WO2024033899A1 - Assistance data for carrier phase based positioning - Google Patents

Assistance data for carrier phase based positioning Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2024033899A1
WO2024033899A1 PCT/IB2023/058157 IB2023058157W WO2024033899A1 WO 2024033899 A1 WO2024033899 A1 WO 2024033899A1 IB 2023058157 W IB2023058157 W IB 2023058157W WO 2024033899 A1 WO2024033899 A1 WO 2024033899A1
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WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
phase offset
information
error sources
potential
network
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PCT/IB2023/058157
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French (fr)
Inventor
Gustav Lindmark
Siva Muruganathan
Ritesh SHREEVASTAV
Yazid Mohammed LYAZIDI
Florent Munier
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Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)
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Publication of WO2024033899A1 publication Critical patent/WO2024033899A1/en

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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
    • G01S5/0205—Details
    • G01S5/021—Calibration, monitoring or correction
    • 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
    • G01S5/0009—Transmission of position information to remote stations
    • G01S5/0018—Transmission from mobile station to base station
    • G01S5/0036—Transmission from mobile station to base station of measured values, i.e. measurement on mobile and position calculation on base station
    • 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
    • G01S5/0205—Details
    • G01S5/0236—Assistance data, e.g. base station almanac

Definitions

  • the present disclosure generally relates to the technical field of wireless communications and more particularly to positioning techniques.
  • Positioning has been a topic for standardization since 3 GPP Release 9. In New Radio (NR), positioning was specified with the primary objective to fulfill regulatory requirements for emergency call positioning starting in Release 15, but enhancements in subsequent releases broadened the use cases range to high accuracy/low latency accuracy applications. Positioning in NR is supported by the architecture shown in Figure 1.
  • System 5 comprises a user equipment (UE) 10 in communication with a NG-RAN base station 12, comprising ng-eNB (Evolved NodeB) 14 and gNB (NR base station) 13.
  • ng-eNB evolved NodeB
  • gNB NR base station
  • the ng-eNB is a node providing E-UTRA (Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access) user plane and control plane protocol terminations towards the UE, and connected via the NG (Next Generation) interface to the 5GC (5 th Generation core network).
  • Both ng-eNB 14 and gNB 13 can communicate with AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function) 18.
  • AMF 18 can communicate with LMF (Location Management Function) 15, which can communicate with E-SMLC (Evolved-Serving Mobile Location Centre) 17 and SLP (Service Location Protocol) 16.
  • LMF Local Mobility Management Function
  • E-SMLC Evolved-Serving Mobile Location Centre
  • SLP Service Location Protocol
  • LMF is the location node in NR.
  • NRPPa Radio Resource Control
  • RRC Radio Resource Control
  • Enhanced Cell ID Essentially cell ID (identification) information to associate the device to the serving area of a serving cell, and then additional information to determine a finer granularity position
  • Assisted GNSS GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) information retrieved by the device, supported by assistance information provided to the device from E- SMLC
  • OTDOA Observed Time Difference of Arrival
  • UTDOA Uplink TDOA
  • the device is requested to transmit a specific waveform that is detected by multiple location measurement units (e.g., an eNB) at known positions. These measurements are forwarded to E-SMLC for multilateration; and e.
  • Sensor methods such as Biometric pressure sensor which provides vertical position of the device and Inertial Motion Unit (IMU) which provides displacement.
  • IMU Inertial Motion Unit
  • NR supports the below RAT (Radio Access Technology) Dependent positioning methods: a.
  • DL-TDOA The DL (downlink) TDOA positioning method makes use of the DL RSTD (Reference Signal Time Difference) and optionally DL PRS (Positioning Reference Signal) RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power) of downlink signals received from multiple TPs (transmission points), at the UE.
  • the UE measures the DL RSTD (and optionally DL PRS RSRP) of the received signals using assistance data received from the positioning server, and the resulting measurements are used along with other configuration information to locate the UE in relation to the neighboring TPs; b.
  • the Multi-RTT (Radio Transmission Technology) positioning method makes use of the UE Rx-Tx (reception-transmission) measurements and DL PRS RSRP of downlink signals received from multiple TRPs (transmission and reception points), measured by the UE and the measured gNB Rx-Tx measurements and UL SRS-RSRP (Uplink Sounding Reference Signal Received Signal Received Power) at multiple TRPs of uplink signals transmitted from UE; c.
  • UL-TDOA The UL TDOA positioning method makes use of the UL TDOA (and optionally UL SRS-RSRP) at multiple RPs (reception points) of uplink signals transmitted from UE.
  • the RPs measure the UL TDOA (and optionally UL SRS- RSRP) of the received signals using assistance data received from the positioning server, and the resulting measurements are used along with other configuration information to estimate the location of the UE; d.
  • DL-AoD The DL AoD (angle of departure) positioning method makes use of the measured DL PRS RSRP of downlink signals received from multiple TPs, at the UE.
  • the UE measures the DL PRS RSRP of the received signals using assistance data received from the positioning server, and the resulting measurements are used along with other configuration information to locate the UE in relation to the neighboring TPs; e.
  • UL-AoA The UL AoA (angle of arrival) positioning method makes use of the measured azimuth and zenith of arrival at multiple RPs (reception points) of uplink signals transmitted from the UE.
  • the RPs measure A- AoA (azimuth AoA) and Z- AoA (zenith AoA) of the received signals using assistance data received from the positioning server, and the resulting measurements are used along with other configuration information to estimate the location of the UE; and f.
  • NR-ECID NR Enhanced Cell ID (NR ECID) positioning refers to techniques which use additional UE measurements and/or NR radio resource and other measurements to improve the UE location estimate.
  • the positioning modes can be categorized in the below three areas: a. UE- Assisted: The UE performs measurements with or without assistance from the network and sends these measurements to the E-SMLC or LMF where the position calculation may take place; b. UE-Based: The UE performs measurements and calculates its own position with assistance from the network; and c. Standalone: The UE performs measurements and calculates its own without network assistance. Beamforming
  • NR also operates in high frequency bands such as 28 GHz.
  • the radio links are highly susceptible to rapid channel variations and suffer from severe path loss.
  • base stations and mobile terminals in 5G will use highly directional antennas for beamforming to achieve sufficient link budget in a wide area network.
  • NR support is expected to include the deployment of antenna elements organized in multiple-panels configuration, each one pointing towards a given direction in order to cover a different area.
  • a. Analog beamforming This approach shapes the beam through a signal single radio frequency (RF) chain for all the antenna elements. The processing is done in analog domain and is possible to transmit/receive beam in only one direction at a time;
  • Hybrid beamforming This approach requires RF chains equivalent to the number of beams to be formed.
  • An N RF chain hybrid beamformer can hence produce N beams and enables the transceiver to transmit/receive N analog beams in N simultaneous directions; and
  • Digital beamforming Unlike hybrid and analog beamforming architectures, digital beamforming technique requires a separate RF chain and data converters for each antenna element and allows processing of the received signals in the digital domain. Digital beamforming potentially allows transceivers to direct beams in infinite directions.
  • 3 GPP has also defined different antenna ports for transmitting different signals.
  • Several signals can be transmitted from the same base station antenna from different antenna ports. These signals can have the same large-scale properties, for instance in terms of Doppler shift/spread, average delay spread, or average delay. These antenna ports are then said to be quasi co-located (QCL).
  • QCL quasi co-located
  • the network can then signal to the UE that two antenna ports are QCL. If the UE knows that two antenna ports are QCL with respect to a certain parameter, the UE can estimate that parameter based on one of the antenna ports and use that estimate when receiving the other antenna port. For instance, if antenna ports A and B are QCL with respect to average delay, the UE can estimate the average delay from the signal received from antenna port A (known as the source reference signal (RS)) and assume that the signal received from antenna port B (target RS) has the same average delay.
  • RS source reference signal
  • Type A ⁇ Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread ⁇ ; b.
  • Type B ⁇ Doppler shift, Doppler spread ⁇ ; c.
  • Type C ⁇ average delay, Doppler shift ⁇ ; and d.
  • Type D ⁇ Spatial Rx parameter ⁇ .
  • QCL type D was introduced to facilitate beam management with analog beamforming and is known as spatial QCL.
  • QCL relations are conveyed using TCI (transmission configurator indicator) states.
  • a GNSS receiver can measure two observables for each GNSS satellite: a. Pseudo range measurement: A time-of-arrival measurement that corresponds to the range to the satellite with an additional offset due to imperfect synchronization between the receiver and the satellite. The measurement includes other sources of errors too. b. Carrier phase observable: The carrier phase measurement is in the range [0-2zr] . It reflects the phase offset between the internal oscillator of the receiver and the incoming signal.
  • the carrier phase observable can be used to acquire very accurate range information.
  • One embodiment under the present disclosure comprises a method performed by a UE for communicating assistance data for carrier phase-based positioning.
  • the method comprises transmitting information related to one or more potential error sources to a network component; and receiving assistance data on information related to one or more potential error sources from the network component.
  • Another embodiment under the present disclosure is a method performed by a network node (e.g., gNB) for communicating assistance data for carrier phase-based positioning. Steps of the method include transmitting information related to one or more node potential error sources to a network component.
  • a network node e.g., gNB
  • Steps include receiving information on one or more potential error sources related to phase offset from a UE; and receiving information on one or more potential node error sources related to phase offset from a network node.
  • a network component e.g., LMF
  • FIG. 1 illustrates an example of network architecture
  • FIG. 2 illustrates a flow-chart of a method embodiment under the present disclosure
  • Fig. 3 illustrates carrier phase measurement subject to a transmission phase offset and a receive phase offset
  • Fig. 4 illustrates Rx phase offset c/) ⁇ and Tx phase offset amongst transceivers and receivers
  • Fig. 5 illustrates a scenario where Tx phase offset depends on the AoD and the Rx phase offset depends on the AoA;
  • Fig. 6 illustrates an embodiment of a TRP Measurement Result IE under the present disclosure
  • Fig. 7 illustrates an embodiment of a Phase Offset IE under the present disclosure
  • Fig. 8 illustrates an embodiment of an information element for Phase Offset Information under the present disclosure
  • FIG. 9 illustrates an embodiment of a measurement request message in NRPPa under the present disclosure
  • Fig. 10 illustrates an embodiment of messaging from the gNB-CU to the gNB-DU in a Phase positioning Search Window Information under the present disclosure
  • FIG. 11 illustrates an embodiment of ASN.1 messaging with LPP assistance data under the present disclosure
  • Fig. 12 illustrates an embodiment of DL-AoD assistance data under the present disclosure
  • Fig. 13 illustrates an embodiment of a NR-DL-PRS -Beaminfo information element under the present disclosure
  • Fig. 14 illustrates a flow-chart of a method embodiment under the present disclosure
  • FIG. 15 illustrates a flow-chart of a method embodiment under the present disclosure
  • FIG. 16 illustrates a flow-chart of a method embodiment under the present disclosure
  • FIG. 17 shows a schematic of a communication system embodiment under the present disclosure
  • Fig. 18 shows a schematic of a user equipment embodiment under the present disclosure
  • FIG. 19 shows a schematic of a network node embodiment under the present disclosure
  • FIG. 20 shows a schematic of a host embodiment under the present disclosure
  • FIG. 21 shows a schematic of a virtualization environment embodiment under the present disclosure.
  • Fig. 22 shows a schematic representation of an embodiment of communication amongst nodes, hosts, and user equipment under the present disclosure.
  • GNSS carrier phase positioning has been used successfully for centimeter-level accuracy positioning but is limited to outdoor applications.
  • One objective of the Rel. 18 SI is to investigate if carrier phase-based positioning can be implemented for NR with similar gains in both indoor and outdoor deployments.
  • a carrier phase measurement of a receiver is the difference in phase between an incoming signal and an internal reference (oscillator) of the receiver.
  • the range between a transmitter and a receiver is N complete wavelengths (an integer) and a fraction of a wavelength.
  • a carrier phase measurement reflects the final fraction of a wavelength, which can be used for positioning.
  • the measurement is subject to error terms that may need to be accounted for; otherwise, the measurement may be useless for positioning. Some error terms can be estimated or cancelled by the LMF using different techniques, but there can be other error sources for which this is not possible.
  • phase rotations are applied to antenna elements to, for instance, obtain a constructive beam gain in a specific direction. Such phase rotations will also create a phase rotation in the transmitted signals which is dependent on the transmitted signal direction (angle of departure) and can affect the carrier phase measurement.
  • antenna arrays With antenna arrays the distances between individual antenna elements may cause an additional phase rotation that can affect the carrier phase measurement.
  • I/Q phase imbalances may exist which may affect the carrier phase measurement.
  • phase rotations are however not random and can be either tabulated or computed if the positioning algorithm has knowledge of the antenna’s configuration. In general, this is not possible since implementation of the antenna is proprietary.
  • Embodiments include novel signaling of assistance data for carrier phase-based positioning.
  • the assistance data includes information elements on error sources that depends on what Tx/Rx branch is used and/or the Tx AoD and/or the Rx AoA.
  • the disclosed systems and methods allow to share knowledge of error sources in an antenna with the positioning algorithm without disclosing the antenna’s implementation details, e.g., what precoders or beam angular patterns are used.
  • phase offset is used for an error source in units of degrees or radians. It should be noted that a phase offset is equivalent to a range offset, the latter can be obtained by multiplying the phase offset with the carrier wavelength.
  • a Tx or Rx range offset of a UE or TRP can be expressed in e.g., meters.
  • a range offset can be expressed as a spatial translation of the antenna reference point of the UE or TRP. This can be called “antenna phase center” or "phase center offset”.
  • phase offset the different expressions "phase offset”, “range offset” and spatial displacement expressed as “antenna phase center” and "phase center offset” fundamentally express the same thing. Embodiments referencing one type of offset encompass other embodiments with alternative terminology.
