WO2024167531A1

WO2024167531A1 - Network devices

Info

Publication number: WO2024167531A1
Application number: PCT/US2023/062383
Authority: WO
Inventors: Saeed Reza KHOSRAVIRAD; Jianxiu LI
Original assignee: Nokia Solutions And Networks Oy; Nokia Of America Corporation
Priority date: 2023-02-10
Filing date: 2023-02-10
Publication date: 2024-08-15

Abstract

A network device may be caused to determine at least one control parameter for at least one task to be performed by at least one wirelessly controlled device, send a communications service initiation signal to a wireless communication scheduler, the communications service initiation signal including the at least one control parameter, obtain at least one assigned communication parameter from the wireless communication scheduler in response to the communications service initial signal, and send at least one task command corresponding to the at least one task to the at least one wirelessly controlled device based on the at least one assigned communication parameter.

Description

NETWORK DEVICES

BACKGROUND

Field

Ill Various example embodiments relate to methods, apparatuses, systems, and/or non-transitory computer readable media for providing wireless communications and control interfacing for co-design of parameters.

Description of the Related Art

[2] A 5^th generation mobile network (5G) standard, referred to as 5G New Radio (NR), is being developed to provide higher capacity, higher reliability, and lower latency communications than the 4G long term evolution (LTE) standard.

[31 With the deployment of 5^th generation mobile network (5G) networks and other high-speed networks, there has been increased proliferation of network-enabled devices and/or applications, such as autonomous vehicles, robots, Internet of Things (loT) devices, industrial sensors, network-enabled medical devices, etc., which have been adapted to take advantage of the higher capacity, higher reliability, and lower latency communications service.

[4] One proposed implementation of 5G network capabilities is related to the field of cloud robotics, where the controller and/or control system of a cloud robotics system is located in a cloud network (e.g., a private network, a Wide Area Network (WAN), a core network, the Internet, etc.) and provides control instructions to a wirelessly controlled device, e.g., a robot, actuators, an autonomous ground vehicle (AGV), an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), sensors, etc.

SUMMARY

[51 At least one example embodiment is related to a network device.

[61 In at least one example embodiment, the network device may include a memory storing computer readable instructions, and processing circuitry configured to execute the computer readable instructions to cause the network device to, determine at least one control parameter for at least one task to be performed by at least one wirelessly controlled device, send a communications service initiation signal to a wireless communication scheduler, the communications service initiation signal including the at least one control parameter, obtain at least one assigned communication parameter from the wireless communication scheduler in response to the communications service initial signal, and send at least one task command corresponding to the at least one task to the at least one wirelessly controlled device based on the at least one assigned communication parameter. [71 Some example embodiments provide that the at least one control parameter includes at least one of, at least one estimated total operation time of the at least one task, at least one estimated sampling time of the at least one task, at least one estimated survival time of the at least one task, or any combinations thereof, and the at least one assigned communication parameter includes at least one of, an assigned total operation time, an assigned sampling time, an assigned packet size, an assigned survival time, or any combinations thereof.

[8] Some example embodiments provide that the network device is further caused to, obtain at least one scheduling parameter determined by the wireless communication scheduler, the at least one scheduling parameter includes at least one of at least one time interval value supported by the wireless communication scheduler, a guaranteed delay value of the wireless communication scheduler, a guaranteed bit rate of the wireless communication scheduler, a target packet error rate for wireless link adaptation, or any combinations thereof, obtain a control lookup table for the at least one wirelessly controlled device based on the at least one scheduling parameter, and send the control lookup table to the wireless communication scheduler, the sending of the control lookup table enabling the wireless communication scheduler to calculate the at least one assigned communication parameter based on current network conditions.

[91 Some example embodiments provide that the control lookup table is generated by a control interface based on the at least one scheduling parameter, and the obtaining the control lookup table includes receiving the control lookup table from the control interface. [101 Some example embodiments provide that the sending the communications service initiation signal includes sending the communications service initiation signal to the wireless communication scheduler via the control interface, the obtaining the at least one assigned communication parameter includes obtaining the at least one assigned communication parameter from the wireless communication scheduler via the control interface, the obtaining the at least one scheduling parameter includes obtaining the at least one scheduling parameter from the wireless communication scheduler via the control interface, and the sending the control lookup table includes sending the control lookup table to the wireless communication scheduler via the control interface.

[Ill Some example embodiments provide that the network device is further caused to, update the at least one control parameter, send the at least one updated control parameter to the wireless communication scheduler, obtain at least one updated assigned communication parameter from the wireless communication scheduler in response to the at least one updated control parameter, and send at least one updated task command corresponding to the at least one task to the at least one wirelessly controlled device based on the at least one updated assigned communication parameter.

[121 Some example embodiments provide that the network device is further caused to, obtain feedback data from the at least one wirelessly controlled device, and update the at least one control parameter based on the feedback data.

[131 Some example embodiments provide that the network device is further caused to, update the at least one control parameter based on a desired time interval.

[141 Some example embodiments provide that the network device is further caused to, obtain a network resource update message from the wireless communication scheduler, and update the at least one control parameter based on the network resource update message.

[151 Some example embodiments provide that the network device is further caused to, determine an occurrence of at least one of a packet failure between the network device and the at least one wirelessly controlled device, and a delayed packet delivery larger than a target delay threshold time, and update the at least one control parameter based on the determined occurrence.

[161 At least one example embodiment is related to a radio access network (RAN) node.

[171 In at least one example embodiment, the RAN node may include a memory storing computer readable instructions, and processing circuitry configured to execute the computer readable instructions to cause the RAN node to, obtain a communications service initiation signal from at least one controller, the communications service initiation signal including at least one control parameter for at least one task to be performed by at least one wirelessly controlled device, assign at least one communication parameter to the at least one wirelessly controlled device based on the at least one control parameter, and send the at least one assigned communication parameter to the at least one controller, the at least one assigned communication parameter enabling the at least one controller to send at least one task command corresponding to the at least one task to the at least one wirelessly controlled device.

[181 Some example embodiments provide that the at least one control parameter includes at least one of, at least one estimated total operation time of the at least one task, at least one estimated sampling time of the at least one task, at least one estimated survival time of the at least one task, or any combinations thereof, and the at least one assigned communication parameter includes at least one of, an assigned total operation time, an assigned sampling time, an assigned packet size, an assigned survival time, or any combinations thereof.

[191 Some example embodiments provide that the RAN node is further caused to, send at least one scheduling parameter to the at least one controller, the at least one scheduling parameter including at least one of: at least one time interval value supported by the RAN node, a guaranteed delay value of the RAN node, a guaranteed bit rate of the RAN node, a target packet error rate for wireless link adaptation, or any combinations thereof, obtain a control lookup table in response to the sent at least one scheduling parameter, and calculate the at least one assigned communication parameter based on current network conditions and the control lookup table.

[201 Some example embodiments provide that the obtaining the communications service initiation signal includes obtaining the communications service initiation signal from the at least one controller via a control interface, the sending the at least one assigned communication parameter includes sending the at least one assigned communication parameter to the at least one controller via the control interface, the sending the at least one scheduling parameter includes sending the at least one scheduling parameter to the at least one controller via the control interface, and the obtaining the control lookup table includes obtaining the control lookup table from the control interface.

[211 Some example embodiments provide that the RAN node is further caused to, obtain at least one updated control parameter from the at least one controller, and send at least one updated assigned communication parameter to the at least one controller in response to the sent at least one updated control parameter, the sent at least one updated assigned communication parameter enabling the at least one controller to send at least one updated task command corresponding to the at least one task to the at least one wirelessly controlled device.

[221 Some example embodiments provide that the RAN node is further caused to, update the at least one assigned communication parameter based on current network conditions, and send a network resource update message to the at least one controller, the network resource update message including the at least one updated assigned communication parameter, the network resource update message causing the at least one controller to update the at least one control parameter.

