WO2024072286A1 - Triggering sidelink-based positioning - Google Patents

Triggering sidelink-based positioning Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2024072286A1
WO2024072286A1 PCT/SE2023/050931 SE2023050931W WO2024072286A1 WO 2024072286 A1 WO2024072286 A1 WO 2024072286A1 SE 2023050931 W SE2023050931 W SE 2023050931W WO 2024072286 A1 WO2024072286 A1 WO 2024072286A1
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WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
positioning
ues
candidate
target
indication
Prior art date
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PCT/SE2023/050931
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French (fr)
Inventor
Min Wang
Zhang Zhang
Zhang FU
Ritesh SHREEVASTAV
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Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)
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Publication of WO2024072286A1 publication Critical patent/WO2024072286A1/en

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W64/00—Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S5/00—Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more direction or position line determinations; Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more distance determinations
    • G01S5/01—Determining conditions which influence positioning, e.g. radio environment, state of motion or energy consumption
    • 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
    • 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
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
    • H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
    • H04W92/00—Interfaces specially adapted for wireless communication networks
    • H04W92/16—Interfaces between hierarchically similar devices
    • H04W92/18—Interfaces between hierarchically similar devices between terminal devices

Definitions

  • the present disclosure generally relates to wireless communication networks, and more specifically to determining the geographic location of a target user equipment (UE) that is out-of- coverage with respect to a radio access network (RAN) but reachable via a reference UE using sidelink connection.
  • UE target user equipment
  • RAN radio access network
  • 5G fifth generation
  • NR New Radio
  • 3GPP Third-Generation Partnership Project
  • 5G/NR is developed for maximum flexibility to support multiple and substantially different use cases. These include enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), machine type communications (MTC), ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC), side-link device-to-device (D2D), and several other use cases.
  • eMBB enhanced mobile broadband
  • MTC machine type communications
  • URLLC ultra-reliable low latency communications
  • D2D side-link device-to-device
  • Rel-15 3GPP Release 15
  • Rel-17 3GPP Release 15
  • NR uses CP-OFDM (Cyclic Prefix Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) in the downlink (DL) from network to user equipment (UE), and both CP-OFDM and DFT-spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM) in the uplink (UL) from UE to network.
  • CP-OFDM Cyclic Prefix Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing
  • DFT-S-OFDM DFT-spread OFDM
  • NR DL and UL time-domain physical resources are organized into equal-sized 1-ms subframes. A subframe is divided into multiple slots of equal duration, with each slot including multiple OFDM-based symbols. Even so, time-frequency resources can be configured much more flexibly for an NR cell than for an LTE cell.
  • SL Sidelink
  • D2D device-to-device
  • RAN 3GPP radio access network
  • NPS national security and public safety
  • ProSe proximity -based services
  • V2X vehicle-to-everything
  • 3GPP Rel-16 specifies the NR SL interface.
  • NR Rel-16 SL targets advanced V2X services, which can be categorized into four use case groups: vehicles platooning, extended sensors, advanced driving, and remote driving.
  • the advanced V2X services require a new SL in order to meet the stringent requirements in terms of latency and reliability.
  • the NR SL is designed to provide higher system capacity and better coverage, and to allow for extension to support the future development of even more advanced V2X services and other related services.
  • Broadcast, groupcast, and unicast transmissions are desirable for the services targeted by NR SL.
  • groupcast or multicast
  • the intended receiver of a message consists of only a subset of the possible recipients in proximity to the transmitter, whereas a unicast message is intended for only one recipient in proximity to the transmitter.
  • groupcast or multicast
  • the platooning service there are certain messages that are only of interest of the members of the platoon, for which groupcast can be used.
  • Unicast is a natural fit for use cases involving only a pair of vehicles.
  • a positioning node configures a target device (e.g., UE) and/or RAN nodes (e.g., gNB, ng-eNB, etc.) to perform one or more positioning measurements according to one or more positioning methods.
  • the positioning measurements can include timing (and/or timing difference) measurements on UE, network, and/or satellite transmissions. The positioning measurements are used by the target device, the measuring node, and/or the positioning node to determine the target device’s location.
  • NSPS positioning scenarios and/or use cases are expected to be important for 3GPP Rel- 17 and beyond.
  • Certain NR SL features that were specified in 3GPP Rel-16 are likely to be the baseline for enhancements to NSPS positioning use cases.
  • NSPS services may need to operate without (or with partial) RAN coverage, such as during indoor firefighting, forest firefighting, earthquake rescue, sea rescue, etc. In these scenarios, coverage extension is a crucial enabler.
  • 3 GPP Rel-17 includes a work item for coverage extension for SL-based communication, including UE-to-network (U2N) relay for cellular coverage extension and UE-to-UE (U2U) relay for SL coverage extension. Additionally, improving performance of power-limited UEs (e.g., pedestrian UEs, first responder UEs, etc.) and improving the performance using resource coordination are also important goals for the Rel-17 work.
  • U2N UE-to-network
  • U2U UE-to-UE
  • U2U relay involves a UE using two direct communication links to connect two UEs in its proximity that otherwise are not able to communicate.
  • U2N involves a relay UE extending network connectivity to another nearby UE (also referred to as remote UE) by using a direct communication between the relay UE and the remote UE.
  • NR SL U2N relay uses two different architectures: a L3 architecture similar to LTE, and a newly defined architecture in which relaying occurs within Layer 2 (L2), over the RLC sublayer.
  • L2 Layer 2
  • 3 GPP document RP-213561 lists a Rel-18 study item for positioning architecture and signaling procedures (e g. configuration, measurement reporting, etc.) to enable both UE-based and network-based SL positioning of a target UE, which may be in various network coverage conditions such as full coverage, partial coverage, or no coverage. These scenarios may also involve a reference UE (also called “assisting UE”) that provides SL measurement assistance to the target UE.
  • a reference UE also called “assisting UE”
  • assisting UE provides SL measurement assistance to the target UE.
  • assisting UE also called “assisting UE”
  • An object of embodiments of the present disclosure is to improve positioning of UEs operating (at least partially) out of network coverage, such as by providing, enabling, and/or facilitating solutions to overcome exemplary problems summarized above and described in more detail below.
  • Embodiments include exemplary methods (e.g., procedures) for a first UE configured to operate as a target UE for SL positioning in a wireless network.
  • These exemplary methods can include determining whether one or more trigger conditions for initiating SL positioning have been met. These exemplary methods can also include, based on determining that at least one trigger condition has been met, performing a SL discovery procedure to identify one or more candidate UEs for assisting SL positioning. These exemplary methods can also include selecting a second UE, from the candidate UEs, as a reference UE. These exemplary methods can also include performing one or more SL positioning operations with the second UE.
  • the one or more SL positioning operations performed include one or more of the following:
  • these exemplary methods can also include receiving, from a network node or function (NNF) of the wireless network, configuration information for SL positioning.
  • NNF network node or function
  • exemplary methods e.g., procedures
  • a second UE configured to operate as a reference UE for SL positioning in a wireless network.
  • these exemplary methods are complementary to the exemplary methods for a first UE, summarized above.
  • These exemplary methods can include performing a SL discovery procedure with a first UE, based on which the second UE is identified as candidate UE for assisting SL positioning of the first UE. These exemplary methods can also include, after the second UE is selected as a reference UE for the first UE, performing one or more SL positioning operations with the first UE.
  • the one or more SL positioning operations performed include one or more of the following:
  • these exemplary methods can also include receiving, from a NNF of the wireless network, configuration information for SL positioning. In such case, at least one of the following is performed based on the configuration information: the SL discovery procedure, and the one or more SL positioning operations.
  • the configuration information includes one or more of the following:
  • exemplary methods for a NNF configured to facilitate SL positioning of a first UE based on assistance from a second UE.
  • these exemplary methods are complementary to the exemplary methods for the first UE and the second, summarized above.
  • These exemplary methods can include receiving, from the first and second UEs, respective indications of one or more of the following SL positioning capabilities:
  • These exemplary methods can also include sending, to the first and second UEs, configuration information for SL positioning, including one or more of the following:
  • these exemplary methods can also include sending to the first UE an indication or command to select a different reference UE than the second UE.
  • these exemplary methods can also include receiving from the first UE a request for assignment of a reference UE for SL positioning. In such case, the configuration information including the indication of the one or more candidate UEs is sent in response to the request. In some of these embodiments, these exemplary methods can also include selecting the one or more candidate UEs indicated to the first UE based on one or more of the following:
  • UEs e.g., wireless devices
  • NNFs configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the exemplary methods described herein.
  • Other embodiments include non-transitory, computer-readable media storing program instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry, configure such UEs and NNFs to perform operations corresponding to any of the exemplary methods described herein.
  • a target UE only enables SL positioning based on certain trigger conditions such that the target UE otherwise refrains from SL positioning, which reduces energy consumption of the target UE and any reference UEs.
  • SL positioning is enabled, embodiments facilitate target UE discovery of most suitable reference UEs, according to needed capabilities of those reference UEs. In this manner, embodiments facilitate target UE compliance with QoS requirements of services that require positioning of the target UE.
  • Figure 1 shows exemplary NR user plane (UP) and control plane (CP) protocol stacks.
  • UP NR user plane
  • CP control plane
  • Figure 2 illustrates a high-level view of an exemplary 5G/NR network architecture.
  • Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating a high-level architecture for supporting UE positioning in NR networks.
  • Figure 4 shows an exemplary arrangement of interfaces between two V2X UEs and a RAN.
  • Figure 5 shows three exemplary network coverage scenarios for two UEs and a gNB serving a cell.
  • Figure 6 shows a reference architecture for 5G ProSe L3 UE-to-Network relay.
  • Figure 7 shows exemplary UP protocol stacks for 5G ProSe L3 UE-to-Network relay.
  • Figures 8-9 show exemplary UP and CP protocol stacks, respectively, for L2 UE-to- Network Relay.
  • Figures 10-13 show various exemplary protocol stacks for communication between a source UE, a target UE, and a UE-to-UE relay.
  • Figure 14 shows a flow diagram of a procedure for a target UE configured for SL positioning, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • Figure 15 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary method (e.g., procedure) for a target UE (e.g., wireless device), according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • a target UE e.g., wireless device
  • Figure 16 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary method (e.g., procedure) for a reference UE (e.g., wireless device), according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • a reference UE e.g., wireless device
  • Figure 17 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary method (e.g., procedure) for a network node or function (NNF, e.g., base station, eNB, gNB, AMF, LMF, etc.), according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • NMF network node or function
  • Figure 18 shows a communication system according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • Figure 19 shows a UE according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • Figure 20 shows a network node according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • Figure 1 shows host computing system according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • Figure 22 is a block diagram of a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments of the present disclosure may be virtualized.
  • Figure 23 illustrates communication between a host computing system, a network node, and a UE via multiple connections, at least one of which is wireless, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • Radio Access Node As used herein, a “radio access node” (or equivalently “radio network node,” “radio access network node,” or “RAN node”) can be any node in a radio access network (RAN) that operates to wirelessly transmit and/or receive signals.
  • RAN radio access network
  • a radio access node examples include, but are not limited to, a base station (e.g., gNB in a 3GPP 5G/NR network or an enhanced or eNB in a 3GPP LTE network), base station distributed components (e.g., CU and DU), a high-power or macro base station, a low-power base station (e.g., micro, pico, femto, or home base station, or the like), an integrated access backhaul (IAB) node, a transmission point (TP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a remote radio unit (RRU or RRH), and a relay node.
  • a base station e.g., gNB in a 3GPP 5G/NR network or an enhanced or eNB in a 3GPP LTE network
  • base station distributed components e.g., CU and DU
  • a high-power or macro base station e.g., a low-power base station (e.g., micro
  • a “core network node” is any type of node in a core network.
  • Some examples of a core network node include, e.g., a Mobility Management Entity (MME), a serving gateway (SGW), a PDN Gateway (P-GW), a Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF), an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), a user plane function (UPF), a Charging Function (CHF), a Policy Control Function (PCF), an Authentication Server Function (AUSF), a location management function (LMF), or the like.
  • MME Mobility Management Entity
  • SGW serving gateway
  • P-GW PDN Gateway
  • PCRF Policy and Charging Rules Function
  • AMF access and mobility management function
  • SMF session management function
  • UPF user plane function
  • Charging Function CHF
  • PCF Policy Control Function
  • AUSF Authentication Server Function
  • LMF location management function
  • Wireless Device As used herein, a “wireless device” (or “WD” for short) is any type of device that is capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and/or other wireless devices. Communicating wirelessly can involve transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information through air.
  • wireless device is used interchangeably herein with the term “user equipment” (or “UE” for short), with both terms having a different meaning than the term “network node” .
  • Radio Node can be either a “radio access node” (or equivalent term) or a “wireless device.”
  • Network Node is any node that is either part of the radio access network (e.g., a radio access node or equivalent term) or of the core network (e.g., a core network node discussed above) of a cellular communications network.
  • a network node is equipment capable, configured, arranged, and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a wireless device and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the cellular communications network, to enable and/or provide wireless access to the wireless device, and/or to perform other functions (e.g., administration) in the cellular communications network.
  • node can be a network node or a wireless device.
  • Figure 1 shows an exemplary configuration of NR user plane (UP) and control plane (CP) protocol stacks between a UE (110), a gNodeB (gNB, e.g., base station, 120), and an access and mobility management function (AMF, 130) in a 5Gcore network (5GC).
  • UP NR user plane
  • CP control plane
  • PHY Physical
  • MAC Medium Access Control
  • RLC Radio Link Control
  • PDCP Packet Data Convergence Protocol
  • PDCP Packet Data Convergence Protocol
  • PDCP provides ciphering/deciphering, integrity protection, sequence numbering, reordering, and duplicate detection for both CP and UP, as well as header compression and retransmission for UP data.
  • IP Internet protocol
  • SDU service data units
  • PDU protocol data units
  • SDAP Service Data Adaptation Protocol
  • QoS quality-of-service
  • DRB Data Radio Bearers
  • QFI QoS flow identifiers
  • RLC transfers PDCP PDUs to MAC through logical channels (LCH).
  • LCH logical channels
  • MAC provides mapping between LCHs and PHY transport channels, LCH prioritization, multiplexing into or demultiplexing from transport blocks (TBs), hybrid ARQ (HARQ) error correction, and dynamic scheduling (in gNB).
  • PHY provides transport channel services to MAC and handles transfer over the NR radio interface, e.g., via modulation, coding, antenna mapping, and beam forming.
  • the non-access stratum (NAS) layer between UE and AMF handles UE/gNB authentication, mobility management, and security control.
  • RRC sits below NAS in the UE but terminates in the gNB rather than the AMF.
  • RRC controls communications between UE and gNB at the radio interface as well as the mobility of a UE between cells in the NG-RAN.
  • RRC also broadcasts system information (SI) and performs establishment, configuration, maintenance, and release of DRBs and Signaling Radio Bearers (SRBs) and used by UEs.
  • SI system information
  • SRBs Signaling Radio Bearers
  • RRC controls addition, modification, and release of carrier aggregation (CA) and dual-connectivity (DC) configurations for UEs, and performs various security functions such as key management.
  • CA carrier aggregation
  • DC dual-connectivity
  • a UE After a UE is powered ON it will be in the RRC IDLE state until an RRC connection is established with the network, at which time the UE will transition to RRC CONNECTED state (e.g, where data transfer can occur). The UE returns to RRC IDLE after the connection with the network is released.
  • RRC__IDLE state the UE’s radio is active on a discontinuous reception (DRX) schedule configured by upper layers.
  • DRX discontinuous reception
  • an RRC IDLE UE receives SI broadcast in the cell where the UE is camping, performs measurements of neighbor cells to support cell reselection, and monitors a paging channel on physical DI, control channel (PDCCH) for pages from 5GC via gNB.
  • PDCCH physical DI, control channel
  • a UE in RRC_IDLE state is not known to the gNB serving the cell where the UE is camping.
  • NR RRC includes an RRC_INACTIVE state in which a UE is known (e.g., via context) by the serving gNB.
  • FIG. 2 shows a high-level view of an exemplary 5G network architecture, including a Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN, 299) and a 5GC (298).
  • the NG-RAN can include gNBs (e.g., 210a, b) and ng-eNBs (e.g, 220a, b) that are connected via respective Xn interfaces.
  • the gNBs and ng-eNBs are also connected to the 5GC via the NG interfaces, more specifically to access and mobility management function (AMFs, e.g, 230a, b) via respective NG-C interfaces and to user plane functions (UPFs, e.g, 240a, b) via respective NG- U interfaces.
  • the AMFs can communicate with one or more policy control functions (PCFs, e.g., 250a, b) and network exposure functions (NEFs, e.g., 260a, b).
  • PCFs policy control functions
  • Each of the gNBs can support the NR radio interface including frequency division duplexing (FDD), time division duplexing (TDD), or a combination thereof.
  • each of ng-eNBs can support the LTE radio interface but, unlike conventional LTE eNodeBs (eNBs), connect to the 5GC via the NG interface.
  • Each of the gNBs and ng-eNBs can serve a geographic coverage area including one more cells (e.g., 211a-b, 221a-b).
  • the gNBs and ng-eNBs can also use various directional beams to provide coverage in the respective cells.
  • a UE (205) can communicate with the gNB or ng-eNB serving that cell via the NR or LTE radio interface, respectively.
  • the gNBs shown in Figure 2 can include a central (or centralized) unit (CU or gNB-CU) and one or more distributed (or decentralized) units (DU or gNB-DU), which can be viewed as logical nodes.
  • CUs host higher-layer protocols and perform various gNB functions such controlling the operation of DUs, which host lower-layer protocols and can include various subsets of the gNB functions.
  • a CU connects to its associated DUs over respective Fl logical interfaces.
  • Each of the CUs and DUs can include various circuitry needed to perform their respective functions, including processing circuitry, communication interface circuitry (e.g., for communication via Xn, NG, radio, etc. interfaces), and power supply circuitry.
  • FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a high-level architecture for supporting UE positioning in NR networks.
  • NG-RAN can include RAN nodes such as gNB (322) and ng-eNB (321). Each ng-eNB may control several transmission points (TPs), such as remote radio heads. Similarly, each gNB may control several TRPs. Some or all of the TPs/TRPs may be DL- PRS-only for support of PRS-based TBS.
  • the NG-RAN nodes communicate with an AMF (340) in the 5GC via respective NG-C interfaces, while AMF 340 communicates with a location management function (LMF, 330) communicate via an NLs interface (341).
  • AMF location management function
  • An LMF supports various functions related to determination of UE locations, including location determination for a UE and obtaining DL location measurements or a location estimate from the UE, UL location measurements from the NG RAN, and non-UE associated assistance data from the NG RAN.
  • positioning-related communication between UE 310 and the NG-RAN nodes occurs via the RRC protocol
  • positioning-related communication between NG-RAN nodes and LMF occurs via an NRPPa protocol
  • the LMF can also communicate with an enhanced serving mobile location center (E-SMLC, 350) and a secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP, 360) in an LTE network via respective communication interfaces (351, 361).
  • E-SMLC enhanced serving mobile location center
  • SLP secure user plane location platform
  • These communication interfaces can utilize and/or be based on standardized protocols, proprietary protocols, or a combination thereof.
  • the LMF can also include, or be associated with, various processing circuitry (342), by which the LMF performs various operations described herein.
  • the processing circuitry can include similar types of processing circuitry as described herein in relation to other network nodes (see, e.g., descriptions of Figures 20 and 22).
  • the LMF can also include, or be associated with, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (343) for instructions (also referred to as a computer program) that can facilitate the operations of the processing circuitry.
  • the storage medium can include similar types of computer memory as described herein in relation to other network nodes (see, e.g., descriptions of Figures 20 and 22).
  • the LMF can include various communication interface circuitry (341, e.g., Ethernet, optical, and/or radio transceivers) that can be used, e g., for communication via the NLs interface.
  • the communication interface circuitry can be similar to other interface circuitry described herein in relation to other network nodes (see, e.g., descriptions of Figures 20 and 22).
  • the E-SMLC can include, or be associated with, various processing circuitry (352), by which the E-SMLC performs various operations described herein.
  • the processing circuitry can include similar types of processing circuitry as described herein in relation to other network nodes (see, e.g., descriptions of Figures 20 and 22).
  • the E-SMLC can also include, or be associated with, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (353) for instructions (also referred to as a computer program) that can facilitate the operations of the processing circuitry.
  • the storage medium can include similar types of computer memory as described herein in relation to other network nodes (see, e.g., descriptions of Figures 20 and 22).
  • the E- SMLC can also include communication interface circuitry that is appropriate for communicating via interface (351), which can be similar to other interface circuitry described herein in relation to other network nodes (see, e.g., descriptions of Figures 20 and 22).
  • the SLP can also include, or be associated with, various processing circuitry (362), by which the SLP performs various operations described herein.
  • the processing circuitry can include similar types of processing circuitry as described herein in relation to other network nodes (see, e.g., descriptions of Figures 20 and 22).
  • the SLP can also include, or be associated with, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (363) for instructions (also referred to as a computer program) that can facilitate the operations of the processing circuitry.
  • the storage medium can include similar types of computer memory as described herein in relation to other network nodes (see, e.g., descriptions of Figures 20 and 22).
  • the SLP can also include communication interface circuitry that is appropriate for communicating via interface (361), which can be similar to other interface circuitry described herein in relation to other network nodes (see, e.g., descriptions of Figures 20 and 22).
  • the AMF can receive a request for a location service associated with a particular target UE from another entity (e.g., a gateway mobile location center (GMLC)), or the AMF itself can initiate some location service on behalf of a particular target UE (e.g., for an emergency call from the UE).
  • the AMF then sends a location services (LS) request to the LMF.
  • the LMF processes the LS request, which may include transferring assistance data to the target UE to assist with UE-based and/or UE-assisted positioning; and/or positioning of the target UE.
  • the LMF then returns the result of the LS (e.g., a position estimate for the UE and/or an indication of any assistance data transferred to the UE) to the AMF or to another entity (e g., GMLC) that requested the LS.
  • the result of the LS e.g., a position estimate for the UE and/or an indication of any assistance data transferred to the UE
  • another entity e g., GMLC
  • An LMF may have a signaling connection to an E-SMLC, enabling the LMF to access information from E-UTRAN, e.g., to support E-UTRA OTDOA positioning using downlink measurements obtained by a target UE.
  • An LMF can also have a signaling connection to an SLP, the LTE entity responsible for user-plane positioning.
  • LTE Positioning Protocol is used between a target device (e.g., UE in the control-plane, or SET in the user-plane) and a positioning server (e.g., LMF in CP, SLP in UP). LPP can use either CP or UP protocols as underlying transport.
  • NRPP is terminated between a target device and the LMF.
  • RRC protocol is used between UE and gNB (via NR radio interface) and between UE and ng-eNB (via LTE radio interface).
  • the NR Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa) carries information between the NG-RAN Node and the LMF and is transparent to the AMF.
  • the AMF routes the NRPPa PDUs transparently (e.g., without knowledge of the involved NRPPa transaction) over NG-C interface based on a Routing ID corresponding to the involved LMF.
  • the AMF carries the NRPPa PDUs over NG-C interface either in UE associated mode or non-UE associated mode.
  • the NGAP protocol between the AMF and an NG-RAN node e.g., gNB or ng-eNB
  • NGAP is also used to instigate and terminate NG-RAN-related positioning procedures.