  • the system/method may perform the following steps: a. Steps 212/222: UE 210 and gNB 220 (gNB-DU in case of Fl split) identify the known error sources in terms of phase offset for the UL transmit and receive beams and DL transmit and receive beams. Further, known error sources which may influence the carrier phase measurements are reported at steps 235, 237; e.g. : phase offset variance, level of phase stability. Further, the assistance information which would assist for LMF 230 to take decisions are also provided; for example: gNB 220 to LMF 230 (e.g., DL PRS Resource ID, phase offset, AoD); b.
  • gNB 220 to LMF 230 e.g., DL PRS Resource ID, phase offset, AoD
  • Step 239 LMF 230 takes the action to mitigate the error; e.g., identifying the reference signal and the DL/UL beams to use for carrier phase measurements, apply corrections to carrier phase measurements using the provided assistance data on known error sources; and c.
  • Step 240 Optionally for UE-based positioning; LMF 230 provides the necessary assistance data to UE 210 for carrier phase measurements containing the phase offset and uncertainty information.
  • Embodiments can provide various technical advantages.
  • the assistance data enables the location function (LMF for network-based positioning or UE for UE-based positioning) to compensate for error sources that could otherwise render carrier phase measurements useless for positioning. This enables the location function to perform accurate carrier phase-based positioning.
  • Tx phase offset or “transmission phase offset” may be used for c
  • Rx phase offset or “receive phase offset” may be used for (
  • s(t) denotes the baseband signal
  • f c denotes the carrier frequency.
  • the received passband-signal is the convolution:
  • the received baseband signal is: where the term 0 X is an offset due to Rx imperfect synchronization, it includes the RF phasedifference compared to an ideal oscillator. A carrier phase measurement of this transmission will return the phase:
  • the term 2nN corresponds to a modulus operation such that the measured phase is in the range [0, 2TT] .
  • T 0 i n Equation (5) For carrier-phase based positioning, it is the transmission delay T 0 i n Equation (5) which is of most interest.
  • the offset terms 0 O — 0i are preferably estimated or cancelled out for the measurement to be accurate. In a scenario with multiple transmitters and multiple receivers, this can be accomplished by differentiation, such as Rx phase difference, Tx phase difference, or double differentiation.
  • Tx Phase difference If the term 0 O (which is due to the transmitter RF offset) is the same for carrier phase measurements performed by multiple receivers from one transmitter, then 0 O can be canceled out if the phase difference between receivers is computed, e.g., differentiating Eq. (5) between the receivers.
  • Double differentiation By combining the two differentiation methods above, a doubledifferentiation scheme can be obtained which results in all the unknown offsets being cancelled out.
  • gNB signaling to LMF and UE four areas to discuss are: gNB signaling to LMF and UE; procedures and signaling between LMF (NW) and UE; NR-DL-PRS-Beaminfo information element; and UE signaling to LMF.
  • NW LMF
  • UE NR-DL-PRS-Beaminfo information element
  • UE UE signaling to LMF.
  • the assistance information proposed in the embodiments are signaled through NRPPa (New Radio Positioning Protocol A) protocol from gNB to LMF.
  • NRPPa New Radio Positioning Protocol A
  • this information is also signaled over Fl AP (application protocol from gNB-DU (distributed unit) to gNB-CU (central unit)).
  • Fl AP application protocol from gNB-DU (distributed unit) to gNB-CU (central unit)
  • the assistance information is forwarded by LMF to the UE over LPP (LIE Positioning Protocol).
  • the network gNBs reports a Tx phase offset information element.
  • the Tx phase offset information can be provided in one of the following formats:
  • the Tx phase offset information includes one or more of the following elements:
  • Relative Tx phase offset For instance, the phase offset for the broadside direction of the TRP can be considered as reference and the phase offsets for each other direction is relative to that;
  • Tx phase offset uncertainty takes into account any errors in the gNB’s estimate of the Tx phase offset value. Together with the Tx phase offset, the Tx phase offset uncertainty provides a window to the LMF over which the actual Tx phase offset value will be located. For instance, the true Tx phase offset is somewhere in the window (Tx phase offset + Tx phase offset uncertainty );
  • Minimum Tx phase offset and maximum Tx phase offset Instead of providing Tx phase offset and Tx phase offset uncertainty, the minimum and maximum Tx phase offsets provides to the LMF a window over which the true Tx phase offset will be located; or
  • Tx phase offset drift rate As the Tx phase offset may vary over time, the drift rate can provide information of how it varies over time.
  • the Tx phase offset information is provided for each transmission point (TP). In another embodiment, the Tx phase offset information is provided for a subset of all TPs. In yet another embodiment, if a Tx phase offset information has been provided for one TP but not for a second TP, then it can be indicated that the Tx phase offset information provided for the first TP applies also for the second TP.
  • the Tx phase offset information may be time-varying due to component instability, temperature, etc.
  • the Tx phase offset information provided in one of the previously mentioned formats can be updated/corrected by a Tx phase offset information update message, where the correction term is to be added/subtracted to the last received Tx phase offset information.
  • the Tx phase offset value(s) may be provided as a function of AoD, and the Tx phase offset uncertainty value may be common to all AoDs.
  • Figures 6 to 10 show examples of NRPPa signaling that may be used by a gNB. While embodiments are mainly described with respect to NRPPa, all NRPPa embodiments can be supported over Fl AP TS 38.473. [00066] In one embodiment, without loss of generality, the signaling from the gNBs/TRPs to the LMF of the expected phase offset value(s) and expected phase offset uncertainly value(s), or as maximum and minimum value(s) of phase offset, can be achieved as new indications in the MEASUREMENT RESPONSE message in NRPPa, within the TRP Measurement Result IE. This is illustrated in the embodiment of Figure 6.
  • FIG. 6 shows the TRP Measurement Result IE as defined in TS 38.455, Sec. 9.2.37.
  • phase offset information can be included in the final row.
  • a Phase Offset IE can be used to communicate phase offset information.
  • An embodiment of a Phase Offset IE is shown in Figure 7. Either the top three rows or the bottom two rows above are to be considered for signaling.
  • phase offset information is provided with either coarse values only; or as “coarse” + optional “fine” values. Or fine values only.
  • Figure 8 shows an example of an information element for Phase Offset Information with coarse and fine values. An example, without loss of generality, is considering 360 coarse values with fine values in 1 degree resolution.
  • supplementary information is signaled over the Fl AP protocol from the gNB-DU, where the TRPs are hosted, to the gNB-CU, termination point of NRPPa, with the phase offset information.
  • the signaling of the assistance information for the carrier phase positioning including the phase offset value and uncertainty range to be used for the measurement by the gNB/TRPs can be achieved as new indications in the measurement request message in NRPPa.
  • This message can be sent by the LMF to the NG-RAN node to request the NG-RAN node to configure a positioning measurement.
  • supplementary information is signalled over the F1AP protocol from the gNB-CU to the gNB-DU in a Phase positioning Search Window Information. Either the top three rows or the bottom two rows above are to be considered for signaling. Procedures and Signaling Between LMF (NW) and UE
  • FIG 11 shows an ASN.l (Abstract Syntax Notation One) example embodiment where LPP assistance data (AD) is provided from LMF to UE for carrier phase measurements.
  • AD LPP assistance data
  • the phase offset is initial phase offset when the procedure has started; whereas the expected phase offset provides a drift rate of the phase offset (i.e., it captures the phase offset variation with respect to time).
  • the embodiment in Figure 11 shows phase offset and uncertainty provided per TRP.
  • the assistance data for carrier phase measurements can also be provided along with DL-AoD assistance data, as seen in the embodiment in Figure 12.
  • Figure 12 shows an embodiment of DL-AoD assistance data, with the assistance data included in beam information.
  • the information element (IE) NR-DL-PRS -Beaminfo can be used by the location server to provide spatial direction information of the DL-PRS Resources.
  • An example embodiment of an NR-DL-PRS -Beaminfo IE is shown in Figure 13.
  • assistance data can include phase offset, phase offset uncertainty, and phase offset draft rate.
  • the NR-DL-PRS-Beamlnfo IE can be relayed also by lower layers such as using RRC for UL only positioning method and for latency reduction using a combination of RRC and MAC CE such that RRC provides the pre-configurations and MAC CE activates/deactivates one of the preconfigured configurations.
  • the UE reports to the LMF a Rx phase offset information element.
  • the Rx phase offset information can be provided in one of the following formats: a. A list of pairs ⁇ Angle-of-arrival, Rx phase offset information ⁇ ; b. A list of pairs ⁇ DL PRS Resource Id, Rx phase offset information ⁇ ; c. A list of pairs ⁇ receive beam identity, Rx phase offset information ⁇ ; and d. A list of pairs ⁇ antenna panel identity, Rx phase offset information ⁇ .
  • the Rx phase offset information includes one or more of the following elements: a. Absolute Rx phase offset; b. Relative Rx phase offset: The phase offset is provided relative to a reference phase offset. For instance, the reported phase offset for a specific angle-of-arrival is zero and the phase offsets for each other direction is relative to that; c. Rx phase offset uncertainty: The Rx phase offset uncertainty takes into account any errors in the UE’s estimate of the Rx phase offset value. Together with the Rx phase offset, the Rx phase offset uncertainty provides a window to the LMF over which the actual Rx phase offset value will be located. For instance, the true Rx phase offset is somewhere in the window (Rx phase offset + Rx phase offset uncertainty ,- d.
  • Minimum Rx phase offset and maximum Rx phase offset Instead of providing Rx phase offset and Rx phase offset uncertainly, the minimum and maximum Rx phase offsets provides to the LMF a window over which the true Rx phase offset will be located; e. Rx phase offset drift rate: As the Rx phase offset may vary over time, the drift rate can provide information of how it varies over time.
  • the Rx phase offset value(s) may be provided as a function of AoA, and the phase offset uncertainty value may be common to all AoAs.
  • the Rx phase offset information may be time- varying due to component instability, temperature, etc.
  • the Rx phase offset information provided in one of the previously mentioned formats can be updated/corrected by a Rx phase offset information update message, where the correction term is to be added/ subtracted to the last received Rx phase offset information.
  • the UE reports to the LMF a Tx phase offset information element.
  • the Tx phase offset information can be provided in one of the following formats: a. A list of pairs ⁇ Angle-of-departure, Tx phase offset information ⁇ ; b. A list of pairs ⁇ UL SRS Resource Id, Tx phase offset information ⁇ ; c. A list of pairs ⁇ transmission beam index, Tx phase offset information ⁇ ; and d. A list of pairs ⁇ transmission antenna panel identity, Tx phase offset information ⁇ .
  • the Tx phase offset information includes one or more of the following elements: a. Absolute Tx phase offset; b. Relative Tx phase offset: The phase offset is provided relative to a reference phase offset. For instance, the reported Tx phase offset for a specific angle-of-departure is zero and the Tx phase offsets for each other direction is relative to that; c. Tx phase offset uncertainty: The Tx phase offset uncertainty takes into account any errors in the UE’s estimate of the Tx phase offset value. Together with the Tx phase offset, the Tx phase offset uncertainty provides a window to the LMF over which the actual Tx phase offset value will be located. For instance, the true Tx phase offset is somewhere in the window (Tx phase of f set +
  • Tx phase offset uncertainty ,- d.
  • Minimum Tx phase offset and maximum Tx phase offset Instead of providing Tx phase offset and Tx phase offset uncertainly, the minimum and maximum Tx phase offsets provides to the LMF a window over which the true Tx phase offset will be located; e. Tx phase offset drift rate: As the Tx phase offset may vary over time, the drift rate can provide information of how it varies over time.
  • the Tx phase offset information may be time-varying due to component instability, temperature, etc.
  • the Tx phase offset information provided in one of the previously mentioned formats can be updated/corrected by a Tx phase offset information update message, where the correction term is to be added/subtracted to the last received Tx phase offset information.
  • expected Tx phase offset value(s) may be provided as a function of AoD, and expected phase offset uncertainty value may be common to all AoDs.
  • inventions on signaling of assistance information related to Rx phase offset are provided.
  • the assistance information proposed in the embodiments can be signaled through NRPPa protocol.
  • this information can also be signaled over Fl AP protocol.
  • the network gNBs reports a Rx phase offset information element.
  • the Rx phase offset information can be provided in one of the following formats: a. A list of pairs ⁇ Angle-of-arrival, Rx phase offset information ⁇ ; b. A list of pairs ⁇ UL SRS Resource Id, Rx phase offset information ⁇ ; and c. A list of pairs ⁇ receive beam identity, Rx phase offset information ⁇ .
  • the Rx phase offset information includes one or more of the following elements: a. Absolute Rx phase offset; b. Relative Rx phase offset: For instance, the phase offset for the broadside direction of the TRP can be considered as reference and the phase offsets for each other direction is relative to that; c. Rx phase offset uncertainty: The Rx phase offset uncertainty takes into account any errors in the gNB’s estimate of the Rx phase offset value. Together with the Rx phase offset, the Rx phase offset uncertainty provides a window to the LMF over which the actual Rx phase offset value will be located. For instance, the true Rx phase offset is somewhere in the window Rx phase offset + Rx phase offset uncertainty ); d.
  • Minimum Rx phase offset and maximum Rx phase offset Instead of providing Rx phase offset and Rx phase offset uncertainty, the minimum and maximum Rx phase offsets provides to the LMF a window over which the true Rx phase offset will be located; and e. Rx phase offset drift rate: As the Rx phase offset may vary over time, the drift rate can provide information of how it varies over time.
  • the Rx phase offset information is provided for each TP. In another embodiment, the Rx phase offset information is provided for a subset of all TPs. In yet another embodiment, if a Rx phase offset information has been provided for one TP but not for a second TP, then it can be indicated that the Rx phase offset information provided for the first TP applies also for the second TP.
  • the Rx phase offset information may be time- varying due to component instability, temperature, etc.
  • the Rx phase offset information provided in one of the previously mentioned formats can be updated/corrected by a Rx phase offset information update message, where the correction term is to be added/ subtracted to the last received Rx phase offset information.
  • the Rx phase offset value(s) may be provided as a function of AoA, and the Rx phase offset uncertainty value may be common to all angles-of- arrival.
  • Method 1600 is a method performed by a UE for communicating assistance data for carrier phase-based positioning.