[231 Some example embodiments provide that the at least one controller includes at least a first controller and a second controller, and the RAN node is further caused to, obtain a first communications service initiation signal from the first controller and a second communications service initiation signal from the second controller, each of the first and second communications service initiation signals including at least one first control parameter for a first task to be performed by a first wirelessly controlled device and at least one second control parameter for a second task to be performed by a second wirelessly controlled device, assign at least one first communication parameter to the first wirelessly controlled device and at least one second communication parameter to the second wirelessly controlled device based on the obtained first and second control parameters, send the at least one first communication parameter to the first controller, the at least one first communication parameter enabling the first controller to send at least one task command corresponding to the first wirelessly controlled device, and send the at least one second communication parameter to the second controller, the at least one second communication parameter enabling the second controller to send at least one task command corresponding to the second wirelessly controlled device.

[241 At least one example embodiment is related to a network device.

[251 In at least one example embodiment, the network device may include a memory storing computer readable instructions, and processing circuitry configured to execute the computer readable instructions to cause the network device to, obtain at least one scheduling parameter from a wireless communication scheduler, determine a control lookup table for at least one wirelessly controlled device based on the at least one scheduling parameter, and send the control lookup table to the wireless communication scheduler, the sending of the control lookup table enabling the wireless communication scheduler to calculate at least one assigned communication parameter based on current network conditions.

[261 Some example embodiments provide that the network device is further caused to, forward a communications service initiation signal transmitted by at least one controller to the wireless communication scheduler, the communications service initiation signal including at least one control parameter determined by the at least one controller for at least one task to be performed by the at least one wirelessly controlled device, and forward the at least one assigned communication parameter from the wireless communication scheduler transmitted by the wireless communication scheduler, the forwarding the at least one assigned communication parameter enabling the at least one controller to transmit at least one task command corresponding to the at least one task to the at least one wirelessly controlled device based on the at least one assigned communication parameter.

[271 Some example embodiments provide that the network device is further caused to, forward at least one updated control parameter transmitted by at least one controller to the wireless communication scheduler, and forward at least one updated assigned communication parameter transmitted by the wireless communication scheduler to the at least one controller in response to the at least one updated control parameter, the forwarding the at least one updated assigned communication parameter enabling the at least one controller to transmit at least one updated task command corresponding to the at least one task to the at least one wirelessly controlled device based on the at least one updated assigned communication parameter.

[281 At least one example embodiment relates to a network device.

[291 In at least one example embodiment, the network device may include means for, determining at least one control parameter for at least one task to be performed by at least one wirelessly controlled device, sending a communications service initiation signal to a wireless communication scheduler, the communications service initiation signal including the at least one control parameter, obtaining at least one assigned communication parameter from the wireless communication scheduler in response to the communications service initial signal, and sending at least one task command corresponding to the at least one task to the at least one wirelessly controlled device based on the at least one assigned communication parameter.

[301 Some example embodiments provide that the at least one control parameter includes at least one of, at least one estimated total operation time of the at least one task, at least one estimated sampling time of the at least one task, at least one estimated survival time of the at least one task, or any combinations thereof, and the at least one assigned communication parameter includes at least one of, an assigned total operation time, an assigned sampling time, an assigned packet size, an assigned survival time, or any combinations thereof.

[311 Some example embodiments provide that the network device further includes means for, obtaining at least one scheduling parameter determined by the wireless communication scheduler, the at least one scheduling parameter includes at least one of at least one time interval value supported by the wireless communication scheduler, a guaranteed delay value of the wireless communication scheduler, a guaranteed bit rate of the wireless communication scheduler, a target packet error rate for wireless link adaptation, or any combinations thereof, obtaining a control lookup table for the at least one wirelessly controlled device based on the at least one scheduling parameter, and sending the control lookup table to the wireless communication scheduler, the sending of the control lookup table enabling the wireless communication scheduler to calculate the at least one assigned communication parameter based on current network conditions.

[321 Some example embodiments provide that the control lookup table is generated by a control interface based on the at least one scheduling parameter, and the obtaining the control lookup table includes receiving the control lookup table from the control interface. [331 Some example embodiments provide that the sending the communications service initiation signal includes sending the communications service initiation signal to the wireless communication scheduler via the control interface, the obtaining the at least one assigned communication parameter includes obtaining the at least one assigned communication parameter from the wireless communication scheduler via the control interface, the obtaining the at least one scheduling parameter includes obtaining the at least one scheduling parameter from the wireless communication scheduler via the control interface, and the sending the control lookup table includes sending the control lookup table to the wireless communication scheduler via the control interface. [341 Some example embodiments provide that the network device further includes means for, updating the at least one control parameter, sending the at least one updated control parameter to the wireless communication scheduler, obtaining at least one updated assigned communication parameter from the wireless communication scheduler in response to the at least one updated control parameter, and sending at least one updated task command corresponding to the at least one task to the at least one wirelessly controlled device based on the at least one updated assigned communication parameter.

[351 Some example embodiments provide that the network device further includes means for, obtaining feedback data from the at least one wirelessly controlled device, and updating the at least one control parameter based on the feedback data.

[361 Some example embodiments provide that the network device further includes means for, updating the at least one control parameter based on a desired time interval.

[371 Some example embodiments provide that the network device further includes means for, obtaining a network resource update message from the wireless communication scheduler, and updating the at least one control parameter based on the network resource update message.

[381 Some example embodiments provide that the network device further includes means for, determining an occurrence of at least one of a packet failure between the network device and the at least one wirelessly controlled device, and a delayed packet delivery larger than a target delay threshold time, and updating the at least one control parameter based on the determined occurrence.

[391 At least one example embodiment is related to a radio access network (RAN) node.

[401 In at least one example embodiment, the RAN node may include means for, obtaining a communications service initiation signal from at least one controller, the communications service initiation signal including at least one control parameter for at least one task to be performed by at least one wirelessly controlled device, assigning at least one communication parameter to the at least one wirelessly controlled device based on the at least one control parameter, and sending the at least one assigned communication parameter to the at least one controller, the at least one assigned communication parameter enabling the at least one controller to send at least one task command corresponding to the at least one task to the at least one wirelessly controlled device. [411 Some example embodiments provide that the at least one control parameter includes at least one of, at least one estimated total operation time of the at least one task, at least one estimated sampling time of the at least one task, at least one estimated survival time of the at least one task, or any combinations thereof, and the at least one assigned communication parameter includes at least one of, an assigned total operation time, an assigned sampling time, an assigned packet size, an assigned survival time, or any combinations thereof.

[421 Some example embodiments provide that the RAN node further includes means for, sending at least one scheduling parameter to the at least one controller, the at least one scheduling parameter including at least one of: at least one time interval value supported by the RAN node, a guaranteed delay value of the RAN node, a guaranteed bit rate of the RAN node, a target packet error rate for wireless link adaptation, or any combinations thereof, obtaining a control lookup table in response to the sent at least one scheduling parameter, and calculating the at least one assigned communication parameter based on current network conditions and the control lookup table.

[431 Some example embodiments provide that the obtaining the communications service initiation signal includes obtaining the communications service initiation signal from the at least one controller via a control interface, the sending the at least one assigned communication parameter includes sending the at least one assigned communication parameter to the at least one controller via the control interface, the sending the at least one scheduling parameter includes sending the at least one scheduling parameter to the at least one controller via the control interface, and the obtaining the control lookup table includes obtaining the control lookup table from the control interface.

[441 Some example embodiments provide that the RAN node further includes means for, obtaining at least one updated control parameter from the at least one controller, and sending at least one updated assigned communication parameter to the at least one controller in response to the sent at least one updated control parameter, the sent at least one updated assigned communication parameter enabling the at least one controller to send at least one updated task command corresponding to the at least one task to the at least one wirelessly controlled device.