  • LPP/NRPP are used to deliver messages such as positioning capability request, OTDOA positioning measurements request, and OTDOA assistance data to the UE from a positioning node (e.g., location server).
  • LPP/NRPP are also used to deliver messages from the UE to the positioning node including, e.g., UE capability, UE measurements for UE-assisted OTDOA positioning, UE request for additional assistance data, UE configuration parameter(s) to be used to create UE- specific OTDOA assistance data, etc.
  • NRPPa is used to deliver the information between ng- eNB/gNB and LMF in both directions. This can include LMF requesting some information from ng-eNB/gNB, and ng-eNB/gNB providing some information to LMF. For example, this can include information about PRS transmitted by ng-eNB/gNB that are to be used for OTDOA positioning measurements by the UE.
  • NSPS National security and public safety positioning scenarios and/or use cases are expected to be important for 3GPP Rel-17 and beyond.
  • NSPS services need to operate without (or with partial) RAN coverage, such as during indoor firefighting, forest firefighting, earthquake rescue, sea rescue, etc.
  • coverage extension is a crucial enabler. This can be accomplished via UE relay functionality specified for NR sidelink (SL), as described in more detail below.
  • SL NR sidelink
  • NR SL 3GPP Rel-16 specified NR SL interface and targeted V2X services and use cases such as vehicle platoons, extended sensors, advanced driving, and remote driving.
  • NR SL is designed to provide higher system capacity, better coverage, lower latency, and higher reliability, while being extensible to support future development of even more advanced V2X and other related services.
  • a V2X UE can support unicast communication via the uplink/downlink radio interface (also referred to as “Uu”) to a 3 GPP RAN, such as the LTE Evolved-UTRAN (E- UTRAN) or the NG-RAN.
  • a V2X UE can also support SL unicast over the PC5 interface, which is the direct SL between V2X UEs.
  • Figure 4 shows an exemplary arrangement of interfaces between two V2X UEs and a RAN.
  • the V2X UEs can communicate with a ProSe (PROximity-based SErvices) network function (NF) via respective PC3 interfaces.
  • ProSe PROximity-based SErvices
  • NF network function
  • Communication with the ProSe NF requires a UE to establish a connection with the RAN, either directly via the Uu interface or indirectly via PC5 and another UE’s Uu interface.
  • the ProSe function provides the UE various information for network related actions, such as service authorization and provisioning of PLMN-specific information (e.g., security parameters, group IDs, group IP addresses, out-of-coverage radio resources, etc.).
  • Figure 5 shows three exemplary network coverage scenarios for two UEs (510, 520) and a gNB (530) serving a cell.
  • both UEs are in the coverage of the cell, such that they both can communicate with the gNB via respective Uu interfaces and directly with each other via the PC5 interface.
  • the partial coverage scenario (center) only one of the UEs is in coverage of the cell, but the out-of-coverage UE can still communicate with the gNB indirectly via the PC5 interface with the in-coverage UE.
  • both UEs can only communicate with each other via the PC5 interface.
  • the term “SL standalone” refers to direct communication between two SL- capable UEs (e.g., via PC5) in which source and destination are the UEs themselves.
  • the term “SL relay” refers to indirect communication between a network node and a remote UE via a first interface (e.g., Uu) between the network node an intermediate (or relay) UE and a second interface (e.g., PC5) between the relay UE and the remote UE. In this case the relay UE is neither the source nor the destination.
  • an “out-of-coverage UE” is one that cannot establish a direct connection to the network and must communicate via either SL standalone or SL relay.
  • UEs that are in coverage can be configured by the network (e g., gNB) via RRC signaling and/or broadcast system information, either directly (via Uu interface) or indirectly (via PC5 interface and relay UE Uu interface).
  • Out-of-coverage UEs rely on a (pre-)configuration available in their SIMs. These preconfigurations are generally static but can be updated by the network when a UE is in coverage.
  • a “peer UE” refers to a UE that can communicate with the out-of-coverage UE via SL standalone or SL relay (in which case the peer UE is also a relay UE).
  • 3 GPP Rel-17 includes a work item for coverage extension for SL-based communication, including UE-to-network relay for cellular coverage extension and UE-to-UE relay for SL coverage extension. Additionally, improving performance of power-limited UEs (e.g., pedestrian UEs, first responder UEs, etc.) and improving the performance using resource coordination are also important goals for the Rel-17 work.
  • power-limited UEs e.g., pedestrian UEs, first responder UEs, etc.
  • resource coordination are also important goals for the Rel-17 work.
  • U2N relay Two UE-based relay capabilities were studied for NR SL in Rel-17: UE-to-Network (U2N) relay, where a UE extends the network connectivity to another nearby UE by using direct communication; and UE-to-UE (U2U) relay, where a UE uses two direct communication links to connect two UEs in its proximity that otherwise are not able to communicate.
  • U2N relay functionality is fundamental for network coverage extension for public safety in remote areas, for wearable devices tethering in commercial use cases (e.g., sensors, virtual reality headsets), etc.
  • U2N relay uses two different architectures: a L3 architecture similar to LTE, and a newly defined architecture in which PC5 relaying occurs within Layer 2 (L2), over the RLC sublayer.
  • L2U relay functionality was not part of the LTE ProSe specification, and its use in NR ProSe can be beneficial for public safety communications range extension use cases.
  • 3GPP TR 23.752 (v2.0.0) section 6.6 describes L3-based U2N relay functionality (also referred to as “ProSe 5G U2N Relay”) that can be used for both public safety and commercial services.
  • a ProSe 5G U2N Relay UE supports connectivity to the 5GS (i.e., NG-RAN and 5GC) for other UEs that have successfully established a PC5 link to the ProSe 5G U2N Relay UE.
  • FIG. 6 shows a reference architecture for 5G ProSe L3 U2N relay
  • Figure 7 shows corresponding user plane (UP) protocol stacks.
  • the U2N relay also called “UE-NW relay”
  • UE-NW relay includes a top-most IP relay layer, which communicates with corresponding IP layers in the UE and the UPF.
  • IP relay layer below the IP relay layer are SDAP, PDCP, RLC, MAC, and LI (PHY) layers that communicate with corresponding layers in the UE and the NG-RAN node.
  • 3GPP TR 23.752 (v0.3.0) section 6.7 describes a layer-2 UE-to-Network Relay functionality supported for NR SL.
  • This functionality can provide connectivity to NG-RAN by remote UEs that have successfully established PC5 links to a L2 UE-to-Network Relay UE (also referred to as “relay UE” for simplicity).
  • a remote UE can be located within NG-RAN coverage or outside of NG-RAN coverage.
  • the relay UE can forward (or relay) any type of traffic received from the remote UE over the PC5 interface (discussed above).
  • FIG 8 illustrates exemplary UP protocol stacks for a protocol data unit (PDU) Session, including a L2 UE-to-Network Relay UE.
  • PDU protocol data unit
  • the PDU layer carries data between the remote UE and the user plane function (UPF) in the 5GC, as part of the PDU session.
  • the PDCP layer is terminated at the remote UE and the gNB, and the L2 relay function is below PDCP.
  • the Adaptation Relay layer within the relay UE can differentiate between signaling radio bearers (SRBs) and data radio bearers (DRBs) for a particular remote UE.
  • SRBs signaling radio bearers
  • DRBs data radio bearers
  • the Adaptation Relay layer is also responsible for mapping PC5 traffic to one or more DRBs of the Uu.
  • 3GPP RAN WG2 is responsible for the definition of the Adaptation Relay layer.
  • FIG 9 illustrates exemplary control plane (CP) protocol stacks for non-access stratum (NAS) messages, including a L2 UE-to-Network Relay UE.
  • the NAS connection is between the remote UE and the AMF (for NAS-MM) and a session management function (SMF, for NAS-SM).
  • the NAS messages are transparently transferred between the remote UE and 5G-AN via the relay UE.
  • the relay UE forwards SRB messages without any modification.
  • the relay UE uses the same protocol stack for forwarding both CP messages and UP PDUs, as illustrated in Figures 8-9.
  • U2U relay uses two different architectures: a L3 architecture and a L2 architecture in which PC5 relaying occurs over the RLC sublayer.
  • 3GPP TR 23.752 (v2.0.0) section 6.10 describes ProSe (L3) 5G U2U Relay.
  • a ProSe 5G UE-to-UE Relay is a (5G ProSe- enabled) UE that provides functionality to support L3 connectivity between 5G ProSe U2UUEs.
  • the source UE, the target UE, and the UE-to-UE relay may be in or out of 3GPP coverage.
  • UE-to-UE Relay and “relay UE” are used interchangeably herein.
  • FIGS. 10-13 illustrate various protocol stacks for communication between a source UE (1010), a UE-to-UE relay (1020), and a target UE (1030). For the sake of brevity, these devices will be referred to without their corresponding reference numbers in the following description of these figures.
  • Figure 10 illustrates exemplary UP protocol stacks for ProSe application-layer messages, including a ProSe (L3) 5G UE-to-UE Relay.
  • the UE-to-UE relay can relay IP, non-IP, and unstructured traffic between the source UE and the target UE, using the same SDAP, PDCP, RLC, MAC, and PHY protocol layers discussed above. Each of these layers communicates with corresponding layers in a source UE and a target UE.
  • Figure 11 illustrates exemplary CP protocol stacks for PC5 signaling messages, including a ProSe (L3) 5G UE-to-UE Relay.
  • the UE-to-UE relay includes a PC5 signaling layer on top of PDCP, RLC, MAC, and PHY protocol layers, each of which communicates with a corresponding layer in a source UE and a target UE.
  • Figure 12 illustrates exemplary end-to-end UP protocol stacks including a L2 UE-to-UE Relay.
  • the UE-to-UE relay can relay IP and non-IP traffic between the source UE and the target UE.
  • the upper SDAP and PDCP layers are end-to-end between the source and target UEs, while the UE-to-UE relay terminates the lower Adapt, RLC, MAC, and PHY protocol layers towards the source UE and the target UE.
  • Security is established end-to-end between the source and target UEs, such that the Adapt layer does not process/apply any security on the relayed packets and user data is never exposed at the relay UE.
  • Figure 13 illustrates exemplary end-to-end CP protocol stacks including a L2 UE-to-UE Relay.
  • the upper RRC and PDCP layers are end-to-end between the source and target UEs, while the UE-to-UE relay terminates the lower Adapt, RLC, MAC, and PHY protocol layers towards the source UE and the target UE.
  • Security is established end-to-end at the PDCP layer between the source and target UEs, such that the Adapt layer does not process/apply any security on the relayed PC5 signaling. Also, the relayed PC5 signaling is never exposed at the relay UE.
  • 3 GPP document RP-213561 specifies a Rel-18 study item for positioning architecture and signaling procedures (e.g. configuration, measurement reporting, etc.) to enable both UE-based and network-based SL positioning of a target UE, which may be in various network coverage conditions such as full coverage, partial coverage, or no coverage.
  • a reference UE also called “assisting UE”
  • UE 510 may be a reference (or assisting) UE for target UE 520.
  • the target UE may choose to connect to the network via a SL U2N relay UE (e g., middle scenario in Figure 5), in which case the network can be involved in positioning of the target UE.
  • the target UE may utilize UE-based positioning by involving a proximate reference UE (e g., right-most scenario in Figure 5).
  • the target UE can connect to an assisting UE via a (L2 or L3) relay UE.
  • SL positioning there are various aspects of SL positioning that remain unclear, ambiguous, or unspecified by 3 GPP. For example, currently there are no solutions or specifications for conditions under which SL positioning can be triggered for a target UE. Furthermore, the type of trigger conditions may depend on whether the target UE supports positioning over the Uu interface to the network, in addition to SL-based positioning over PC5 interface. As another example, it is unclear how a target UE should select a reference UE that can provide SL positioning assistance to the target UE (i.e., an assisting UE).
  • SL relay selection is triggered based on the radio quality of the current Uu link to the RAN. being lower than a configured threshold.
  • the source UE or the target UE would then trigger U2U relay selection.
  • SL relay selection for positioning may need to be triggered by a variety of reasons unrelated to radio channel quality.
  • conventional SL relay selection is according to the measured SL radio channel quality, such that the selected relay UE is typically the closest UE to the target UE.
  • a closest UE may not be the most suitable UE for assisting a target UE, especially when the target UE needs to involve the network in the positioning procedure.
  • the assisting UE would be required to communicate with the network reliably and with low latency, such that the conditions of any candidate UE’ s Uu link to the RAN must be considered in the SL relay selection. This is not done currently.
  • embodiments of the present disclosure provide flexible and efficient techniques whereby a target UE can determine whether SL-based positioning should be enabled based on various trigger conditions.
  • the target UE can exchange information about SL positioning with a serving RAN node, e.g., for assigning a suitable assisting UE for the target UE.
  • the target UE can exchange information about SL positioning with one or more proximate candidate UEs to determine whether respective SL unicast links can be established for SL positioning.
  • the target UE may perform a reselection in response to various conditions, such as when the current assisting UE can no longer provide SL positioning measurements or quality of such measurements is below an acceptable level.
  • Embodiments can provide various benefits and/or advantages. For example, a target UE only enables SL positioning based on certain trigger conditions such that the target UE otherwise refrains from SL positioning, which reduces energy consumption of the target UE and any assisting UEs.
  • SL positioning is enabled, embodiments facilitate target UE discovery of most suitable assisting UEs, according to needed capabilities of those assisting UEs. In this manner, embodiments facilitate target UE compliance with QoS requirements of services that require positioning of the target UE.
  • a target UE and reference (or assisting) UE being deployed in same cell or in different cells, each of which may be provided by a RAN node using NR or LTE Uu radio interface.
  • the sidelink between target UE and reference UE may be based on LTE SL, NR SL, or any other short-range communication technology such as WiFi or Bluetooth.
  • the Uu radio interface between a target UE (or reference UE) and a RAN node may be based on LTE or NR.
  • a target UE first checks if certain trigger conditions are met before enabling SL positioning. In this way, the target UE is not required to always enable SL positioning. This may be beneficial to reduce or eliminate energy consumption due to unnecessary SL positioning.
  • a target UE can enable SL positioning when at least one of the following trigger conditions is met:
  • target UE supports only SL-based positioning, i.e., does not support Uu-based or GNSS- based positioning; • target UE supports but is unable to use non-SL-based positioning methods, e.g., in coverage but no line of sight, partial coverage, or out of coverage for Uu-based positioning, insufficient satellite signals for GNSS-based positioning, etc.;
  • target UE supports non-SL-based positioning methods but results from these methods do not meet positioning QoS requirements, e.g., insufficient accuracy, large latency or delay, etc.;
  • target UE supports non-SL-based positioning methods but SL-based positioning provides results that are better in some way, e.g., better accuracy, shorter latency or delay, etc.;
  • target UE position, speed, and/or velocity has recently changed, e.g., greater than threshold amount(s), from moving to static or vice versa, etc.;
  • the target UE After enabling SL positioning, the target UE initiates SL discovery to identify one or more suitable UEs for assisting with SL positioning measurements (so-called “assisting UEs”).
  • Figure 14 shows a flow diagram of a procedure for a target UE configured for SL positioning, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Although the operations in Figure 14 are given numerical labels, this is done to facilitate explanation rather than to require or imply any specific operational order, unless expressly stated otherwise.
  • the target UE determines whether any configured or pre-configured trigger conditions for SL positioning are met, such as any of the trigger conditions mentioned above. Based on determining that at least one trigger condition is met, the target UE proceeds to block 1420 where it performs a SL discovery procedure to identify one or more candidate assisting UEs for SL positioning.
  • the discovery message sent by the target UE indicates that the discovery is for SL positioning purposes, e.g., instead of for SL relay as conventional.
  • the target UE selects a SL cast-type to be used for each identified candidate assisting UE.
  • a unicast link needs to be established between the target UE and the assisting UE. Otherwise, the target UE and the assisting UE can apply SL positioning measurements together. Compared to SL groupcast and broadcast, SL unicast can provide better security since a dedicated security key can be applied.
  • the target UE proceeds to block 1450 where it attempts to establish a SL unicast connection.
  • the target UE may attempt to establish a SL unicast link for positioning with multiple candidate assisting UE before being successful, since some candidate assisting UEs may refuse to assist the target UE for SL positioning.
  • the target UE For each candidate assisting UE for which SL broadcast/groupcast is selected (block 1440) or after establishing SL unicast link (block 1450), the target UE proceeds to block 1460 where it performs SL positioning measurements with the assisting UE(s).
  • a UE may report at least one of the following SL positioning capabilities to the network, e.g., to a serving RAN node and/or a core network node or function (CNNF), such as AMF or LMF :
  • CNNF core network node or function
  • the UE may report its SL positioning capabilities to the network via non-access stratum (NAS) signaling, RRC signaling (i.e., Uu), MAC control element (CE), or any combination thereof.
  • NAS non-access stratum
  • RRC Radio Resource Control
  • CE MAC control element
  • the target UE when the target UE connects to the network via a non-3GPP interworking function (N3IWF), it can report its SL positioning capabilities in the registration message to its serving AMF.
  • N3IWF non-3GPP interworking function
  • the target UE may report its SL positioning capabilities to the relay UE, which forwards the target UE capabilities to one or more CNNF serving the target UE (e.g., AMF, LMF), together with an identifier of the target UE.
  • CNNF serving the target UE
  • the network may determine whether to enable SL positioning to the target UE, and if enabled, how to assign assisting UE(s) for the target UE. In some embodiments, the network may forward the received capabilities to other UE(s) using DL RRC or NAS signaling.
  • the target UE may send a request to the network (e.g., serving RAN node or core network node or function) for assignment of assisting UE(s).
  • the network may assign one or more assisting UE candidates to the target UE considering at least one of the following:
  • a target UE may exchange (e.g., via discovery message, PC5-S signaling, PC5-RRC) at least one of the following information with a candidate assisting UE, when setting up a unicast connection with that UE for SL positioning:
  • a target UE may determine which candidate assisting UE(s) can be selected as the assisting UE(s) and establish a SL connection with the selected assisting UE to receive SL positioning assistance. Similarly, based on receiving this information, a UE capable of being an assisting UE may determine whether it should be an assisting UE for a particular target UE and, if so, establish a SL connection with the target UE to provide SL positioning assistance.
  • the network e.g., serving RAN node and/or core network node or function, such as location server
  • • discovery configurations for discovering UEs to assist with SL positioning such as: o Uu radio channel quality thresholds (e.g., RSRP) to trigger discovery for SL positioning, e.g., when measured Uu radio channel quality is below the threshold; o PC5 radio channel quality thresholds (e.g., RSRP) to select an assisting UE for SL positioning, e.g., when measured PC5 radio channel quality towards a candidate assisting UE is above the threshold; and o PC5 radio channel quality thresholds (e.g., RSRP) to accept a request from a target UE for SL positioning assistance, e.g., when measured PC5 radio channel quality towards the target UE is above the threshold.
  • o Uu radio channel quality thresholds e.g., RSRP
  • RSRP PC5 radio channel quality thresholds
  • a target UE After receiving such information from the network, a target UE performs SL positioning (if supported and enabled) in accordance with the received configurations.
  • the network (e.g., serving RAN node and/or a CN node or function) provides the target UE with one or more assisting UE candidates.
  • the network may also indicate a priority order of the candidate assisting UEs.
  • the target UE shall select among candidate assisting UEs according to the indicated priority order. In other words, the target UE first selects one or more candidate assisting UEs having highest priority and checks if the one or more selected candidates are able and/or willing to assist the target UE with SL positioning. The target UE selects any candidate UEs having lowest indicated priority only when higher-priority candidates are unable and/or unwilling to assist the target UE.
  • the target UE selects an assisting UE autonomously, based on at least one of the following conditions or criteria:
  • lowest load e.g., serving lowest number of target UEs and/or having lowest load/data volume generated by services other than SL positioning;
  • synchronization status e.g., degree/accuracy of synchronization between assisting UE and target UE, which can be determined based on positioning measurement uncertainty or confidence level
  • synchronization reference for assisting UE e.g., GNSS (preferred), RAN, or UE-local reference.
  • An order of preference can be specified, for example, by sl-SyncPriority IE defined in 3GPP TS 38.331 (vl7.1.0).
  • the target UE first selects an assisting UE from among candidates provided by the network, but if none of these candidates are determined to be suitable, the target UE selects another assisting UE autonomously. This autonomous selection may be preconfigured or configured (e.g., enabled/disabled) by the network. In some embodiments, a target UE may reselect an assisting UE in response to at least one of the following conditions:
  • target UE receives an indication or command from the network (e.g., via RRC) to select a different assisting UE;
  • target UE receives an indication from the current assisting UE (e.g., via PC5 signaling) that it can no longer assist the target UE with SL positioning;
  • target UE receives an indication from another candidate assisting UE (e.g., via PC5 signaling) that it can provide positioning assistance that is more accurate (or better in some other way) than the current assisting UE;
  • target UE SL positioning measurements assisted by the current assisting UE no longer meet QoS requirements of the positioning service, e g., when the assistance UE relative distance from the target UE is beyond certain range or threshold; or RSRP measurement is low or below certain threshold;
  • target UE receives an indication from the current assisting UE (e.g., via PC5 signaling) of cell selection, cell reselection, handover, or radio link failure (RLF) on the assisting UE’s Uu interface toward the RAN;
  • RLF radio link failure
  • target UE receives a PC5 link release message from the current assisting UE
  • target UE detects RLF on the PC5 link with the current assisting UE
  • target UE upper layer e.g., RRC
  • Figures 15-17 show exemplary methods (e.g., procedures) for a target UE, a reference (or assisting) UE, and a network node or function (NNF), respectively.
  • exemplary methods e.g., procedures
  • NMF network node or function
  • various features of the operations described below correspond to various embodiments described above.
  • the exemplary methods shown in Figures 15-17 can be used cooperatively to provide various benefits, advantages, and/or solutions to problems described herein.
  • Figures 15-17 show specific blocks in particular orders, the operations of the exemplary methods can be performed in different orders than shown and can be combined and/or divided into blocks having different functionality than shown. Optional blocks or operations are indicated by dashed lines.
  • Figure 15 shows an exemplary method (e.g., procedure) for a first UE configured to operate as a target UE for SL positioning in a wireless network, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • the exemplary method can be performed by a UE (e.g., wireless device) such as described elsewhere herein.
  • the exemplary method can include the operations of block 1540, where the first UE can determine whether one or more trigger conditions for initiating SL positioning have been met.
  • the exemplary method can also include the operations of block 1550, where based on determining that at least one trigger condition has been met, the first UE can perform a SL discovery procedure to identify one or more candidate UEs for assisting SL positioning.
  • the exemplary method can also include the operations of block 1560, where the first UE can select a second UE, from the candidate UEs, as a reference UE.
  • the exemplary method can also include the operations of block 1570, where the first UE can perform one or more SL positioning operations with the second UE.
  • the one or more SL positioning operations performed in block 1570 include one or more of the following, labelled with corresponding sub-block numbers:
  • the exemplary method can also include the operations of block 1530 where the first UE can receive, from a network node or function (NNF) of the wireless network, configuration information for SL positioning.
  • NMF network node or function
  • the configuration information includes one or more of the following:
  • the SL discovery configuration includes one or more of the following:
  • the configuration information includes an indication of a plurality of candidate UEs and also indicates an order of priority for the plurality of candidate UEs. In such case, selecting the second UE from the identified candidate UEs in block 1560 is based on the indicated order of priority (e.g., second UE is highest priority).