  • Step 1610 is transmitting information related to one or more potential error sources to a network component.
  • Step 1620 is receiving assistance data on information related to one or more potential error sources from the network component.
  • Method 1600 can comprise multiple variations and embodiments and/or additional and/or alternative steps.
  • Figure 15 displays another possible method embodiment 1800 under the present disclosure.
  • Method 1800 is a method performed by a network node (e.g., gNB) for communicating assistance data for carrier phase-based positioning.
  • Step 1810 is transmitting information related to one or more node potential error sources to a network component.
  • Method 1800 can comprise multiple alternative embodiments with additional or alternative steps.
  • Method 2000 is a method performed by a network component (e.g., LMF) for communicating assistance data for carrier phase-based positioning.
  • Step 2010 is receiving information on one or more potential error sources related to phase offset from a user equipment, UE.
  • Step 2020 is receiving information on one or more potential node error sources related to phase offset from a network node.
  • Method 2000 can comprise multiple alternative embodiments with additional or alternative steps.
  • method 2000 can further comprise transmitting the assistance data to one or more UEs.
  • FIG. 18 shows an example of a communication system 2100 in accordance with some embodiments.
  • the communication system 2100 includes a telecommunication network 2102 that includes an access network 2104, such as a RAN, and a core network 2106, which includes one or more core network nodes 2108.
  • the access network 2104 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 2110a and 2110b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 2110), or any other similar 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access node or non-3GPP access point.
  • 3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project
  • the network nodes 2110 facilitate direct or indirect connection of UE, such as by connecting UEs 2112a, 2112b, 2112c, and 2112d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 2112) to the core network 2106 over one or more wireless connections.
  • Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors.
  • the communication system 1100 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and/or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and/or signals whether via wired or wireless connections.
  • the communication system 2100 may include and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and/or other similar type of system.
  • the UEs 2112 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 2110 and other communication devices.
  • the network nodes 2110 are arranged, capable, configured, and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 2112 and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 2102 to enable and/or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and/or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 2102.
  • the core network 2106 connects the network nodes 2110 to one or more hosts, such as host 2116. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts.
  • the core network 2106 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 2108) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and/or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 2108.
  • Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and/or a User Plane Function (UPF).
  • MSC Mobile Switching Center
  • MME Mobility Management Entity
  • HSS Home Subscriber Server
  • AMF Access and Mobility Management Function
  • SMF Session Management Function
  • AUSF Authentication Server Function
  • SIDF Subscription Identifier De-concealing function
  • UDM Unified Data Management
  • SEPP Security Edge Protection Proxy
  • NEF Network Exposure Function
  • UPF User Plane Function
  • the host 2116 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 2104 and/or the telecommunication network 2102, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider.
  • the host 2116 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio/video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote 1 devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.
  • the communication system 2100 of Figure 18 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts.
  • the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and/or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and/or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z- Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and/or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.
  • GSM Global System for Mobile Communications
  • UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
  • LTE Long Term Evolution
  • the telecommunication network 2102 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 2102 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 2102. For example, the telecommunications network 2102 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and/or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC)ZMassive loT services to yet further UEs.
  • URLLC Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication
  • eMBB Enhanced Mobile Broadband
  • mMTC Massive Machine Type Communication
  • the UEs 2112 are configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction.
  • a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 2104 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 2104.
  • a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-RAT or multi-standard mode.
  • a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).
  • MR-DC multi-radio dual connectivity
  • the hub 2114 communicates with the access network 2104 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 2112c and/or 2112d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 2110b).
  • the hub 2114 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs.
  • the hub 2114 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 2106 for the UEs.
  • the hub 2114 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs.
  • the hub 2114 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data.
  • the hub 2114 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 2114 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 2114 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and/or after adding additional local content.
  • the hub 2114 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular in if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.
  • the hub 2114 may have a constant/persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 2110b.
  • the hub 2114 may also allow for a different communication scheme and/or schedule between the hub 2114 and UEs (e.g., UE 2112c and/or 2112d), and between the hub 2114 and the core network 2106.
  • the hub 2114 is connected to the core network 2106 and/or one or more UEs via a wired connection.
  • the hub 2114 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 1104 and/or to another UE over a direct connection.
  • UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 2110 while still connected via the hub 2114 via a wired or wireless connection.
  • the hub 2114 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to/from the UEs from/to the network node 2110b.
  • the hub 2114 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 2110b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and/or end point for certain data channels.
  • a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and/or other UEs.
  • a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded/integrated wireless device, etc.
  • VoIP voice over IP
  • PDA personal digital assistant
  • gaming console or device music storage device, playback appliance
  • wearable terminal device wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded/integrated wireless device, etc.
  • UEs identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and/or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.
  • 3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project
  • NB-IoT narrow band internet of things
  • MTC machine type communication
  • eMTC enhanced MTC
  • a UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3 GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to- everything (V2X).
  • a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and/or operates the relevant device.
  • a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller).
  • a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).
  • the UE 2200 includes processing circuitry 2202 that is operatively coupled via a bus 2204 to an input/output interface 2206, a power source 2208, a memory 2210, a communication interface 2212, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof.
  • Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 10. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.
  • the processing circuitry 2202 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine- readable computer programs in the memory 2210.
  • the processing circuitry 2202 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above.
  • the processing circuitry 2202 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).
  • the input/output interface 2206 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and/or output devices.
  • Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof.
  • An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 2200.
  • Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like.
  • the presencesensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user.
  • a sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof.
  • An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.
  • USB Universal Serial Bus
  • the power source 2208 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used.
  • the power source 2208 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 2208 itself, and/or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 2200 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 2208.
  • Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 2208 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 2200 to which power is supplied.
  • the memory 2210 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth.
  • the memory 2210 includes one or more application programs 2214, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 2216.
  • the memory 2210 may store, for use by the UE 2200, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.
  • the memory 2210 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD- DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and/or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof.
  • RAID redundant array of independent disks
  • HD- DVD high-density digital versatile disc
  • HD- DVD high-density digital versatile disc
  • HD- DVD high-density digital versatile disc
  • HD- DVD high-density digital versatile disc
  • HD- DVD high-
  • the UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’
  • the memory 2210 may allow the UE 2200 to access instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data.
  • An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 2210, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.
  • the processing circuitry 2202 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 2212.
  • the communication interface 2212 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 2222.
  • the communication interface 2212 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network).
  • Each transceiver may include a transmitter 2218 and/or a receiver 2220 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth).
  • the transmitter 2218 and receiver 2220 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 2222) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.
  • communication functions of the communication interface 2212 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof.
  • GPS global positioning system
  • Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and/or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LIE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.
  • CDMA Code Division Multiplexing Access
  • WCDMA Wideband Code Division Multiple Access
  • GSM Global System for Mobile communications
  • LIE New Radio
  • NR New Radio
  • UMTS Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access
  • WiMax Ethernet
  • TCP/IP transmission control protocol/internet protocol
  • SONET synchronous optical networking
  • ATM Asynchronous Transfer Mode
  • QUIC Hypertext Transfer Protocol
  • HTTP Hypertext Transfer Protocol
  • a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 2212, via a wireless connection to a network node.
  • Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE.
  • the output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).
  • a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection.
  • the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change.
  • the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.
  • a UE when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare.
  • loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door/window sensor, a flood/moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal-
  • AR Augmented Reality
  • VR
  • a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and/or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and/or measurements to another UE and/or a network node.
  • the UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3 GPP context be referred to as an MTC device.
  • the UE may implement the 3 GPP NB-IoT standard.
  • a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and/or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.
  • a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone.
  • the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed.
  • the first and/or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above.
  • a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.
  • FIG 20 shows a network node 3300 in accordance with some embodiments.
  • network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and/or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network.
  • network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)).
  • APs access points
  • BSs base stations
  • Node Bs Node Bs
  • eNBs evolved Node Bs
  • gNBs NR NodeBs
  • Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations.
  • a base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay.
  • a network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units and/or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio.
  • RRUs remote radio units
  • RRHs Remote Radio Heads
  • Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio.
  • Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).
  • DAS distributed antenna system
  • network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSRBSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell/multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and/or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).
  • MSR multi-standard radio
  • RNCs radio network controllers
  • BSCs base station controllers
  • BSCs base transceiver stations
  • OFM Operation and Maintenance
  • OSS Operations Support System
  • SON Self-Organizing Network
  • positioning nodes e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)
  • the network node 3300 includes a processing circuitry 3302, a memory 3304, a communication interface 3306, and a power source 3308.
  • the network node 3300 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components.
  • the network node 3300 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components)
  • one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes.
  • a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs.
  • each unique NodeB and RNC pair may in some instances be considered a single separate network node.
  • the network node 1300 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs).
  • RATs radio access technologies
  • some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 3304 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 3310 may be shared by different RATs).
  • the network node 3300 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 1300, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 1300.
  • RFID Radio Frequency Identification
  • the processing circuitry 3302 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and/or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 3300 components, such as the memory 3304, to provide network node 3300 functionality.
  • the processing circuitry 3302 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 3302 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 3312 and baseband processing circuitry 3314. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 3312 and the baseband processing circuitry 3314 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 3312 and baseband processing circuitry 3314 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.
  • SOC system on a chip
  • the processing circuitry 3302 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 3312 and baseband processing circuitry 3314.
  • the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 3312 and the baseband processing circuitry 3314 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of
  • the memory 3304 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), readonly memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and/or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 3302.
  • volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), readonly memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-vola
  • the memory 3304 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and/or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 3302 and utilized by the network node 3300.
  • the memory 3304 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 3302 and/or any data received via the communication interface 3306.
  • the processing circuitry 3302 and memory 3304 is integrated.
  • the communication interface 3306 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and/or data between a network node, access network, and/or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 3306 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) 3316 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection.
  • the communication interface 3306 also includes radio front-end circuitry 3318 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 3310. Radio front-end circuitry 3318 comprises filters 3320 and amplifiers 3322.
  • the radio front-end circuitry 3318 may be connected to an antenna 3310 and processing circuitry 3302.
  • the radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 3310 and processing circuitry 3302.
  • the radio front-end circuitry 3318 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection.
  • the radio front-end circuitry 3318 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 3320 and/or amplifiers 3322.
  • the radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 3310.
  • the antenna 3310 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 3318.
  • the digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 3302.
  • the communication interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.
  • the network node 3300 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 3318, instead, the processing circuitry 3302 includes radio frontend circuitry and is connected to the antenna 3310.
  • the processing circuitry 3302 includes radio frontend circuitry and is connected to the antenna 3310.
  • all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 3312 is part of the communication interface 3306.
  • the communication interface 3306 includes one or more ports or terminals 3316, the radio front-end circuitry 3318, and the RF transceiver circuitry 3312, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 3306 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 3314, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).
  • the antenna 3310 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals.
  • the antenna 3310 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 3318 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly.
  • the antenna 3310 is separate from the network node 3300 and connectable to the network node 3300 through an interface or port.
  • the antenna 3310, communication interface 3306, and/or the processing circuitry 3302 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and/or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and/or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 3310, the communication interface 3306, and/or the processing circuitry 3302 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and/or any other network equipment.
  • the power source 3308 provides power to the various components of network node 3300 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component).
  • the power source 3308 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 3300 with power for performing the functionality described herein.
  • the network node 3300 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 3308.
  • the power source 3308 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.
  • Embodiments of the network node 3300 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 20 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and/or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein.
  • the network node 3300 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 3300 and to allow output of information from the network node 3300. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 3300.
  • FIG 21 is a block diagram of a host 4400, which may be an embodiment of the host 2116 of Figure 18, in accordance with various aspects described herein.
  • the host 4400 may be or comprise various combinations hardware and/or software, including a standalone server, a blade server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, a virtual machine, container, or processing resources in a server farm.
  • the host 4400 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.
  • the host 4400 includes processing circuitry 4402 that is operatively coupled via a bus 4404 to an input/output interface 4406, a network interface 4408, a power source 4410, and a memory 4412.
  • processing circuitry 4402 that is operatively coupled via a bus 4404 to an input/output interface 4406, a network interface 4408, a power source 4410, and a memory 4412.
  • Other components may be included in other embodiments. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the devices of previous figures, such as Figures 19 and 20, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of host 4400.
  • the memory 4412 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 4414 and data 4416, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for the host 4400 or data generated by the host 4400 for a UE.
  • Embodiments of the host 4400 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown.
  • the host application programs 4414 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (WC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., FLAC, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for multiple different classes, types, or implementations of UEs (e.g., handsets, desktop computers, wearable display systems, heads-up display systems).
  • the host application programs 4414 may also provide for user authentication and licensing checks and may periodically report health, routes, and content availability to a central node, such as a device in or on the edge of a core network.
  • the host 4400 may select and/or indicate a different host for over-the-top services for a UE.
  • the host application programs 4414 may support various protocols, such as the HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol, Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH), etc.
  • HLS HTTP Live Streaming
  • RTMP Real-Time Messaging Protocol
  • RTSP Real-Time Streaming Protocol
  • MPEG-DASH Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP
  • FIG 22 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 5500 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized.
  • virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources.
  • virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components.
  • Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 5500 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host.
  • VMs virtual machines
  • the node may be entirely virtualized.
  • Applications 5502 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment 5500 to implement some of the features, functions, and/or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.
  • Hardware 5504 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and/or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and/or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input/output interface, and so forth.
  • Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 5506 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 5508a and 5508b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 5508), and/or perform any of the functions, features and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein.
  • the virtualization layer 5506 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 5508.
  • the VMs 5508 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 5506.
  • Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 5502 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 5508, and the implementations may be made in different ways.
  • Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV).
  • NFV network function virtualization
  • NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.
  • a VM 5508 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine.
  • Each of the VMs 5508, and that part of hardware 5504 that executes that VM be it hardware dedicated to that VM and/or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements.
  • a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 5508 on top of the hardware 5504 and corresponds to the application 5502.
  • Hardware 5504 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 5504 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 5504 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g., such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 5510, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 5502. In some embodiments, hardware 5504 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas.
  • radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas.
  • Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station.
  • some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 5512 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.
  • Figure 23 shows a communication diagram of a host 6602 communicating via a network node 6604 with a UE 6606 over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments.
  • host 6602 Like host 4400, embodiments of host 6602 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory.
  • the host 6602 also includes software, which is stored in or accessible by the host 6602 and executable by the processing circuitry.
  • the software includes a host application that may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as the UE 6606 connecting via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 6650 extending between the UE 6606 and host 6602.
  • OTT over-the-top
  • a host application may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 6650.
  • the network node 6604 includes hardware enabling it to communicate with the host 6602 and UE 6606.
  • the connection 6660 may be direct or pass through a core network (like core network 2106 of Figure 18) and/or one or more other intermediate networks, such as one or more public, private, or hosted networks.
  • an intermediate network may be a backbone network or the Internet.
  • the UE 6606 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by UE 6606 and executable by the UE’s processing circuitry.
  • the software includes a client application, such as a web browser or operator-specific “app” that may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via UE 6606 with the support of the host 6602.
  • a client application such as a web browser or operator-specific “app” that may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via UE 6606 with the support of the host 6602.
  • an executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via the OTT connection 6650 terminating at the UE 6606 and host 6602.
  • the UE's client application may receive request data from the host's host application and provide user data in response to the request data.
  • the OTT connection 6650 may transfer both the request data and the user data.
  • the UE's client application may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides
  • the OTT connection 6650 may extend via a connection 6660 between the host 6602 and the network node 6604 and via a wireless connection 6670 between the network node 6604 and the UE 6606 to provide the connection between the host 6602 and the UE 6606.
  • the connection 6660 and wireless connection 6670, over which the OTT connection 6650 may be provided, have been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host 6602 and the UE 1606 via the network node 6604, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.
  • the host 6602 provides user data, which may be performed by executing a host application.
  • the user data is associated with a particular human user interacting with the UE 6606.
  • the user data is associated with a UE 6606 that shares data with the host 6602 without explicit human interaction.
  • the host 6602 initiates a transmission carrying the user data towards the UE 6606.
  • the host 6602 may initiate the transmission responsive to a request transmitted by the UE 6606.
  • the request may be caused by human interaction with the UE 6606 or by operation of the client application executing on the UE 6606.
  • the transmission may pass via the network node 6604, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Accordingly, in step 6612, the network node 6604 transmits to the UE 6606 the user data that was carried in the transmission that the host 6602 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 6614, the UE 6606 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executed on the UE 6606 associated with the host application executed by the host 6602. [000145] In some examples, the UE 6606 executes a client application which provides user data to the host 6602. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to the data received from the host 6602.
  • the UE 6606 may provide user data, which may be performed by executing the client application.
  • the client application may further consider user input received from the user via an input/output interface of the UE 6606.
  • the UE 6606 initiates, in step 6618, transmission of the user data towards the host 6602 via the network node 6604.
  • the network node 6604 receives user data from the UE 6606 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards the host 6602.
  • the host 6602 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the UE 6606.
  • One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 6606 using the OTT connection 6650, in which the wireless connection 6670 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve the data rate, latency, and/or power consumption and thereby provide benefits such as reduced user waiting time, relaxed restriction on file size, improved content resolution, better responsiveness, and/or extended battery lifetime.
  • factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host 6602.
  • the host 6602 may process audio and video data which may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating maps.
  • the host 6602 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights).
  • the host 6602 may store surveillance video uploaded by a UE.
  • the host 6602 may store or control access to media content such as video, audio, VR or AR which it can broadcast, multicast or unicast to UEs.
  • the host 6602 may be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time critical electrical load to balance power generation needs, location services, presentation services (such as compiling diagrams etc. from data collected from remote devices), or any other function of collecting, retrieving, storing, analyzing and/or transmitting data.
  • a measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve.
  • the measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection may be implemented in software and hardware of the host 6602 and/or UE 6606.
  • sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection 6650 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or supplying values of other physical quantities from which software may compute or estimate the monitored quantities.
  • the reconfiguring of the OTT connection 6650 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly alter the operation of the network node 6604. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art.
  • measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like, by the host 6602.
  • the measurements may be implemented in that software causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 6650 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.
  • computing devices described herein may include the illustrated combination of hardware components
  • computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components.
  • a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and/or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface.
  • non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.
  • processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium.
  • some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner.
  • the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and/or by end users and a wireless network generally.
  • controller computer system
  • computing system are defined broadly as including any device or system — or combination thereof — that includes at least one physical and tangible processor and a physical and tangible memory capable of having thereon computer-executable instructions that may be executed by a processor.
  • the term “computer system” or “computing system,” as used herein is intended to include personal computers, desktop computers, laptop computers, tablets, hand-held devices (e.g., mobile telephones, PDAs, pagers), microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, multi-processor systems, network PCs, distributed computing systems, datacenters, message processors, routers, switches, and even devices that conventionally have not been considered a computing system, such as wearables (e.g., glasses).
  • the computing system also has thereon multiple structures often referred to as an “executable component.”
  • the memory of a computing system can include an executable component.
  • executable component is the name for a structure that is well understood to one of ordinary skill in the art in the field of computing as being a structure that can be software, hardware, or a combination thereof.
  • the structure of an executable component may include software objects, routines, methods, and so forth, that may be executed by one or more processors on the computing system, whether such an executable component exists in the heap of a computing system, or whether the executable component exists on computer-readable storage media.
  • the structure of the executable component exists on a computer-readable medium in such a form that it is operable, when executed by one or more processors of the computing system, to cause the computing system to perform one or more functions, such as the functions and methods described herein.
  • a structure may be computer-readable directly by a processor — as is the case if the executable component were binary.
  • the structure may be structured to be interpretable and/or compiled — whether in a single stage or in multiple stages — so as to generate such binary that is directly interpretable by a processor.
  • a computer is generally understood to comprise one or more processors or one or more controllers, and the terms computer, processor, and controller may be employed interchangeably.
  • the functions may be provided by a single dedicated computer or processor or controller, by a single shared computer or processor or controller, or by a plurality of individual computers or processors or controllers, some of which may be shared or distributed.
  • the term “processor” or “controller” also refers to other hardware capable of performing such functions and/or executing software, such as the example hardware recited above.
  • the various exemplary embodiments may be implemented in hardware or special purpose chips, circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof.
  • some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device, although the disclosure is not limited thereto.
  • firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device, although the disclosure is not limited thereto.
  • While various aspects of the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure may be illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other pictorial representation, it is well understood that these blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in, as nonlimiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.
  • a computing system includes a user interface for use in communicating information from/to a user.
  • the user interface may include output mechanisms as well as input mechanisms.
  • output mechanisms might include, for instance, speakers, displays, tactile output, projections, holograms, and so forth.
  • Examples of input mechanisms might include, for instance, microphones, touchscreens, projections, holograms, cameras, keyboards, stylus, mouse, or other pointer input, sensors of any type, and so forth.
  • the terms “approximately,” “about,” and “substantially,” as used herein, represent an amount or condition close to the specific stated amount or condition that still performs a desired function or achieves a desired result.
  • the terms “approximately,” “about,” and “substantially” may refer to an amount or condition that deviates by less than 10%, or by less than 5%, or by less than 1%, or by less than 0.1%, or by less than 0.01% from a specifically stated amount or condition.
  • references to referents in the plural form does not necessarily require a plurality of such referents. Instead, it will be appreciated that independent of the inferred number of referents, one or more referents are contemplated herein unless stated otherwise.
  • references in the specification to "one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “an example embodiment,” and the like indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but it is not necessary that every embodiment includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.
  • first and second etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments.
  • the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed terms.
  • systems, devices, products, kits, methods, and/or processes, according to certain embodiments of the present disclosure may include, incorporate, or otherwise comprise properties or features (e.g., components, members, elements, parts, and/or portions) described in other embodiments disclosed and/or described herein. Accordingly, the various features of certain embodiments can be compatible with, combined with, included in, and/or incorporated into other embodiments of the present disclosure. Thus, disclosure of certain features relative to a specific embodiment of the present disclosure should not be construed as limiting application or inclusion of said features to the specific embodiment. Rather, it will be appreciated that other embodiments can also include said features, members, elements, parts, and/or portions without necessarily departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
  • any feature herein may be combined with any other feature of a same or different embodiment disclosed herein.
  • various well-known aspects of illustrative systems, methods, apparatus, and the like are not described herein in particular detail in order to avoid obscuring aspects of the example embodiments. Such aspects are, however, also contemplated herein.

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Abstract

Methods and systems are described for carrier phase-based positioning. Embodiments include novel signaling of assistance data for carrier phase-based positioning. The assistance data includes information elements on error sources that depends on what transmission or reception branch is used and/or the transmission angle of departure and/or the reception angle of arrival. The disclosed systems and methods allow for the sharing of knowledge of error sources in an antenna with a positioning algorithm without disclosing the antenna's implementation details, e.g., what precoders or beam angular patterns are used.

Description

ASSISTANCE DATA FOR CARRIER PHASE BASED POSITIONING
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED INFORMATION
[0001] This application claims the benefit of United States of America priority application No. 63/397,223 filed on August 11, 2022, titled “Assistance Data for Carrier Phase Based Positioning.”
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present disclosure generally relates to the technical field of wireless communications and more particularly to positioning techniques.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Positioning has been a topic for standardization since 3 GPP Release 9. In New Radio (NR), positioning was specified with the primary objective to fulfill regulatory requirements for emergency call positioning starting in Release 15, but enhancements in subsequent releases broadened the use cases range to high accuracy/low latency accuracy applications. Positioning in NR is supported by the architecture shown in Figure 1. System 5 comprises a user equipment (UE) 10 in communication with a NG-RAN base station 12, comprising ng-eNB (Evolved NodeB) 14 and gNB (NR base station) 13. The ng-eNB is a node providing E-UTRA (Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access) user plane and control plane protocol terminations towards the UE, and connected via the NG (Next Generation) interface to the 5GC (5th Generation core network). Both ng-eNB 14 and gNB 13 can communicate with AMF (Access and Mobility Management Function) 18. AMF 18 can communicate with LMF (Location Management Function) 15, which can communicate with E-SMLC (Evolved-Serving Mobile Location Centre) 17 and SLP (Service Location Protocol) 16. It should be noted that in some embodiments, gNB 13 and ng-eNB 14 may not always both be present, as shown. It should also be noted that when both gNB 13 and ng-eNB 14 are present, the NG-C interface is only present for one of them. LMF is the location node in NR. There are also interactions between the location node and the gNB 13 via the NRPPa protocol. The interactions between the gNB 13 and the UE 10 is supported via the Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol.
[0004] In the legacy LTE standards, the following techniques are supported: a. Enhanced Cell ID: Essentially cell ID (identification) information to associate the device to the serving area of a serving cell, and then additional information to determine a finer granularity position; b. Assisted GNSS: GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) information retrieved by the device, supported by assistance information provided to the device from E- SMLC; c. OTDOA (Observed Time Difference of Arrival): The device estimates the time difference of reference signals from different base stations and sends to the E- SMLC for multilateration; d. UTDOA (Uplink TDOA): The device is requested to transmit a specific waveform that is detected by multiple location measurement units (e.g., an eNB) at known positions. These measurements are forwarded to E-SMLC for multilateration; and e. Sensor methods: such as Biometric pressure sensor which provides vertical position of the device and Inertial Motion Unit (IMU) which provides displacement.
[0005] Furthermore, NR supports the below RAT (Radio Access Technology) Dependent positioning methods: a. DL-TDOA: The DL (downlink) TDOA positioning method makes use of the DL RSTD (Reference Signal Time Difference) and optionally DL PRS (Positioning Reference Signal) RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power) of downlink signals received from multiple TPs (transmission points), at the UE. The UE measures the DL RSTD (and optionally DL PRS RSRP) of the received signals using assistance data received from the positioning server, and the resulting measurements are used along with other configuration information to locate the UE in relation to the neighboring TPs; b. Multi-RTT: The Multi-RTT (Radio Transmission Technology) positioning method makes use of the UE Rx-Tx (reception-transmission) measurements and DL PRS RSRP of downlink signals received from multiple TRPs (transmission and reception points), measured by the UE and the measured gNB Rx-Tx measurements and UL SRS-RSRP (Uplink Sounding Reference Signal Received Signal Received Power) at multiple TRPs of uplink signals transmitted from UE; c. UL-TDOA: The UL TDOA positioning method makes use of the UL TDOA (and optionally UL SRS-RSRP) at multiple RPs (reception points) of uplink signals transmitted from UE. The RPs measure the UL TDOA (and optionally UL SRS- RSRP) of the received signals using assistance data received from the positioning server, and the resulting measurements are used along with other configuration information to estimate the location of the UE; d. DL-AoD: The DL AoD (angle of departure) positioning method makes use of the measured DL PRS RSRP of downlink signals received from multiple TPs, at the UE. The UE measures the DL PRS RSRP of the received signals using assistance data received from the positioning server, and the resulting measurements are used along with other configuration information to locate the UE in relation to the neighboring TPs; e. UL-AoA: The UL AoA (angle of arrival) positioning method makes use of the measured azimuth and zenith of arrival at multiple RPs (reception points) of uplink signals transmitted from the UE. The RPs measure A- AoA (azimuth AoA) and Z- AoA (zenith AoA) of the received signals using assistance data received from the positioning server, and the resulting measurements are used along with other configuration information to estimate the location of the UE; and f. NR-ECID: NR Enhanced Cell ID (NR ECID) positioning refers to techniques which use additional UE measurements and/or NR radio resource and other measurements to improve the UE location estimate.