[451 Some example embodiments provide that the RAN node further includes means for, updating the at least one assigned communication parameter based on current network conditions, and sending a network resource update message to the at least one controller, the network resource update message including the at least one updated assigned communication parameter, the network resource update message causing the at least one controller to update the at least one control parameter.

[461 Some example embodiments provide that the at least one controller includes at least a first controller and a second controller, and the RAN node further includes means for, obtaining a first communications service initiation signal from the first controller and a second communications service initiation signal from the second controller, each of the first and second communications service initiation signals including at least one first control parameter for a first task to be performed by a first wirelessly controlled device and at least one second control parameter for a second task to be performed by a second wirelessly controlled device, assigning at least one first communication parameter to the first wirelessly controlled device and at least one second communication parameter to the second wirelessly controlled device based on the obtained first and second control parameters, sending the at least one first communication parameter to the first controller, the at least one first communication parameter enabling the first controller to send at least one task command corresponding to the first wirelessly controlled device, and sending the at least one second communication parameter to the second controller, the at least one second communication parameter enabling the second controller to send at least one task command corresponding to the second wirelessly controlled device.

[471 At least one example embodiment is related to a network device.

[481 In at least one example embodiment, the network device may include means for, obtaining at least one scheduling parameter from a wireless communication scheduler, determining a control lookup table for at least one wirelessly controlled device based on the at least one scheduling parameter, and sending the control lookup table to the wireless communication scheduler, the sending of the control lookup table enabling the wireless communication scheduler to calculate at least one assigned communication parameter based on current network conditions.

[491 Some example embodiments provide that the network device further includes means for, forwarding a communications service initiation signal transmitted by at least one controller to the wireless communication scheduler, the communications service initiation signal including at least one control parameter determined by the at least one controller for at least one task to be performed by the at least one wirelessly controlled device, and forwarding the at least one assigned communication parameter from the wireless communication scheduler transmitted by the wireless communication scheduler, the forwarding the at least one assigned communication parameter enabling the at least one controller to transmit at least one task command corresponding to the at least one task to the at least one wirelessly controlled device based on the at least one assigned communication parameter.

1501 Some example embodiments provide that the network device further includes means for, forwarding at least one updated control parameter transmitted by at least one controller to the wireless communication scheduler, and forwarding at least one updated assigned communication parameter transmitted by the wireless communication scheduler to the at least one controller in response to the at least one updated control parameter, the forwarding the at least one updated assigned communication parameter enabling the at least one controller to transmit at least one updated task command corresponding to the at least one task to the at least one wirelessly controlled device based on the at least one updated assigned communication parameter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[511 The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate one or more example embodiments and, together with the description, explain these example embodiments. In the drawings:

[521 FIG. 1A illustrates an example wireless communication system according to at least one example embodiment;

1531 FIG. IB illustrates an example quality of service (QoS) requirements table according to at least one example embodiment;

1541 FIG. 1C illustrates an example wireless control parameter lookup table according to at least one example embodiment;

[551 FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example network device according to at least one example embodiment;

[561 FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of an example wirelessly controlled device according to at least one example embodiment; and 1571 FIGS. 4 to 6 illustrate example transmission flow diagrams according to some example embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[581 Various example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings in which some example embodiments are shown.

[591 Detailed example embodiments are disclosed herein. However, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are merely representative for purposes of describing the example embodiments. The example embodiments may, however, be embodied in many alternate forms and should not be construed as limited to only the example embodiments set forth herein.

F601 It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of the example embodiments. As used herein, the term “and/or,” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

F611 It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected,” or “coupled,” to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected,” or “directly coupled,” to another element, there are no intervening elements present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between,” versus “directly between,” “adjacent,” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.).

F621 The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the,” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” and/or “including,” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

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

[641 Specific details are provided in the following description to provide a thorough understanding of the example embodiments. However, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that example embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. For example, systems may be shown in block diagrams in order not to obscure the example embodiments in unnecessary detail. In other instances, well-known processes, structures and techniques may be shown without unnecessary detail in order to avoid obscuring example embodiments.

[651 Also, it is noted that example embodiments may be described as a process depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a data flow diagram, a structure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchart may describe the operations as a sequential process, many of the operations may be performed in parallel, concurrently or simultaneously. In addition, the order of the operations may be re-arranged. A process may be terminated when its operations are completed, but may also have additional steps not included in the figure. A process may correspond to a method, a function, a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a process corresponds to a function, its termination may correspond to a return of the function to the calling function or the main function.

[661 Moreover, as disclosed herein, the term “memory” may represent one or more devices for storing data, including random access memory (RAM), magnetic RAM, core memory, and/or other machine readable mediums for storing information. The term “storage medium” may represent one or more devices for storing data, including read only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic RAM, core memory, magnetic disk storage mediums, optical storage mediums, flash memory devices and/or other machine readable mediums for storing information. The term “computer-readable medium” may include, but is not limited to, portable or fixed storage devices, optical storage devices, wireless channels, and various other mediums capable of storing, containing or carrying instruction(s) and/or data. 1671 Furthermore, example embodiments may be implemented by hardware circuitry and/or software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, etc., in combination with hardware (e.g., software executed by hardware, etc.). When implemented in software, firmware, middleware or microcode, the program code or code segments to perform the desired tasks may be stored in a machine or computer readable medium such as a non-transitory computer storage medium, and loaded onto one or more processors to perform the desired tasks.

1681 A code segment may represent a procedure, a function, a subprogram, a program, a routine, a subroutine, a module, a software package, a class, or any combination of instructions, data structures, or program statements. A code segment may be coupled to another code segment or a hardware circuit by passing and/or receiving information, data, arguments, parameters, or memory contents. Information, arguments, parameters, data, etc. may be passed, forwarded, or transmitted via any suitable means including memory sharing, message passing, token passing, network transmission, etc.

1691 As used in this application, the term “circuitry” and/or “hardware circuitry” may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) hardware-only circuit implementation (such as implementations in only analog and/or digital circuitry); (b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable): (i) a combination of analog and/or digital hardware circuit(s) with software/firmware, and (ii) any portions of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s)), software, and memory(ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions); and (c) hardware circuit(s) and/or processor(s), such as microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation. For example, the circuitry more specifically may include, but is not limited to, a central processing unit (CPU), an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), a digital signal processor, a microcomputer, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a System-on-Chip (SoC), a programmable logic unit, a microprocessor, application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc.

1701 This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and/or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[711 While the various example embodiments of the present disclosure are discussed in connection with the 5G wireless communication standard for the sake of clarity and convenience, the example embodiments are not limited thereto, and one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize the example embodiments may be applicable to other wireless communication standards, such as the 4G standard, a Wi-Fi standard, a future 6G standard, a future 7G standard, etc.