  • the exemplary method can also include the operations of block 1520, where the first UE can send to the NNF a request for assignment of a reference UE for SL positioning.
  • the configuration information including the indication of the one or more candidate UEs is received (e.g., in block 1530) in response to the request.
  • the exemplary method can also include the operations of block 1510, where the first UE can send an indication of one or more of the following SL positioning capabilities to an NNF of the wireless network:
  • the indication of the SL positioning capabilities is sent to the NNF via one or more relay UEs.
  • performing the SL discovery procedure in block 1550 includes the operations of sub-blocks 1551-1552.
  • the first UE can send an indication of one or more of the following first UE capabilities to each candidate UE:
  • the first UE can receive an indication of one or more of the following capabilities from each candidate UE:
  • selecting the second UE in block 1560 is based on the indicated capabilities of the respective candidate UEs. In some variants, selecting the second UE is further based on one or more of the following: degree of synchronization between the first UE and the second UE, the second UE’s synchronization source.
  • selecting the second UE as a reference UE in block 1560 includes the following operations, labelled with corresponding sub-block numbers:
  • the trigger conditions for which the determination is performed in block 1540 include one or more of the following:
  • target UE supports only SL-based positioning
  • target UE supports but is unable to used non-SL-based positioning methods
  • SL-based positioning is capable of providing results that are better in some way (e g., accuracy, latency, etc.) than supported non-SL-based positioning methods;
  • the exemplary method can also include the operations of block 1580, where after performing the one or more SL positioning operations with the second UE (e.g., in block 1570, the first UE can select a third UE as a reference UE for SL positioning, based on one or more of the following:
  • Figure 16 shows an exemplary method (e.g., procedure) for a second UE configured to operate as a reference UE for SL positioning in a wireless network, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • the exemplary method can be performed by a UE (e.g., wireless device) such as described elsewhere herein.
  • the exemplary method can include the operations of block 1630, where the second UE can perform a SL discovery procedure with a first UE, based on which the second UE is identified as candidate UE for assisting SL positioning of the first UE.
  • the exemplary method can also include the operations of block 1660, where after the second UE is selected as a reference UE for the first UE, the second UE can perform one or more SL positioning operations with the first UE.
  • the one or more SL positioning operations performed in block 1660 include one or more of the following, labelled with corresponding sub-block numbers:
  • the exemplary method can also include the operations of block 1620 where the second UE can receive, from a network node or function (NNF) of the wireless network, configuration information for SL positioning.
  • NMF network node or function
  • the configuration information includes one or more of the following:
  • the SL discovery configuration includes one or more of the following:
  • the configuration information includes an indication of a plurality of candidate UEs and also indicates an order of priority for the plurality of candidate UEs, with the second UE being indicated as high priority for selection.
  • the exemplary method can also include the operations of block 1610, where the second UE can send an indication of one or more of the following SL positioning capabilities to an NNF of the wireless network:
  • the indication of the SL positioning capabilities is sent to the NNF via one or more relay UEs.
  • performing the SL discovery procedure in block 1630 includes the operations of sub-blocks 1631-1632.
  • the second UE can receive from the first UE an indication of one or more of the following first UE capabilities:
  • the second UE can send to the first UE an indication of one or more of the following second UE capabilities:
  • the second UE is selected by the first UE based on the indicated second UE capabilities. In some variants, the second UE is selected by the first UE further based on one or more of the following: degree of synchronization between the first UE and the second UE, the second UE’s synchronization source.
  • the exemplary method can also include the operations of blocks 1640-1650, where the second UE can receive from the first UE a request to be a reference UE for SL positioning and send to the first UE a response indicating that the second UE accepts the request to be a reference UE.
  • the exemplary method can also include the operations of block 1670, where after performing the one or more SL positioning operations with the first UE (e.g., in block 1660), the second UE can send one or more of the following to the first UE:
  • Figure 17 shows an exemplary method (e.g., procedure) for a network node or function (NNF) configured to facilitate SL positioning of a first UE based on assistance from a second UE, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • the exemplary method can be performed by a NNF (e.g., base station, eNB, gNB, AMF, LMF, etc.) such as described elsewhere herein.
  • NNF e.g., base station, eNB, gNB, AMF, LMF, etc.
  • the exemplary method can include the operations of block 1710, where the NNF can receive, from the first and second UEs, respective indications of one or more of the following SL positioning capabilities: • support for SL-based positioning,
  • the exemplary method can also include the operations of block 1740, where the NNF can send, to the first and second UEs, configuration information for SL positioning, including one or more of the following:
  • the SL discovery configuration can include any of the information described above in relation to first and second UE embodiments.
  • the indication of the SL positioning capabilities of the first UE is received from the first UE via one or more relay UEs.
  • the exemplary method can also include the operations of block 1750, where the NNF can send, to the first UE, an indication or command to select a different reference UE than the second UE.
  • the exemplary method can also include the operations of block 1720, where the NNF can receive from the first UE a request for assignment of a reference UE for SL positioning.
  • the configuration information including the indication of the one or more candidate UEs is sent in block 1740 in response to the request.
  • the exemplary method can also include the operations of block 1730, where the NNF can select the one or more candidate UEs indicated to the first UE based on one or more of the following:
  • FIG. 18 shows an example of a communication system 1800 in accordance with some embodiments.
  • communication system 1800 includes telecommunication network 1802 that includes access network 1804 (e g., RAN) and core network 1806, which includes one or more core network nodes 1808.
  • Access network 1804 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 1810a-b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 1810), or any other similar 3 GPP access node or non-3GPP access point.
  • Network nodes 1810 facilitate direct or indirect connection of UEs, such as by connecting UEs 1812a-d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 1812) to core network 1806 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.
  • communication system 1800 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.
  • Communication system 1800 may include and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and/or other similar type of system.
  • UEs 1812 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes 1810 and other communication devices.
  • network nodes 1810 are arranged, capable, configured, and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with UEs 1812 and/or with other network nodes or equipment in telecommunication network 1802 to enable and/or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and/or to perform other functions, such as administration in telecommunication network 1802.
  • core network 1806 connects network nodes 1810 to one or more hosts, such as host 1816. 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.
  • Core network 1806 includes one or more core network nodes (e.g., 1808) 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 core network node 1808.
  • 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
  • Host 1816 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of access network 1804 and/or telecommunication network 1802, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider.
  • Host 1816 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 devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.
  • communication system 1800 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
  • telecommunication network 1802 is a cellular network that implements 3 GPP standardized features. Accordingly, telecommunication network 1802 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to telecommunication network 1802. For example, telecommunication network 1802 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
  • UEs 1812 are configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction.
  • a UE may be designed to transmit information to access network 1804 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from access network 1804.
  • 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
  • hub 1814 communicates with access network 1804 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 1812c and/or 1812d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 1810b).
  • UEs e.g., UE 1812c and/or 1812d
  • network nodes e.g., network node 1810b
  • hub 1814 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs.
  • hub 1814 may be a broadband router enabling access to core network 1806 for the UEs.
  • hub 1814 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 1810, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in hub 1814.
  • hub 1814 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.
  • hub 1814 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, hub 1814 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which hub 1814 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and/or after adding additional local content.
  • hub 1814 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.
  • Hub 1814 may have a constant/persi stent or intermittent connection to network node 1810b. Hub 1814 may also allow for a different communication scheme and/or schedule between hub 1814 and UEs (e.g., UE 1812c and/or 1812d), and between hub 1814 and core network 1806. In other examples, hub 1814 is connected to core network 1806 and/or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, hub 1814 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over access network 1804 and/or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with network nodes 1810 while still connected via hub 1814 via a wired or wireless connection.
  • UEs may establish a wireless connection with network nodes 1810 while still connected via hub 1814 via a wired or wireless connection.
  • hub 1814 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to/from the UEs from/to network node 1810b.
  • hub 1814 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device that can route communications between the UEs and network node 1810b, but which can also operate as a communication start and/or end point for certain data channels.
  • FIG 19 shows a UE 1900 in accordance with some embodiments.
  • 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 3 GPP, including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and/or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.
  • 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 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X).
  • D2D device-to-device
  • DSRC Dedicated Short-Range Communication
  • V2V vehicle-to-vehicle
  • V2I vehicle-to-infrastructure
  • V2X vehicle-to-everything
  • 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
  • UE 1900 includes processing circuitry 1902 that is operatively coupled via bus 1904 to input/output interface 1906, power source 1908, memory 1910, communication interface 1912, and optionally one or more other components not shown. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 19. 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.
  • Processing circuitry 1902 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 memory 1910.
  • Processing circuitry 1902 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.
  • processing circuitry 1902 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).
  • input/output interface 1906 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 UE 1900.
  • 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 presence-sensitive 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
  • power source 1908 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. Power source 1908 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from power source 1908 itself, and/or an external power source, to the various parts of UE 1900 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of power source 1908. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from power source 1908 to make the power suitable for the respective components of UE 1900 to which power is supplied.
  • an external power source e.g., an electricity outlet
  • Photovoltaic device e.g., or power cell
  • Power source 1908 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from power source 1908 itself, and/or an external power source, to the various parts of UE 1900 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of
  • Memory 1910 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.
  • memory 1910 includes one or more application programs 1914, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 1916.
  • Memory 1910 may store, for use by UE 1900, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.
  • Memory 1910 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
  • HDDS holographic digital data storage
  • DIMM external mini-dual in-line memory module
  • SDRAM synchronous dynamic random access memory
  • SDRAM synchronous dynamic random access memory
  • the UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’
  • Memory 1910 may allow UE 1900 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 memory 1910, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.
  • Processing circuitry 1902 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using communication interface 1912.
  • Communication interface 1912 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 1922.
  • Communication interface 1912 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 transmitter 1918 and/or receiver 1920 appropriate to provide network communications (e g , optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth).
  • transmitter 1918 and/or receiver 1920 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., 1922) and may share circuit components, software, or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.
  • communication functions of communication interface 1912 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, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol/intemet protocol (TCP/IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.
  • a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 1912, 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., an alert is sent when moisture is detected), 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- or item-t
  • AR Augmented
  • 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 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device.
  • the UE may implement the 3GPP 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.
  • Figure 20 shows a network node 2000 in accordance with some embodiments. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (e.g., radio access points) and base stations (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, eNBs, and gNBs).
  • 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 MSR BSs, 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
  • BTSs base transceiver stations
  • OFDM Operation and Maintenance
  • OSS Operations Support System
  • SON Self-Organizing Network
  • positioning nodes e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)
  • Network node 2000 includes processing circuitry 2002, memory 2004, communication interface 2006, and power source 2008.
  • Network node 2000 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.
  • network node 2000 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.
  • network node 2000 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs).
  • RATs radio access technologies
  • Network node 2000 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 2000, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 2000.
  • wireless technologies for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth technologies.
  • RFID Radio Frequency Identification
  • Processing circuitry 2002 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 2000 components, such as memory 2004, to provide network node 2000 functionality.
  • processing circuitry 2002 includes a system on a chip (SOC).
  • processing circuitry 2002 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 2012 and baseband processing circuitry 2014.
  • RF transceiver circuitry 2012 and baseband processing circuitry 2014 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units.
  • part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 2012 and baseband processing circuitry 2014 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.
  • Memory 2004 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), read-only 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 processing circuitry 2002.
  • 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), read-only 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
  • Memory 2004 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 (collectively denoted computer program 2004a, which may be in the form of a computer program product) capable of being executed by processing circuitry 2002 and utilized by network node 2000. Memory 2004 may be used to store any calculations made by processing circuitry 2002 and/or any data received via communication interface 2006. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 2002 and memory 2004 is integrated.
  • Communication interface 2006 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and/or data between a network node, access network, and/or UE. As illustrated, communication interface 2006 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) 2016 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. Communication interface 2006 also includes radio frontend circuitry 2018 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, antenna 2010. Radio front-end circuitry 2018 comprises filters 2020 and amplifiers 2022. Radio front-end circuitry 2018 may be connected to an antenna 2010 and processing circuitry 2002. Radio frontend circuitry 2018 may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 2010 and processing circuitry 2002.
  • Radio front-end circuitry 2018 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. Radio front-end circuitry 2018 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 2020 and/or amplifiers 2022. The radio signal may then be transmitted via antenna 2010. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 2010 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by radio front-end circuitry 2018. The digital data may be passed to processing circuitry 2002. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.
  • network node 2000 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 2018, instead, processing circuitry 2002 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to antenna 2010. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of RF transceiver circuitry 2012 is part of communication interface 2006. In still other embodiments, communication interface 2006 includes one or more ports or terminals 2016, radio front-end circuitry 2018, and RF transceiver circuitry 2012, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and communication interface 2006 communicates with baseband processing circuitry 2014, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).
  • Antenna 2010 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals. Antenna 2010 may be coupled to radio front-end circuitry 2018 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, antenna 2010 is separate from network node 2000 and connectable to network node 2000 through an interface or port.
  • Antenna 2010, communication interface 2006, and/or processing circuitry 2002 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, antenna 2010, communication interface 2006, and/or processing circuitry 2002 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.
  • Power source 2008 provides power to the various components of network node 2000 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). Power source 2008 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of network node 2000 with power for performing the functionality described herein.
  • network node 2000 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 power source 2008.
  • power source 2008 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 network node 2000 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.
  • network node 2000 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into network node 2000 and to allow output of information from network node 2000. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for network node 2000.
  • FIG 21 is a block diagram of a host 2100, which may be an embodiment of host 1816 of Figure 18, in accordance with various aspects described herein.
  • host 2100 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.
  • Host 2100 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.
  • Host 2100 includes processing circuitry 2102 that is operatively coupled via bus 2104 to input/output interface 2106, network interface 2108, power source 2110, and memory 2112. 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 2100.
  • Memory 2112 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 2114 and data 2116, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for host 2100 or data generated by host 2100 for a UE.
  • host 2100 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown.
  • Host application programs 2114 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (VVC), 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).
  • Host application programs 2114 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.
  • host 2100 may select and/or indicate a different host for over-the-top services for a UE.
  • Host application programs 2114 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.
  • HTTP Live Streaming HLS
  • 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 2200 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 2200 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, HE, core network node, or host.
  • VMs virtual machines
  • hardware nodes such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, HE, core network node, or host.
  • the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e g., a core network node or host)
  • the node may be entirely virtualized.
  • Applications 2202 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment 2200 to implement some of the features, functions, and/or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.
  • Hardware 2204 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and/or instructions (collectively denoted computer program 2204a, which may be in the form of a computer program product) 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 2206 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 2208a-b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 2208), and/or perform any of the functions, features and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein.
  • Virtualization layer 2206 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to VMs 2208.
  • VMs 2208 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 2206.
  • VMs 2208 may be implemented on one or more VMs 2208, 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.
  • VM 2208 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine.
  • Each VM 2208, and that part of hardware 2204 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 2208 on top of hardware 2204 and corresponds to the application 2202.
  • Hardware 2204 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 2204 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 2204 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 2210, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 2202.
  • hardware 2204 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.
  • some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 2212 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.
  • Figure 23 shows a communication diagram of host 2302 communicating via network node 2304 with UE 2306 over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments.
  • host 2302 Like host 2100, embodiments of host 2302 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. Host 2302 also includes software, which is stored in or accessible by host 2302 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 UE 2306 connecting via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 2350 extending between UE 2306 and host 2302.
  • OTT over-the-top
  • Network node 2304 includes hardware enabling it to communicate with host 2302 and UE 2306.
  • Connection 2360 may be direct or pass through a core network (like core network 1806 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.
  • UE 2306 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by UE 2306 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 2306 with the support of host 2302.
  • 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 2306 with the support of host 2302.
  • an executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via OTT connection 2350 terminating at UE 2306 and host 2302.
  • 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.
  • OTT connection 2350 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 OTT connection 2350.
  • OTT connection 2350 may extend via connection 2360 between host 2302 and network node 2304 and via wireless connection 2370 between network node 2304 and UE 2306 to provide the connection between host 2302 and UE 2306.
  • Connection 2360 and wireless connection 2370, over which OTT connection 2350 may be provided, have been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between host 2302 and UE 2306 via network node 2304, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.
  • host 2302 provides user data, which may be performed by executing a host application.
  • the user data is associated with a particular human user interacting with UE 2306.
  • the user data is associated with a UE 2306 that shares data with host 2302 without explicit human interaction.
  • host 2302 initiates a transmission carrying the user data towards UE 2306.
  • Host 2302 may initiate the transmission responsive to a request transmitted by UE 2306. The request may be caused by human interaction with UE 2306 or by operation of the client application executing on UE 2306.
  • the transmission may pass via network node 2304, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure.
  • network node 2304 transmits to UE 2306 the user data that was carried in the transmission that host 2302 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure.
  • UE 2306 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executed on UE 2306 associated with the host application executed by host 2302.
  • UE 2306 executes a client application which provides user data to host 2302.
  • the user data may be provided in reaction or response to the data received from host 2302.
  • UE 2306 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 UE 2306.
  • UE 2306 initiates, in step 2318, transmission of the user data towards host 2302 via network node 2304.
  • network node 2304 receives user data from UE 2306 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards host 2302.
  • host 2302 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by UE 2306.
  • a target UE only enables SL positioning based on certain trigger conditions such that the target UE otherwise refrains from SL positioning, which reduces energy consumption of the target UE and any assisting UEs.
  • SL positioning is enabled, embodiments facilitate target UE discovery of most suitable assisting UEs, according to needed capabilities of those assisting UEs. In this manner, embodiments reduce UE energy consumption and facilitate target UE compliance with QoS requirements of OTT services that require positioning of the target UE, thereby increasing the value of such OTT services to end users and service providers.
  • factory status information may be collected and analyzed by host 2302.
  • host 2302 may process audio and video data which may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating maps.
  • host 2302 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e g., controlling traffic lights).
  • host 2302 may store surveillance video uploaded by a UE.
  • host 2302 may store or control access to media content such as video, audio, VR or AR which it can broadcast, multicast or unicast to UEs.
  • host 2302 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.
  • 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 host 2302 and/or UE 2306.
  • sensors may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which OTT connection 2350 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 OTT connection 2350 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly alter the operation of network node 2304. 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 host 2302.
  • the measurements may be implemented in that software causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using OTT connection 2350 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.
  • the term unit can have conventional meaning in the field of electronics, electrical devices and/or electronic devices and can include, for example, electrical and/or electronic circuitry, devices, modules, processors, memories, logic solid state and/or discrete devices, computer programs or instructions for carrying out respective tasks, procedures, computations, outputs, and/or displaying functions, and so on, as such as those that are described herein.
  • any appropriate steps, methods, features, functions, or benefits disclosed herein may be performed through one or more functional units or modules of one or more virtual apparatuses.
  • Each virtual apparatus may comprise a number of these functional units.
  • These functional units may be implemented via processing circuitry, which may include one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include Digital Signal Processor (DSPs), special-purpose digital logic, and the like.
  • the processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or several types of memory such as Read Only Memory (ROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc.
  • Program code stored in memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and/or data communications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one or more of the techniques described herein.
  • the processing circuitry may be used to cause the respective functional unit to perform corresponding functions according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.
  • device and/or apparatus can be represented by a semiconductor chip, a chipset, or a (hardware) module comprising such chip or chipset; this, however, does not exclude the possibility that a functionality of a device or apparatus, instead of being hardware implemented, be implemented as a software module such as a computer program or a computer program product comprising executable software code portions for execution or being run on a processor.
  • functionality of a device or apparatus can be implemented by any combination of hardware and software.
  • a device or apparatus can also be regarded as an assembly of multiple devices and/or apparatuses, whether functionally in cooperation with or independently of each other.
  • devices and apparatuses can be implemented in a distributed fashion throughout a system, so long as the functionality of the device or apparatus is preserved. Such and similar principles are considered as known to a skilled person.
  • Embodiments of the present disclosure also include, but are not limited to, the following enumerated examples.
  • Al A method for a first user equipment (UE) configured to operate as a target UE for sidelink (SL) positioning in a wireless network, the method comprising: determining whether one or more trigger conditions for initiating SL positioning have been met; based on determining that at least one trigger condition has been met, performing a SL discovery procedure to identify one or more candidate UEs for assisting SL positioning; selecting a second UE, from the candidate UEs, as an assisting UE; and performing one or more SL positioning operations with the second UE.
  • UE user equipment
  • SL sidelink
  • the one or more SL positioning operations include one or more of the following: establishing a unicast SL with the second UE; receiving SL positioning assistance data from the second UE; performing positioning measurements on SL signals transmitted by the second UE; and transmitting SL signals for positioning measurements by the second UE.
  • A3 The method of any of embodiments A1-A2, further comprising receiving, from a network node or function (NNF) of the wireless network, configuration information for SL positioning, wherein at least one of the following is based on the configuration information: determining whether one or more trigger conditions have been met; performing the SL discovery procedure; selecting the second UE; and performing the one or more SL positioning operations.
  • NMF network node or function
  • the configuration information includes one or more of the following: an indication of whether the wireless network supports SL positioning;
  • SL discovery configuration for discovery of UEs to assist with SL positioning; one or more SL resource pools for discovery of UEs to assist with SL positioning; and one or more SL resource pools for communication of SL positioning assistance; an indication of one or more candidate UEs to assist with SL positioning.
  • the SL discovery configuration includes one or more of the following: one or more first quality thresholds for a downlink (DL) from the wireless network, below which triggers discovery for SL positioning; one or more second quality thresholds for a SL from a candidate UE, above which a target UE can select the candidate UE as an assisting UE for SL positioning; and one or more third quality thresholds for a SL from a target UE, above which a candidate UE can accept a request from the target UE to be an assisting UE for SL positioning.
  • DL downlink
  • second quality thresholds for a SL from a candidate UE above which a target UE can select the candidate UE as an assisting UE for SL positioning
  • third quality thresholds for a SL from a target UE above which a candidate UE can accept a request from the target UE to be an assisting UE for SL positioning.
  • A6 The method of any of embodiments A4-A5, wherein: the configuration includes an indication of a plurality of candidate UEs; the configuration also indicates an order of priority for the plurality of candidate UEs; and selecting the second UE from the identified candidate UEs is based on the indicated order of priority.
  • A6a The method of any of embodiments A4-A6, further comprising sending to the NNF a request for assignment of an assisting UE for SL positioning, wherein the configuration information including the indication of the one or more candidate UEs is received in response to the request.
  • A7 The method of any of embodiments Al-A6a, further comprising sending an indication of one or more of the following SL positioning capabilities to a network node or function (NNF) of the wireless network: support for SL-based positioning; support for SL positioning-related communication with a network-based location server via a relay UE; and support for SL positioning-related communication with a UE-based location server via a relay UE.
  • NMF network node or function
  • performing the SL discovery procedure to identify one or more candidate UEs for assisting SL positioning comprises: sending an indication of one or more of the following first UE capabilities to each candidate UE: support for SL-based positioning assisted by another UE, support for GNSS-based positioning, and current ability to receive GNSS signals; and receiving an indication of one or more of the following capabilities from each candidate UE: support for GNSS-based positioning, current ability to receive GNSS signals, current quality of downlink (DL) signal from the wireless network, support for assisting another UE for SL-based positioning, number of target UEs currently being assisted by the candidate UE, support for SL positioning-related communication with a network-based location server via a relay UE; and support for SL positioning-related communication with a UE-based location server via a relay UE.
  • DL downlink
  • selecting the second UE is further based on one or more of the following: degree of synchronization between the first UE and the second UE; and the second UE’s synchronization source.