[0006] The positioning modes can be categorized in the below three areas: a. UE- Assisted: The UE performs measurements with or without assistance from the network and sends these measurements to the E-SMLC or LMF where the position calculation may take place; b. UE-Based: The UE performs measurements and calculates its own position with assistance from the network; and c. Standalone: The UE performs measurements and calculates its own without network assistance. Beamforming
[0007] NR also operates in high frequency bands such as 28 GHz. In such high frequency bands, the radio links are highly susceptible to rapid channel variations and suffer from severe path loss. To address these challenges, base stations and mobile terminals in 5G will use highly directional antennas for beamforming to achieve sufficient link budget in a wide area network. Furthermore, NR support is expected to include the deployment of antenna elements organized in multiple-panels configuration, each one pointing towards a given direction in order to cover a different area.
[0008] Depending upon the possibility of generating and projecting a number of beams, three different beamforming architectures can be used. These architectures are as follows: a. Analog beamforming: This approach shapes the beam through a signal single radio frequency (RF) chain for all the antenna elements. The processing is done in analog domain and is possible to transmit/receive beam in only one direction at a time; b. Hybrid beamforming: This approach requires RF chains equivalent to the number of beams to be formed. An N RF chain hybrid beamformer can hence produce N beams and enables the transceiver to transmit/receive N analog beams in N simultaneous directions; and c. Digital beamforming: Unlike hybrid and analog beamforming architectures, digital beamforming technique requires a separate RF chain and data converters for each antenna element and allows processing of the received signals in the digital domain. Digital beamforming potentially allows transceivers to direct beams in infinite directions.
[0009] 3 GPP has also defined different antenna ports for transmitting different signals. Several signals can be transmitted from the same base station antenna from different antenna ports. These signals can have the same large-scale properties, for instance in terms of Doppler shift/spread, average delay spread, or average delay. These antenna ports are then said to be quasi co-located (QCL).
[00010] The network can then signal to the UE that two antenna ports are QCL. If the UE knows that two antenna ports are QCL with respect to a certain parameter, the UE can estimate that parameter based on one of the antenna ports and use that estimate when receiving the other antenna port. For instance, if antenna ports A and B are QCL with respect to average delay, the UE can estimate the average delay from the signal received from antenna port A (known as the source reference signal (RS)) and assume that the signal received from antenna port B (target RS) has the same average delay.
[00011] Information about what assumptions can be made regarding QCL is signaled to the UE from the network. In NR, four types of QCL relations between a transmitted source RS and transmitted target RS were defined: a. Type A: {Doppler shift, Doppler spread, average delay, delay spread} ; b. Type B: {Doppler shift, Doppler spread}; c. Type C: {average delay, Doppler shift}; and d. Type D: {Spatial Rx parameter} .
[00012] QCL type D was introduced to facilitate beam management with analog beamforming and is known as spatial QCL. QCL relations are conveyed using TCI (transmission configurator indicator) states.
GNSS Carrier Phase-Based Positioning
[00013] A GNSS receiver can measure two observables for each GNSS satellite: a. Pseudo range measurement: A time-of-arrival measurement that corresponds to the range to the satellite with an additional offset due to imperfect synchronization between the receiver and the satellite. The measurement includes other sources of errors too. b. Carrier phase observable: The carrier phase measurement is in the range [0-2zr] . It reflects the phase offset between the internal oscillator of the receiver and the incoming signal.
[00014] In high-precision GNSS, the carrier phase observable can be used to acquire very accurate range information.
NR Carrier phase-based positioning
[00015] In the Rel. 18 Study Item Description for Expanded and improved NR positioning (“RP-213561 New SID on Study on expanded and improved NR positioning,” 3GPP TSG RAN Meeting #94e), the objective below is stated: a. Study solutions for accuracy improvement based on NR carrier phase measurements [RAN 1 , RAN4] : i. Reference signals, physical layer measurements, physical layer procedures to enable positioning based on NR carrier phase measurements for both UE- based and UE-assisted positioning [RANI]; and ii. Focus on reuse of existing PRS and SRS, with new reference signals only considered if found necessary.
SUMMARY
[00016] One embodiment under the present disclosure comprises a method performed by a UE for communicating assistance data for carrier phase-based positioning. The method comprises transmitting information related to one or more potential error sources to a network component; and receiving assistance data on information related to one or more potential error sources from the network component..
[00017] Another embodiment under the present disclosure is a method performed by a network node (e.g., gNB) for communicating assistance data for carrier phase-based positioning. Steps of the method include transmitting information related to one or more node potential error sources to a network component.
[00018] Another embodiment under the present disclosure is a method performed by a network component (e.g., LMF) for communicating assistance data for carrier phase-based positioning. Steps include receiving information on one or more potential error sources related to phase offset from a UE; and receiving information on one or more potential node error sources related to phase offset from a network node.
[00019] This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an indication of the scope of the claimed subject matter. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[00020] For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
[00021] Fig. 1 illustrates an example of network architecture;
[00022] Fig. 2 illustrates a flow-chart of a method embodiment under the present disclosure;
[00023] Fig. 3 illustrates carrier phase measurement subject to a transmission phase offset and a receive phase offset;
[00024] Fig. 4 illustrates Rx phase offset c/)^ and Tx phase offset
Figure imgf000009_0001
amongst transceivers and receivers;
[00025] Fig. 5 illustrates a scenario where Tx phase offset depends on the AoD and the Rx phase offset depends on the AoA;
[00026] Fig. 6 illustrates an embodiment of a TRP Measurement Result IE under the present disclosure;
[00027] Fig. 7 illustrates an embodiment of a Phase Offset IE under the present disclosure;
[00028] Fig. 8 illustrates an embodiment of an information element for Phase Offset Information under the present disclosure;
[00029] Fig. 9 illustrates an embodiment of a measurement request message in NRPPa under the present disclosure;
[00030] Fig. 10 illustrates an embodiment of messaging from the gNB-CU to the gNB-DU in a Phase positioning Search Window Information under the present disclosure;
[00031] Fig. 11 illustrates an embodiment of ASN.1 messaging with LPP assistance data under the present disclosure;
[00032] Fig. 12 illustrates an embodiment of DL-AoD assistance data under the present disclosure;
[00033] Fig. 13 illustrates an embodiment of a NR-DL-PRS -Beaminfo information element under the present disclosure; [00034] Fig. 14 illustrates a flow-chart of a method embodiment under the present disclosure;
[00035] Fig. 15 illustrates a flow-chart of a method embodiment under the present disclosure;
[00036] Fig. 16 illustrates a flow-chart of a method embodiment under the present disclosure;
[00037] Fig. 17 shows a schematic of a communication system embodiment under the present disclosure;
[00038] Fig. 18 shows a schematic of a user equipment embodiment under the present disclosure;
[00039] Fig. 19 shows a schematic of a network node embodiment under the present disclosure;
[00040] Fig. 20 shows a schematic of a host embodiment under the present disclosure;
[00041] Fig. 21 shows a schematic of a virtualization environment embodiment under the present disclosure; and
[00042] Fig. 22 shows a schematic representation of an embodiment of communication amongst nodes, hosts, and user equipment under the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[00043] Before describing various embodiments of the present disclosure in detail, it is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the parameters of the particularly exemplified systems, methods, apparatus, products, processes, and/or kits, which may, of course, vary. Thus, while certain embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail, with reference to specific configurations, parameters, components, elements, etc., the descriptions are illustrative and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the claimed embodiments. In addition, the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing the embodiments and is not necessarily intended to limit the scope of the claimed embodiments.
[00044] There currently exist certain challenges in the technological systems described above. For example, GNSS carrier phase positioning has been used successfully for centimeter-level accuracy positioning but is limited to outdoor applications. One objective of the Rel. 18 SI is to investigate if carrier phase-based positioning can be implemented for NR with similar gains in both indoor and outdoor deployments. A carrier phase measurement of a receiver is the difference in phase between an incoming signal and an internal reference (oscillator) of the receiver.
[00045] In addition, the range between a transmitter and a receiver is N complete wavelengths (an integer) and a fraction of a wavelength. In line-of-sight conditions, a carrier phase measurement reflects the final fraction of a wavelength, which can be used for positioning. However, the measurement is subject to error terms that may need to be accounted for; otherwise, the measurement may be useless for positioning. Some error terms can be estimated or cancelled by the LMF using different techniques, but there can be other error sources for which this is not possible.
[00046] In particular, there can be error sources that depend on what Tx and/or Rx beams/branches that are used or the Tx AoD and the Rx AoA: a. With Tx/Rx beamforming, phase rotations are applied to antenna elements to, for instance, obtain a constructive beam gain in a specific direction. Such phase rotations will also create a phase rotation in the transmitted signals which is dependent on the transmitted signal direction (angle of departure) and can affect the carrier phase measurement. b. With antenna arrays the distances between individual antenna elements may cause an additional phase rotation that can affect the carrier phase measurement. c. During baseband processing for OFDM signals, I/Q phase imbalances may exist which may affect the carrier phase measurement.
[00047] These phase rotations are however not random and can be either tabulated or computed if the positioning algorithm has knowledge of the antenna’s configuration. In general, this is not possible since implementation of the antenna is proprietary.
[00048] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. Embodiments include novel signaling of assistance data for carrier phase-based positioning. The assistance data includes information elements on error sources that depends on what Tx/Rx branch is used and/or the Tx AoD and/or the Rx AoA. The disclosed systems and methods allow to share knowledge of error sources in an antenna with the positioning algorithm without disclosing the antenna’s implementation details, e.g., what precoders or beam angular patterns are used.
[00049] In the following description the term phase offset is used for an error source in units of degrees or radians. It should be noted that a phase offset is equivalent to a range offset, the latter can be obtained by multiplying the phase offset with the carrier wavelength. A Tx or Rx range offset of a UE or TRP can be expressed in e.g., meters. Alternatively, a range offset can be expressed as a spatial translation of the antenna reference point of the UE or TRP. This can be called "antenna phase center" or "phase center offset". It should be noted that the different expressions "phase offset", "range offset" and spatial displacement expressed as "antenna phase center" and "phase center offset" fundamentally express the same thing. Embodiments referencing one type of offset encompass other embodiments with alternative terminology.
[00050] Referring now to Figure 2, an example flow diagram is shown according to one embodiment. In some implementations, the system/method may perform the following steps: a. Steps 212/222: UE 210 and gNB 220 (gNB-DU in case of Fl split) identify the known error sources in terms of phase offset for the UL transmit and receive beams and DL transmit and receive beams. Further, known error sources which may influence the carrier phase measurements are reported at steps 235, 237; e.g. : phase offset variance, level of phase stability. Further, the assistance information which would assist for LMF 230 to take decisions are also provided; for example: gNB 220 to LMF 230 (e.g., DL PRS Resource ID, phase offset, AoD); b. Step 239: LMF 230 takes the action to mitigate the error; e.g., identifying the reference signal and the DL/UL beams to use for carrier phase measurements, apply corrections to carrier phase measurements using the provided assistance data on known error sources; and c. Step 240: Optionally for UE-based positioning; LMF 230 provides the necessary assistance data to UE 210 for carrier phase measurements containing the phase offset and uncertainty information.
[00051 ] Embodiments can provide various technical advantages. The assistance data enables the location function (LMF for network-based positioning or UE for UE-based positioning) to compensate for error sources that could otherwise render carrier phase measurements useless for positioning. This enables the location function to perform accurate carrier phase-based positioning.
[00052] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.
Carrier phase measurement model
[00053] Referring now to Figure 3, an example system 400 with carrier phase measurement subject to a transmission phase offset and a receive phase offset is shown that depends on Tx/Rx beam and Tx-AoD and Rx-AoA is shown. In the below discussion, the terms “Tx phase offset” or “transmission phase offset” may be used for c|)o, and the terms “Rx phase offset” or “receive phase offset” may be used for (|>i. Assume a link with one transmitter 410 and one receiver 430. The transmitted pass-band signal is given by:
Figure imgf000013_0001
where s(t) denotes the baseband signal and fc denotes the carrier frequency. The term c|)o is an offset due to Tx imperfect synchronization, it includes the RF phase-difference compared to an ideal oscillator. Assume line-of-sight (LOS) conditions and no multipath, the channel is: h(t) = 8(t - T0) (2) where TO = d/c is the transition delay, c the speed of light and d the length of the LOS path between transmitter 410 and receiver 430. The received passband-signal is the convolution:
Figure imgf000013_0002
After down-conversion, the received baseband signal is:
Figure imgf000013_0003
where the term 0X is an offset due to Rx imperfect synchronization, it includes the RF phasedifference compared to an ideal oscillator. A carrier phase measurement of this transmission will return the phase:
$ = —2nfcTQ + (< >o — i) + 2TT1V G [0, 2TT], N G Z. (5)
[00054] Above, the term 2nN corresponds to a modulus operation such that the measured phase is in the range [0, 2TT] . Differentiation schemes
[00055] For carrier-phase based positioning, it is the transmission delay T0 in Equation (5) which is of most interest. The offset terms 0O — 0i are preferably estimated or cancelled out for the measurement to be accurate. In a scenario with multiple transmitters and multiple receivers, this can be accomplished by differentiation, such as Rx phase difference, Tx phase difference, or double differentiation.
• Rx Phase difference: If the term (f>1 (which is due to the receiver RF offset) is the same for carrier phase measurements performed by one receiver from multiple transmitters, then can be canceled out if the phase difference between transmitters is computed, e.g., differentiating Eq. (5) between the transmitters.
• Tx Phase difference: If the term 0O (which is due to the transmitter RF offset) is the same for carrier phase measurements performed by multiple receivers from one transmitter, then 0O can be canceled out if the phase difference between receivers is computed, e.g., differentiating Eq. (5) between the receivers.
• Double differentiation: By combining the two differentiation methods above, a doubledifferentiation scheme can be obtained which results in all the unknown offsets being cancelled out.
Carrier Phase Offset Depending on Tx/Rx Beam and Tx-AoD and Rx-AoA
[00056] The differentiation schemes presented above use the following assumptions, illustrated in Figure 4. A first assumption is that, for one specific receiver, the Rx phase offset 0] is the same for received signals from all transmitters (i and j). A second assumption is that, for one specific transmitter, the Tx phase offset 0® is the same for transmitted signals to all receivers (k and K).