[721 Various example embodiments are directed towards a cloud controller for controlling a device over a network, a cloud control system including the cloud controller and the communications scheduler, and/or a method of operating the cloud controller/communications scheduler/wirelessly controlled device, etc. A cloud control system refers to a control system for a wirelessly controlled device (WCD), such as a robot, an AGV, a UAV, etc., where the controller of the WCD is located on a network (e.g., a cloud network, etc.), such as at an edge node of the network, and transmits instructions to the WCD and/or receives feedback data from the WCD (e.g., sensor data, etc.) over the network, in contrast to direct control systems where the controller is “onboard” the WCD, physically connected to the WCD, and/or within direct communication range of the WCD. Because the controller is transmitting and/or receiving data to/from the WCD over a network, the quality of service (QoS) requirements, such as latency, reliability, survival time, and service availability, for the data communications must be high. For example, in factory automation use cases, the communication service availability requirement may be 10’⁵ to 10’⁹ over a time budget of 0.5ms to 2ms, or in other words, the ratio of the amount of time where the task and/or service is unavailable over the amount of time where the task and/or service is operating, etc. Additionally, some applications, such as motion control require deterministic availability of communication services as high as nine nines figure, e.g., 1 O’⁹, for periodic traffic patterns. An example of QoS requirements for WCD is illustrated in FIG. IB. 1731 However, high QoS requirements causes extremely high resource strains on wireless communications systems. Accordingly, an approach is desired to provide an interface and/or signaling exchange framework for exchanging information between the cloud controller and a communications scheduler which enables for periodic and/or dynamic changes in QoS requirements for the requirements of the WCD. For example, not every WCD will require 10’⁹ availability and/or a WCD may only desire and/or require 10’⁹ for specific time periods corresponding to the performance of specific tasks, such as controlling the motion of an AGV traveling at highway speeds, etc. Consequently, wireless control systems with dynamic QoS scheduling provide for reduced network resource usage, an improvement in the overall availability of wireless connectivity for WCDs, an increase in the number of WCDs which may be controlled over a network, flexibility in the types of WCD use cases and/or an increase in available bandwidth for WCDs,

[741 Additionally, while the example embodiments are discussed in connection with an autonomous ground vehicle, the example embodiments are not limited thereto, and for example, one or more aspects of the example embodiments may be applied to controlling robot movement and/or robot traffic in a warehouse facility, controlling actuators and/or other mechanically operated devices, controlling sensors and/or security devices, UAVs, etc.

[751 FIG. 1A illustrates an example wireless communication system according to at least one example embodiment. FIG. 1C illustrates an example wireless control parameter lookup table according to at least one example embodiment.

[761 As shown in FIG. 1A, a wireless communication system 1000 includes a core network 100, a Data Network 105, a first radio access network (RAN) node 110, a first wirelessly controlled device (e.g., WCD, a user equipment (UE) device, or UE, etc.) 130, a second WCD 140, etc., but the example embodiments are not limited thereto, and for example, may include a greater or lesser number of constituent elements. For example, the wireless communication system may include two or more RAN nodes, one WCD or three or more WCDs, additional base stations, servers, routers, access points, gateways, etc.

[771 The RAN node 110, and/or the WCDs 130, 140 may be connected over a wireless network, such as a cellular wireless access network (e.g., a 3G wireless access network, a 4G-Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, a 5G-New Radio (e.g., 5G) wireless network, a 6G wireless network, a WiFi network, etc.). The wireless network may include a core network 100 and/or a Data Network 105. The RAN node 110 may connect to other RAN nodes (not shown), as well as to the core network 100 and/or the Data Network 105, over a wired and/or wireless network. The core network 100 and the Data Network 105 may connect to each other over a wired and/or wireless network. The Data Network 105 may refer to the Internet, an intranet, a wide area network, etc.

1781 According to some example embodiments, the RAN node 110 may act as a relay node (e.g., an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node) and may communicate with the WCDs 130, 140, etc., in combination with at least one base station (and/or access point (AP), router, etc.) (not shown) of the same or a different radio access technology (e.g., WiFi, etc.). According to other example embodiments, the wireless communication system 1000 may further include at least one interface node 120, and the interface node 120 may act as an intermediary and/or mediating entity between the scheduler 115 and the controller 101. Moreover, in one or more example embodiments, the controller 101 and/or scheduler 115 may be installed on, located with, executed by, etc., the interface node 120, but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.

1791 The WCDs 130, 140, etc., may be wirelessly controlled devices, such as, but not limited to, an Internet of Things (loT) device, a sensor (e.g., thermometers, humidity sensors, pressure sensors, motion sensors, accelerometers, etc.), actuators, robotic devices, robotics, drones, connected medical devices, eHealth devices, smart city related devices, a security camera, autonomous devices (e.g., autonomous cars, etc.), and/or any other type of stationary or portable device capable of operating according to, for example, the 5G NR communication standard, and/or other wireless communication standard(s). Additionally, in some example embodiments, the wireless network 1000 may further include additional UE devices, such as a smartphone, a tablet, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a wearable device, etc., but the example embodiments are not limited thereto. The WCDs 130, 140 may be configurable to transmit and/or receive data in accordance to strict latency, reliability, and/or accuracy requirements, such as URLLC communications, TSC communications, etc., but the example embodiments are not limited thereto. 1801 The wireless communication system further includes a plurality of transmission/reception points (TRPs) (e.g., a base station, a wireless access point, etc.), such as RAN node 110, etc. The RAN node 110 may operate according to an underlying cellular and/or wireless radio access technology (RAT), such as 5G NR, LTE, Wi-Fi, etc. For example, the RAN node 110 may be a 5G gNB node, a LTE eNB node, or a LTE ng- eNB node, etc., but the example embodiments are not limited thereto. The RAN node 110 may provide wireless network services to one or more WCDs devices within one or more cells (e.g., cell service areas, broadcast areas, serving areas, coverage areas, etc.) surrounding the respective physical location of the RAN node. As shown in FIG. 1A, the RAN node 110 may provide cell 110A, but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.

F811 Additionally, the RAN node 110 may be configured to operate in a multi-user (MU) multiple input multiple out (MIMO) mode and/or a massive MIMO (mMIMO) mode, wherein the RAN node 110 transmits a plurality of beams (e.g., radio channels, datastreams, streams, etc.) in different spatial domains and/or frequency domains using a plurality of antennas (e.g., antenna panels, antenna elements, an antenna array, etc.) and beamforming and/or beamsteering techniques. For example, RAN node 110 may transmit and/or receive transmissions using two or more beams, but the example embodiments are not limited thereto, and for example, the RAN node may transmit using a greater or lesser number of beams, etc.

[82] Additionally, WCDs 130, 140, etc. may be located within the cell service areas 110A, and may connect to, receive broadcast messages from, receive paging messages from, receive/transmit signaling messages from/to, and/or access the wireless network through, etc., from the RAN node 110. However, the example embodiments are not limited thereto, and for example, one or more of the WCDs may connect to two or more RAN nodes and may perform carrier aggregation using one or more component carriers (CCs) from one or more of the RAN nodes, etc.

1831 According to at least one example embodiment, the WCDs 130, 140, etc., may include multiple antenna panels (e.g., may be a multi-panel UE device, etc.), and may transmit and/or receive to a plurality of RAN nodes (e.g., TRPs), etc., using the same time-frequency resources and/or using resources overlapping in time, but the example embodiments are not limited thereto. 1841 According to at least one example embodiment, the RAN node 110 may be connected to at least one core network element (not shown) residing on the core network 100, such as a core network device, a core network server, access points, switches, routers, nodes, etc., but the example embodiments are not limited thereto. The core network 100 may provide network functions, such as an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), a policy control function (PCF), a unified data management (UDM), a user plane function (UPF), an authentication server function (AUSF), an application function (AF), and/or a network slice selection function (NSSF), etc., and/or equivalent functions, but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.

1851 According to some example embodiments, the RAN node 110 may further include a scheduler 115, but the example embodiments are not limited thereto. The scheduler 115 (e.g., a communications scheduler, a radio resource management (RRM) scheduler, a radio resource control (RRC) scheduler, a media access control (MAC) scheduler, etc.) may communicate with a cloud controller and/or controller 101 for the WCDs 130, 140, etc. According to some example embodiments, the wireless communication system 1000 may include a plurality of RAN nodes 110 and a plurality of schedulers 115 corresponding to and/or associated each of the RAN nodes 110, etc. For example, the plurality of RAN nodes 110 may use different radio access technologies (RAT), e.g., 5G NR, 4G, 6G, WiFi, etc., and a separate scheduler 115 may perform scheduling operations and/or functionalities for each of the different RATs, and/or one or more RAN nodes 110 may be located in different geographic locations, may provide different cell service areas, and/or may support a different set of WCDs 130, 140, etc., and the individual schedulers 115 may perform scheduling operations for the WCDs 130, 140, etc., connected to each individual RAN node 110, etc.