  • selecting the second UE as an assisting UE comprises: sending to the second UE a request to be an assisting UE for SL positioning; and receiving from the second UE a response indicating that the second UE accepts the request to be an assisting UE.
  • A12a The method of any of embodiments A1-A12, wherein the trigger conditions include one or more of the following: target UE supports only SL-based positioning; target UE supports but is unable to used non-SL-based positioning methods; results from supported non-SL-based positioning methods do not meet positioning quality - of-service (QoS) requirements;
  • QoS quality - of-service
  • SL-based positioning is capable of providing results that are better than supported non- SL-based positioning methods; elapsed time since target UE’s most recent positioning results is greater than a configured threshold; target UE position, speed, and/or velocity has recently changed by more than a threshold amount; request from wireless network to perform SL positioning; or request from first UE upper protocol layers to perform SL positioning.
  • A13 The method of any of embodiments Al-A12a, further comprising, after performing the one or more SL positioning operations with the second UE, selecting a third UE as an assisting UE for SL positioning, based on one or more of the following: an indication or command from the wireless network to select a different assisting UE; an indication from the second UE that it can no longer assist the first UE with SL positioning; an indication from the third UE that it can provide more accurate SL positioning assistance than the second UE; positioning measurements performed on SL signals from the second UE no longer meet quality-of-service (QoS) requirements of the first UE; quality of SL signal from the second UE is below a threshold; an indication from the second UE of a radio-related event or condition on the second UE’s interface to the wireless network; a SL link release message from the second UE; a radio link failure (RLF) on the SL between the first UE and the second UE; and an indication from an upper protocol layer of the first UE.
  • a method for a second user equipment (UE) configured to operate an assisting UE for sidelink (SL) positioning in a wireless network, the method comprising: performing a SL discovery procedure with a first UE, based on which the second UE is identified as candidate UE for assisting SL positioning of the first UE; and after the second UE is selected as an assisting UE for the first UE, performing one or more SL positioning operations with the first UE.
  • UE user equipment
  • SL sidelink
  • the one or more SL positioning operations include one or more of the following: establishing a unicast SL with the first UE; sending SL positioning assistance data to the first UE; performing positioning measurements on SL signals transmitted by the first UE; and transmitting SL signals for positioning measurements by the first UE.
  • the configuration information includes one or more of the following: an indication of whether the wireless network supports SL positioning;
  • SL discovery configuration for discovery of UEs to assist with SL positioning; one or more SL resource pools for discovery of UEs to assist with SL positioning; one or more SL resource pools for communication of SL positioning assistance; and an indication of one or more candidate UEs to assist with SL positioning.
  • the SL discovery configuration includes one or more of the following: one or more first quality thresholds for a downlink (DL) from the wireless network, below which triggers discovery for SL positioning; one or more second quality thresholds for a SL from a candidate UE, above which a target UE can select the candidate UE as an assisting UE for SL positioning; and one or more third quality thresholds for a SL from a target UE, above which a candidate UE can accept a request from the target UE to be an assisting UE for SL positioning.
  • DL downlink
  • second quality thresholds for a SL from a candidate UE above which a target UE can select the candidate UE as an assisting UE for SL positioning
  • third quality thresholds for a SL from a target UE above which a candidate UE can accept a request from the target UE to be an assisting UE for SL positioning.
  • B6 The method of any of embodiments B4-B5, wherein: the configuration includes an indication of a plurality of candidate UEs; the configuration also indicates an order of priority for the plurality of candidate UEs, with the second UE being indicated as a high priority for selection.
  • B7 The method of any of embodiments B1-B6, further comprising sending an indication of one or more of the following SL positioning capabilities to a network node or function (NNF) of the wireless network: support for SL-based positioning; support for SL positioning-related communication with a network-based location server via a relay UE; and support for SL positioning-related communication with a UE-based location server via a relay UE.
  • NTF network node or function
  • performing the SL discovery procedure with the first UE comprises: receiving from the first UE an indication of one or more of the following first UE capabilities: support for SL-based positioning assisted by another UE, support for GNSS-based positioning, and current ability to receive GNSS signals; and sending to the first UE an indication of one or more of the following second UE capabilities: support for GNSS-based positioning, current ability to receive GNSS signals, current quality of downlink (DL) signal from the wireless network, support for assisting another UE for SL-based positioning, number of target UEs currently being assisted by the candidate UE, support for SL positioning-related communication with a network-based location server via a relay UE; and support for SL positioning-related communication with a UE-based location server via a relay UE.
  • first UE capabilities support for SL-based positioning assisted by another UE, support for GNSS-based positioning, and current ability to receive GNSS signals
  • second UE capabilities support for GNSS-based positioning, current ability to receive GNSS
  • BIO. The method of embodiment B9, wherein the second UE is selected by the first UE based on the indicated second UE capabilities.
  • CL A method for a network node or function (NNF) configured to facilitate SL positioning of a first UE based on assistance from a second UE, the method comprising: receiving, from the first and second UEs, respective indications of one or more of the following SL positioning capabilities: support for SL-based positioning, support for SL positioning-related communication with a network-based location server via a relay UE, and support for SL positioning-related communication with a UE-based location server via a relay UE; and sending, to the first and second UEs, configuration information for SL positioning, including one or more of the following: an indication of whether the wireless network supports SL positioning,
  • SL discovery configuration for discovery of UEs to assist with SL positioning, one or more SL resource pools for discovery of UEs to assist with SL positioning, one or more SL resource pools for communication of SL positioning assistance, and an indication of one or more candidate UEs to assist with SL positioning.
  • the SL discovery configuration includes one or more of the following: one or more first quality thresholds for a downlink (DL) from the wireless network, below which triggers discovery for SL positioning; one or more second quality thresholds for a SL from a candidate UE, above which a target UE can select the candidate UE as an assisting UE for SL positioning; and one or more third quality thresholds for a SL from a target UE, above which a candidate UE can accept a request from the target UE to be an assisting UE for SL positioning.
  • DL downlink
  • second quality thresholds for a SL from a candidate UE above which a target UE can select the candidate UE as an assisting UE for SL positioning
  • third quality thresholds for a SL from a target UE above which a candidate UE can accept a request from the target UE to be an assisting UE for SL positioning.
  • a first user equipment configured to operate as a target UE for sidelink (SL) positioning in a wireless network
  • the first UE comprising: communication interface circuitry configured to communicate with one or more assisting UEs and with the wireless network; and processing circuitry operatively coupled to the communication interface circuitry, whereby the processing circuitry and the communication interface circuitry are configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments Al -Al 3.
  • a first user equipment (UE) configured to operate as a target UE for sidelink (SL) positioning in a wireless network, the first UE being further configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments A1-A13.
  • a non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry of a first user equipment (UE) configured to operate as a target UE for sidelink (SL) positioning in a wireless network, configure the UE to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments Al -Al 3.
  • UE user equipment
  • SL sidelink
  • a computer program product comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry of a first user equipment (UE) configured to operate as a target UE for sidelink (SL) positioning in a wireless network, configure the UE to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments A1-A13.
  • UE user equipment
  • SL sidelink
  • a second user equipment configured to operate as an assisting UE for sidelink (SL) positioning in a wireless network
  • the second UE comprising: communication interface circuitry configured to communicate with a target UE for SL positioning and with the wireless network; and processing circuitry operatively coupled to the communication interface circuitry, whereby the processing circuitry and the communication interface circuitry are configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments B1-B13.
  • a second user equipment (UE) configured to operate as an assisting UE for sidelink (SL) positioning in a wireless network, the second UE being further configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments Bl -B 13.
  • a non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry of a second user equipment (UE) configured to operate as an assisting UE for sidelink (SL) positioning in a wireless network, configure the second UE to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments B1-B13.
  • a computer program product comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry of a second user equipment (UE) configured to operate as an assisting UE for sidelink (SL) positioning in a wireless network, configure the second UE to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments B1-B13.
  • UE user equipment
  • SL sidelink
  • a network node or function configured to facilitate sidelink (SL) positioning of a first UE based on assistance from a second UE, the NNF comprising: communication interface circuitry configured to communicate with target UEs and assisting UEs for SL positioning; and processing circuitry operatively coupled to the communication interface circuitry, whereby the processing circuitry and the communication interface circuitry are configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments C1-C7.
  • a network node or function configured to facilitate sidelink (SL) positioning of a first UE based on assistance from a second UE, the NNF being further configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments C1-C7.
  • a non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry of a network node or function (NNF) configured to facilitate sidelink (SL) positioning of a first UE based on assistance from a second UE, configure the NNF to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments C1-C7.
  • NNF network node or function
  • a computer program product comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry of a network node or function (NNF) configured to facilitate sidelink (SL) positioning of a first UE based on assistance from a second UE, configure the NNF to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments C1-C7.
  • NNF network node or function

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Abstract

Embodiments include methods for a first user equipment (UE) configured to operate as a target UE for sidelink (SL) positioning in a wireless network. Such methods include determining whether one or more trigger conditions for initiating SL positioning have been met and, based on determining that at least one trigger condition has been met, performing a SL discovery procedure to identify one or more candidate UEs for assisting SL positioning. Such methods include selecting a second UE, from the candidate UEs, as a reference UE and performing one or more SL positioning operations with the second UE. Other embodiments include complementary methods for the second UE and for a network node or function (NNF) of the wireless network, as well as UEs and NNFs configured to perform such methods.

Description

TRIGGERING SIDELINK-BASED POSITIONING
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present disclosure generally relates to wireless communication networks, and more specifically to determining the geographic location of a target user equipment (UE) that is out-of- coverage with respect to a radio access network (RAN) but reachable via a reference UE using sidelink connection.
BACKGROUND
Currently the fifth generation (5G) of cellular systems, also referred to as New Radio (NR), is being standardized within the Third-Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). 5G/NR is developed for maximum flexibility to support multiple and substantially different use cases. These include enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), machine type communications (MTC), ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC), side-link device-to-device (D2D), and several other use cases. NR was initially specified in 3GPP Release 15 (Rel-15) and continues to evolve through subsequent releases, such as Rel-16 and Rel-17.
5G/NR technology shares many similarities with fourth-generation Long-Term Evolution (LTE). For example, NR uses CP-OFDM (Cyclic Prefix Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) in the downlink (DL) from network to user equipment (UE), and both CP-OFDM and DFT-spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM) in the uplink (UL) from UE to network. As another example, NR DL and UL time-domain physical resources are organized into equal-sized 1-ms subframes. A subframe is divided into multiple slots of equal duration, with each slot including multiple OFDM-based symbols. Even so, time-frequency resources can be configured much more flexibly for an NR cell than for an LTE cell.
Sidelink (SL) is a type of device-to-device (D2D) communication whereby UEs can communicate with each other directly rather than indirectly via a 3GPP radio access network (RAN). The first 3GPP standardization of SL was in LTE Rel-12 targeting national security and public safety (NSPS) use cases and proximity -based services (ProSe). Since then, various enhancements have been introduced to broaden the use cases that could benefit from D2D technology. For example, the D2D extensions in LTE Rel-14 and Rel-15 include supporting vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication.
3GPP Rel-16 specifies the NR SL interface. NR Rel-16 SL targets advanced V2X services, which can be categorized into four use case groups: vehicles platooning, extended sensors, advanced driving, and remote driving. The advanced V2X services require a new SL in order to meet the stringent requirements in terms of latency and reliability. The NR SL is designed to provide higher system capacity and better coverage, and to allow for extension to support the future development of even more advanced V2X services and other related services.
Broadcast, groupcast, and unicast transmissions are desirable for the services targeted by NR SL. In groupcast (or multicast), the intended receiver of a message consists of only a subset of the possible recipients in proximity to the transmitter, whereas a unicast message is intended for only one recipient in proximity to the transmitter. For example, in the platooning service there are certain messages that are only of interest of the members of the platoon, for which groupcast can be used. Unicast is a natural fit for use cases involving only a pair of vehicles.
3 GPP standards provide various ways for positioning (e.g., determining the position of, locating, and/or determining the location of) UEs operating in NR networks. In general, a positioning node configures a target device (e.g., UE) and/or RAN nodes (e.g., gNB, ng-eNB, etc.) to perform one or more positioning measurements according to one or more positioning methods. For example, the positioning measurements can include timing (and/or timing difference) measurements on UE, network, and/or satellite transmissions. The positioning measurements are used by the target device, the measuring node, and/or the positioning node to determine the target device’s location.
NSPS positioning scenarios and/or use cases are expected to be important for 3GPP Rel- 17 and beyond. Certain NR SL features that were specified in 3GPP Rel-16 are likely to be the baseline for enhancements to NSPS positioning use cases. NSPS services may need to operate without (or with partial) RAN coverage, such as during indoor firefighting, forest firefighting, earthquake rescue, sea rescue, etc. In these scenarios, coverage extension is a crucial enabler.
3 GPP Rel-17 includes a work item for coverage extension for SL-based communication, including UE-to-network (U2N) relay for cellular coverage extension and UE-to-UE (U2U) relay for SL coverage extension. Additionally, improving performance of power-limited UEs (e.g., pedestrian UEs, first responder UEs, etc.) and improving the performance using resource coordination are also important goals for the Rel-17 work.
U2U relay involves a UE using two direct communication links to connect two UEs in its proximity that otherwise are not able to communicate. U2N involves a relay UE extending network connectivity to another nearby UE (also referred to as remote UE) by using a direct communication between the relay UE and the remote UE. NR SL U2N relay uses two different architectures: a L3 architecture similar to LTE, and a newly defined architecture in which relaying occurs within Layer 2 (L2), over the RLC sublayer. SUMMARY
3 GPP document RP-213561 lists a Rel-18 study item for positioning architecture and signaling procedures (e g. configuration, measurement reporting, etc.) to enable both UE-based and network-based SL positioning of a target UE, which may be in various network coverage conditions such as full coverage, partial coverage, or no coverage. These scenarios may also involve a reference UE (also called “assisting UE”) that provides SL measurement assistance to the target UE. However, currently there are no solutions or specifications for conditions under which SL positioning can be triggered for the target UE, or how a target UE can select a reference UE for SL positioning. These ambiguities can cause various problems, issues, and/or difficulties.
An object of embodiments of the present disclosure is to improve positioning of UEs operating (at least partially) out of network coverage, such as by providing, enabling, and/or facilitating solutions to overcome exemplary problems summarized above and described in more detail below.
Embodiments include exemplary methods (e.g., procedures) for a first UE configured to operate as a target UE for SL positioning in a wireless network.
These exemplary methods can include determining whether one or more trigger conditions for initiating SL positioning have been met. These exemplary methods can also include, based on determining that at least one trigger condition has been met, performing a SL discovery procedure to identify one or more candidate UEs for assisting SL positioning. These exemplary methods can also include selecting a second UE, from the candidate UEs, as a reference UE. These exemplary methods can also include performing one or more SL positioning operations with the second UE.
In various embodiments, the one or more SL positioning operations performed include one or more of the following:
• establishing a unicast SL with the second UE;
• receiving SL positioning assistance data from the second UE;
• performing positioning measurements on SL signals transmitted by the second UE;
• transmitting SL signals for positioning measurements by the second UE.
In some embodiments, these exemplary methods can also include receiving, from a network node or function (NNF) of the wireless network, configuration information for SL positioning. In such case, at least one of the following is based on the configuration information:
• determining whether one or more trigger conditions have been met;
• performing the SL discovery procedure;
• selecting the second UE; and
• performing the one or more SL positioning operations. Other embodiments include exemplary methods (e.g., procedures) for a second UE configured to operate as a reference UE for SL positioning in a wireless network. In general, these exemplary methods are complementary to the exemplary methods for a first UE, summarized above.
These exemplary methods can include performing a SL discovery procedure with a first UE, based on which the second UE is identified as candidate UE for assisting SL positioning of the first UE. These exemplary methods can also include, after the second UE is selected as a reference UE for the first UE, performing one or more SL positioning operations with the first UE.
In various embodiments, the one or more SL positioning operations performed include one or more of the following:
• establishing a unicast SL with the first UE;
• sending SL positioning assistance data to the first UE;
• performing positioning measurements on SL signals transmitted by the first UE;
• transmitting SL signals for positioning measurements by the first UE.
In some embodiments, these exemplary methods can also include receiving, from a NNF of the wireless network, configuration information for SL positioning. In such case, at least one of the following is performed based on the configuration information: the SL discovery procedure, and the one or more SL positioning operations.
In some of these embodiments, the configuration information includes one or more of the following:
• an indication of whether the wireless network supports SL positioning;
• SL discovery configuration for discovery of UEs to assist with SL positioning;
• one or more SL resource pools for discovery of UEs to assist with SL positioning;
• one or more SL resource pools for communication of SL positioning assistance; and
• an indication of one or more candidate UEs to assist with SL positioning.
Other embodiments include exemplary methods (e.g., procedures) for a NNF configured to facilitate SL positioning of a first UE based on assistance from a second UE. In general, these exemplary methods are complementary to the exemplary methods for the first UE and the second, summarized above.
These exemplary methods can include receiving, from the first and second UEs, respective indications of one or more of the following SL positioning capabilities:
• support for SL-based positioning, • support for SL positioning-related communication with a network-based location server via a relay UE, and
• support for SL positioning-related communication with a UE-based location server via a relay UE; and
These exemplary methods can also include sending, to the first and second UEs, configuration information for SL positioning, including one or more of the following:
• an indication of whether the wireless network supports SL positioning,
• SL discovery configuration for discovery of UEs to assist with SL positioning,
• one or more SL resource pools for discovery of UEs to assist with SL positioning,
• one or more SL resource pools for communication of SL positioning assistance, and
• an indication of one or more candidate UEs to assist with SL positioning.
In some embodiments, these exemplary methods can also include sending to the first UE an indication or command to select a different reference UE than the second UE.
In some embodiments, these exemplary methods can also include receiving from the first UE a request for assignment of a reference UE for SL positioning. In such case, the configuration information including the indication of the one or more candidate UEs is sent in response to the request. In some of these embodiments, these exemplary methods can also include selecting the one or more candidate UEs indicated to the first UE based on one or more of the following:
• whether each candidate UE can operate as a reference UE;
• whether each candidate UE supports GNSS based positioning;
• whether each candidate UE has fresh GNSS based positioning results;
• quality of each candidate UE’ s radio link with the wireless network; and
• quality of each candidate UE’ s radio link with the first UE.
Other embodiments and variants of the exemplary methods summarized above are disclosed herein.
Other embodiments include UEs (e.g., wireless devices) and NNFs configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the exemplary methods described herein. Other embodiments include non-transitory, computer-readable media storing program instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry, configure such UEs and NNFs to perform operations corresponding to any of the exemplary methods described herein.
These and other embodiments described herein can provide various benefits and/or advantages. For example, a target UE only enables SL positioning based on certain trigger conditions such that the target UE otherwise refrains from SL positioning, which reduces energy consumption of the target UE and any reference UEs. When SL positioning is enabled, embodiments facilitate target UE discovery of most suitable reference UEs, according to needed capabilities of those reference UEs. In this manner, embodiments facilitate target UE compliance with QoS requirements of services that require positioning of the target UE.
These and other objects, features, and advantages of embodiments of the present disclosure will become apparent upon reading the following Detailed Description in view of the Drawings briefly described below.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 shows exemplary NR user plane (UP) and control plane (CP) protocol stacks.
Figure 2 illustrates a high-level view of an exemplary 5G/NR network architecture.
Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating a high-level architecture for supporting UE positioning in NR networks.
Figure 4 shows an exemplary arrangement of interfaces between two V2X UEs and a RAN.
Figure 5 shows three exemplary network coverage scenarios for two UEs and a gNB serving a cell.
Figure 6 shows a reference architecture for 5G ProSe L3 UE-to-Network relay.
Figure 7 shows exemplary UP protocol stacks for 5G ProSe L3 UE-to-Network relay.
Figures 8-9 show exemplary UP and CP protocol stacks, respectively, for L2 UE-to- Network Relay.
Figures 10-13 show various exemplary protocol stacks for communication between a source UE, a target UE, and a UE-to-UE relay.
Figure 14 shows a flow diagram of a procedure for a target UE configured for SL positioning, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.
Figure 15 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary method (e.g., procedure) for a target UE (e.g., wireless device), according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
Figure 16 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary method (e.g., procedure) for a reference UE (e.g., wireless device), according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
Figure 17 shows a flow diagram of an exemplary method (e.g., procedure) for a network node or function (NNF, e.g., base station, eNB, gNB, AMF, LMF, etc.), according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
Figure 18 shows a communication system according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
Figure 19 shows a UE according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 20 shows a network node according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
Figure 1 shows host computing system according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
Figure 22 is a block diagram of a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments of the present disclosure may be virtualized.
Figure 23 illustrates communication between a host computing system, a network node, and a UE via multiple connections, at least one of which is wireless, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Other embodiments, however, are contained within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein, the disclosed subject matter should not be construed as limited to only the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.
In general, all terms used herein are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning to a person of ordinary skill in the relevant technical field, unless a different meaning is expressly defined and/or implied from the context of use. All references to a/an/the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc. are to be interpreted openly as referring to at least one instance of the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise or clearly implied from the context of use. The operations of any methods and/or procedures disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless an operation is explicitly described as following or preceding another operation and/or where it is implicit that an operation must follow or precede another operation. Any feature of any embodiment disclosed herein can apply to any other disclosed embodiment, as appropriate. Likewise, any advantage of any embodiment described herein can apply to any other disclosed embodiment, as appropriate.
Furthermore, the following terms are used throughout the description given below:
• Radio Access Node: As used herein, a “radio access node” (or equivalently “radio network node,” “radio access network node,” or “RAN node”) can be any node in a radio access network (RAN) that operates to wirelessly transmit and/or receive signals. Some examples of a radio access node include, but are not limited to, a base station (e.g., gNB in a 3GPP 5G/NR network or an enhanced or eNB in a 3GPP LTE network), base station distributed components (e.g., CU and DU), a high-power or macro base station, a low-power base station (e.g., micro, pico, femto, or home base station, or the like), an integrated access backhaul (IAB) node, a transmission point (TP), a transmission reception point (TRP), a remote radio unit (RRU or RRH), and a relay node.
• Core Network Node: As used herein, a “core network node” is any type of node in a core network. Some examples of a core network node include, e.g., a Mobility Management Entity (MME), a serving gateway (SGW), a PDN Gateway (P-GW), a Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF), an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), a user plane function (UPF), a Charging Function (CHF), a Policy Control Function (PCF), an Authentication Server Function (AUSF), a location management function (LMF), or the like.
• Wireless Device: As used herein, a “wireless device” (or “WD” for short) is any type of device that is capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and/or other wireless devices. Communicating wirelessly can involve transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information through air. Unless otherwise noted, the term “wireless device” is used interchangeably herein with the term “user equipment” (or “UE” for short), with both terms having a different meaning than the term “network node” .
• Radio Node: As used herein, a “radio node” can be either a “radio access node” (or equivalent term) or a “wireless device.”
• Network Node: As used herein, a “network node” is any node that is either part of the radio access network (e.g., a radio access node or equivalent term) or of the core network (e.g., a core network node discussed above) of a cellular communications network. Functionally, a network node is equipment capable, configured, arranged, and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a wireless device and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the cellular communications network, to enable and/or provide wireless access to the wireless device, and/or to perform other functions (e.g., administration) in the cellular communications network.