[00057] These are reasonable assumptions when both the Tx and Rx are isotropic. But when beamforming is considered, they can be incorrect. One example of this is shown in Figure 5, where the Tx phase offset depends on the AoD and the Rx phase offset depends on the AoA. This can happen for instance when precoders are applied or due to the placement of the transmitting or receiving antenna elements. For the first assumption, the consequence (of Tx and Rx not being isotropic) is that the Rx phase offset is different for received signals from transmitters at different AoA. For the second assumption, the consequence is that the Tx phase offset is different for transmitted signals to receivers at different AoD.
Assistance Data for Carrier Phase-Based Positioning
[00058] Considering both uplink and downlink carrier phase-based positioning and both a Tx phase offset, (/ 0, and a Rx phase offset,
Figure imgf000015_0001
there are in total four different phase offsets to consider. First, the downlink case is described where the Tx phase offset of the network TRPs and Rx phase offset of the UE are relevant. Then, the uplink case is described where the Tx phase offset of the UE and the Rx phase offset of network TRPs are relevant. Below, several embodiments are provided for both downlink and uplink scenarios.
Downlink Carrier Phase-Based Positioning
[00059] Regarding the downlink, four areas to discuss are: gNB signaling to LMF and UE; procedures and signaling between LMF (NW) and UE; NR-DL-PRS-Beaminfo information element; and UE signaling to LMF. gNB Signaling to LMF and UE
[00060] In this section, embodiments on signaling of assistance information related to Tx phase offset < >0 are provided. For network-based positioning, the assistance information proposed in the embodiments are signaled through NRPPa (New Radio Positioning Protocol A) protocol from gNB to LMF. In case of split gNB scenario, this information is also signaled over Fl AP (application protocol from gNB-DU (distributed unit) to gNB-CU (central unit)). For UE- based positioning, the assistance information is forwarded by LMF to the UE over LPP (LIE Positioning Protocol).
[00061 ] In one embodiment, the network gNBs reports a Tx phase offset information element. The Tx phase offset information can be provided in one of the following formats:
• A list of pairs {Angle-of-departure, Tx phase offset information};
• A list of pairs {DL PRS Resource Id, Tx phase offset information}; or
• A list of pairs {transmission beam identity, Tx phase offset information} . [00062] In one embodiment, the Tx phase offset information includes one or more of the following elements:
• Absolute Tx phase offset;
• Relative Tx phase offset: For instance, the phase offset for the broadside direction of the TRP can be considered as reference and the phase offsets for each other direction is relative to that;
• Tx phase offset uncertainty: The Tx phase offset uncertainty takes into account any errors in the gNB’s estimate of the Tx phase offset value. Together with the Tx phase offset, the Tx phase offset uncertainty provides a window to the LMF over which the actual Tx phase offset value will be located. For instance, the true Tx phase offset is somewhere in the window (Tx phase offset + Tx phase offset uncertainty );
• Minimum Tx phase offset and maximum Tx phase offset: Instead of providing Tx phase offset and Tx phase offset uncertainty, the minimum and maximum Tx phase offsets provides to the LMF a window over which the true Tx phase offset will be located; or
• Tx phase offset drift rate: As the Tx phase offset may vary over time, the drift rate can provide information of how it varies over time.
[00063] In one embodiment, the Tx phase offset information is provided for each transmission point (TP). In another embodiment, the Tx phase offset information is provided for a subset of all TPs. In yet another embodiment, if a Tx phase offset information has been provided for one TP but not for a second TP, then it can be indicated that the Tx phase offset information provided for the first TP applies also for the second TP.
[00064] The Tx phase offset information may be time-varying due to component instability, temperature, etc. In one embodiment, the Tx phase offset information provided in one of the previously mentioned formats can be updated/corrected by a Tx phase offset information update message, where the correction term is to be added/subtracted to the last received Tx phase offset information. In some other embodiments, the Tx phase offset value(s) may be provided as a function of AoD, and the Tx phase offset uncertainty value may be common to all AoDs.
[00065] Figures 6 to 10 show examples of NRPPa signaling that may be used by a gNB. While embodiments are mainly described with respect to NRPPa, all NRPPa embodiments can be supported over Fl AP TS 38.473. [00066] In one embodiment, without loss of generality, the signaling from the gNBs/TRPs to the LMF of the expected phase offset value(s) and expected phase offset uncertainly value(s), or as maximum and minimum value(s) of phase offset, can be achieved as new indications in the MEASUREMENT RESPONSE message in NRPPa, within the TRP Measurement Result IE. This is illustrated in the embodiment of Figure 6. Figure 6 shows the TRP Measurement Result IE as defined in TS 38.455, Sec. 9.2.37. As can be seen, phase offset information can be included in the final row. Alternatively, a Phase Offset IE can be used to communicate phase offset information. An embodiment of a Phase Offset IE is shown in Figure 7. Either the top three rows or the bottom two rows above are to be considered for signaling.
[00067] In another embodiment the phase offset information is provided with either coarse values only; or as "coarse" + optional "fine" values. Or fine values only. Figure 8 shows an example of an information element for Phase Offset Information with coarse and fine values. An example, without loss of generality, is considering 360 coarse values with fine values in 1 degree resolution.
[00068] In one embodiment, supplementary information is signaled over the Fl AP protocol from the gNB-DU, where the TRPs are hosted, to the gNB-CU, termination point of NRPPa, with the phase offset information.
[00069] In another embodiment, without loss of generality, the signaling of the assistance information for the carrier phase positioning including the phase offset value and uncertainty range to be used for the measurement by the gNB/TRPs, can be achieved as new indications in the measurement request message in NRPPa. Such an example is shown in Figure 9. This message can be sent by the LMF to the NG-RAN node to request the NG-RAN node to configure a positioning measurement.
[00070] In another embodiment, illustrated in Figure 10, supplementary information is signalled over the F1AP protocol from the gNB-CU to the gNB-DU in a Phase positioning Search Window Information. Either the top three rows or the bottom two rows above are to be considered for signaling. Procedures and Signaling Between LMF (NW) and UE
[00071] Figure 11 shows an ASN.l (Abstract Syntax Notation One) example embodiment where LPP assistance data (AD) is provided from LMF to UE for carrier phase measurements. The phase offset and uncertainty can be provided:
• per TRP;
• per resource set; and
• per resource.
As seen in Figure 11 , the phase offset is initial phase offset when the procedure has started; whereas the expected phase offset provides a drift rate of the phase offset (i.e., it captures the phase offset variation with respect to time). The embodiment in Figure 11 shows phase offset and uncertainty provided per TRP.
[00072] The assistance data for carrier phase measurements can also be provided along with DL-AoD assistance data, as seen in the embodiment in Figure 12. Figure 12 shows an embodiment of DL-AoD assistance data, with the assistance data included in beam information.
NR-DL-PRS -Beaminfo
[00073] The information element (IE) NR-DL-PRS -Beaminfo can be used by the location server to provide spatial direction information of the DL-PRS Resources. An example embodiment of an NR-DL-PRS -Beaminfo IE is shown in Figure 13. As can be seen in Figure 13, assistance data can include phase offset, phase offset uncertainty, and phase offset draft rate. The NR-DL-PRS-Beamlnfo IE can be relayed also by lower layers such as using RRC for UL only positioning method and for latency reduction using a combination of RRC and MAC CE such that RRC provides the pre-configurations and MAC CE activates/deactivates one of the preconfigured configurations.
UE Signaling to LMF
[00074] In this section, possible embodiments on signaling of information related to Rx phase offset
Figure imgf000018_0001
are provided. For network-based positioning, the signaling proposed in the embodiments are signaled through LPP protocol. For UE-based positioning, the signaling may not be needed. [00075] In one embodiment, the UE reports to the LMF a Rx phase offset information element. The Rx phase offset information can be provided in one of the following formats: a. A list of pairs {Angle-of-arrival, Rx phase offset information}; b. A list of pairs {DL PRS Resource Id, Rx phase offset information}; c. A list of pairs {receive beam identity, Rx phase offset information}; and d. A list of pairs {antenna panel identity, Rx phase offset information} .
[00076] In one embodiment, the Rx phase offset information includes one or more of the following elements: a. Absolute Rx phase offset; b. Relative Rx phase offset: The phase offset is provided relative to a reference phase offset. For instance, the reported phase offset for a specific angle-of-arrival is zero and the phase offsets for each other direction is relative to that; c. Rx phase offset uncertainty: The Rx phase offset uncertainty takes into account any errors in the UE’s estimate of the Rx phase offset value. Together with the Rx phase offset, the Rx phase offset uncertainty provides a window to the LMF over which the actual Rx phase offset value will be located. For instance, the true Rx phase offset is somewhere in the window (Rx phase offset + Rx phase offset uncertainty ,- d. Minimum Rx phase offset and maximum Rx phase offset: Instead of providing Rx phase offset and Rx phase offset uncertainly, the minimum and maximum Rx phase offsets provides to the LMF a window over which the true Rx phase offset will be located; e. Rx phase offset drift rate: As the Rx phase offset may vary over time, the drift rate can provide information of how it varies over time.
[00077] In some other embodiments, the Rx phase offset value(s) may be provided as a function of AoA, and the phase offset uncertainty value may be common to all AoAs.
[00078] The Rx phase offset information may be time- varying due to component instability, temperature, etc. In one embodiment, the Rx phase offset information provided in one of the previously mentioned formats can be updated/corrected by a Rx phase offset information update message, where the correction term is to be added/ subtracted to the last received Rx phase offset information.
Uplink Carrier Phase-Based Positioning
[00079] Regarding the uplink, two areas to discuss are: UE signaling to LMF; and gNB signaling to LMF.
UE Signaling to LMF
[00080] In this section, embodiments on signaling of assistance information related to Tx phase offset < >0 of the UE are provided. The assistance information proposed in the embodiments can be signaled through the LPP protocol.
[00081] In one embodiment, the UE reports to the LMF a Tx phase offset information element. The Tx phase offset information can be provided in one of the following formats: a. A list of pairs {Angle-of-departure, Tx phase offset information}; b. A list of pairs {UL SRS Resource Id, Tx phase offset information} ; c. A list of pairs {transmission beam index, Tx phase offset information}; and d. A list of pairs {transmission antenna panel identity, Tx phase offset information}.
[00082] In one embodiment, the Tx phase offset information includes one or more of the following elements: a. Absolute Tx phase offset; b. Relative Tx phase offset: The phase offset is provided relative to a reference phase offset. For instance, the reported Tx phase offset for a specific angle-of-departure is zero and the Tx phase offsets for each other direction is relative to that; c. Tx phase offset uncertainty: The Tx phase offset uncertainty takes into account any errors in the UE’s estimate of the Tx phase offset value. Together with the Tx phase offset, the Tx phase offset uncertainty provides a window to the LMF over which the actual Tx phase offset value will be located. For instance, the true Tx phase offset is somewhere in the window (Tx phase of f set +
Tx phase offset uncertainty ,- d. Minimum Tx phase offset and maximum Tx phase offset: Instead of providing Tx phase offset and Tx phase offset uncertainly, the minimum and maximum Tx phase offsets provides to the LMF a window over which the true Tx phase offset will be located; e. Tx phase offset drift rate: As the Tx phase offset may vary over time, the drift rate can provide information of how it varies over time.
[00083] The Tx phase offset information may be time-varying due to component instability, temperature, etc. In one embodiment, the Tx phase offset information provided in one of the previously mentioned formats can be updated/corrected by a Tx phase offset information update message, where the correction term is to be added/subtracted to the last received Tx phase offset information. In some other embodiments, expected Tx phase offset value(s) may be provided as a function of AoD, and expected phase offset uncertainty value may be common to all AoDs. gNB signaling to LMF
[00084] In this section, embodiments on signaling of assistance information related to Rx phase offset
Figure imgf000021_0001
are provided. The assistance information proposed in the embodiments can be signaled through NRPPa protocol. In embodiments with a split gNB scenario, this information can also be signaled over Fl AP protocol.
[00085] In one embodiment, the network gNBs reports a Rx phase offset information element. The Rx phase offset information can be provided in one of the following formats: a. A list of pairs {Angle-of-arrival, Rx phase offset information}; b. A list of pairs {UL SRS Resource Id, Rx phase offset information}; and c. A list of pairs {receive beam identity, Rx phase offset information}.
[00086] In one embodiment, the Rx phase offset information includes one or more of the following elements: a. Absolute Rx phase offset; b. Relative Rx phase offset: For instance, the phase offset for the broadside direction of the TRP can be considered as reference and the phase offsets for each other direction is relative to that; c. Rx phase offset uncertainty: The Rx phase offset uncertainty takes into account any errors in the gNB’s estimate of the Rx phase offset value. Together with the Rx phase offset, the Rx phase offset uncertainty provides a window to the LMF over which the actual Rx phase offset value will be located. For instance, the true Rx phase offset is somewhere in the window Rx phase offset + Rx phase offset uncertainty ); d. Minimum Rx phase offset and maximum Rx phase offset: Instead of providing Rx phase offset and Rx phase offset uncertainty, the minimum and maximum Rx phase offsets provides to the LMF a window over which the true Rx phase offset will be located; and e. Rx phase offset drift rate: As the Rx phase offset may vary over time, the drift rate can provide information of how it varies over time.
[00087] In one embodiment, the Rx phase offset information is provided for each TP. In another embodiment, the Rx phase offset information is provided for a subset of all TPs. In yet another embodiment, if a Rx phase offset information has been provided for one TP but not for a second TP, then it can be indicated that the Rx phase offset information provided for the first TP applies also for the second TP.
[00088] The Rx phase offset information may be time- varying due to component instability, temperature, etc. In one embodiment, the Rx phase offset information provided in one of the previously mentioned formats can be updated/corrected by a Rx phase offset information update message, where the correction term is to be added/ subtracted to the last received Rx phase offset information. In some other embodiments, the Rx phase offset value(s) may be provided as a function of AoA, and the Rx phase offset uncertainty value may be common to all angles-of- arrival.