[861 According to some example embodiments, the controller 101 may be located in the core network 100, e.g., may reside on a core network element, an edge network node, a core network device, etc., but the example embodiments are not limited thereto. Additionally, in other example embodiments, the controller 101 may be executed on a UE device (not shown) and may communicate with and/or interface with the scheduler 115 via an interface node 120 (e.g., a mediating network node, a mediating network entity, etc.), and the mediating network node may be a second RAN node, a TRP, a server, a computing device, a UE device, etc., but the example embodiments are not limited thereto. Further, in some example embodiments, the controller 101 may be co-located with the scheduler 115 on the RAN node 110, etc.

[871 The scheduler 115 and the controller 101 may exchange information over a desired control communication interface in a static and/or dynamic manner, wherein the scheduler 115 may assign network resources for one or more control operations for each of the WCDs 130, 140 based on data provided by the respective controller(s) of the WCDs 130, 140, etc. According to some example embodiments, the scheduler 115 and the controller 101 may perform an initial handshaking operation and exchange initial setup parameters, etc. For example, the scheduler 115 may transmit initial scheduler parameters to the controller 101, such as supported values for time intervals (TI), which may be based on and/or depend on the supported time slots in the wireless medium, etc.), guaranteed delay (e.g., E2E latency and reliability tuple, or guaranteed E2E delay including queuing, processing and transmission delay, etc.) and/or guaranteed bit rate, etc. The controller 101 may then generate and/or calculate at least one control lookup table associated with each WCD under the control of the controller 101, and according to some example embodiments, the controller 101 may generate and/or calculate a plurality of control lookup tables for a single WCD based on the requirements of the tasks the WCD is capable of performing, etc. The control lookup table may include at least a mapping between the total operation time (T), sampling time (T_s), and survival time (n_max) of a given control task for the given TI and guaranteed delay values, etc. An example of the control lookup table is shown in FIG. 1C, wherein a plurality of n_max values are computed for each T and T_s combination, etc., but the example embodiments are not limited thereto. [881 The controller 101 may then perform control task planning for at least one task to be performed by the WCD, including determining at least one control parameter for the desired task, and transmit a communications service initiation signal including the at least one control parameter to the scheduler 115, etc. For example, the control parameter may be an estimated total operation time T and/or a tolerable maximum total operation time Tmax, etc., which is estimated by the controller 101 based on the task requirements and the process planning schedules, etc. The scheduler 115 may then select, assign, and/or allocate communication settings for the WCD and task based on the received control parameter, such as a sampling time, a total operation time, etc., based on a guaranteed service availability of the network, current network load and/or network traffic, etc., and the guaranteed delay and/or bit rate, etc., provided by the control lookup table, etc., but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.

[891 Additionally, the scheduler 115 may compute the target block error rate (BLER) for each packet of a desired packet size for the sampling time and total operation time allocated to the WCD and task, etc., but is not limited thereto.

[901 The scheduler 115 and the controller 101 then initiate a closed loop control operation of the WCD based on and/or using the control parameters and/or scheduling parameters set by the scheduler 115 and the controller 101. Feedback from the WCD, such as sensor data, etc., may be transmitted back to the controller 101 through the wireless network, and the control parameters and/or scheduling parameters may be updated on a periodic and/or dynamic basis, etc. The scheduling and control of the WCD will be discussed in further detail in connection with FIGS. 4 to 6.

[911 While certain components of a wireless communication network are shown as part of the wireless communication system of FIG. 1A, the example embodiments are not limited thereto, and the wireless communication network may include components other than that shown in FIG. 1 A, which are desired, necessary, and/or beneficial for operation of the underlying networks within the wireless communication system, such as access points, switches, routers, nodes, servers, gateways, etc.

[921 FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example network device and/or network node according to at least one example embodiment. The network device of FIG. 2 may correspond to the RAN node 110 including the scheduler 115, a network device including the controller 101, and/or a network device corresponding to the interface node 120 of FIG. 1A, but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.

[931 Referring to FIG. 2, a network device 2000 (e.g., a network node, etc.) may include processing circuitry, such as processing circuitry 2100, at least one communication bus 2200, a memory 2300, at least one core network interface 2400 (e.g., a private network interface, etc.), at least one wireless antenna array 2500, etc., but the example embodiments are not limited thereto. For example, the core network interface 2400 and the wireless antenna array 2500 may be combined into a single network interface, etc., or the network device 2000 may include a plurality of wireless antenna arrays, a plurality of core network interfaces, etc., and/or any combinations thereof. Additionally, the network device 2000 may further include a scheduler 115 and/or a controller 101, but is not limited thereto. The memory 2300 may include various special purpose program code including computer executable instructions for performing the operations of FIGS. 4 to 6, etc., which may cause the network device 2000 to perform the one or more of the methods of the example embodiments, but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.

F941 In at least one example embodiment, the processing circuitry 2100 may include at least one processor (and/or processor cores, distributed processors, networked processors, application processors, etc.), which may be configured to control one or more elements of the network device 2000, and thereby cause the network device 2000 to perform various operations. The processing circuitry 2100 is configured to execute processes by retrieving program code (e.g., computer readable instructions) and data from the memory 2300 to process them, thereby executing special purpose control and functions of the entire network device 2000. Once the special purpose program instructions are loaded into the processing circuitry 2100, the processing circuitry 2100 executes the special purpose program instructions, thereby transforming the processing circuitry 2100 into a special purpose processor. According to some example embodiments, the processing circuitry 2100 may include a specially programmed FPGA, a special purpose system-on- chip (SoC), a special purpose ASIC, etc., which is specifically provided to perform the functionality related to the methods of FIGS. 4 to 6, etc., but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.

[951 In at least one example embodiment, the memory 2300 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and may include a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), and/or a permanent mass storage device such as a disk drive, or a solid state drive. Stored in the memory 2300 is program code (i.e., computer readable instructions) related to operating the network device 2000, such as the methods discussed in connection with FIGS. 4 to 6, the at least one core network interface 2400, the at least one wireless antenna array 2500, the scheduler 115, the interface 120, and/or the controller 101, etc. Such software elements may be loaded from a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium independent of the memory 2300, using a drive mechanism (not shown) connected to the network device 2000, or via the at least one core network interface 2400, and/or at least one wireless antenna array 2500, etc. 1961 In at least one example embodiment, the communication bus 2200 may enable communication and data transmission to be performed between elements of the network device 2000. The bus 2200 may be implemented using a high-speed serial bus, a parallel bus, and/or any other appropriate communication technology. According to at least one example embodiment, the network device 2000 may include a plurality of communication buses (not shown), such as an address bus, a data bus, etc.

[97] Additionally, according to some example embodiments, the network device 2000 may also operate as a RAN node, for example, a 4G RAN node, a 5G RAN node, etc., for any UE devices and/or WCDs within wireless range of the network node, but the example embodiments are not limited thereto. Moreover, the network device 2000 may operate as an interface node 120, a mediating network node, a mediating network entity, etc., for at least one RAN node and/or the core network 100, but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.

[98] The network device 2000 may also include at least one core network interface 2400, and/or at least one wireless antenna array 2500, etc. The at least one wireless antenna array 2500 may include an associated array of radio units (not shown) and may be used to transmit the wireless signals in accordance with a radio access technology, such as 4G LTE wireless signals, 5G NR wireless signals, RFID wireless signals, Bluetooth wireless signals, WiFi wireless signals, etc., to at least one WCD and/or UE device, such as WCDs 130, 140, etc. According to some example embodiments, the wireless antenna array 2500 may be a single antenna, or may be a plurality of antennas, etc. For example, the wireless antenna array 2500 may be configured as a grid of beams (GoB) which transmits a plurality of beams in different directions, angles, frequencies, and/or with different delays, etc., but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.