• Node: As used herein, the term “node” (without prefix) can be a network node or a wireless device.
The above definitions are not meant to be exclusive. In other words, various ones of the above terms may be explained and/or described elsewhere in the present disclosure using the same or similar terminology. Nevertheless, to the extent that such other explanations and/or descriptions conflict with the above definitions, the above definitions should control.
Note that the description given herein focuses on a 3 GPP cellular communications system and, as such, 3GPP terminology or terminology similar to 3GPP terminology is oftentimes used. However, the concepts disclosed herein are not limited to a 3 GPP system and can be applied to any communication system that may benefit from them. Furthermore, although the term “cell” is used herein, it should be understood that (particularly with respect to 5G NR) beams may be used instead of cells and, as such, concepts described herein apply equally to both cells and beams.
Figure 1 shows an exemplary configuration of NR user plane (UP) and control plane (CP) protocol stacks between a UE (110), a gNodeB (gNB, e.g., base station, 120), and an access and mobility management function (AMF, 130) in a 5Gcore network (5GC). Physical (PHY), Medium Access Control (MAC), Radio Link Control (RLC), and Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layers between the UE and the gNB are common to UP and CP. PDCP provides ciphering/deciphering, integrity protection, sequence numbering, reordering, and duplicate detection for both CP and UP, as well as header compression and retransmission for UP data.
On the UP side, Internet protocol (IP) packets arrive to PDCP as service data units (SDUs), and PDCP creates protocol data units (PDUs) to deliver to RLC. The Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer handles quality-of-service (QoS) including mapping between QoS flows and Data Radio Bearers (DRBs) and marking QoS flow identifiers (QFI) in UL and DL packets. RLC transfers PDCP PDUs to MAC through logical channels (LCH). RLC provides error detection/correction, concatenation, segmentation/reassembly, sequence numbering, reordering of data transferred to/from the upper layers. MAC provides mapping between LCHs and PHY transport channels, LCH prioritization, multiplexing into or demultiplexing from transport blocks (TBs), hybrid ARQ (HARQ) error correction, and dynamic scheduling (in gNB). PHY provides transport channel services to MAC and handles transfer over the NR radio interface, e.g., via modulation, coding, antenna mapping, and beam forming.
On the CP side, the non-access stratum (NAS) layer between UE and AMF handles UE/gNB authentication, mobility management, and security control. RRC sits below NAS in the UE but terminates in the gNB rather than the AMF. RRC controls communications between UE and gNB at the radio interface as well as the mobility of a UE between cells in the NG-RAN. RRC also broadcasts system information (SI) and performs establishment, configuration, maintenance, and release of DRBs and Signaling Radio Bearers (SRBs) and used by UEs. Additionally, RRC controls addition, modification, and release of carrier aggregation (CA) and dual-connectivity (DC) configurations for UEs, and performs various security functions such as key management.
After a UE is powered ON it will be in the RRC IDLE state until an RRC connection is established with the network, at which time the UE will transition to RRC CONNECTED state (e.g, where data transfer can occur). The UE returns to RRC IDLE after the connection with the network is released. In RRC__IDLE state, the UE’s radio is active on a discontinuous reception (DRX) schedule configured by upper layers. During DRX active periods (also referred to as “DRX On durations”), an RRC IDLE UE receives SI broadcast in the cell where the UE is camping, performs measurements of neighbor cells to support cell reselection, and monitors a paging channel on physical DI, control channel (PDCCH) for pages from 5GC via gNB. A UE in RRC_IDLE state is not known to the gNB serving the cell where the UE is camping. However, NR RRC includes an RRC_INACTIVE state in which a UE is known (e.g., via context) by the serving gNB.
Figure 2 shows a high-level view of an exemplary 5G network architecture, including a Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN, 299) and a 5GC (298). As shown in the figure, the NG-RAN can include gNBs (e.g., 210a, b) and ng-eNBs (e.g, 220a, b) that are connected via respective Xn interfaces. The gNBs and ng-eNBs are also connected to the 5GC via the NG interfaces, more specifically to access and mobility management function (AMFs, e.g, 230a, b) via respective NG-C interfaces and to user plane functions (UPFs, e.g, 240a, b) via respective NG- U interfaces. Moreover, the AMFs can communicate with one or more policy control functions (PCFs, e.g., 250a, b) and network exposure functions (NEFs, e.g., 260a, b).
Each of the gNBs can support the NR radio interface including frequency division duplexing (FDD), time division duplexing (TDD), or a combination thereof. In contrast, each of ng-eNBs can support the LTE radio interface but, unlike conventional LTE eNodeBs (eNBs), connect to the 5GC via the NG interface. Each of the gNBs and ng-eNBs can serve a geographic coverage area including one more cells (e.g., 211a-b, 221a-b). The gNBs and ng-eNBs can also use various directional beams to provide coverage in the respective cells. Depending on the cell in which it is located, a UE (205) can communicate with the gNB or ng-eNB serving that cell via the NR or LTE radio interface, respectively.
The gNBs shown in Figure 2 can include a central (or centralized) unit (CU or gNB-CU) and one or more distributed (or decentralized) units (DU or gNB-DU), which can be viewed as logical nodes. CUs host higher-layer protocols and perform various gNB functions such controlling the operation of DUs, which host lower-layer protocols and can include various subsets of the gNB functions. A CU connects to its associated DUs over respective Fl logical interfaces. Each of the CUs and DUs can include various circuitry needed to perform their respective functions, including processing circuitry, communication interface circuitry (e.g., for communication via Xn, NG, radio, etc. interfaces), and power supply circuitry.
Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating a high-level architecture for supporting UE positioning in NR networks. NG-RAN (320) can include RAN nodes such as gNB (322) and ng-eNB (321). Each ng-eNB may control several transmission points (TPs), such as remote radio heads. Similarly, each gNB may control several TRPs. Some or all of the TPs/TRPs may be DL- PRS-only for support of PRS-based TBS. In addition, the NG-RAN nodes communicate with an AMF (340) in the 5GC via respective NG-C interfaces, while AMF 340 communicates with a location management function (LMF, 330) communicate via an NLs interface (341). An LMF supports various functions related to determination of UE locations, including location determination for a UE and obtaining DL location measurements or a location estimate from the UE, UL location measurements from the NG RAN, and non-UE associated assistance data from the NG RAN.
In addition, positioning-related communication between UE 310 and the NG-RAN nodes occurs via the RRC protocol, while positioning-related communication between NG-RAN nodes and LMF occurs via an NRPPa protocol. Optionally, the LMF can also communicate with an enhanced serving mobile location center (E-SMLC, 350) and a secure user plane location (SUPL) location platform (SLP, 360) in an LTE network via respective communication interfaces (351, 361). These communication interfaces can utilize and/or be based on standardized protocols, proprietary protocols, or a combination thereof.
The LMF can also include, or be associated with, various processing circuitry (342), by which the LMF performs various operations described herein. The processing circuitry can include similar types of processing circuitry as described herein in relation to other network nodes (see, e.g., descriptions of Figures 20 and 22). The LMF can also include, or be associated with, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (343) for instructions (also referred to as a computer program) that can facilitate the operations of the processing circuitry. The storage medium can include similar types of computer memory as described herein in relation to other network nodes (see, e.g., descriptions of Figures 20 and 22). Additionally, the LMF can include various communication interface circuitry (341, e.g., Ethernet, optical, and/or radio transceivers) that can be used, e g., for communication via the NLs interface. For example, the communication interface circuitry can be similar to other interface circuitry described herein in relation to other network nodes (see, e.g., descriptions of Figures 20 and 22).
Similarly, the E-SMLC can include, or be associated with, various processing circuitry (352), by which the E-SMLC performs various operations described herein. The processing circuitry can include similar types of processing circuitry as described herein in relation to other network nodes (see, e.g., descriptions of Figures 20 and 22). The E-SMLC can also include, or be associated with, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (353) for instructions (also referred to as a computer program) that can facilitate the operations of the processing circuitry. The storage medium can include similar types of computer memory as described herein in relation to other network nodes (see, e.g., descriptions of Figures 20 and 22). The E- SMLC can also include communication interface circuitry that is appropriate for communicating via interface (351), which can be similar to other interface circuitry described herein in relation to other network nodes (see, e.g., descriptions of Figures 20 and 22).
Similarly, the SLP can also include, or be associated with, various processing circuitry (362), by which the SLP performs various operations described herein. The processing circuitry can include similar types of processing circuitry as described herein in relation to other network nodes (see, e.g., descriptions of Figures 20 and 22). The SLP can also include, or be associated with, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium (363) for instructions (also referred to as a computer program) that can facilitate the operations of the processing circuitry. The storage medium can include similar types of computer memory as described herein in relation to other network nodes (see, e.g., descriptions of Figures 20 and 22). The SLP can also include communication interface circuitry that is appropriate for communicating via interface (361), which can be similar to other interface circuitry described herein in relation to other network nodes (see, e.g., descriptions of Figures 20 and 22).
In a typical operation, the AMF can receive a request for a location service associated with a particular target UE from another entity (e.g., a gateway mobile location center (GMLC)), or the AMF itself can initiate some location service on behalf of a particular target UE (e.g., for an emergency call from the UE). The AMF then sends a location services (LS) request to the LMF. The LMF processes the LS request, which may include transferring assistance data to the target UE to assist with UE-based and/or UE-assisted positioning; and/or positioning of the target UE. The LMF then returns the result of the LS (e.g., a position estimate for the UE and/or an indication of any assistance data transferred to the UE) to the AMF or to another entity (e g., GMLC) that requested the LS.
An LMF may have a signaling connection to an E-SMLC, enabling the LMF to access information from E-UTRAN, e.g., to support E-UTRA OTDOA positioning using downlink measurements obtained by a target UE. An LMF can also have a signaling connection to an SLP, the LTE entity responsible for user-plane positioning.
Various interfaces and protocols are used for, or involved in, NR positioning. The LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP) is used between a target device (e.g., UE in the control-plane, or SET in the user-plane) and a positioning server (e.g., LMF in CP, SLP in UP). LPP can use either CP or UP protocols as underlying transport. NRPP is terminated between a target device and the LMF. RRC protocol is used between UE and gNB (via NR radio interface) and between UE and ng-eNB (via LTE radio interface).
Furthermore, the NR Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa) carries information between the NG-RAN Node and the LMF and is transparent to the AMF. As such, the AMF routes the NRPPa PDUs transparently (e.g., without knowledge of the involved NRPPa transaction) over NG-C interface based on a Routing ID corresponding to the involved LMF. More specifically, the AMF carries the NRPPa PDUs over NG-C interface either in UE associated mode or non-UE associated mode. The NGAP protocol between the AMF and an NG-RAN node (e.g., gNB or ng-eNB) is used as transport for LPP and NRPPa messages over the NG-C interface. NGAP is also used to instigate and terminate NG-RAN-related positioning procedures.
LPP/NRPP are used to deliver messages such as positioning capability request, OTDOA positioning measurements request, and OTDOA assistance data to the UE from a positioning node (e.g., location server). LPP/NRPP are also used to deliver messages from the UE to the positioning node including, e.g., UE capability, UE measurements for UE-assisted OTDOA positioning, UE request for additional assistance data, UE configuration parameter(s) to be used to create UE- specific OTDOA assistance data, etc. NRPPa is used to deliver the information between ng- eNB/gNB and LMF in both directions. This can include LMF requesting some information from ng-eNB/gNB, and ng-eNB/gNB providing some information to LMF. For example, this can include information about PRS transmitted by ng-eNB/gNB that are to be used for OTDOA positioning measurements by the UE.
National security and public safety (NSPS) positioning scenarios and/or use cases are expected to be important for 3GPP Rel-17 and beyond. NSPS services need to operate without (or with partial) RAN coverage, such as during indoor firefighting, forest firefighting, earthquake rescue, sea rescue, etc. In these scenarios, coverage extension is a crucial enabler. This can be accomplished via UE relay functionality specified for NR sidelink (SL), as described in more detail below.
3GPP Rel-16 specified NR SL interface and targeted V2X services and use cases such as vehicle platoons, extended sensors, advanced driving, and remote driving. NR SL is designed to provide higher system capacity, better coverage, lower latency, and higher reliability, while being extensible to support future development of even more advanced V2X and other related services.
In general, a V2X UE can support unicast communication via the uplink/downlink radio interface (also referred to as “Uu”) to a 3 GPP RAN, such as the LTE Evolved-UTRAN (E- UTRAN) or the NG-RAN. A V2X UE can also support SL unicast over the PC5 interface, which is the direct SL between V2X UEs. Figure 4 shows an exemplary arrangement of interfaces between two V2X UEs and a RAN. In addition to Uu and PC5 interfaces, the V2X UEs can communicate with a ProSe (PROximity-based SErvices) network function (NF) via respective PC3 interfaces. Communication with the ProSe NF requires a UE to establish a connection with the RAN, either directly via the Uu interface or indirectly via PC5 and another UE’s Uu interface. The ProSe function provides the UE various information for network related actions, such as service authorization and provisioning of PLMN-specific information (e.g., security parameters, group IDs, group IP addresses, out-of-coverage radio resources, etc.).
Figure 5 shows three exemplary network coverage scenarios for two UEs (510, 520) and a gNB (530) serving a cell. In the full coverage scenario (left), both UEs are in the coverage of the cell, such that they both can communicate with the gNB via respective Uu interfaces and directly with each other via the PC5 interface. In the partial coverage scenario (center), only one of the UEs is in coverage of the cell, but the out-of-coverage UE can still communicate with the gNB indirectly via the PC5 interface with the in-coverage UE. In the out-of-coverage scenario, both UEs can only communicate with each other via the PC5 interface.
In general, the term “SL standalone” refers to direct communication between two SL- capable UEs (e.g., via PC5) in which source and destination are the UEs themselves. In contrast, the term “SL relay” refers to indirect communication between a network node and a remote UE via a first interface (e.g., Uu) between the network node an intermediate (or relay) UE and a second interface (e.g., PC5) between the relay UE and the remote UE. In this case the relay UE is neither the source nor the destination.
In general, an “out-of-coverage UE” is one that cannot establish a direct connection to the network and must communicate via either SL standalone or SL relay. UEs that are in coverage can be configured by the network (e g., gNB) via RRC signaling and/or broadcast system information, either directly (via Uu interface) or indirectly (via PC5 interface and relay UE Uu interface). Out-of-coverage UEs rely on a (pre-)configuration available in their SIMs. These preconfigurations are generally static but can be updated by the network when a UE is in coverage. A “peer UE” refers to a UE that can communicate with the out-of-coverage UE via SL standalone or SL relay (in which case the peer UE is also a relay UE).
3 GPP Rel-17 includes a work item for coverage extension for SL-based communication, including UE-to-network relay for cellular coverage extension and UE-to-UE relay for SL coverage extension. Additionally, improving performance of power-limited UEs (e.g., pedestrian UEs, first responder UEs, etc.) and improving the performance using resource coordination are also important goals for the Rel-17 work.
Two UE-based relay capabilities were studied for NR SL in Rel-17: UE-to-Network (U2N) relay, where a UE extends the network connectivity to another nearby UE by using direct communication; and UE-to-UE (U2U) relay, where a UE uses two direct communication links to connect two UEs in its proximity that otherwise are not able to communicate. U2N relay functionality is fundamental for network coverage extension for public safety in remote areas, for wearable devices tethering in commercial use cases (e.g., sensors, virtual reality headsets), etc. U2N relay uses two different architectures: a L3 architecture similar to LTE, and a newly defined architecture in which PC5 relaying occurs within Layer 2 (L2), over the RLC sublayer. U2U relay functionality was not part of the LTE ProSe specification, and its use in NR ProSe can be beneficial for public safety communications range extension use cases.
3GPP TR 23.752 (v2.0.0) section 6.6 describes L3-based U2N relay functionality (also referred to as “ProSe 5G U2N Relay”) that can be used for both public safety and commercial services. A ProSe 5G U2N Relay UE supports connectivity to the 5GS (i.e., NG-RAN and 5GC) for other UEs that have successfully established a PC5 link to the ProSe 5G U2N Relay UE.
Figure 6 shows a reference architecture for 5G ProSe L3 U2N relay, while Figure 7 shows corresponding user plane (UP) protocol stacks. The U2N relay (also called “UE-NW relay”) includes a top-most IP relay layer, which communicates with corresponding IP layers in the UE and the UPF. Below the IP relay layer are SDAP, PDCP, RLC, MAC, and LI (PHY) layers that communicate with corresponding layers in the UE and the NG-RAN node.
3GPP TR 23.752 (v0.3.0) section 6.7 describes a layer-2 UE-to-Network Relay functionality supported for NR SL. This functionality can provide connectivity to NG-RAN by remote UEs that have successfully established PC5 links to a L2 UE-to-Network Relay UE (also referred to as “relay UE” for simplicity). A remote UE can be located within NG-RAN coverage or outside of NG-RAN coverage. The relay UE can forward (or relay) any type of traffic received from the remote UE over the PC5 interface (discussed above).
Figure 8 illustrates exemplary UP protocol stacks for a protocol data unit (PDU) Session, including a L2 UE-to-Network Relay UE. Below the application (APP) layer, the PDU layer carries data between the remote UE and the user plane function (UPF) in the 5GC, as part of the PDU session. In contrast, the PDCP layer is terminated at the remote UE and the gNB, and the L2 relay function is below PDCP. One consequence is that user data security is ensured between the remote UE and the gNB without exposing user data at the relay UE.
The Adaptation Relay layer within the relay UE can differentiate between signaling radio bearers (SRBs) and data radio bearers (DRBs) for a particular remote UE. The Adaptation Relay layer is also responsible for mapping PC5 traffic to one or more DRBs of the Uu. 3GPP RAN WG2 is responsible for the definition of the Adaptation Relay layer.
Figure 9 illustrates exemplary control plane (CP) protocol stacks for non-access stratum (NAS) messages, including a L2 UE-to-Network Relay UE. The NAS connection is between the remote UE and the AMF (for NAS-MM) and a session management function (SMF, for NAS-SM). The NAS messages are transparently transferred between the remote UE and 5G-AN via the relay UE. In particular, the relay UE forwards SRB messages without any modification. Moreover, the relay UE uses the same protocol stack for forwarding both CP messages and UP PDUs, as illustrated in Figures 8-9. Like U2N relay, U2U relay uses two different architectures: a L3 architecture and a L2 architecture in which PC5 relaying occurs over the RLC sublayer. 3GPP TR 23.752 (v2.0.0) section 6.10 describes ProSe (L3) 5G U2U Relay. A ProSe 5G UE-to-UE Relay is a (5G ProSe- enabled) UE that provides functionality to support L3 connectivity between 5G ProSe U2UUEs. For UE-to-UE relay use cases, the source UE, the target UE, and the UE-to-UE relay may be in or out of 3GPP coverage. Note that terms “UE-to-UE Relay” and “relay UE” are used interchangeably herein.
Figures 10-13 illustrate various protocol stacks for communication between a source UE (1010), a UE-to-UE relay (1020), and a target UE (1030). For the sake of brevity, these devices will be referred to without their corresponding reference numbers in the following description of these figures.
Figure 10 illustrates exemplary UP protocol stacks for ProSe application-layer messages, including a ProSe (L3) 5G UE-to-UE Relay. In this arrangement, the UE-to-UE relay can relay IP, non-IP, and unstructured traffic between the source UE and the target UE, using the same SDAP, PDCP, RLC, MAC, and PHY protocol layers discussed above. Each of these layers communicates with corresponding layers in a source UE and a target UE.
Figure 11 illustrates exemplary CP protocol stacks for PC5 signaling messages, including a ProSe (L3) 5G UE-to-UE Relay. In this arrangement, the UE-to-UE relay includes a PC5 signaling layer on top of PDCP, RLC, MAC, and PHY protocol layers, each of which communicates with a corresponding layer in a source UE and a target UE.
Figure 12 illustrates exemplary end-to-end UP protocol stacks including a L2 UE-to-UE Relay. In this arrangement, the UE-to-UE relay can relay IP and non-IP traffic between the source UE and the target UE. The upper SDAP and PDCP layers are end-to-end between the source and target UEs, while the UE-to-UE relay terminates the lower Adapt, RLC, MAC, and PHY protocol layers towards the source UE and the target UE. Security is established end-to-end between the source and target UEs, such that the Adapt layer does not process/apply any security on the relayed packets and user data is never exposed at the relay UE.
Figure 13 illustrates exemplary end-to-end CP protocol stacks including a L2 UE-to-UE Relay. In this arrangement, the upper RRC and PDCP layers are end-to-end between the source and target UEs, while the UE-to-UE relay terminates the lower Adapt, RLC, MAC, and PHY protocol layers towards the source UE and the target UE. Security is established end-to-end at the PDCP layer between the source and target UEs, such that the Adapt layer does not process/apply any security on the relayed PC5 signaling. Also, the relayed PC5 signaling is never exposed at the relay UE. With respect to SL positioning, 3 GPP document RP-213561 specifies a Rel-18 study item for positioning architecture and signaling procedures (e.g. configuration, measurement reporting, etc.) to enable both UE-based and network-based SL positioning of a target UE, which may be in various network coverage conditions such as full coverage, partial coverage, or no coverage. These scenarios may also involve a reference UE (also called “assisting UE”) that provides SL measurement assistance to the target UE. Using the arrangement shown in Figure 5 as an illustrative example, UE 510 may be a reference (or assisting) UE for target UE 520.
There are different options for positioning of an out-of-coverage target UE. As one option, the target UE may choose to connect to the network via a SL U2N relay UE (e g., middle scenario in Figure 5), in which case the network can be involved in positioning of the target UE. As a second option, the target UE may utilize UE-based positioning by involving a proximate reference UE (e g., right-most scenario in Figure 5). As a third option, if there are no proximate reference UEs that can provide positioning assistance, the target UE can connect to an assisting UE via a (L2 or L3) relay UE.
Even so, there are various aspects of SL positioning that remain unclear, ambiguous, or unspecified by 3 GPP. For example, currently there are no solutions or specifications for conditions under which SL positioning can be triggered for a target UE. Furthermore, the type of trigger conditions may depend on whether the target UE supports positioning over the Uu interface to the network, in addition to SL-based positioning over PC5 interface. As another example, it is unclear how a target UE should select a reference UE that can provide SL positioning assistance to the target UE (i.e., an assisting UE).
Furthermore, there are various reasons why existing SL procedures such as discovery, relay selection, and relay reselection are inadequate for the requirements of SL positioning. For example, these existing SL procedures have been designed for SL V2X and ProSe services, which have quality-of-service (QoS) requirements that differ from QoS requirements of positioning services in various ways.
As another example, existing trigger conditions for SL relay selection are motivated by different reasons. In particular, conventional SL relay selection is triggered based on the radio quality of the current Uu link to the RAN. being lower than a configured threshold. Likewise, when the radio channel quality of the direct SL link between a source UE and a target UE is below a configured threshold, the source UE or the target UE would then trigger U2U relay selection. In contrast, SL relay selection for positioning may need to be triggered by a variety of reasons unrelated to radio channel quality.
As another example, conventional SL relay selection is according to the measured SL radio channel quality, such that the selected relay UE is typically the closest UE to the target UE. However, for SL positioning, a closest UE may not be the most suitable UE for assisting a target UE, especially when the target UE needs to involve the network in the positioning procedure. In such case, the assisting UE would be required to communicate with the network reliably and with low latency, such that the conditions of any candidate UE’ s Uu link to the RAN must be considered in the SL relay selection. This is not done currently.