Additional Embodiments
[00089] Figure 14 displays a possible method embodiment 1600 under the present disclosure. Method 1600 is a method performed by a UE for communicating assistance data for carrier phase-based positioning. Step 1610 is transmitting information related to one or more potential error sources to a network component. Step 1620 is receiving assistance data on information related to one or more potential error sources from the network component. Method 1600 can comprise multiple variations and embodiments and/or additional and/or alternative steps.
[00090] Figure 15 displays another possible method embodiment 1800 under the present disclosure. Method 1800 is a method performed by a network node (e.g., gNB) for communicating assistance data for carrier phase-based positioning. Step 1810 is transmitting information related to one or more node potential error sources to a network component. Method 1800 can comprise multiple alternative embodiments with additional or alternative steps.
[00091] Figure 16 displays another possible method embodiment 2000 under the present disclosure. Method 2000 is a method performed by a network component (e.g., LMF) for communicating assistance data for carrier phase-based positioning. Step 2010 is receiving information on one or more potential error sources related to phase offset from a user equipment, UE. Step 2020 is receiving information on one or more potential node error sources related to phase offset from a network node. Method 2000 can comprise multiple alternative embodiments with additional or alternative steps. For example, method 2000 can further comprise transmitting the assistance data to one or more UEs.
[00092] Figure 18 shows an example of a communication system 2100 in accordance with some embodiments. In the example, the communication system 2100 includes a telecommunication network 2102 that includes an access network 2104, such as a RAN, and a core network 2106, which includes one or more core network nodes 2108. The access network 2104 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 2110a and 2110b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 2110), or any other similar 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access node or non-3GPP access point. The network nodes 2110 facilitate direct or indirect connection of UE, such as by connecting UEs 2112a, 2112b, 2112c, and 2112d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 2112) to the core network 2106 over one or more wireless connections.
[00093] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 1100 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and/or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and/or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 2100 may include and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and/or other similar type of system.
[00094] The UEs 2112 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 2110 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 2110 are arranged, capable, configured, and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 2112 and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 2102 to enable and/or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and/or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 2102.
[00095] In the depicted example, the core network 2106 connects the network nodes 2110 to one or more hosts, such as host 2116. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 2106 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 2108) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and/or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 2108. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and/or a User Plane Function (UPF).
[00096] The host 2116 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 2104 and/or the telecommunication network 2102, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 2116 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio/video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote 1 devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.
[00097] As a whole, the communication system 2100 of Figure 18 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and/or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and/or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z- Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and/or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.
[00098] In some examples, the telecommunication network 2102 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 2102 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 2102. For example, the telecommunications network 2102 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and/or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC)ZMassive loT services to yet further UEs.
[00099] In some examples, the UEs 2112 are configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 2104 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 2104. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).
[000100] In the example, the hub 2114 communicates with the access network 2104 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 2112c and/or 2112d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 2110b). In some examples, the hub 2114 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 2114 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 2106 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 2114 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 2110, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 2114. As another example, the hub 2114 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 2114 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 2114 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 2114 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and/or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 2114 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular in if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.
[000101] The hub 2114 may have a constant/persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 2110b. The hub 2114 may also allow for a different communication scheme and/or schedule between the hub 2114 and UEs (e.g., UE 2112c and/or 2112d), and between the hub 2114 and the core network 2106. In other examples, the hub 2114 is connected to the core network 2106 and/or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 2114 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 1104 and/or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 2110 while still connected via the hub 2114 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 2114 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to/from the UEs from/to the network node 2110b. In other embodiments, the hub 2114 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 2110b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and/or end point for certain data channels.
[000102] Figure 19 shows a UE 2200 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and/or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded/integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and/or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.
[000103] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3 GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to- everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and/or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).
[000104] The UE 2200 includes processing circuitry 2202 that is operatively coupled via a bus 2204 to an input/output interface 2206, a power source 2208, a memory 2210, a communication interface 2212, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 10. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.
[000105] The processing circuitry 2202 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine- readable computer programs in the memory 2210. The processing circuitry 2202 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 2202 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).
[000106] In the example, the input/output interface 2206 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and/or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 2200. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presencesensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.
[000107] In some embodiments, the power source 2208 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source 2208 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 2208 itself, and/or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 2200 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 2208. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 2208 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 2200 to which power is supplied.
[000108] The memory 2210 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 2210 includes one or more application programs 2214, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 2216. The memory 2210 may store, for use by the UE 2200, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.
[000109] The memory 2210 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD- DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and/or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory 2210 may allow the UE 2200 to access instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 2210, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.
[000110] The processing circuitry 2202 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 2212. The communication interface 2212 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 2222. The communication interface 2212 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 2218 and/or a receiver 2220 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 2218 and receiver 2220 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 2222) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.
[000111] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 2212 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and/or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LIE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.
[000112] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 2212, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).
[000113] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.
[000114] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door/window sensor, a flood/moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and/or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 2200 shown in Figure 10.
[000115] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and/or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and/or measurements to another UE and/or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3 GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3 GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and/or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.
[000116] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and/or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.
[000117] Figure 20 shows a network node 3300 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and/or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)).
[000118] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units and/or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).
[000119] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSRBSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell/multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and/or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).
[000120] The network node 3300 includes a processing circuitry 3302, a memory 3304, a communication interface 3306, and a power source 3308. The network node 3300 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 3300 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 1300 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 3304 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 3310 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 3300 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 1300, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 1300. [000121] The processing circuitry 3302 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and/or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 3300 components, such as the memory 3304, to provide network node 3300 functionality.
[000122] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 3302 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 3302 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 3312 and baseband processing circuitry 3314. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 3312 and the baseband processing circuitry 3314 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 3312 and baseband processing circuitry 3314 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.
[000123] The memory 3304 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), readonly memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and/or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 3302. The memory 3304 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and/or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 3302 and utilized by the network node 3300. The memory 3304 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 3302 and/or any data received via the communication interface 3306. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 3302 and memory 3304 is integrated.
[000124] The communication interface 3306 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and/or data between a network node, access network, and/or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 3306 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) 3316 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 3306 also includes radio front-end circuitry 3318 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 3310. Radio front-end circuitry 3318 comprises filters 3320 and amplifiers 3322. The radio front-end circuitry 3318 may be connected to an antenna 3310 and processing circuitry 3302. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 3310 and processing circuitry 3302. The radio front-end circuitry 3318 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 3318 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 3320 and/or amplifiers 3322. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 3310. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 3310 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 3318. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 3302. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.
[000125] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 3300 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 3318, instead, the processing circuitry 3302 includes radio frontend circuitry and is connected to the antenna 3310. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 3312 is part of the communication interface 3306. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 3306 includes one or more ports or terminals 3316, the radio front-end circuitry 3318, and the RF transceiver circuitry 3312, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 3306 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 3314, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).
[000126] The antenna 3310 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals. The antenna 3310 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 3318 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 3310 is separate from the network node 3300 and connectable to the network node 3300 through an interface or port.
[000127] The antenna 3310, communication interface 3306, and/or the processing circuitry 3302 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and/or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and/or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 3310, the communication interface 3306, and/or the processing circuitry 3302 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and/or any other network equipment.
[000128] The power source 3308 provides power to the various components of network node 3300 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 3308 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 3300 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 3300 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 3308. As a further example, the power source 3308 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.
[000129] Embodiments of the network node 3300 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 20 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and/or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 3300 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 3300 and to allow output of information from the network node 3300. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 3300.
[000130] Figure 21 is a block diagram of a host 4400, which may be an embodiment of the host 2116 of Figure 18, in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, the host 4400 may be or comprise various combinations hardware and/or software, including a standalone server, a blade server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, a virtual machine, container, or processing resources in a server farm. The host 4400 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.
[000131 ] The host 4400 includes processing circuitry 4402 that is operatively coupled via a bus 4404 to an input/output interface 4406, a network interface 4408, a power source 4410, and a memory 4412. Other components may be included in other embodiments. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the devices of previous figures, such as Figures 19 and 20, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of host 4400.
[000132] The memory 4412 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 4414 and data 4416, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for the host 4400 or data generated by the host 4400 for a UE. Embodiments of the host 4400 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs 4414 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (WC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., FLAC, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for multiple different classes, types, or implementations of UEs (e.g., handsets, desktop computers, wearable display systems, heads-up display systems). The host application programs 4414 may also provide for user authentication and licensing checks and may periodically report health, routes, and content availability to a central node, such as a device in or on the edge of a core network. Accordingly, the host 4400 may select and/or indicate a different host for over-the-top services for a UE. The host application programs 4414 may support various protocols, such as the HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol, Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH), etc.
[000133] Figure 22 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 5500 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 5500 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. [000134] Applications 5502 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment 5500 to implement some of the features, functions, and/or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.
[000135] Hardware 5504 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and/or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and/or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input/output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 5506 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 5508a and 5508b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 5508), and/or perform any of the functions, features and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 5506 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 5508.
[000136] The VMs 5508 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 5506. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 5502 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 5508, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.
[000137] In the context of NFV, a VM 5508 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 5508, and that part of hardware 5504 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and/or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 5508 on top of the hardware 5504 and corresponds to the application 5502.
[000138] Hardware 5504 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 5504 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 5504 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g., such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 5510, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 5502. In some embodiments, hardware 5504 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 5512 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.
[000139] Figure 23 shows a communication diagram of a host 6602 communicating via a network node 6604 with a UE 6606 over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments. Example implementations, in accordance with various embodiments, of the UE (such as a UE 2112a of Figure 18 and/or UE 2200 of Figure 19), network node (such as network node 2110a of Figure 18 and/or network node 3300 of Figure 20), and host (such as host 2116 of Figure 18 and/or host 4400 of Figure 21) discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to Figure 23.
[000140] Like host 4400, embodiments of host 6602 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. The host 6602 also includes software, which is stored in or accessible by the host 6602 and executable by the processing circuitry. The software includes a host application that may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as the UE 6606 connecting via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 6650 extending between the UE 6606 and host 6602. In providing the service to the remote user, a host application may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 6650.
[000141] The network node 6604 includes hardware enabling it to communicate with the host 6602 and UE 6606. The connection 6660 may be direct or pass through a core network (like core network 2106 of Figure 18) and/or one or more other intermediate networks, such as one or more public, private, or hosted networks. For example, an intermediate network may be a backbone network or the Internet.
[000142] The UE 6606 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by UE 6606 and executable by the UE’s processing circuitry. The software includes a client application, such as a web browser or operator-specific “app” that may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via UE 6606 with the support of the host 6602. In the host 6602, an executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via the OTT connection 6650 terminating at the UE 6606 and host 6602. In providing the service to the user, the UE's client application may receive request data from the host's host application and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 6650 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The UE's client application may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides to the host application through the OTT connection 6650.
[000143] The OTT connection 6650 may extend via a connection 6660 between the host 6602 and the network node 6604 and via a wireless connection 6670 between the network node 6604 and the UE 6606 to provide the connection between the host 6602 and the UE 6606. The connection 6660 and wireless connection 6670, over which the OTT connection 6650 may be provided, have been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host 6602 and the UE 1606 via the network node 6604, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.
[000144] As an example of transmitting data via the OTT connection 6650, in step 6608, the host 6602 provides user data, which may be performed by executing a host application. In some embodiments, the user data is associated with a particular human user interacting with the UE 6606. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with a UE 6606 that shares data with the host 6602 without explicit human interaction. In step 6610, the host 6602 initiates a transmission carrying the user data towards the UE 6606. The host 6602 may initiate the transmission responsive to a request transmitted by the UE 6606. The request may be caused by human interaction with the UE 6606 or by operation of the client application executing on the UE 6606. The transmission may pass via the network node 6604, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Accordingly, in step 6612, the network node 6604 transmits to the UE 6606 the user data that was carried in the transmission that the host 6602 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 6614, the UE 6606 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executed on the UE 6606 associated with the host application executed by the host 6602. [000145] In some examples, the UE 6606 executes a client application which provides user data to the host 6602. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to the data received from the host 6602. Accordingly, in step 6616, the UE 6606 may provide user data, which may be performed by executing the client application. In providing the user data, the client application may further consider user input received from the user via an input/output interface of the UE 6606. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE 6606 initiates, in step 6618, transmission of the user data towards the host 6602 via the network node 6604. In step 6620, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the network node 6604 receives user data from the UE 6606 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards the host 6602. In step 6622, the host 6602 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the UE 6606.
[000146] One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 6606 using the OTT connection 6650, in which the wireless connection 6670 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve the data rate, latency, and/or power consumption and thereby provide benefits such as reduced user waiting time, relaxed restriction on file size, improved content resolution, better responsiveness, and/or extended battery lifetime.
[000147] In an example scenario, factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host 6602. As another example, the host 6602 may process audio and video data which may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating maps. As another example, the host 6602 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights). As another example, the host 6602 may store surveillance video uploaded by a UE. As another example, the host 6602 may store or control access to media content such as video, audio, VR or AR which it can broadcast, multicast or unicast to UEs. As other examples, the host 6602 may be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time critical electrical load to balance power generation needs, location services, presentation services (such as compiling diagrams etc. from data collected from remote devices), or any other function of collecting, retrieving, storing, analyzing and/or transmitting data.
[000148] In some examples, a measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve. There may further be an optional network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 6650 between the host 6602 and UE 6606, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection may be implemented in software and hardware of the host 6602 and/or UE 6606. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection 6650 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or supplying values of other physical quantities from which software may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection 6650 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly alter the operation of the network node 6604. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like, by the host 6602. The measurements may be implemented in that software causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 6650 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.
[000149] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and/or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and/or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and/or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.
[000150] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and/or by end users and a wireless network generally.
[000151] It will be appreciated that computer systems are increasingly taking a wide variety of forms. In this description and in the claims, the terms “controller,” “computer system,” or “computing system” are defined broadly as including any device or system — or combination thereof — that includes at least one physical and tangible processor and a physical and tangible memory capable of having thereon computer-executable instructions that may be executed by a processor. By way of example, not limitation, the term “computer system” or “computing system,” as used herein is intended to include personal computers, desktop computers, laptop computers, tablets, hand-held devices (e.g., mobile telephones, PDAs, pagers), microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, multi-processor systems, network PCs, distributed computing systems, datacenters, message processors, routers, switches, and even devices that conventionally have not been considered a computing system, such as wearables (e.g., glasses).