1991 The network device 2000 may communicate with a core network (e.g., a backend network, backhaul network, backbone network, a private network, a local area network (LAN), a WAN, Data Network, etc.) via the core network interface 2400. The core network interface 2400 may be a wired and/or wireless network interface and may enable the network device 2000 to communicate and/or transmit data to and/or from network devices on the backend network, such as neighboring network devices and/or network nodes (not shown), a core network gateway (not shown), a Data Network, such as the Internet, intranets, WANs, LANs, etc. £100] While FIG. 2 depicts an example embodiment of a network device 2000, the network devices are not limited thereto, and may include additional and/or alternative architectures that may be suitable for the purposes demonstrated.

[101] FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of an example wirelessly controlled device according to at least one example embodiment. The example WCD 3000 of FIG. 3 may correspond to the WCDs 130, 140 of FIG. 1A, but the example embodiments are not limited thereto, and the WCDs may employ alternative architectures, etc.

11021 Referring to FIG. 3, a WCD 3000 (e.g., a robot, an industrial sensor, an AGV, a UAV, etc.) may include processing circuitry 3100, at least one communication bus 3200, a memory 3300, a plurality of wireless antennas and/or wireless antenna panels 3400, at least one actuator 3500, at least one input/output (I/O) device 3600 (e.g., a touchscreen, a microphone, a camera, a keyboard, a mouse, a camera, a speaker, etc.), and/or at least one sensor 3700 (proximity sensors (e.g., an infra-red proximity sensor, a radar sensor, a LIDAR sensor, etc.), thermometers, humidity sensors, pressure sensors, motion sensors, accelerometers, computer vision cameras, etc.), but the example embodiments are not limited thereto. According to some example embodiments, the WCD 3000 may include a greater or lesser number of constituent components, and for example, the WCD 3000 may also include at least one battery (not shown), a display panel, geo-location sensor (e.g., GPS, etc.), but the example embodiments are not limited thereto. Additionally, actuator 3500, the I/O device 3600, sensor 3700, etc., of the WCD 3000 may be optional. [103] In at least one example embodiment, the processing circuitry 3100 may include at least one processor (and/or processor cores, distributed processors, networked processors, etc.), which may be configured to control one or more elements of the WCD 3000, and thereby cause the WCD 3000 to perform various operations, such as operations related to wireless driving of a ground vehicle, wireless flying of an aerial vehicle, control of a robot, etc. The processing circuitry 3100 is configured to execute processes by retrieving program code (e.g., computer readable instructions) and data from the memory 3300 to process them, thereby executing special purpose control and functions of the entire WCD 3000. Once the special purpose program instructions are loaded into the processing circuitry 3100, the processing circuitry 3100 executes the special purpose program instructions, thereby transforming the processing circuitry 3100 into a special purpose processor. According to some example embodiments, the processing circuitry 3100 may include a specially programmed FPGA, a special purpose SoC, a special purpose ASIC, etc., which is specifically provided to perform the functionality related to the wireless control of the WCD, etc., but the example embodiments are not limited thereto. The special purpose FPGA/SoC/ASIC, etc., may be separate from the processing circuitry 3100 and/or may be added to the WCD 3000 post-purchase, e.g., as an add-on component, executed using special purpose software installed on a user’s smartphone, etc.

[104] In at least one example embodiment, the memory 3300 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and may include a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), and/or a permanent mass storage device such as a disk drive, or a solid state drive. Stored in the memory 3300 is program code (i.e., computer readable instructions) related to operating the WCD 3000, such as the methods discussed in connection with FIGS. 4 to 6, operation of the WCD 3000, etc. Such software elements may be loaded from a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium independent of the memory 3300, using a drive mechanism (not shown) connected to the WCD 3000, or via the plurality of wireless antennas 3400, etc.

[105] In at least one example embodiment, the at least one communication bus 3200 may enable communication and data transmission/reception to be performed between elements of the WCD 3000, and/or monitor the status of the elements of the WCD 3000, etc. The bus 3200 may be implemented using a high-speed serial bus, a parallel bus, and/or any other appropriate communication technology. According to at least one example embodiment, the WCD 3000 may include a plurality of communication buses (not shown), such as an address bus, a data bus, etc.

[106] The WCD 3000 may also include a plurality of wireless antenna panels 3400, but is not limited thereto. The plurality of wireless antenna panels 3400 may include a plurality of associated radio units, etc., and may be used to transmit wireless signals in accordance with at least one desired radio access technology, such as 4G LTE, 5G NR, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, RFID, etc. According to some example embodiments, the WCD 3000 may transmit collected sensor data of the WCD 3000 to the controller 101, such as current speed, current acceleration, current direction heading, current position, current occupancy level, desired destination, current fuel level, current temperature, requests for access, etc.) at a desired time frequency (e.g., sampling time), a desired distance traveled, etc., but is not limited thereto. [1071 Additionally, the plurality of wireless antenna panels 3400 may be configured to transmit and/or receive data communications to one or more RAN nodes (not shown), but the example embodiments are not limited thereto. The plurality of wireless antenna panels 3400 may be located at the same or different physical locations on the body of the WCD 3000, may have the same or different orientations, may operate in the same or different frequency ranges, may operate in accordance with the same or different radio access technology, etc. According to some example embodiments, the plurality of wireless antenna panels 3400 may be a single antenna, or may be a plurality of antennas, etc.

[1081 While FIG. 3 depicts an example embodiment of a WCD 3000, the WCD is not limited thereto, and they may include additional and/or alternative architectures that may be suitable for the purposes demonstrated.

£109] FIG. 4 illustrates a first example transmission flow diagram according to at least one example embodiment.

[1101 According to at least one example embodiment, in operation S4010, a scheduler 115, such as the scheduler 115 of FIG. 1A, may transmit initial scheduler parameters to a controller 101, such as the controller 101 of FIG. 1A, etc. The initial scheduler parameters may include supported values for time intervals (TI), guaranteed delay (e.g., E2E latency and reliability tuple, or guaranteed E2E delay including queuing, processing and transmission delay, etc.) and/or guaranteed bit rate, etc., but the example embodiments are not limited thereto. In operation S4020, the controller 101 may generate and/or calculate at least one control lookup table associated with each WCD (e.g., WCD 130, 140, etc.) under the control of the controller 101, etc. The control lookup table may include at least a mapping between the total operation time (T), sampling time (T_s), and survival time (n_max) of a given control task for the given TI and guaranteed delay values, etc., but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.

Illi] In operation S4030, the controller 101 may transmit the control lookup table to the scheduler 115. In operation S4040, the controller 101 may perform control task planning for at least one task to be performed by the WCD. The control task planning may include determining at least one control parameter for the desired task. For example, the control parameter may be an estimated total operation time T and/or a tolerable maximum total operation time T_max, etc., which is estimated by the controller 101 based on the task requirements and the process planning schedules, etc., but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.

[112] In operation S4050, the controller 101 may transmit a communications service initiation signal including the at least one control parameter to the scheduler 115, etc. In operation S4060, the scheduler 115 may select, assign, and/or allocate at least one communication parameter (e.g., communication setting, etc.) for the WCD and task combination based on the received control parameters, such as an assigned sampling time, an assigned total operation time, etc., but the example embodiments are not limited thereto. The scheduler 115 may assign the communication parameters based on a guaranteed service availability of the network, current network conditions (e.g., network load and/or network traffic, etc.), the currently available network resources, the guaranteed delay and/or bit rate, etc., provided by the control lookup table, etc., but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.