Accordingly, embodiments of the present disclosure provide flexible and efficient techniques whereby a target UE can determine whether SL-based positioning should be enabled based on various trigger conditions. After enabling SL-based positioning based on one or more trigger conditions, the target UE can exchange information about SL positioning with a serving RAN node, e.g., for assigning a suitable assisting UE for the target UE. Likewise, the target UE can exchange information about SL positioning with one or more proximate candidate UEs to determine whether respective SL unicast links can be established for SL positioning. Additionally, after selecting an assisting UE, the target UE may perform a reselection in response to various conditions, such as when the current assisting UE can no longer provide SL positioning measurements or quality of such measurements is below an acceptable level.
Embodiments can provide various benefits and/or advantages. For example, a target UE only enables SL positioning based on certain trigger conditions such that the target UE otherwise refrains from SL positioning, which reduces energy consumption of the target UE and any assisting UEs. When SL positioning is enabled, embodiments facilitate target UE discovery of most suitable assisting UEs, according to needed capabilities of those assisting UEs. In this manner, embodiments facilitate target UE compliance with QoS requirements of services that require positioning of the target UE.
In general, embodiments are described below in the context of a target UE and reference (or assisting) UE being deployed in same cell or in different cells, each of which may be provided by a RAN node using NR or LTE Uu radio interface. The sidelink between target UE and reference UE may be based on LTE SL, NR SL, or any other short-range communication technology such as WiFi or Bluetooth. The Uu radio interface between a target UE (or reference UE) and a RAN node may be based on LTE or NR.
In some embodiments, a target UE first checks if certain trigger conditions are met before enabling SL positioning. In this way, the target UE is not required to always enable SL positioning. This may be beneficial to reduce or eliminate energy consumption due to unnecessary SL positioning. In various embodiment, a target UE can enable SL positioning when at least one of the following trigger conditions is met:
• target UE supports only SL-based positioning, i.e., does not support Uu-based or GNSS- based positioning; • target UE supports but is unable to use non-SL-based positioning methods, e.g., in coverage but no line of sight, partial coverage, or out of coverage for Uu-based positioning, insufficient satellite signals for GNSS-based positioning, etc.;
• target UE supports non-SL-based positioning methods but results from these methods do not meet positioning QoS requirements, e.g., insufficient accuracy, large latency or delay, etc.;
• target UE supports non-SL-based positioning methods but SL-based positioning provides results that are better in some way, e.g., better accuracy, shorter latency or delay, etc.;
• elapsed time since target UE’s most recent positioning results is greater than a configured threshold;
• target UE position, speed, and/or velocity has recently changed, e.g., greater than threshold amount(s), from moving to static or vice versa, etc.;
• request from network to perform SL positioning; or
• request from target UE higher layers (e g., RRC, application) to perform SL positioning.
After enabling SL positioning, the target UE initiates SL discovery to identify one or more suitable UEs for assisting with SL positioning measurements (so-called “assisting UEs”).
Figure 14 shows a flow diagram of a procedure for a target UE configured for SL positioning, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Although the operations in Figure 14 are given numerical labels, this is done to facilitate explanation rather than to require or imply any specific operational order, unless expressly stated otherwise.
In block 1410, the target UE determines whether any configured or pre-configured trigger conditions for SL positioning are met, such as any of the trigger conditions mentioned above. Based on determining that at least one trigger condition is met, the target UE proceeds to block 1420 where it performs a SL discovery procedure to identify one or more candidate assisting UEs for SL positioning. In addition, the discovery message sent by the target UE indicates that the discovery is for SL positioning purposes, e.g., instead of for SL relay as conventional.
In block 1430, the target UE selects a SL cast-type to be used for each identified candidate assisting UE. In case of SL unicast, a unicast link needs to be established between the target UE and the assisting UE. Otherwise, the target UE and the assisting UE can apply SL positioning measurements together. Compared to SL groupcast and broadcast, SL unicast can provide better security since a dedicated security key can be applied.
In block 1440, for each candidate assisting UE for which SL unicast is selected, the target UE proceeds to block 1450 where it attempts to establish a SL unicast connection. In some cases, the target UE may attempt to establish a SL unicast link for positioning with multiple candidate assisting UE before being successful, since some candidate assisting UEs may refuse to assist the target UE for SL positioning.
For each candidate assisting UE for which SL broadcast/groupcast is selected (block 1440) or after establishing SL unicast link (block 1450), the target UE proceeds to block 1460 where it performs SL positioning measurements with the assisting UE(s).
In some embodiments, a UE may report at least one of the following SL positioning capabilities to the network, e.g., to a serving RAN node and/or a core network node or function (CNNF), such as AMF or LMF :
• whether the UE supports SL-based positioning;
• whether the UE supports transmitting/receiving SL positioning signaling and/or data to a network-based location server (e.g., LMF) via a U2N relay UE, which may be separately indicated for L2 relay and L3 relay; and
• whether the UE supports transmitting/receiving SL positioning signaling and/or data to a UE-based location server via a U2U relay UE, which may be separately indicated for L2 relay and L3 relay.
In various embodiments, the UE may report its SL positioning capabilities to the network via non-access stratum (NAS) signaling, RRC signaling (i.e., Uu), MAC control element (CE), or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, when the target UE connects to the network via a non-3GPP interworking function (N3IWF), it can report its SL positioning capabilities in the registration message to its serving AMF. In some embodiments, when the target UE connects to the network via a L3 U2N relay UE, the target UE may report its SL positioning capabilities to the relay UE, which forwards the target UE capabilities to one or more CNNF serving the target UE (e.g., AMF, LMF), together with an identifier of the target UE.
Based on the reported UE SL positioning capabilities, the network may determine whether to enable SL positioning to the target UE, and if enabled, how to assign assisting UE(s) for the target UE. In some embodiments, the network may forward the received capabilities to other UE(s) using DL RRC or NAS signaling.
In some embodiments, the target UE may send a request to the network (e.g., serving RAN node or core network node or function) for assignment of assisting UE(s). After receiving the request, the network may assign one or more assisting UE candidates to the target UE considering at least one of the following:
• whether the candidate UE(s) can operate as an assisting UE;
• whether the candidate UE(s) support GNSS based positioning;
• whether the candidate UE(s) have fresh GNSS based positioning results; • whether the candidate UE(s) have radio connection(s) with the serving RAN node that facilitate(s) reliable and low-latency communication SL positioning information with the serving RAN node; and
• whether the candidate UE(s) have radio connection(s) with the target UE that facilitate(s) reliable and low-latency communication SL positioning information with the target UE.
In some embodiments, a target UE may exchange (e.g., via discovery message, PC5-S signaling, PC5-RRC) at least one of the following information with a candidate assisting UE, when setting up a unicast connection with that UE for SL positioning:
• whether the target UE supports SL positioning assisted by another UE;
• whether the candidate assisting UE supports operation as an assisting UE for SL positioning;
• whether the target or assisting UE supports GNSS-based positioning;
• whether the target or assisting UE can currently receive GNSS signals;
• whether the assisting UE supports transmitting/receiving SL positioning signaling and/or data to a network-based location server (e.g., LMF) via a U2N relay UE, which may be separately indicated for L2 relay and L3 relay; and
• whether the assisting UE supports transmitting/receiving SL positioning signaling and/or data to a UE-based location server via a U2U relay UE, which may be separately indicated for L2 relay and L3 relay.
Based on receiving this information, a target UE may determine which candidate assisting UE(s) can be selected as the assisting UE(s) and establish a SL connection with the selected assisting UE to receive SL positioning assistance. Similarly, based on receiving this information, a UE capable of being an assisting UE may determine whether it should be an assisting UE for a particular target UE and, if so, establish a SL connection with the target UE to provide SL positioning assistance.
In some embodiments, the network (e.g., serving RAN node and/or core network node or function, such as location server) may send at least one of the following information to a UE:
• whether the network supports SL positioning;
• discovery configurations for discovering UEs to assist with SL positioning, such as: o Uu radio channel quality thresholds (e.g., RSRP) to trigger discovery for SL positioning, e.g., when measured Uu radio channel quality is below the threshold; o PC5 radio channel quality thresholds (e.g., RSRP) to select an assisting UE for SL positioning, e.g., when measured PC5 radio channel quality towards a candidate assisting UE is above the threshold; and o PC5 radio channel quality thresholds (e.g., RSRP) to accept a request from a target UE for SL positioning assistance, e.g., when measured PC5 radio channel quality towards the target UE is above the threshold.
• SL resource pools for discovery of UEs to assist with SL positioning; and
• SL resource pools for communication of SL positioning assistance.
After receiving such information from the network, a target UE performs SL positioning (if supported and enabled) in accordance with the received configurations.
In some embodiments, the network (e.g., serving RAN node and/or a CN node or function) provides the target UE with one or more assisting UE candidates. In case multiple assisting UE candidates are provided to the target UE, the network may also indicate a priority order of the candidate assisting UEs. The target UE shall select among candidate assisting UEs according to the indicated priority order. In other words, the target UE first selects one or more candidate assisting UEs having highest priority and checks if the one or more selected candidates are able and/or willing to assist the target UE with SL positioning. The target UE selects any candidate UEs having lowest indicated priority only when higher-priority candidates are unable and/or unwilling to assist the target UE.
In other embodiments, the target UE selects an assisting UE autonomously, based on at least one of the following conditions or criteria:
• strongest SL radio channel quality towards the target UE;
• strongest Uu radio channel quality towards a serving RAN node;
• lowest load, e.g., serving lowest number of target UEs and/or having lowest load/data volume generated by services other than SL positioning;
• support for GNSS positioning;
• ability to receive signals from a sufficient number of GNSS satellites;
• synchronization status, e.g., degree/accuracy of synchronization between assisting UE and target UE, which can be determined based on positioning measurement uncertainty or confidence level; and
• synchronization reference for assisting UE, e.g., GNSS (preferred), RAN, or UE-local reference. An order of preference can be specified, for example, by sl-SyncPriority IE defined in 3GPP TS 38.331 (vl7.1.0).
In other embodiments, the target UE first selects an assisting UE from among candidates provided by the network, but if none of these candidates are determined to be suitable, the target UE selects another assisting UE autonomously. This autonomous selection may be preconfigured or configured (e.g., enabled/disabled) by the network. In some embodiments, a target UE may reselect an assisting UE in response to at least one of the following conditions:
• target UE receives an indication or command from the network (e.g., via RRC) to select a different assisting UE;
• target UE receives an indication from the current assisting UE (e.g., via PC5 signaling) that it can no longer assist the target UE with SL positioning;
• target UE receives an indication from another candidate assisting UE (e.g., via PC5 signaling) that it can provide positioning assistance that is more accurate (or better in some other way) than the current assisting UE;
• target UE SL positioning measurements assisted by the current assisting UE no longer meet QoS requirements of the positioning service, e g., when the assistance UE relative distance from the target UE is beyond certain range or threshold; or RSRP measurement is low or below certain threshold;
• PC5 signal strength to current assisting UE is below a (pre)configured signal strength threshold;
• target UE receives an indication from the current assisting UE (e.g., via PC5 signaling) of cell selection, cell reselection, handover, or radio link failure (RLF) on the assisting UE’s Uu interface toward the RAN;
• target UE receives a PC5 link release message from the current assisting UE;
• target UE detects RLF on the PC5 link with the current assisting UE; and
• indication from target UE upper layer (e.g., RRC).
Various features of the embodiments described above correspond to various operations illustrated in Figures 15-17, which show exemplary methods (e.g., procedures) for a target UE, a reference (or assisting) UE, and a network node or function (NNF), respectively. In other words, various features of the operations described below correspond to various embodiments described above. Furthermore, the exemplary methods shown in Figures 15-17 can be used cooperatively to provide various benefits, advantages, and/or solutions to problems described herein. Although Figures 15-17 show specific blocks in particular orders, the operations of the exemplary methods can be performed in different orders than shown and can be combined and/or divided into blocks having different functionality than shown. Optional blocks or operations are indicated by dashed lines.
In particular, Figure 15 shows an exemplary method (e.g., procedure) for a first UE configured to operate as a target UE for SL positioning in a wireless network, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. The exemplary method can be performed by a UE (e.g., wireless device) such as described elsewhere herein. The exemplary method can include the operations of block 1540, where the first UE can determine whether one or more trigger conditions for initiating SL positioning have been met. The exemplary method can also include the operations of block 1550, where based on determining that at least one trigger condition has been met, the first UE can perform a SL discovery procedure to identify one or more candidate UEs for assisting SL positioning. The exemplary method can also include the operations of block 1560, where the first UE can select a second UE, from the candidate UEs, as a reference UE. The exemplary method can also include the operations of block 1570, where the first UE can perform one or more SL positioning operations with the second UE.
In various embodiments, the one or more SL positioning operations performed in block 1570 include one or more of the following, labelled with corresponding sub-block numbers:
• (1571) establishing a unicast SL with the second UE;
• (1572) receiving SL positioning assistance data from the second UE;
• (1573) performing positioning measurements on SL signals transmitted by the second UE;
• (1574) transmitting SL signals for positioning measurements by the second UE.
In some embodiments, the exemplary method can also include the operations of block 1530 where the first UE can receive, from a network node or function (NNF) of the wireless network, configuration information for SL positioning. In such case, at least one of the following is based on the configuration information:
• determining whether one or more trigger conditions have been met (block 1540);
• performing the SL discovery procedure (block 1550);
• selecting the second UE (block 1560); and
• performing the one or more SL positioning operations (block 1570).
In some of these embodiments, the configuration information includes one or more of the following:
• an indication of whether the wireless network supports SL positioning;
• SL discovery configuration for discovery of UEs to assist with SL positioning;
• one or more SL resource pools for discovery of UEs to assist with SL positioning;
• one or more SL resource pools for communication of SL positioning assistance; and
• an indication of one or more candidate UEs to assist with SL positioning.
In some variants, the SL discovery configuration includes one or more of the following:
• one or more first radio channel quality thresholds for a downlink (DL) from the wireless network, below which a measured DL radio channel quality triggers discovery for SL positioning; • one or more second radio channel quality thresholds for a SL from a candidate UE, above which a target UE can select the candidate UE as a reference UE for SL positioning; and
• one or more third radio channel quality thresholds for a SL from a target UE, above which a candidate UE can accept a request from the target UE to be a reference UE for SL positioning.
In some variants, the configuration information includes an indication of a plurality of candidate UEs and also indicates an order of priority for the plurality of candidate UEs. In such case, selecting the second UE from the identified candidate UEs in block 1560 is based on the indicated order of priority (e.g., second UE is highest priority).
In some variants, the exemplary method can also include the operations of block 1520, where the first UE can send to the NNF a request for assignment of a reference UE for SL positioning. In such case, the configuration information including the indication of the one or more candidate UEs is received (e.g., in block 1530) in response to the request.
In some embodiments, the exemplary method can also include the operations of block 1510, where the first UE can send an indication of one or more of the following SL positioning capabilities to an NNF of the wireless network:
• support for SL-based positioning;
• support for SL positioning-related communication with a network-based location server via a relay UE; and
• support for SL positioning-related communication with a UE-based location server via a relay UE.
In some of these embodiments, the indication of the SL positioning capabilities is sent to the NNF via one or more relay UEs.
In some embodiments, performing the SL discovery procedure in block 1550 includes the operations of sub-blocks 1551-1552. In sub-block 1551, the first UE can send an indication of one or more of the following first UE capabilities to each candidate UE:
• support for SL-based positioning assisted by another UE,
• support for GNSS-based positioning, and
• current ability to receive GNSS signals.
In sub-block 1552, the first UE can receive an indication of one or more of the following capabilities from each candidate UE:
• support for GNSS-based positioning,
• current ability to receive GNSS signals,
• current quality of downlink (DL) signals from the wireless network, • support for assisting another UE for SL-based positioning,
• number of target UEs currently being assisted by the candidate UE,
• support for SL positioning-related communication with a network-based location server via a relay UE; and
• support for SL positioning-related communication with a UE-based location server via a relay UE.
In some of these embodiments, selecting the second UE in block 1560 is based on the indicated capabilities of the respective candidate UEs. In some variants, selecting the second UE is further based on one or more of the following: degree of synchronization between the first UE and the second UE, the second UE’s synchronization source.
In some embodiments, selecting the second UE as a reference UE in block 1560 includes the following operations, labelled with corresponding sub-block numbers:
• (1561) sending to the second UE a request to be a reference UE for SL positioning; and
• (1562) receiving from the second UE a response indicating that the second UE accepts the request to be a reference UE.
In some embodiments, the trigger conditions for which the determination is performed in block 1540 include one or more of the following:
• target UE supports only SL-based positioning;
• target UE supports but is unable to used non-SL-based positioning methods;
• results from supported non-SL-based positioning methods do not meet positioning quality - of-service (QoS) requirements;
• SL-based positioning is capable of providing results that are better in some way (e g., accuracy, latency, etc.) than supported non-SL-based positioning methods;
• elapsed time since target UE’s most recent positioning results is greater than a configured threshold;
• target UE position, speed, and/or velocity has recently changed by more than a threshold amount;
• request from wireless network to perform SL positioning; and
• request from first UE upper protocol layers to perform SL positioning.
In some embodiments, the exemplary method can also include the operations of block 1580, where after performing the one or more SL positioning operations with the second UE (e.g., in block 1570, the first UE can select a third UE as a reference UE for SL positioning, based on one or more of the following:
• an indication or command from the wireless network to select a different reference UE; • an indication from the second UE that it can no longer assist the first UE with SL positioning;
• an indication from the third UE that it can provide more accurate SL positioning assistance than the second UE;
• positioning measurements performed on SL signals from the second UE no longer meet quality-of-service (QoS) requirements of the first UE;
• quality of SL signal from the second UE is below a threshold;
• an indication from the second UE of a radio-related event or condition on the second UE’s interface to the wireless network;
• a SL link release message from the second UE;
• a radio link failure (RLF) on the SL between the first UE and the second UE; and
• an indication from an upper protocol layer of the first UE.
In addition, Figure 16 shows an exemplary method (e.g., procedure) for a second UE configured to operate as a reference UE for SL positioning in a wireless network, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. The exemplary method can be performed by a UE (e.g., wireless device) such as described elsewhere herein.
The exemplary method can include the operations of block 1630, where the second UE can perform a SL discovery procedure with a first UE, based on which the second UE is identified as candidate UE for assisting SL positioning of the first UE. The exemplary method can also include the operations of block 1660, where after the second UE is selected as a reference UE for the first UE, the second UE can perform one or more SL positioning operations with the first UE.
In various embodiments, the one or more SL positioning operations performed in block 1660 include one or more of the following, labelled with corresponding sub-block numbers:
• (1661) establishing a unicast SL with the first UE;
• (1662) sending SL positioning assistance data to the first UE;
• (1663) performing positioning measurements on SL signals transmitted by the first UE; and
• (1664) transmitting SL signals for positioning measurements by the first UE.
In some embodiments, the exemplary method can also include the operations of block 1620 where the second UE can receive, from a network node or function (NNF) of the wireless network, configuration information for SL positioning. In such case, at least one of the following is based on the configuration information: performing the SL discovery procedure (block 1630), and performing the one or more SL positioning operations (block 1660). In some of these embodiments, the configuration information includes one or more of the following:
• an indication of whether the wireless network supports SL positioning;
• SL discovery configuration for discovery of UEs to assist with SL positioning;
• one or more SL resource pools for discovery of UEs to assist with SL positioning;
• one or more SL resource pools for communication of SL positioning assistance; and
• an indication of one or more candidate UEs to assist with SL positioning.
In some variants, the SL discovery configuration includes one or more of the following:
• one or more first radio channel quality thresholds for a DL from the wireless network, below which a measured DL radio channel quality triggers discovery for SL positioning;
• one or more second radio channel quality thresholds for a SL from a candidate UE, above which a target UE can select the candidate UE as a reference UE for SL positioning; and
• one or more third radio channel quality thresholds for a SL from a target UE, above which a candidate UE can accept a request from the target UE to be a reference UE for SL positioning.
In some variants, the configuration information includes an indication of a plurality of candidate UEs and also indicates an order of priority for the plurality of candidate UEs, with the second UE being indicated as high priority for selection.
In some embodiments, the exemplary method can also include the operations of block 1610, where the second UE can send an indication of one or more of the following SL positioning capabilities to an NNF of the wireless network:
• support for SL-based positioning;
• support for SL positioning-related communication with a network-based location server via a relay UE; and
• support for SL positioning-related communication with a UE-based location server via a relay UE.
In some of these embodiments, the indication of the SL positioning capabilities is sent to the NNF via one or more relay UEs.
In some embodiments, performing the SL discovery procedure in block 1630 includes the operations of sub-blocks 1631-1632. In sub-block 1631, the second UE can receive from the first UE an indication of one or more of the following first UE capabilities:
• support for SL-based positioning assisted by another UE,
• support for GNSS-based positioning, and
• current ability to receive GNSS signals. In sub-block 1632, the second UE can send to the first UE an indication of one or more of the following second UE capabilities:
• support for GNSS-based positioning,
• current ability to receive GNSS signals,
• current quality of DL signal from the wireless network,
• support for assisting another UE for SL-based positioning,
• number of target UEs currently being assisted by the candidate UE,
• support for SL positioning-related communication with a network-based location server via a relay UE; and
• support for SL positioning-related communication with a UE-based location server via a rel y UE.
In some of these embodiments, the second UE is selected by the first UE based on the indicated second UE capabilities. In some variants, the second UE is selected by the first UE further based on one or more of the following: degree of synchronization between the first UE and the second UE, the second UE’s synchronization source.
In some embodiments, the exemplary method can also include the operations of blocks 1640-1650, where the second UE can receive from the first UE a request to be a reference UE for SL positioning and send to the first UE a response indicating that the second UE accepts the request to be a reference UE.
In some embodiments, the exemplary method can also include the operations of block 1670, where after performing the one or more SL positioning operations with the first UE (e.g., in block 1660), the second UE can send one or more of the following to the first UE:
• an indication that the second UE can no longer assist the first UE with SL positioning;
• an indication of a radio-related event or condition on the second UE’s interface to the wireless network; and
• a SL link release message.
In addition, Figure 17 shows an exemplary method (e.g., procedure) for a network node or function (NNF) configured to facilitate SL positioning of a first UE based on assistance from a second UE, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. The exemplary method can be performed by a NNF (e.g., base station, eNB, gNB, AMF, LMF, etc.) such as described elsewhere herein.
The exemplary method can include the operations of block 1710, where the NNF can receive, from the first and second UEs, respective indications of one or more of the following SL positioning capabilities: • support for SL-based positioning,
• support for SL positioning-related communication with a network-based location server via a relay UE, and
• support for SL positioning-related communication with a UE-based location server via a relay UE.
The exemplary method can also include the operations of block 1740, where the NNF can send, to the first and second UEs, configuration information for SL positioning, including one or more of the following:
• an indication of whether the wireless network supports SL positioning,
• SL discovery configuration for discovery of UEs to assist with SL positioning,
• one or more SL resource pools for discovery of UEs to assist with SL positioning,
• one or more SL resource pools for communication of SL positioning assistance, and
• an indication of one or more candidate UEs to assist with SL positioning.
In various embodiments, the SL discovery configuration can include any of the information described above in relation to first and second UE embodiments.
In some embodiments, the indication of the SL positioning capabilities of the first UE is received from the first UE via one or more relay UEs.