[000152] The computing system also has thereon multiple structures often referred to as an “executable component.” For instance, the memory of a computing system can include an executable component. The term “executable component” is the name for a structure that is well understood to one of ordinary skill in the art in the field of computing as being a structure that can be software, hardware, or a combination thereof. For instance, when implemented in software, one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that the structure of an executable component may include software objects, routines, methods, and so forth, that may be executed by one or more processors on the computing system, whether such an executable component exists in the heap of a computing system, or whether the executable component exists on computer-readable storage media. The structure of the executable component exists on a computer-readable medium in such a form that it is operable, when executed by one or more processors of the computing system, to cause the computing system to perform one or more functions, such as the functions and methods described herein. Such a structure may be computer-readable directly by a processor — as is the case if the executable component were binary. Alternatively, the structure may be structured to be interpretable and/or compiled — whether in a single stage or in multiple stages — so as to generate such binary that is directly interpretable by a processor.
[000153] The terms “component,” “service,” “engine,” “module,” “control,” “generator,” or the like may also be used in this description. As used in this description and in this case, these terms — whether expressed with or without a modifying clause — are also intended to be synonymous with the term “executable component” and thus also have a structure that is well understood by those of ordinary skill in the art of computing.
[000154] In terms of computer implementation, a computer is generally understood to comprise one or more processors or one or more controllers, and the terms computer, processor, and controller may be employed interchangeably. When provided by a computer, processor, or controller, the functions may be provided by a single dedicated computer or processor or controller, by a single shared computer or processor or controller, or by a plurality of individual computers or processors or controllers, some of which may be shared or distributed. Moreover, the term “processor” or “controller” also refers to other hardware capable of performing such functions and/or executing software, such as the example hardware recited above.
[000155] In general, the various exemplary embodiments may be implemented in hardware or special purpose chips, circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. For example, some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device, although the disclosure is not limited thereto. While various aspects of the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure may be illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other pictorial representation, it is well understood that these blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in, as nonlimiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.
[000156] While not all computing systems require a user interface, in some embodiments a computing system includes a user interface for use in communicating information from/to a user. The user interface may include output mechanisms as well as input mechanisms. The principles described herein are not limited to the precise output mechanisms or input mechanisms as such will depend on the nature of the device. However, output mechanisms might include, for instance, speakers, displays, tactile output, projections, holograms, and so forth. Examples of input mechanisms might include, for instance, microphones, touchscreens, projections, holograms, cameras, keyboards, stylus, mouse, or other pointer input, sensors of any type, and so forth.
Abbreviations and Defined Terms
[000157] To assist in understanding the scope and content of this written description and the appended claims, a select few terms are defined directly below. Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains.
[000158] The terms “approximately,” “about,” and “substantially,” as used herein, represent an amount or condition close to the specific stated amount or condition that still performs a desired function or achieves a desired result. For example, the terms “approximately,” “about,” and “substantially” may refer to an amount or condition that deviates by less than 10%, or by less than 5%, or by less than 1%, or by less than 0.1%, or by less than 0.01% from a specifically stated amount or condition.
[000159] Various aspects of the present disclosure, including devices, systems, and methods may be illustrated with reference to one or more embodiments or implementations, which are exemplary in nature. As used herein, the term “exemplary” means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration,” and should not necessarily be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments disclosed herein. In addition, reference to an “implementation” of the present disclosure or embodiments includes a specific reference to one or more embodiments thereof, and vice versa, and is intended to provide illustrative examples without limiting the scope of the present disclosure, which is indicated by the appended claims rather than by the present description.
[000160] As used in the specification, a word appearing in the singular encompasses its plural counterpart, and a word appearing in the plural encompasses its singular counterpart, unless implicitly or explicitly understood or stated otherwise. Thus, it will be noted that, as used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. For example, reference to a singular referent (e.g., “a widget”) includes one, two, or more referents unless implicitly or explicitly understood or stated otherwise. Similarly, reference to a plurality of referents should be interpreted as comprising a single referent and/or a plurality of referents unless the content and/or context clearly dictate otherwise. For example, reference to referents in the plural form (e.g., “widgets”) does not necessarily require a plurality of such referents. Instead, it will be appreciated that independent of the inferred number of referents, one or more referents are contemplated herein unless stated otherwise.
[000161] References in the specification to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "an example embodiment," and the like indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but it is not necessary that every embodiment includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.
[000162] It shall be understood that although the terms "first" and "second" etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed terms.
[000163] It will be further understood that the terms "comprises", "comprising", "has", "having", "includes" and/or "including", when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and/or components etc., but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and/ or combinations thereof.
Conclusion
[000164] The present disclosure includes any novel feature or combination of features disclosed herein either explicitly or any generalization thereof. Various modifications and 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. However, any and all modifications will still fall within the scope of the non-limiting and exemplary embodiments of this disclosure.
[000165] It is understood that for any given component or embodiment described herein, any of the possible candidates or alternatives listed for that component may generally be used individually or in combination with one another, unless implicitly or explicitly understood or stated otherwise. Additionally, it will be understood that any list of such candidates or alternatives is merely illustrative, not limiting, unless implicitly or explicitly understood or stated otherwise.
[000166] In addition, unless otherwise indicated, numbers expressing quantities, constituents, distances, or other measurements used in the specification and claims are to be understood as being modified by the term “about,” as that term is defined herein. Accordingly, unless indicated to the contrary, the numerical parameters set forth in the specification and attached claims are approximations that may vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by the subject matter presented herein. At the very least, and not as an attempt to limit the application of the doctrine of equivalents to the scope of the claims, each numerical parameter should at least be construed in light of the number of reported significant digits and by applying ordinary rounding techniques. Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameters setting forth the broad scope of the subject matter presented herein are approximations, the numerical values set forth in the specific examples are reported as precisely as possible. Any numerical values, however, inherently contain certain errors necessarily resulting from the standard deviation found in their respective testing measurements.
[000167] Any headings and subheadings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are not meant to be used to limit the scope of the description or the claims. The terms and expressions which have been employed herein are used as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention in the use of such terms and expressions of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, but it is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the present disclosure. Thus, it should be understood that although the present disclosure has been specifically disclosed in part by certain embodiments, and optional features, modification and variation of the concepts herein disclosed may be resorted to by those skilled in the art, and such modifications and variations are considered to be within the scope of this present description.
[000168] It will also be appreciated that systems, devices, products, kits, methods, and/or processes, according to certain embodiments of the present disclosure may include, incorporate, or otherwise comprise properties or features (e.g., components, members, elements, parts, and/or portions) described in other embodiments disclosed and/or described herein. Accordingly, the various features of certain embodiments can be compatible with, combined with, included in, and/or incorporated into other embodiments of the present disclosure. Thus, disclosure of certain features relative to a specific embodiment of the present disclosure should not be construed as limiting application or inclusion of said features to the specific embodiment. Rather, it will be appreciated that other embodiments can also include said features, members, elements, parts, and/or portions without necessarily departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
[000169] Moreover, unless a feature is described as requiring another feature in combination therewith, any feature herein may be combined with any other feature of a same or different embodiment disclosed herein. Furthermore, various well-known aspects of illustrative systems, methods, apparatus, and the like are not described herein in particular detail in order to avoid obscuring aspects of the example embodiments. Such aspects are, however, also contemplated herein.
[000170] It will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that methods, devices, device elements, materials, procedures, and techniques other than those specifically described herein can be applied to the practice of the described embodiments as broadly disclosed herein without resort to undue experimentation. All art-known functional equivalents of methods, devices, device elements, materials, procedures, and techniques specifically described herein are intended to be encompassed by this present disclosure.
[000171] When a group of materials, compositions, components, or compounds is disclosed herein, it is understood that all individual members of those groups and all subgroups thereof are disclosed separately. When a Markush group or other grouping is used herein, all individual members of the group and all combinations and sub-combinations possible of the group are intended to be individually included in the disclosure.
[000172] The above-described embodiments are examples only. Alterations, modifications, and variations may be effected to the particular embodiments by those of skill in the art without departing from the scope of the description, which is defined solely by the appended claims.

Claims

CLAIMS What is claimed is:
1. A method performed by a user equipment for communicating assistance data for carrier phase-based positioning, the method comprising at least one of: transmitting information related to one or more potential error sources to a network component; and receiving assistance data on information related to one or more potential error sources from the network component.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the network component comprises a Location Management Function, LMF.
3. The method of any of claims 1 to 2, wherein the information related to one or more potential error sources comprises a reception phase offset information element.
4. The method of any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the information related to one or more potential error sources comprises at least one of the following formats: {angle of arrival, reception phase offset information} ; {downlink positioning reference signal resource identifier, reception phase offset information}; {receive beam identity, reception phase offset information}; {antenna panel identity, reception phase offset information} .
5. The method of claim 3 or 4, wherein the reception phase offset information comprises one or more of: absolute reception phase offset; relative reception phase offset; reception phase offset uncertainty; minimum reception phase offset; maximum reception phase offset; reception phase offset drift rate.
6. The method of any of claims 3 to 5, wherein the reception phase offset information comprises a function of angle of arrival.
7. The method of any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the one or more potential error sources is signaled through Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol, LPP.
8. The method of any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the information related to one or more potential error sources comprises a transmission phase offset information element.
9. The method of any of claims 1 to 3 or 8, wherein the information related to one or more potential error sources comprise at least one of the following formats of lists of pairs: {angle of departure, transmission phase offset information}; {uplink sounding reference signal identifier, transmission phase offset information}; {transmission beam index, transmission phase offset information} ; {transmission antenna panel identity, transmission phase offset information} .
10. The method of claims 8 or 9, wherein the transmission phase offset information comprises one or more of: absolute transmission phase offset; relative transmission phase offset; transmission phase offset uncertainty; minimum transmission phase offset; maximum transmission phase offset; transmission phase offset drift rate.
11. The method of any of claims 8 to 10, wherein the transmission phase offset information comprises a function of angle of departure.
12. The method of any of claims 1 to 2 or 8 to 11, wherein the one or more potential error sources is signaled through Long Term Evolution Positioning Protocol, LPP.
13. The method of any of claims 1 to 12, wherein at least one of the one or more potential error sources is time varying.
14. The method of any of claims 1 to 13, wherein the one or more potential error sources are combined by the network component with one or more potential node error sources related to phase offset and received from a network node so as to create assistance data to mitigate at least one of the one or more potential errors sources or the one or more potential node error sources.
15. The method of any of claims 1 to 14, further comprising identifying one or more potential error sources related to phase offset.
16. A method performed by a network node for communicating assistance data for carrier phase-based positioning, the method comprising: transmitting information related to one or more node potential error sources to a network component.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the network node comprises a base station in New Radio, gNB.
18. The method of claims 16 or 17, wherein the network component comprises a Location Management Function, LMF.
19. The method of any of claims 16 to 18, wherein the information related to one or more potential node error sources are signaled over at least one of: New Radio Positioning Protocol A, NRPPa; Fl application protocol, Fl AP.
20. The method of any of claims 16 to 19, wherein the information related to one or more potential node error sources comprises a reception phase offset information element.
21. The method of any of claims 16 to 20, wherein the information on one or more potential node error sources comprises a format of at least one of: a list of pairs {angle of arrival, reception phase offset information}; a list of pairs {uplink Sounding Reference Signal Resource identifier, reception phase offset information} ; a list of pairs {receive beam identity, reception phase offset information} .
22. The method of any of claims 15 to 21, wherein the information on one or more potential node error sources comprises at least one of: absolute reception phase offset; relative reception phase offset; reception phase offset uncertainty; minimum reception phase offset; maximum reception phase offset; reception phase offset drift rate.
23. The method of any of claims 15 to 22, wherein the information on one or more potential node error sources is provided for at least one of: each transmission reception point (TRP); a subset of all TRPs.
24. The method of claim 23, wherein if a reception phase offset information has been provided for a first TRP but not for a second TRP, then it can be indicated that the reception phase offset information provided for the first TRP applies also for the second transmission point.
25. The method of any of claims 15 to 24, wherein at least one of the information related to one or more potential node error sources is at least one of: time-varying; a function of angle of arrival.
26. The method of claim 17, wherein the gNB comprises a distributed unit, gNB-DU, and a central unit, gNB-CU.
27. The method of claims 17 or 26, wherein the information on one or more potential node error sources is sent from gNB-DU to gNB-CU.
28. The method of claim 27, wherein the information on one or more potential node error sources is sent from gNB-DU to gNB-CU over Fl AP protocol.
29. The method of any of claims 16 to 28, further comprising identifying one or more potential node error sources related to phase offset.
30. The method of any of claims 16 to 29, wherein the one or more potential node error sources are combined by the network component with one or more potential error sources related to phase offset and received from a user equipment, UE, so as to create assistance data to mitigate at least one of the one or more potential errors sources or the one or more potential node error sources
31. A method performed by a network component for communicating assistance data for carrier phase-based positioning, the method comprising at least one of: receiving information on one or more potential error sources related to phase offset from a user equipment, UE; and receiving information on one or more potential node error sources related to phase offset from a network node.
32. The method of claim 31, further comprising transmitting the assistance data to the UE and/or a second UE.
33. The method of claim 31 or 32, further comprising calculating, based at least in part on the one or more potential error sources and the one or more potential node error sources, assistance data to mitigate at least one of the one or more potential error sources or the one or more potential node error sources.
34. A user equipment for communicating assistance data for carrier phase-based positioning, comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of claims 1 to 15; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.
35. A network node for communicating assistance data for carrier phase-based positioning, the network node comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of claims 16 to 30; power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.
36. A network component for performing carrier phase-based positioning, the network component comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of claims 31 to 33; power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry.
37. The network component of claim 32, wherein the network component comprises a Location Management Function, LMF.
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