[113] Additionally, the scheduler 115 may compute the target block error rate (BLER) for each packet of a desired packet size for the sampling time and total operation time allocated to the WCD and task combination, etc., but is not limited thereto.

[114] In operation S4070, the scheduler 115 may transmit the assigned communication parameters, e.g., the assigned total operation time (T), assigned sampling time T_s, etc., to the controller 101, etc. In operation S4080, the controller 101 may initiate the task by transmitting the control parameters and/or the assigned communication parameters to the WCD (e.g., WCD 130 or 140 of FIG. 1A).

[1151 Additionally, according to some example embodiments, the controller 101 may receive feedback data (e.g., sensor data, control information, error information, etc.) from the WCD, etc. The controller 101 may analyze the feedback data and determine that one or more of the control parameters and/or the scheduling parameters should be updated, and may transmit and/or re-transmit the communications service initiation signal to the scheduler 115 and thereby cause a repeat of operations S4060, S4070, and S4080, etc. For example, the controller 101 may analyze the feedback data from the WCD and determine that a suspension of the task is desired and/or required and/or determine that the task be stopped and/or ended, etc. Afterwards, the controller 101 may transmit an explicit request to the scheduler 115 to reset and/or restart the control task after recovery from the feedback conditions which caused the suspension of the task, etc., and/or start a new control task, or in other words, repeat operations S4050 to S4080, etc., but the example embodiments are not limited thereto. Further, the scheduler 115 may also trigger the repeat of operations S4050 to S4080 by transmitting an explicit message to the controller 101 in response to changes in the network conditions, changes in the available network resources, etc.

[116] Moreover, according to some example embodiments, operations S4060 to S4080 may be repeated on a periodic basis, for example, repeated every k sampling time periods, where k is a desired integer, etc., or based on a total elapsed time period, etc., but the example embodiments are not limited thereto. The repetition of operations S4060 to S4080 on a periodic basis will be discussed in further detail in connection with FIG. 5.

[117] Further, operations S4060 to S4080 may be repeated when the WCD reports to the controller 101 the occurrence of a packet failure (e.g., a packet delivery failure) and/or a delayed packet delivery which exceeds a target delay threshold time period (e.g., the guaranteed latency period, etc.), but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.

[118] FIG. 5 illustrates a second example transmission flow diagram according to at least one example embodiment. More specifically, the second example transmission flow diagram illustrates a periodic updating of the assigned communication parameters based on a current state of the task being performed by the WCD, but is not limited thereto. 1191 According to at least one example embodiment, in operation S5010, similar to operation S4010, the scheduler 115 may transmit initial scheduler parameters to the controller 101, etc. In operation S5020, the scheduler 115 may transmit at least one dynamic planning condition and/or setting Td, which indicates the time period and/or frequency that the control and/or assigned communication parameters are to be updated. For example, Td may define the k number of sampling times before the control and/or assigned communication parameters are to be updated, a desired time interval before the control and/or assigned communication parameters are to be updated, etc., but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.

[120] In operation S5030, similar to operation S4020, the controller 101 may generate and/or calculate at least one control lookup table associated with each WCD (e.g., WCD 130, 140, etc.) under the control of the controller 101, etc. In operation S5040, similar to operation S4030, the controller 101 may transmit the control lookup table to the scheduler 115. In operation S5050, similar to operation S4040, the controller 101 may perform control task planning for at least one task to be performed by the WCD.

[121] In operation S5060, similar to operation S4050, the controller 101 may transmit a communications service initiation signal including the at least one control parameter to the scheduler 115, etc. In operation S5070, the controller 101 may also transmit current state information to the scheduler 115. The current state information may include a desired tolerable total time T for the completion of the desired task for the WCD, etc., but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.

[122] In operation S5080, similar to operation S4060, the scheduler 115 may select, assign, and/or allocate at least one communication parameter (e.g., communication setting, etc.) for the WCD and task combination for a time period corresponding to the Td value based on the received control parameters, such as an assigned sampling time, an assigned total operation time, etc., but the example embodiments are not limited thereto. For example, the communication parameters may be selected based on the current state information received in operation S5060 and the control parameters, but the example embodiments are not limited thereto.

[123] In operation S5090, similar to operation S4070, the scheduler 115 may transmit the assigned communication parameters, e.g., the assigned total operation time (T), assigned sampling time T_s, etc., to the controller 101, etc. In operation S5100, similar to operation S4080, the controller 101 may initiate the task by transmitting the control parameters and/or the assigned communication parameters to the WCD.

[124] After a time corresponding to the dynamic planning condition Td has elapsed, in operation S5110, the controller 101 transmits the new and/or updated current state information to the scheduler 115. The updated current state information may be generated and/or calculated based on feedback data received from the WCD (not shown), internal calculations performed by the controller 101, data received from external sensors, etc., but is not limited thereto. The current state information may include a new and/or updated tolerable total time T for the completion of the remainder of the desired task for the WCD, etc., but is not limited thereto.

[125] In operation S5120, the scheduler 115 may recompute the at least one communication parameter for the WCD and task combination for the next Td time period based on the received control parameters and the updated current state information, etc. In operation S5130, the scheduler 115 may transmit the updated assigned communication parameters, e.g., the updated assigned total operation time (T), updated assigned sampling time T_s, etc., to the controller 101, etc. Additionally, the controller 101 may relay the updated assigned communication parameters to the WCD, etc. Operations S5100 to S5130 may repeat until the task has been completed, etc.

[126] FIG. 6 illustrates a third example transmission flow diagram according to at least one example embodiment. More specifically, the third example transmission flow diagram illustrates a wireless control system including at least two controllers, controller 101 and controller 102, but the example embodiments are not limited thereto, and for example, there may be a greater number of controllers, etc.

11271 According to at least one example embodiment, in operation S6010, similar to operation S4010, the scheduler 115 may transmit initial scheduler parameters to all of the controllers in the wireless system, e.g., controller 101 and 102, etc. In operation S6020, similar to operation S4020, each of the controllers 101 and 102 may generate and/or calculate at least one control lookup table associated with each WCD under the control of the respective controller 101, 102, etc.

[128] In operation S6030, similar to operation S4030, each of the controllers 101, 102 may transmit their respective control lookup tables to the scheduler 115. In operation S6040, similar to operation S4040, each of the controllers 101, 102 may perform control task planning for at least one task to be performed by the WCDs under their respective controls.

[129] In operation S6050, similar to operation S4050, each of the controllers 101, 102 may transmit a communications service initiation signal including the at least one control parameter to the scheduler 115, etc. In operation S6060, similar to operation S4060, the scheduler 115 may select, assign, and/or allocate at least one communication parameter (e.g., communication setting, etc.) for each of the WCD and task combination based on the received control parameters from all of the controllers 101, 102, etc. In other words, the scheduler 115 may assign the communication parameters based on the requirements of all of the WCDs under the control of controllers 101 and 102, etc., and may increase and/or decrease the network resources allocated to the WCDs under the control of controller 101 and/or the WCDs under the control of controller 102 based on the requirements and/or priorities of the WCDs, the tasks being performed by the WCDs, and/or the controllers themselves, etc.

[130] In operation S6070, similar to operation S4070, the scheduler 115 may transmit the assigned communication parameters for controller 101 to controller 101, and may transmit the assigned communication parameters for controller 102 to controller 102, etc. In operation S6080, similar to operation S4080, each of the controllers 101 may initiate the respective tasks being performed by the respective WCDs by transmitting the control parameters and/or the assigned communication parameters to the relevant WCDs, etc.