In some embodiments, the exemplary method can also include the operations of block 1750, where the NNF can send, to the first UE, an indication or command to select a different reference UE than the second UE.
In some embodiments, the exemplary method can also include the operations of block 1720, where the NNF can receive from the first UE a request for assignment of a reference UE for SL positioning. In such case, the configuration information including the indication of the one or more candidate UEs is sent in block 1740 in response to the request.
In some of these embodiments, the exemplary method can also include the operations of block 1730, where the NNF can select the one or more candidate UEs indicated to the first UE based on one or more of the following:
• whether each candidate UE can operate as a reference UE;
• whether each candidate UE supports GNSS based positioning;
• whether each candidate UE has fresh GNSS based positioning results;
• quality of each candidate UE’ s radio link with the wireless network; and
• quality of each candidate UE’ s radio link with the first UE.
Although various embodiments are described above in terms of methods, techniques, and/or procedures, the person of ordinary skill will readily comprehend that such methods, techniques, and/or procedures can be embodied by various combinations of hardware and software in various systems, communication devices, computing devices, control devices, apparatuses, non-transitory computer-readable media, computer program products, etc.
Figure 18 shows an example of a communication system 1800 in accordance with some embodiments. In this example, communication system 1800 includes telecommunication network 1802 that includes access network 1804 (e g., RAN) and core network 1806, which includes one or more core network nodes 1808. Access network 1804 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 1810a-b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 1810), or any other similar 3 GPP access node or non-3GPP access point. Network nodes 1810 facilitate direct or indirect connection of UEs, such as by connecting UEs 1812a-d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 1812) to core network 1806 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. Moreover, in different embodiments, communication system 1800 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. Communication system 1800 may include and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and/or other similar type of system.
UEs 1812 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes 1810 and other communication devices. Similarly, network nodes 1810 are arranged, capable, configured, and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with UEs 1812 and/or with other network nodes or equipment in telecommunication network 1802 to enable and/or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and/or to perform other functions, such as administration in telecommunication network 1802.
In the depicted example, core network 1806 connects network nodes 1810 to one or more hosts, such as host 1816. 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. Core network 1806 includes one or more core network nodes (e.g., 1808) 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 core network node 1808. 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).
Host 1816 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of access network 1804 and/or telecommunication network 1802, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. Host 1816 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 devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.
As a whole, communication system 1800 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.
In some examples, telecommunication network 1802 is a cellular network that implements 3 GPP standardized features. Accordingly, telecommunication network 1802 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to telecommunication network 1802. For example, telecommunication network 1802 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.
In some examples, UEs 1812 are configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to access network 1804 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from access network 1804. 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).
In the example, hub 1814 communicates with access network 1804 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 1812c and/or 1812d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 1810b). In some examples, hub 1814 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, hub 1814 may be a broadband router enabling access to core network 1806 for the UEs. As another example, hub 1814 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 1810, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in hub 1814. As another example, hub 1814 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, hub 1814 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, hub 1814 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which hub 1814 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and/or after adding additional local content. In still another example, hub 1814 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.
Hub 1814 may have a constant/persi stent or intermittent connection to network node 1810b. Hub 1814 may also allow for a different communication scheme and/or schedule between hub 1814 and UEs (e.g., UE 1812c and/or 1812d), and between hub 1814 and core network 1806. In other examples, hub 1814 is connected to core network 1806 and/or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, hub 1814 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over access network 1804 and/or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with network nodes 1810 while still connected via hub 1814 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, hub 1814 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to/from the UEs from/to network node 1810b. In other embodiments, hub 1814 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device that can route communications between the UEs and network node 1810b, but which can also operate as a communication start and/or end point for certain data channels.
Figure 19 shows a UE 1900 in accordance with some embodiments. 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 3 GPP, including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and/or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.
A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP 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).
UE 1900 includes processing circuitry 1902 that is operatively coupled via bus 1904 to input/output interface 1906, power source 1908, memory 1910, communication interface 1912, and optionally one or more other components not shown. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 19. 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.
Processing circuitry 1902 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 memory 1910. Processing circuitry 1902 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, processing circuitry 1902 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).
In the example, input/output interface 1906 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 UE 1900. 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 presence-sensitive 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.
In some embodiments, power source 1908 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. Power source 1908 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from power source 1908 itself, and/or an external power source, to the various parts of UE 1900 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of power source 1908. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from power source 1908 to make the power suitable for the respective components of UE 1900 to which power is supplied.
Memory 1910 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, memory 1910 includes one or more application programs 1914, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 1916. Memory 1910 may store, for use by UE 1900, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.
Memory 1910 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.’ Memory 1910 may allow UE 1900 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 memory 1910, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.
Processing circuitry 1902 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using communication interface 1912. Communication interface 1912 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 1922. Communication interface 1912 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 transmitter 1918 and/or receiver 1920 appropriate to provide network communications (e g , optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, transmitter 1918 and/or receiver 1920 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., 1922) and may share circuit components, software, or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.
In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of communication interface 1912 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, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol/intemet protocol (TCP/IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.
Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 1912, 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., an alert is sent when moisture is detected), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).
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.
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 UE 1900 shown in Figure 19.
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 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP 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.
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. Figure 20 shows a network node 2000 in accordance with some embodiments. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (e.g., radio access points) and base stations (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, eNBs, and gNBs).
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).
Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, 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).
Network node 2000 includes processing circuitry 2002, memory 2004, communication interface 2006, and power source 2008. Network node 2000 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 network node 2000 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, network node 2000 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 2004 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna may be shared by different RATs). Network node 2000 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 2000, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 2000.
Processing circuitry 2002 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 2000 components, such as memory 2004, to provide network node 2000 functionality.
In some embodiments, processing circuitry 2002 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, processing circuitry 2002 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 2012 and baseband processing circuitry 2014. In some embodiments, RF transceiver circuitry 2012 and baseband processing circuitry 2014 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 2012 and baseband processing circuitry 2014 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.
Memory 2004 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), read-only 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 processing circuitry 2002. Memory 2004 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 (collectively denoted computer program 2004a, which may be in the form of a computer program product) capable of being executed by processing circuitry 2002 and utilized by network node 2000. Memory 2004 may be used to store any calculations made by processing circuitry 2002 and/or any data received via communication interface 2006. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 2002 and memory 2004 is integrated.
Communication interface 2006 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and/or data between a network node, access network, and/or UE. As illustrated, communication interface 2006 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) 2016 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. Communication interface 2006 also includes radio frontend circuitry 2018 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, antenna 2010. Radio front-end circuitry 2018 comprises filters 2020 and amplifiers 2022. Radio front-end circuitry 2018 may be connected to an antenna 2010 and processing circuitry 2002. Radio frontend circuitry 2018 may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 2010 and processing circuitry 2002. Radio front-end circuitry 2018 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. Radio front-end circuitry 2018 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 2020 and/or amplifiers 2022. The radio signal may then be transmitted via antenna 2010. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 2010 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by radio front-end circuitry 2018. The digital data may be passed to processing circuitry 2002. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.
In certain alternative embodiments, network node 2000 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 2018, instead, processing circuitry 2002 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to antenna 2010. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of RF transceiver circuitry 2012 is part of communication interface 2006. In still other embodiments, communication interface 2006 includes one or more ports or terminals 2016, radio front-end circuitry 2018, and RF transceiver circuitry 2012, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and communication interface 2006 communicates with baseband processing circuitry 2014, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).
Antenna 2010 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals. Antenna 2010 may be coupled to radio front-end circuitry 2018 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, antenna 2010 is separate from network node 2000 and connectable to network node 2000 through an interface or port.
Antenna 2010, communication interface 2006, and/or processing circuitry 2002 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, antenna 2010, communication interface 2006, and/or processing circuitry 2002 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.
Power source 2008 provides power to the various components of network node 2000 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). Power source 2008 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of network node 2000 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, network node 2000 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 power source 2008. As a further example, power source 2008 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 network node 2000 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, network node 2000 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into network node 2000 and to allow output of information from network node 2000. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for network node 2000.
Figure 21 is a block diagram of a host 2100, which may be an embodiment of host 1816 of Figure 18, in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, host 2100 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. Host 2100 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.
Host 2100 includes processing circuitry 2102 that is operatively coupled via bus 2104 to input/output interface 2106, network interface 2108, power source 2110, and memory 2112. 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 2100.
Memory 2112 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 2114 and data 2116, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for host 2100 or data generated by host 2100 for a UE. Embodiments of host 2100 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. Host application programs 2114 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (VVC), 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). Host application programs 2114 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, host 2100 may select and/or indicate a different host for over-the-top services for a UE. Host application programs 2114 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.
Figure 22 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 2200 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 2200 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, HE, 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.
Applications 2202 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment 2200 to implement some of the features, functions, and/or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.
Hardware 2204 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and/or instructions (collectively denoted computer program 2204a, which may be in the form of a computer program product) 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 2206 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 2208a-b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 2208), and/or perform any of the functions, features and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. Virtualization layer 2206 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to VMs 2208.
VMs 2208 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 2206. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 2202 may be implemented on one or more VMs 2208, 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.
In the context of NFV, VM 2208 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each VM 2208, and that part of hardware 2204 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 2208 on top of hardware 2204 and corresponds to the application 2202.
Hardware 2204 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 2204 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 2204 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 2210, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 2202. In some embodiments, hardware 2204 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 2212 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.
Figure 23 shows a communication diagram of host 2302 communicating via network node 2304 with UE 2306 over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments. Example implementations, in accordance with various embodiments, of the UE (such as a UE 1812a of Figure 18 and/or UE 1900 of Figure 19), network node (such as network node 1810a of Figure 18 and/or network node 2000 of Figure 20), and host (such as host 1816 of Figure 18 and/or host 2100 of Figure 21) discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to Figure 23.
Like host 2100, embodiments of host 2302 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. Host 2302 also includes software, which is stored in or accessible by host 2302 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 UE 2306 connecting via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 2350 extending between UE 2306 and host 2302. In providing the service to the remote user, a host application may provide user data which is transmitted using OTT connection 2350.
Network node 2304 includes hardware enabling it to communicate with host 2302 and UE 2306. Connection 2360 may be direct or pass through a core network (like core network 1806 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.
UE 2306 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by UE 2306 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 2306 with the support of host 2302. In host 2302, an executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via OTT connection 2350 terminating at UE 2306 and host 2302. 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. OTT connection 2350 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 OTT connection 2350.
OTT connection 2350 may extend via connection 2360 between host 2302 and network node 2304 and via wireless connection 2370 between network node 2304 and UE 2306 to provide the connection between host 2302 and UE 2306. Connection 2360 and wireless connection 2370, over which OTT connection 2350 may be provided, have been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between host 2302 and UE 2306 via network node 2304, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.
As an example of transmitting data via OTT connection 2350, in step 2308, host 2302 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 UE 2306. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with a UE 2306 that shares data with host 2302 without explicit human interaction. In step 2310, host 2302 initiates a transmission carrying the user data towards UE 2306. Host 2302 may initiate the transmission responsive to a request transmitted by UE 2306. The request may be caused by human interaction with UE 2306 or by operation of the client application executing on UE 2306. The transmission may pass via network node 2304, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Accordingly, in step 2312, network node 2304 transmits to UE 2306 the user data that was carried in the transmission that host 2302 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 2314, UE 2306 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executed on UE 2306 associated with the host application executed by host 2302.
In some examples, UE 2306 executes a client application which provides user data to host 2302. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to the data received from host 2302. Accordingly, in step 2316, UE 2306 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 UE 2306. Regardless of how the user data was provided, UE 2306 initiates, in step 2318, transmission of the user data towards host 2302 via network node 2304. In step 2320, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, network node 2304 receives user data from UE 2306 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards host 2302. In step 2322, host 2302 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by UE 2306.
One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to UE 2306 using OTT connection 2350, in which wireless connection 2370 forms the last segment. In particular, embodiments described herein can provide various benefits and/or advantages. For example, a target UE only enables SL positioning based on certain trigger conditions such that the target UE otherwise refrains from SL positioning, which reduces energy consumption of the target UE and any assisting UEs. When SL positioning is enabled, embodiments facilitate target UE discovery of most suitable assisting UEs, according to needed capabilities of those assisting UEs. In this manner, embodiments reduce UE energy consumption and facilitate target UE compliance with QoS requirements of OTT services that require positioning of the target UE, thereby increasing the value of such OTT services to end users and service providers.
In an example scenario, factory status information may be collected and analyzed by host 2302. As another example, host 2302 may process audio and video data which may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating maps. As another example, host 2302 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e g., controlling traffic lights). As another example, host 2302 may store surveillance video uploaded by a UE. As another example, host 2302 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, host 2302 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. 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 OTT connection 2350 between host 2302 and UE 2306, 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 host 2302 and/or UE 2306. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which OTT connection 2350 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 OTT connection 2350 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly alter the operation of network node 2304. 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 host 2302. The measurements may be implemented in that software causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using OTT connection 2350 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.
The foregoing merely illustrates the principles of the disclosure. Various modifications and alterations to the described embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the teachings herein. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise numerous systems, arrangements, and procedures that, although not explicitly shown or described herein, embody the principles of the disclosure and can be thus within the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Various embodiments can be used together with one another, as well as interchangeably therewith, as should be understood by those having ordinary skill in the art.
The term unit, as used herein, can have conventional meaning in the field of electronics, electrical devices and/or electronic devices and can include, for example, electrical and/or electronic circuitry, devices, modules, processors, memories, logic solid state and/or discrete devices, computer programs or instructions for carrying out respective tasks, procedures, computations, outputs, and/or displaying functions, and so on, as such as those that are described herein.
Any appropriate steps, methods, features, functions, or benefits disclosed herein may be performed through one or more functional units or modules of one or more virtual apparatuses. Each virtual apparatus may comprise a number of these functional units. These functional units may be implemented via processing circuitry, which may include one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include Digital Signal Processor (DSPs), special-purpose digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or several types of memory such as Read Only Memory (ROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and/or data communications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one or more of the techniques described herein. In some implementations, the processing circuitry may be used to cause the respective functional unit to perform corresponding functions according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.
As described herein, device and/or apparatus can be represented by a semiconductor chip, a chipset, or a (hardware) module comprising such chip or chipset; this, however, does not exclude the possibility that a functionality of a device or apparatus, instead of being hardware implemented, be implemented as a software module such as a computer program or a computer program product comprising executable software code portions for execution or being run on a processor. Furthermore, functionality of a device or apparatus can be implemented by any combination of hardware and software. A device or apparatus can also be regarded as an assembly of multiple devices and/or apparatuses, whether functionally in cooperation with or independently of each other. Moreover, devices and apparatuses can be implemented in a distributed fashion throughout a system, so long as the functionality of the device or apparatus is preserved. Such and similar principles are considered as known to a skilled person.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It will be further understood that terms used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of this specification and the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
In addition, certain terms used in the present disclosure, including the specification and drawings, can be used synonymously in certain instances ( .g., “data” and “information”). It should be understood, that although these terms (and/or other terms that can be synonymous to one another) can be used synonymously herein, there can be instances when such words can be intended to not be used synonymously.
Embodiments of the present disclosure also include, but are not limited to, the following enumerated examples. Al . A method for a first user equipment (UE) configured to operate as a target UE for sidelink (SL) positioning in a wireless network, the method comprising: determining whether one or more trigger conditions for initiating SL positioning have been met; based on determining that at least one trigger condition has been met, performing a SL discovery procedure to identify one or more candidate UEs for assisting SL positioning; selecting a second UE, from the candidate UEs, as an assisting UE; and performing one or more SL positioning operations with the second UE.
A2. The method of embodiment Al, wherein the one or more SL positioning operations include one or more of the following: establishing a unicast SL with the second UE; receiving SL positioning assistance data from the second UE; performing positioning measurements on SL signals transmitted by the second UE; and transmitting SL signals for positioning measurements by the second UE.
A3. The method of any of embodiments A1-A2, further comprising receiving, from a network node or function (NNF) of the wireless network, configuration information for SL positioning, wherein at least one of the following is based on the configuration information: determining whether one or more trigger conditions have been met; performing the SL discovery procedure; selecting the second UE; and performing the one or more SL positioning operations.
A4. The method of embodiment A3, wherein the configuration information includes one or more of the following: an indication of whether the wireless network supports SL positioning;
SL discovery configuration for discovery of UEs to assist with SL positioning; one or more SL resource pools for discovery of UEs to assist with SL positioning; and one or more SL resource pools for communication of SL positioning assistance; an indication of one or more candidate UEs to assist with SL positioning.
A5. The method of embodiment A4, wherein the SL discovery configuration includes one or more of the following: one or more first quality thresholds for a downlink (DL) from the wireless network, below which triggers discovery for SL positioning; one or more second quality thresholds for a SL from a candidate UE, above which a target UE can select the candidate UE as an assisting UE for SL positioning; and one or more third quality thresholds for a SL from a target UE, above which a candidate UE can accept a request from the target UE to be an assisting UE for SL positioning.
A6. The method of any of embodiments A4-A5, wherein: the configuration includes an indication of a plurality of candidate UEs; the configuration also indicates an order of priority for the plurality of candidate UEs; and selecting the second UE from the identified candidate UEs is based on the indicated order of priority.
A6a. The method of any of embodiments A4-A6, further comprising sending to the NNF a request for assignment of an assisting UE for SL positioning, wherein the configuration information including the indication of the one or more candidate UEs is received in response to the request.
A7. The method of any of embodiments Al-A6a, further comprising sending an indication of one or more of the following SL positioning capabilities to a network node or function (NNF) of the wireless network: support for SL-based positioning; support for SL positioning-related communication with a network-based location server via a relay UE; and support for SL positioning-related communication with a UE-based location server via a relay UE.
A8. The method of embodiment A7, wherein the indication of the SL positioning capabilities is sent to the NNF via one or more relay UEs.
A9. The method of any of embodiments A1-A8, wherein performing the SL discovery procedure to identify one or more candidate UEs for assisting SL positioning comprises: sending an indication of one or more of the following first UE capabilities to each candidate UE: support for SL-based positioning assisted by another UE, support for GNSS-based positioning, and current ability to receive GNSS signals; and receiving an indication of one or more of the following capabilities from each candidate UE: support for GNSS-based positioning, current ability to receive GNSS signals, current quality of downlink (DL) signal from the wireless network, support for assisting another UE for SL-based positioning, number of target UEs currently being assisted by the candidate UE, support for SL positioning-related communication with a network-based location server via a relay UE; and support for SL positioning-related communication with a UE-based location server via a relay UE.
A10. The method of embodiment A9, wherein selecting the second UE is based on the indicated capabilities of the respective candidate UEs.
Al l. The method of embodiment A10, wherein selecting the second UE is further based on one or more of the following: degree of synchronization between the first UE and the second UE; and the second UE’s synchronization source.
A12. The method of any of embodiments Al-Al l, wherein selecting the second UE as an assisting UE comprises: sending to the second UE a request to be an assisting UE for SL positioning; and receiving from the second UE a response indicating that the second UE accepts the request to be an assisting UE.
A12a. The method of any of embodiments A1-A12, wherein the trigger conditions include one or more of the following: target UE supports only SL-based positioning; target UE supports but is unable to used non-SL-based positioning methods; results from supported non-SL-based positioning methods do not meet positioning quality - of-service (QoS) requirements;
SL-based positioning is capable of providing results that are better than supported non- SL-based positioning methods; elapsed time since target UE’s most recent positioning results is greater than a configured threshold; target UE position, speed, and/or velocity has recently changed by more than a threshold amount; request from wireless network to perform SL positioning; or request from first UE upper protocol layers to perform SL positioning.
A13. The method of any of embodiments Al-A12a, further comprising, after performing the one or more SL positioning operations with the second UE, selecting a third UE as an assisting UE for SL positioning, based on one or more of the following: an indication or command from the wireless network to select a different assisting UE; an indication from the second UE that it can no longer assist the first UE with SL positioning; an indication from the third UE that it can provide more accurate SL positioning assistance than the second UE; positioning measurements performed on SL signals from the second UE no longer meet quality-of-service (QoS) requirements of the first UE; quality of SL signal from the second UE is below a threshold; an indication from the second UE of a radio-related event or condition on the second UE’s interface to the wireless network; a SL link release message from the second UE; a radio link failure (RLF) on the SL between the first UE and the second UE; and an indication from an upper protocol layer of the first UE.
BL A method for a second user equipment (UE) configured to operate an assisting UE for sidelink (SL) positioning in a wireless network, the method comprising: performing a SL discovery procedure with a first UE, based on which the second UE is identified as candidate UE for assisting SL positioning of the first UE; and after the second UE is selected as an assisting UE for the first UE, performing one or more SL positioning operations with the first UE. B2. The method of embodiment Bl, wherein the one or more SL positioning operations include one or more of the following: establishing a unicast SL with the first UE; sending SL positioning assistance data to the first UE; performing positioning measurements on SL signals transmitted by the first UE; and transmitting SL signals for positioning measurements by the first UE.
B3. The method of any of embodiments B 1 -B2, further comprising receiving, from a network node or function (NNF) of the wireless network, configuration information for SL positioning, wherein at least one of the following is performed based on the configuration information: the SL discovery procedure; and the one or more SL positioning operations.
B4. The method of embodiment B3, wherein the configuration information includes one or more of the following: an indication of whether the wireless network supports SL positioning;
SL discovery configuration for discovery of UEs to assist with SL positioning; one or more SL resource pools for discovery of UEs to assist with SL positioning; one or more SL resource pools for communication of SL positioning assistance; and an indication of one or more candidate UEs to assist with SL positioning.
B5. The method of embodiment B4, wherein the SL discovery configuration includes one or more of the following: one or more first quality thresholds for a downlink (DL) from the wireless network, below which triggers discovery for SL positioning; one or more second quality thresholds for a SL from a candidate UE, above which a target UE can select the candidate UE as an assisting UE for SL positioning; and one or more third quality thresholds for a SL from a target UE, above which a candidate UE can accept a request from the target UE to be an assisting UE for SL positioning.
B6. The method of any of embodiments B4-B5, wherein: the configuration includes an indication of a plurality of candidate UEs; the configuration also indicates an order of priority for the plurality of candidate UEs, with the second UE being indicated as a high priority for selection. B7. The method of any of embodiments B1-B6, further comprising sending an indication of one or more of the following SL positioning capabilities to a network node or function (NNF) of the wireless network: support for SL-based positioning; support for SL positioning-related communication with a network-based location server via a relay UE; and support for SL positioning-related communication with a UE-based location server via a relay UE.
B8. The method of embodiment B7, wherein the indication of the SL positioning capabilities is sent to the NNF via one or more relay UEs.
B9. The method of any of embodiments B1-B8, wherein performing the SL discovery procedure with the first UE comprises: receiving from the first UE an indication of one or more of the following first UE capabilities: support for SL-based positioning assisted by another UE, support for GNSS-based positioning, and current ability to receive GNSS signals; and sending to the first UE an indication of one or more of the following second UE capabilities: support for GNSS-based positioning, current ability to receive GNSS signals, current quality of downlink (DL) signal from the wireless network, support for assisting another UE for SL-based positioning, number of target UEs currently being assisted by the candidate UE, support for SL positioning-related communication with a network-based location server via a relay UE; and support for SL positioning-related communication with a UE-based location server via a relay UE.
BIO. The method of embodiment B9, wherein the second UE is selected by the first UE based on the indicated second UE capabilities. Bl 1. The method of embodiment BIO, wherein the second UE is selected by the first UE further based on one or more of the following: degree of synchronization between the first UE and the second UE; and the second UE’s synchronization source.
