 may internally deliver the PRS configuration to the NR positioning receiver 114, which may initiate monitoring of the NR cell(s) for receiving the NR PRS(s).
  • the gNB 130 may transmit the NR PRS.
  • the UE 110 may receive the NR PRS from gNB 130.
  • the UE 110 may perform positioning measurement(s) based on the NR PRS, or in general based on a plurality of PRS(s) received from a plurality of gNBs.
  • the positioning measurements may comprise for example measuring time difference of arrival of NR PRSs, or any other suitable measures for downlink-based positioning.
  • the bandwidth of the NR PRS(s) may be higher than the bandwidth of NB-IoT PRS(s), and therefore more accurate positioning measurements may be performed based on the NR PRS(s).
  • the positioning measurements performed based on NR PRS(s) may be regarded as enhanced (second) positioning measurements. It is also possible that enhanced positioning by positioning reference signals is provided to improve positioning accuracy of a system that is not based on positioning reference signals.
  • a first system or network could be limited to cell identifier based positioning and a second network could enable more accurate positioning based on positioning reference signals.
  • the UE 110 maytransmit a positioning report to the eNB 120.
  • the positioning report may be based on the NR positioning measurement(s). Therefore, this positioning report may be regarded as an enhanced (second) positioning report.
  • the positioning report may be transmitted to the eNB 120 by the NB-IoT modem 112, which may receive the NR positioning measurement data from the NR positioning receiver 114. This enables the NR positioning measurement data to be reported to the network without NR transmitter functionality at UE 110.
  • the eNB 120 may forward the NR positioning measurement data to the core network 140, for example to the LMF 144.
  • the core network 140 may compute a second (enhanced) location of the UE 110. Computation of the second location may be based on the NR positioning measurement data received from the eNB 120.
  • the location of the UE 110 may be computed taking into account also the NB-IoT positioning data received at operation 401, for example based on combining NB-IoT and downlink wideband NR TDOA measured based on the NR PRS.
  • the eNB 120 may therefore cause computation of a second location of the UE 110 based on the enhanced (second) positioning report, which may be provided by the UE 110 based on the NR positioning measurement(s).
  • the second location of the UE 110 may be computed by LMF 144.
  • the above procedure enables downlink positioning using NR, but without the high cost of an NR device at UE 110.
  • Such UE 110 may be built with low cost, since it is sufficient to have an NB-IoT modem and an NR positioning receiver comprising a simple PRS detector and downlink analogue RF (radio frequency) circuitry, which may be also inexpensive, depending on frequency band combinations.
  • FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a method for enabling location tracking of a device by the device, according to an example embodiment
  • the method may comprise transmitting a first positioning report to the first network node, wherein the first positioning report comprises the positioning data
  • the method may comprise detecting triggering of at least one second positioning measurement.
  • the method may comprise receiving a second positioning reference signal from a second network node associated with a second radio access technology, wherein the second positioning reference signal is associated with a second positioning accuracy.
  • the method may comprise performing the at least one second positioning measurement based on the second positioning reference signal.
  • the method may comprise transmitting a second positioning report to the first network node, wherein the second positioning report is based on the at least one second positioning measurement [00157] FIG.
  • the method may comprise receiving, by a first network node associated with a first radio access technology, a first positioning report associated with a first positioning accuracy from a device.
  • the method may comprise transmitting, to a second network node associated with a second radio access technology, a request to transmit a second positioning reference signal associated with a second positioning accuracy.
  • the method may comprise receiving an second positioning report from the device, wherein the second positioning report is based on the second positioning reference signal.
  • the method may comprise receiving, by a second network node from a first network node, a request to transmit a second positioning reference signal associated with a second positioning accuracy, wherein the first network node is associated with a first radio technology, and wherein the second network node is associated with a second radio access technology.
  • the method may comprise transmitting the second positioning reference signal to a device, in response to receiving the request to transmit the second positioning reference signal from the first network node.
  • An apparatus for example a device such as UE 110, or a network node such as eNB 120 or gNB 130 may be configured to perform or cause performance of any aspect of the method(s) described herein.
  • a computer program may comprise instructions for causing, when executed, an apparatus to perform any aspect of the method(s) described herein.
  • an apparatus may comprise means for performing any aspect of the method(s) described herein.
  • the means comprises at least one processor, and at least one memory including program code, the program code configured to, when executed by the at least one processor, cause performance of any aspect of the method(s).
  • circuitry 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.
  • hardware-only circuit implementations such as implementations in only analog and/or digital circuitry
  • combinations of hardware circuits and software such as (as applicable):(i) a combination of analog and/or digital hardware circuit(s
  • 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.
  • 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.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Radar, Positioning & Navigation (AREA)
  • Remote Sensing (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Signal Processing (AREA)
  • Mobile Radio Communication Systems (AREA)

Abstract

La présente invention concerne, selon divers modes de réalisation exemplaires, un double suivi d'actif basé sur des technologies d'accès radio différentes. Un dispositif peut fournir des données de positionnement à un premier nœud de réseau associé à une première technologie d'accès radio. Les données de positionnement peuvent être associées à une première précision de positionnement. Un premier emplacement du dispositif peut être déterminé sur la base des données de positionnement. La précision de ce positionnement peut être améliorée en transmettant un signal de référence de positionnement associé à une seconde précision de positionnement, en utilisant une seconde technologie d'accès radio. Des données de mesure de positionnement basées sur le signal de référence de positionnement peuvent être fournies par le dispositif par l'intermédiaire du premier nœud de réseau et un second emplacement du dispositif peut être calculé sur la base des données de mesure de positionnement. La présente invention divulgue également des appareils, des procédés et des programmes informatiques.
PCT/EP2021/079831 2020-10-28 2021-10-27 Double suivi d'actif basé sur des technologies d'accès radio différentes WO2022090315A1 (fr)

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