[131] This written description uses examples of the subject matter disclosed to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the same, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the subject matter is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A network device, comprising: a memory storing computer readable instructions; and processing circuitry configured to execute the computer readable instructions to cause the network device to, determine at least one control parameter for at least one task to be performed by at least one wirelessly controlled device, send a communications service initiation signal to a wireless communication scheduler, the communications service initiation signal including the at least one control parameter, obtain at least one assigned communication parameter from the wireless communication scheduler in response to the communications service initial signal, and send at least one task command corresponding to the at least one task to the at least one wirelessly controlled device based on the at least one assigned communication parameter.

2. The network device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one control parameter includes at least one of, at least one estimated total operation time of the at least one task, at least one estimated sampling time of the at least one task, at least one estimated survival time of the at least one task, or any combinations thereof; and the at least one assigned communication parameter includes at least one of, an assigned total operation time, an assigned sampling time, an assigned packet size, an assigned survival time, or any combinations thereof.

3. The network device of any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein the network device is further caused to: obtain at least one scheduling parameter determined by the wireless communication scheduler, the at least one scheduling parameter includes at least one of at least one time interval value supported by the wireless communication scheduler, a guaranteed delay value of the wireless communication scheduler, a guaranteed bit rate of the wireless communication scheduler, a target packet error rate for wireless link adaptation, or any combinations thereof; obtain a control lookup table for the at least one wirelessly controlled device based on the at least one scheduling parameter; and send the control lookup table to the wireless communication scheduler, the sending of the control lookup table enabling the wireless communication scheduler to calculate the at least one assigned communication parameter based on current network conditions.

4. The network device of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control lookup table is generated by a control interface based on the at least one scheduling parameter; and the obtaining the control lookup table includes receiving the control lookup table from the control interface.

5. The network device of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the sending the communications service initiation signal includes sending the communications service initiation signal to the wireless communication scheduler via the control interface; the obtaining the at least one assigned communication parameter includes obtaining the at least one assigned communication parameter from the wireless communication scheduler via the control interface; the obtaining the at least one scheduling parameter includes obtaining the at least one scheduling parameter from the wireless communication scheduler via the control interface; and the sending the control lookup table includes sending the control lookup table to the wireless communication scheduler via the control interface.

6. The network device of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the network device is further caused to: update the at least one control parameter; send the at least one updated control parameter to the wireless communication scheduler; obtain at least one updated assigned communication parameter from the wireless communication scheduler in response to the at least one updated control parameter; and send at least one updated task command corresponding to the at least one task to the at least one wirelessly controlled device based on the at least one updated assigned communication parameter.

7. The network device of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the network device is further caused to: obtain feedback data from the at least one wirelessly controlled device; and update the at least one control parameter based on the feedback data.

8. The network device of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the network device is further caused to: update the at least one control parameter based on a desired time interval.

9. The network device of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the network device is further caused to: obtain a network resource update message from the wireless communication scheduler; and update the at least one control parameter based on the network resource update message.

10. The network device of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the network device is further caused to: determine an occurrence of at least one of a packet failure between the network device and the at least one wirelessly controlled device, and a delayed packet delivery larger than a target delay threshold time; and update the at least one control parameter based on the determined occurrence.

11. A radio access network (RAN) node, comprising: a memory storing computer readable instructions; and processing circuitry configured to execute the computer readable instructions to cause the RAN node to, obtain a communications service initiation signal from at least one controller, the communications service initiation signal including at least one control parameter for at least one task to be performed by at least one wirelessly controlled device, assign at least one communication parameter to the at least one wirelessly controlled device based on the at least one control parameter, and send the at least one assigned communication parameter to the at least one controller, the at least one assigned communication parameter enabling the at least one controller to send at least one task command corresponding to the at least one task to the at least one wirelessly controlled device.

12. The RAN node of claim 11 , wherein the at least one control parameter includes at least one of, at least one estimated total operation time of the at least one task, at least one estimated sampling time of the at least one task, at least one estimated survival time of the at least one task, or any combinations thereof; and the at least one assigned communication parameter includes at least one of, an assigned total operation time, an assigned sampling time, an assigned packet size, an assigned survival time, or any combinations thereof.

13. The RAN node of any one of claims 11 to 12, wherein the RAN node is further caused to: send at least one scheduling parameter to the at least one controller, the at least one scheduling parameter including at least one of: at least one time interval value supported by the RAN node, a guaranteed delay value of the RAN node, a guaranteed bit rate of the RAN node, a target packet error rate for wireless link adaptation, or any combinations thereof; obtain a control lookup table in response to the sent at least one scheduling parameter; and calculate the at least one assigned communication parameter based on current network conditions and the control lookup table.

14. The RAN node of any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the obtaining the communications service initiation signal includes obtaining the communications service initiation signal from the at least one controller via a control interface; the sending the at least one assigned communication parameter includes sending the at least one assigned communication parameter to the at least one controller via the control interface; the sending the at least one scheduling parameter includes sending the at least one scheduling parameter to the at least one controller via the control interface; and the obtaining the control lookup table includes obtaining the control lookup table from the control interface.

15. The RAN node of any one of claims 11 to 14, wherein the RAN node is further caused to: obtain at least one updated control parameter from the at least one controller; and send at least one updated assigned communication parameter to the at least one controller in response to the sent at least one updated control parameter, the sent at least one updated assigned communication parameter enabling the at least one controller to send at least one updated task command corresponding to the at least one task to the at least one wirelessly controlled device.

16. The RAN node of any one of claims 11 to 15, wherein the RAN node is further caused to: update the at least one assigned communication parameter based on current network conditions; and send a network resource update message to the at least one controller, the network resource update message including the at least one updated assigned communication parameter, the network resource update message causing the at least one controller to update the at least one control parameter.

17. The RAN node of any one of claims 11 to 16, wherein the at least one controller includes at least a first controller and a second controller; and the RAN node is further caused to, obtain a first communications service initiation signal from the first controller and a second communications service initiation signal from the second controller, each of the first and second communications service initiation signals including at least one first control parameter for a first task to be performed by a first wirelessly controlled device and at least one second control parameter for a second task to be performed by a second wirelessly controlled device, assign at least one first communication parameter to the first wirelessly controlled device and at least one second communication parameter to the second wirelessly controlled device based on the obtained first and second control parameters, send the at least one first communication parameter to the first controller, the at least one first communication parameter enabling the first controller to send at least one task command corresponding to the first wirelessly controlled device, and send the at least one second communication parameter to the second controller, the at least one second communication parameter enabling the second controller to send at least one task command corresponding to the second wirelessly controlled device.

18. A network device comprising: a memory storing computer readable instructions; and processing circuitry configured to execute the computer readable instructions to cause the network device to, obtain at least one scheduling parameter from a wireless communication scheduler, determine a control lookup table for at least one wirelessly controlled device based on the at least one scheduling parameter, and send the control lookup table to the wireless communication scheduler, the sending of the control lookup table enabling the wireless communication scheduler to calculate at least one assigned communication parameter based on current network conditions.

19. The network device of claim 18, wherein the network device is further caused to: forward a communications service initiation signal transmitted by at least one controller to the wireless communication scheduler, the communications service initiation signal including at least one control parameter determined by the at least one controller for at least one task to be performed by the at least one wirelessly controlled device; and forward the at least one assigned communication parameter from the wireless communication scheduler transmitted by the wireless communication scheduler, the forwarding the at least one assigned communication parameter enabling the at least one controller to transmit at least one task command corresponding to the at least one task to the at least one wirelessly controlled device based on the at least one assigned communication parameter.

20. The network device of any one of claims 18 to 19, wherein the network device is further caused to: forward at least one updated control parameter transmitted by at least one controller to the wireless communication scheduler; and forward at least one updated assigned communication parameter transmitted by the wireless communication scheduler to the at least one controller in response to the at least one updated control parameter, the forwarding the at least one updated assigned communication parameter enabling the at least one controller to transmit at least one updated task command corresponding to the at least one task to the at least one wirelessly controlled device based on the at least one updated assigned communication parameter.