B12. The method of any of embodiments Bl-Bl 1, further comprising: receiving from the first UE a request to be an assisting UE for SL positioning; and sending to the first UE a response indicating that the second UE accepts the request to be an assisting UE.
B13. The method of any of embodiments Bl -Bl 2, further comprising, after performing the one or more SL positioning operations with the first UE, sending one or more of the following to the first UE: an indication that the second UE can no longer assist the first UE with SL positioning; an indication of a radio-related event or condition on the second UE’s interface to the wireless network; and a SL link release message.
CL A method for a network node or function (NNF) configured to facilitate SL positioning of a first UE based on assistance from a second UE, the method comprising: receiving, from the first and second UEs, respective indications of one or more of the following SL positioning capabilities: support for SL-based positioning, support for SL positioning-related communication with a network-based location server via a relay UE, and support for SL positioning-related communication with a UE-based location server via a relay UE; and sending, to the first and second UEs, configuration information for SL positioning, including one or more of the following: an indication of whether the wireless network supports SL positioning,
SL discovery configuration for discovery of UEs to assist with SL positioning, one or more SL resource pools for discovery of UEs to assist with SL positioning, one or more SL resource pools for communication of SL positioning assistance, and an indication of one or more candidate UEs to assist with SL positioning. C2. The method of embodiment Cl, wherein the SL discovery configuration includes one or more of the following: one or more first quality thresholds for a downlink (DL) from the wireless network, below which triggers discovery for SL positioning; one or more second quality thresholds for a SL from a candidate UE, above which a target UE can select the candidate UE as an assisting UE for SL positioning; and one or more third quality thresholds for a SL from a target UE, above which a candidate UE can accept a request from the target UE to be an assisting UE for SL positioning.
C3 The method of embodiment C2, wherein: the configuration includes an indication of a plurality of candidate UEs; and the configuration also indicates an order of priority for the plurality of candidate UEs.
C4. The method of any of embodiments C1-C3, wherein the indication of the SL positioning capabilities of the first UE is received from the first UE via one or more relay UEs.
C5. The method of any of embodiments C1-C4, further comprising sending, to the first UE, an indication or command to select a different assisting UE than the second UE.
C6. The method of any of embodiments C1-C5, further comprising receiving from the first UE a request for assignment of an assisting UE for SL positioning, wherein the configuration information including the indication of the one or more candidate UEs is sent in response to the request.
C7. The method of embodiment C6, further comprising selecting the one or more candidate UEs indicated to the first UE based on one or more of the following: whether each candidate UE can operate as an assisting UE; whether each candidate UE supports GNSS based positioning; whether each candidate UE has fresh GNSS based positioning results; quality of each candidate UE’s radio link with the wireless network; and quality of each candidate UE’s radio link with the first UE. DI . A first user equipment (UE) configured to operate as a target UE for sidelink (SL) positioning in a wireless network, the first UE comprising: communication interface circuitry configured to communicate with one or more assisting UEs and with the wireless network; and processing circuitry operatively coupled to the communication interface circuitry, whereby the processing circuitry and the communication interface circuitry are configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments Al -Al 3.
D2. A first user equipment (UE) configured to operate as a target UE for sidelink (SL) positioning in a wireless network, the first UE being further configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments A1-A13.
D3. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry of a first user equipment (UE) configured to operate as a target UE for sidelink (SL) positioning in a wireless network, configure the UE to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments Al -Al 3.
D4. A computer program product comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry of a first user equipment (UE) configured to operate as a target UE for sidelink (SL) positioning in a wireless network, configure the UE to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments A1-A13.
EL A second user equipment (UE) configured to operate as an assisting UE for sidelink (SL) positioning in a wireless network, the second UE comprising: communication interface circuitry configured to communicate with a target UE for SL positioning and with the wireless network; and processing circuitry operatively coupled to the communication interface circuitry, whereby the processing circuitry and the communication interface circuitry are configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments B1-B13.
E2. A second user equipment (UE) configured to operate as an assisting UE for sidelink (SL) positioning in a wireless network, the second UE being further configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments Bl -B 13. E3. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry of a second user equipment (UE) configured to operate as an assisting UE for sidelink (SL) positioning in a wireless network, configure the second UE to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments B1-B13.
E4. A computer program product comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry of a second user equipment (UE) configured to operate as an assisting UE for sidelink (SL) positioning in a wireless network, configure the second UE to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments B1-B13.
Fl. A network node or function (NNF) configured to facilitate sidelink (SL) positioning of a first UE based on assistance from a second UE, the NNF comprising: communication interface circuitry configured to communicate with target UEs and assisting UEs for SL positioning; and processing circuitry operatively coupled to the communication interface circuitry, whereby the processing circuitry and the communication interface circuitry are configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments C1-C7.
F2. A network node or function (NNF) configured to facilitate sidelink (SL) positioning of a first UE based on assistance from a second UE, the NNF being further configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments C1-C7.
F3. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry of a network node or function (NNF) configured to facilitate sidelink (SL) positioning of a first UE based on assistance from a second UE, configure the NNF to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments C1-C7.
F4. A computer program product comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry of a network node or function (NNF) configured to facilitate sidelink (SL) positioning of a first UE based on assistance from a second UE, configure the NNF to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of embodiments C1-C7.

Claims

1. A method for a first user equipment, UE, configured to operate as a target UE for sidelink, SL, positioning in a wireless network, the method comprising: determining (1540) whether one or more trigger conditions for initiating SL positioning have been met; based on determining that at least one trigger condition has been met, performing (1550) a SL discovery procedure to identify one or more candidate UEs for assisting SL positioning; selecting (1560) a second UE, from the candidate UEs, as a reference UE; and performing (1570) one or more SL positioning operations with the second UE.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more SL positioning operations include one or more of the following: establishing (1571) a unicast SL with the second UE; receiving (1572) SL positioning assistance data from the second UE; performing (1573) positioning measurements on SL signals transmitted by the second UE; and transmitting (1574) SL signals for positioning measurements by the second UE.
3. The method of any of claims 1-2, further comprising receiving (1530), from a network node or function, NNF, of the wireless network, configuration information for SL positioning, wherein at least one of the following is based on the configuration information: determining (1540) whether one or more trigger conditions have been met; performing (1550) the SL discovery procedure; selecting (1560) the second UE; and performing (1570) the one or more SL positioning operations.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the configuration information includes one or more of the following: an indication of whether the wireless network supports SL positioning;
SL discovery configuration for discovery of UEs to assist with SL positioning; one or more SL resource pools for discovery of UEs to assist with SL positioning; one or more SL resource pools for communication of SL positioning assistance; and an indication of one or more candidate UEs to assist with SL positioning.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the SL discovery configuration includes one or more of the following: one or more first radio channel quality thresholds for a downlink, DL,) from the wireless network, below which a measured DL radio channel quality triggers discovery for SL positioning; one or more second radio channel quality thresholds for a SL from a candidate UE, above which a target UE can select the candidate UE as a reference UE for SL positioning; and one or more third radio channel quality thresholds for a SL from a target UE, above which a candidate UE can accept a request from the target UE to be a reference UE for SL positioning.
6. The method of any of claims 4-5, wherein: the configuration information includes an indication of a plurality of candidate UEs; the configuration information also indicates an order of priority for the plurality of candidate UEs; and selecting (1560) the second UE from the identified candidate UEs is based on the indicated order of priority.
7. The method of any of claims 4-6, further comprising sending (1520) to the NNF a request for assignment of a reference UE for SL positioning, wherein the configuration information including the indication of the one or more candidate UEs is received in response to the request.
8. The method of any of claims 1-7, further comprising sending (!510) an indication of one or more of the following SL positioning capabilities to a network node or function, NNF, of the wireless network: support for SL-based positioning; support for SL positioning-related communication with a network-based location server via a relay UE; and support for SL positioning-related communication with a UE-based location server via a relay UE.
9. The method of claim 8, wherein the indication of the SL positioning capabilities is sent to the NNF via one or more relay UEs.
10. The method of any of claims 1-9, wherein performing (1550) the SL discovery procedure to identify one or more candidate UEs for assisting SL positioning comprises: sending (1551) an indication of one or more of the following first UE capabilities to each candidate UE: support for SL-based positioning assisted by another UE, support for GNSS-based positioning, and current ability to receive GNSS signals; and receiving (1552) an indication of one or more of the following capabilities from each candidate UE: support for GNSS-based positioning, current ability to receive GNSS signals, current quality of downlink, DL, signals from the wireless network, support for assisting another UE for SL-based positioning, number of target UEs currently being assisted by the candidate UE, support for SL positioning-related communication with a network-based location server via a relay UE; and support for SL positioning-related communication with a UE-based location server via a relay UE.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein selecting (1560) the second UE is based on the indicated capabilities of the respective candidate UEs.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein selecting (1560) the second UE is further based on one or more of the following: degree of synchronization between the first UE and the second UE; and the second UE’s synchronization source.
13. The method of any of claims 1-12, wherein selecting (1560) the second UE as a reference UE comprises: sending (1561) to the second UE a request to be a reference UE for SL positioning; and receiving (1562) from the second UE a response indicating that the second UE accepts the request to be a reference UE.
14. The method of any of claims 1-13, wherein the trigger conditions include one or more of the following: target UE supports only SL-based positioning; target UE supports but is unable to use non-SL-based positioning methods; results from supported non-SL-based positioning methods do not meet positioning quality-of-service, QoS, requirements;
SL-based positioning is capable of providing results that are better in some way than supported non-SL-based positioning methods; elapsed time since target UE’s most recent positioning results is greater than a configured threshold; target UE position, speed, and/or velocity has recently changed by more than a threshold amount; request from wireless network to perform SL positioning; and request from first UE upper protocol layers to perform SL positioning.
15. The method of any of claims 1-14, further comprising, after performing (1570) the one or more SL positioning operations with the second UE, selecting (1580) a third UE as a reference UE for SL positioning, based on one or more of the following: an indication or command from the wireless network to select a different reference UE; an indication from the second UE that it can no longer assist the first UE with SL positioning; an indication from the third UE that it can provide more accurate SL positioning assistance than the second UE; positioning measurements performed on SL signals from the second UE no longer meet quality-of-service, QoS, requirements of the first UE; quality of SL signal from the second UE is below a threshold; an indication from the second UE of a radio-related event or condition on the second UE’s interface to the wireless network; a SL link release message from the second UE; a radio link failure, RLF, on the SL between the first UE and the second UE; and an indication from an upper protocol layer of the first UE.
16. A method for a second user equipment, UE, configured to operate as a reference UE for sidelink, SL, positioning in a wireless network, the method comprising: performing (1630) a SL discovery procedure with a first UE, based on which the second UE is identified as candidate UE for assisting SL positioning of the first UE; and after the second UE is selected as a reference UE for the first UE, performing (1660) one or more SL positioning operations with the first UE.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein the one or more SL positioning operations include one or more of the following: establishing (1661) a unicast SL with the first UE; sending (1662) SL positioning assistance data to the first UE; performing (1663) positioning measurements on SL signals transmitted by the first UE; and transmitting (1664) SL signals for positioning measurements by the first UE.
18. The method of any of claims 16-17, further comprising receiving (1620), from a network node or function, NNF, of the wireless network, configuration information for SL positioning, wherein at least one of the following is performed based on the configuration information: the SL discovery procedure; and the one or more SL positioning operations.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein the configuration information includes one or more of the following: an indication of whether the wireless network supports SL positioning;
SL discovery configuration for discovery of UEs to assist with SL positioning; one or more SL resource pools for discovery of UEs to assist with SL positioning; one or more SL resource pools for communication of SL positioning assistance; and an indication of one or more candidate UEs to assist with SL positioning.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein the SL discovery configuration includes one or more of the following: one or more first radio channel quality thresholds for a downlink, DL, from the wireless network, below which a measured DL radio channel quality triggers discovery for SL positioning; one or more second radio channel quality thresholds for a SL from a candidate UE, above which a target UE can select the candidate UE as a reference UE for SL positioning; and one or more third radio channel quality thresholds for a SL from a target UE, above which a candidate UE can accept a request from the target UE to be a reference UE for SL positioning.
21. The method of any of claims 19-20, wherein: the configuration information includes an indication of a plurality of candidate UEs; the configuration information also indicates an order of priority for the plurality of candidate UEs, with the second UE being indicated as a high priority for selection.
22. The method of any of claims 16-21, further comprising sending (1610) an indication of one or more of the following SL positioning capabilities to a network node or function, NNF, of the wireless network: support for SL-based positioning; support for SL positioning-related communication with a network-based location server via a relay UE; and support for SL positioning-related communication with a UE-based location server via a relay UE.
23. The method of claim 22, wherein the indication of the SL positioning capabilities is sent to the NNF via one or more relay UEs.
24. The method of any of claims 16-23, wherein performing (1630) the SL discovery procedure with the first UE comprises: receiving (1631) from the first UE an indication of one or more of the following first UE capabilities: support for SL-based positioning assisted by another UE, support for GNSS-based positioning, and current ability to receive GNSS signals; and sending (1632) to the first UE an indication of one or more of the following second UE capabilities: support for GNSS-based positioning, current ability to receive GNSS signals, current quality of downlink, DL, signals from the wireless network, support for assisting another UE for SL-based positioning, number of target UEs currently being assisted by the candidate UE, support for SL positioning-related communication with a network-based location server via a relay UE; and support for SL positioning-related communication with a UE-based location server via a relay UE.
25. The method of claim 24, wherein the second UE is selected by the first UE based on the indicated second UE capabilities.
26. The method of claim 25, wherein the second UE is selected by the first UE further based on one or more of the following: degree of synchronization between the first UE and the second UE; and the second UE’s synchronization source.
27. The method of any of claims 16-26, further comprising: receiving from the first UE a request to be a reference UE for SL positioning; and sending to the first UE a response indicating that the second UE accepts the request to be a reference UE.
28. The method of any of claims 16-27, further comprising, after performing the one or more SL positioning operations with the first UE, sending one or more of the following to the first UE: an indication that the second UE can no longer assist the first UE with SL positioning; an indication of a radio-related event or condition on the second UE’s interface to the wireless network; and a SL link release message.
29. A method for a network node or function, NNF, configured to facilitate sidelink, SL, positioning of a first user equipment, UE, based on assistance from a second UE, the method comprising: receiving (1710), from the first and second UEs, respective indications of one or more of the following SL positioning capabilities: support for SL-based positioning, support for SL positioning-related communication with a network-based location server via a relay UE, and support for SL positioning-related communication with a UE-based location server via a relay UE; and sending (1740), to the first and second UEs, configuration information for SL positioning, including one or more of the following: an indication of whether the wireless network supports SL positioning,
SL discovery configuration for discovery of UEs to assist with SL positioning, one or more SL resource pools for discovery of UEs to assist with SL positioning, one or more SL resource pools for communication of SL positioning assistance, and an indication of one or more candidate UEs to assist with SL positioning.
30. The method of claim 29, wherein the SL discovery configuration includes one or more of the following: one or more first radio channel quality thresholds for a downlink, DL, from the wireless network, below which a measured DL radio channel quality triggers discovery for SL positioning; one or more second radio channel quality thresholds for a SL from a candidate UE, above which a target UE can select the candidate UE as a reference UE for SL positioning; and one or more third radio channel quality thresholds for a SL from a target UE, above which a candidate UE can accept a request from the target UE to be a reference UE for SL positioning.
31. The method of claim 30, wherein: the configuration information includes an indication of a plurality of candidate UEs; and the configuration information also indicates an order of priority for the plurality of candidate UEs.
32. The method of any of claims 29-31, wherein the indication of the SL positioning capabilities of the first UE is received from the first UE via one or more relay UEs.
33. The method of any of claims 29-32, further comprising sending (1750), to the first UE, an indication or command to select a different reference UE than the second UE.
34. The method of any of claims 29-33, further comprising receiving (1720) from the first UE a request for assignment of a reference UE for SL positioning, wherein the configuration information including the indication of the one or more candidate UEs is sent in response to the request.
35. The method of claim 34, further comprising selecting (1730) the one or more candidate UEs indicated to the first UE based on one or more of the following: whether each candidate UE can operate as a reference UE; whether each candidate UE supports GNSS based positioning; whether each candidate UE has fresh GNSS based positioning results; quality of each candidate UE’s radio link with the wireless network; and quality of each candidate UE’s radio link with the first UE.
36. A first user equipment, UE (205, 310, 520, 1030, 1812, 1900, 2306) configured to operate as a target UE for sidelink, SL, positioning in a wireless network (299, 320, 1804), the first UE comprising: communication interface circuitry (1910) configured to communicate with other UEs (205, 310, 510, 1020, 1812, 1900, 2306) and with the wireless network; and processing circuitry (1902) operatively coupled to the communication interface circuitry, whereby the processing circuitry and the communication interface circuitry are configured to: determine whether one or more trigger conditions for initiating SL positioning have been met; based on determining that at least one trigger condition has been met, perform a SL discovery procedure to identify one or more candidate UEs for assisting SL positioning; select a second UE, from the candidate UEs, as a reference UE; and perform one or more SL positioning operations with the second UE.
37. The first UE of claim 36, wherein the processing circuitry and the communication interface circuitry are further configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 2-15.
38. A first user equipment, UE (205, 310, 520, 1030, 1812, 1900, 2306) configured to operate as a target UE for sidelink, SL, positioning in a wireless network (299, 320, 1804), the first UE being further configured to: determine whether one or more trigger conditions for initiating SL positioning have been met; based on determining that at least one trigger condition has been met, perform a SL discovery procedure to identify one or more candidate UEs (205, 310, 510, 1020, 1812, 1900, 2306) for assisting SL positioning; select a second UE, from the candidate UEs, as a reference UE; and perform one or more SL positioning operations with the second UE.
39. The first UE of claim 38, being further configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 2-15.
40. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium (1910) storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry (1902) of a first user equipment, UE (205, 310, 520, 1030, 1812, 1900, 2306) configured to operate as a target UE for sidelink, SL, positioning in a wireless network (299, 320, 1804), configure the first UE to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 1-15.
41. A computer program product (1914) comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry (1902) of a first user equipment, UE (205, 310, 520, 1030, 1812, 1900, 2306) configured to operate as a target UE for sidelink, SL, positioning in a wireless network (299, 320, 1804), configure the first UE to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 1-15.
42. A second user equipment, UE (205, 310, 510, 1020, 1812, 1900, 2306) configured to operate as a reference UE for sidelink, SL, positioning in a wireless network (299, 320, 1804), the second UE comprising: communication interface circuitry (1910) configured to communicate with other UEs (205, 310, 520, 1030, 1812, 1900, 2306) and with the wireless network; and processing circuitry (1902) operatively coupled to the communication interface circuitry, whereby the processing circuitry and the communication interface circuitry are configured to: perform a SL discovery procedure with a first UE, based on which the second UE is identified as candidate UE for assisting SL positioning of the first UE; and after the second UE is selected as a reference UE for the first UE, perform one or more SL positioning operations with the first UE.
43. The second UE of claim 42, wherein the processing circuitry and the communication interface circuitry are further configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 17-28.
44. A second user equipment, UE (205, 310, 510, 1020, 1812, 1900, 2306) configured to operate as a reference UE for sidelink, SL, positioning in a wireless network (299, 320, 1804), the second UE being further configured to: perform a SL discovery procedure with a first UE (205, 310, 520, 1030, 1812, 1900, 2306), based on which the second UE is identified as candidate UE for assisting SL positioning of the first UE; and after the second UE is selected as a reference UE for the first UE, perform one or more SL positioning operations with the first UE.
45. The second UE of claim 44, being further configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 17-28.
46. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium (1910) storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry (1902) of a second user equipment, UE (205, 310, 510, 1020, 1812, 1900, 2306) configured to operate as a reference UE for sidelink, SL, positioning in a wireless network (299, 320, 1804), configure the second UE to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 16-28.
47. A computer program product (1914) comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry (1902) of a second user equipment, UE (205, 310, 510, 1020, 1812, 1900, 2306) configured to operate as a reference UE for sidelink, SL, positioning in a wireless network (299, 320, 1804), configure the second UE to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 16-28.
48. A network node or function, NNF (321, 322, 330, 340, 530, 1808, 1810, 2000, 2202, 2304) configured to facilitate sidelink, SL, positioning of a first user equipment, UE (205, 310, 520, 1030, 1812, 1900, 2306) based on assistance from a second UE (205, 310, 510, 1020, 1812, 1900, 2306), the NNF comprising: communication interface circuitry (2006, 2204) configured to communicate with at least the first and second UEs; and processing circuitry (2002, 2204) operatively coupled to the communication interface circuitry, whereby the processing circuitry and the communication interface circuitry are configured to: receive, from the first and second UEs, respective indications of one or more of the following SL positioning capabilities: support for SL-based positioning, support for SL positioning-related communication with a network-based location server via a relay UE, and support for SL positioning-related communication with a UE-based location server via a relay UE; and send, to the first and second UEs, configuration information for SL positioning, including one or more of the following: an indication of whether the wireless network supports SL positioning, SL discovery configuration for discovery of UEs to assist with SL positioning, one or more SL resource pools for discovery of UEs to assist with SL positioning, one or more SL resource pools for communication of SL positioning assistance, and an indication of one or more candidate UEs to assist with SL positioning.
49. The NNF of claim 48, wherein the processing circuitry and the communication interface circuitry are further configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 30-35.
50. A network node or function, NNF (321, 322, 330, 340, 530, 1808, 1810, 2000, 2202, 2304) configured to facilitate sidelink, SL, positioning of a first user equipment, UE (205, 310, 520, 1030, 1812, 1900, 2306) based on assistance from a second UE (205, 310, 510, 1020, 1812, 1900, 2306), the NNF being further configured to: receive, from the first and second UEs, respective indications of one or more of the following SL positioning capabilities: support for SL-based positioning, support for SL positioning-related communication with a network-based location server via a relay UE, and support for SL positioning-related communication with a UE-based location server via a relay UE; and send, to the first and second UEs, configuration information for SL positioning, including one or more of the following: an indication of whether the wireless network supports SL positioning,
SL discovery configuration for discovery of UEs to assist with SL positioning, one or more SL resource pools for discovery of UEs to assist with SL positioning, one or more SL resource pools for communication of SL positioning assistance, and an indication of one or more candidate UEs to assist with SL positioning.
51. The NNF of claim 50, being further configured to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 30-35.
52. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium (2004, 2204) storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry (2002, 2204) of network node or function, NNF (321, 322, 330, 340, 530, 1808, 1810, 2000, 2202, 2304) configured to facilitate sidelink, SL, positioning of a first user equipment, UE (205, 310, 520, 1030, 1812, 1900, 2306) based on assistance from a second UE (205, 310, 510, 1020, 1812, 1900, 2306), configure the NNF to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 29-35.
53. A computer program product (2004a, 2204a) comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by processing circuitry (2002, 2204) of network node or function, NNF (321, 322, 330, 340, 530, 1808, 1810, 2000, 2202, 2304) configured to facilitate sidelink, SL, positioning of a first user equipment, UE (205, 310, 520, 1030, 1812, 1900, 2306) based on assistance from a second UE (205, 310, 510, 1020, 1812, 1900, 2306), configure the NNF to perform operations corresponding to any of the methods of claims 29-35.
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