WO2025179596A1

WO2025179596A1 - Devices and methods for communication

Info

Publication number: WO2025179596A1
Application number: PCT/CN2024/079732
Authority: WO
Inventors: Wuyang ZHENG; Zhaobang MIAO; Gang Wang
Original assignee: NEC Corp
Current assignee: NEC Corp
Priority date: 2024-03-01
Filing date: 2024-03-01
Publication date: 2025-09-04
Anticipated expiration: 2026-09-01

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for resource competition for shared sensing resources. In a solution, a first sensing device determines resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in a set of shared sensing resources based on configuration information for signal measurement on the set of shared sensing resources; selects, based on the resource occupancy statuses of the respective shared sensing resources, a subset of available sensing resources from the set of shared sensing resources; transmits indication information at least indicating the selected subset of available sensing resources; and transmits, to at least one second sensing device involved in a sensing service, a signaling signal for the sensing service using the selected subset of available sensing resources.

Description

DEVICES AND METHODS FOR COMMUNICATION

FIELDS

Example embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of communication techniques and in particular, to devices and methods for resource competition for shared sensing resources.

BACKGROUND

Sensing technologies are adopted in various applications, and accurate sensing results are desired. For example, to support smart transportation and/or autonomous driving, more vehicles and devices are equipped with sensing technologies. In the transportation environment, the cameras, Radar, and Lidar systems are the most used sensors by the automotive industry to maintain the perception for autonomous vehicles at various levels of autonomy. The resource competition for shared sensing resources between multiple sensing nodes is needed in integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) .

SUMMARY

In general, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for resource competition for shared sensing resources.

In a first aspect, there is provided a first sensing device comprising: a processor configured to cause the first sensing device to: determine resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in a set of shared sensing resources based on configuration information for signal measurement on the set of shared sensing resources; select, based on the resource occupancy statuses of the respective shared sensing resources, a subset of available sensing resources from the set of shared sensing resources; transmit indication information at least indicating the selected subset of available sensing resources; and transmit, to at least one second sensing device involved in a sensing service, a signaling signal for the sensing service using the selected subset of available sensing resources.

In a second aspect, there is provided a communication method performed by a first sensing device. The method comprises: determining, by a first sensing device, resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in a set of shared sensing resources based on configuration information for signal measurement on the set of shared sensing resources; selecting, based on the resource occupancy statuses of the respective shared sensing resources, a subset of available sensing resources from the set of shared sensing resources; transmitting indication information at least indicating the selected subset of available sensing resources; and transmitting, to at least one second sensing device involved in a sensing service, a signaling signal for the sensing service using the selected subset of available sensing resources.

In a third aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when executed on at least one processor, causing the at least one processor to carry out the method according to the second aspect.

Other features of the present disclosure will become easily comprehensible through the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Through the more detailed description of some example embodiments of the present disclosure in the accompanying drawings, the above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent, wherein:

FIG. 1A illustrates an example communication environment in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented;

FIG. 1B illustrates a general communication environment in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented;

FIG. 2A illustrates schematic diagrams of example sensing modes in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2B illustrates schematic diagrams of example mixed sensing modes in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates a basic signaling flow of ISAC in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic diagram for an example sensing signal transmission among sensing devices;

FIG. 5 illustrates a signaling flow of resource competition for shared sensing resources in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 6A-6B illustrate schematic diagrams of example timelines for sensing resource configuration and sensing signal transmission in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 7A-7E illustrate schematic diagrams of example resource patterns in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a sensing device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 9 illustrates a simplified block diagram of an apparatus that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure.

Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar element.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Principle of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It is to be understood that these embodiments are described only for the purpose of illustration and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitation as to the scope of the disclosure. Embodiments described herein can be implemented in various manners other than the ones described below.

In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skills in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

As used herein, the term ‘terminal device’ refers to any device having wireless or wired communication capabilities. Examples of the terminal device include, but not limited to, user equipment (UE) , personal computers, desktops, mobile phones, cellular phones, smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) , portable computers, tablets, wearable devices, internet of things (IoT) devices, Ultra-reliable and Low Latency Communications (URLLC) devices, Internet of Everything (IoE) devices, machine type communication (MTC) devices, devices on vehicle for V2X communication where X means pedestrian, vehicle, or infrastructure/network, devices for Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) , Space borne vehicles or Air borne vehicles in Non-terrestrial networks (NTN) including Satellites and High Altitude Platforms (HAPs) encompassing Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) , eXtended Reality (XR) devices including different types of realities such as Augmented Reality (AR) , Mixed Reality (MR) and Virtual Reality (VR) , the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) commonly known as a drone which is an aircraft without any human pilot, devices on high speed train (HST) , or image capture devices such as digital cameras, sensors, gaming devices, music storage and playback appliances, or Internet appliances enabling wireless or wired Internet access and browsing and the like. The ‘terminal device’ can further has ‘multicast/broadcast’ feature, to support public safety and mission critical, V2X applications, transparent IPv4/IPv6 multicast delivery, IPTV, smart TV, radio services, software delivery over wireless, group communications and IoT applications. It may also incorporate one or multiple Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) as known as Multi-SIM. The term “terminal device” can be used interchangeably with a UE, a mobile station, a subscriber station, a mobile terminal, a user terminal or a wireless device.

The term “network device” refers to a device which is capable of providing or hosting a cell or coverage where terminal devices can communicate. Examples of a network device include, but not limited to, a Node B (NodeB or NB) , an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB) , a next generation NodeB (gNB) , a transmission reception point (TRP) , a remote radio unit (RRU) , a radio head (RH) , a remote radio head (RRH) , an IAB node, a low power node such as a femto node, a pico node, a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) , and the like.

The terminal device or the network device may have Artificial intelligence (AI) or Machine learning capability. It generally includes a model which has been trained from numerous collected data for a specific function, and can be used to predict some information.

The terminal or the network device may work on several frequency ranges, e.g., FR1 (e.g., 450 MHz to 6000 MHz) , FR2 (e.g., 24.25GHz to 52.6GHz) , frequency band larger than 100 GHz as well as Tera Hertz (THz) . It can further work on licensed/unlicensed/shared spectrum. The terminal device may have more than one connection with the network devices under Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity (MR-DC) application scenario. The terminal device or the network device can work on full duplex, flexible duplex and cross division duplex modes.

The embodiments of the present disclosure may be performed in test equipment, e.g., signal generator, signal analyzer, spectrum analyzer, network analyzer, test terminal device, test network device, channel emulator. In some example embodiments, the terminal device may be connected with a first network device and a second network device. One of the first network device and the second network device may be a master node and the other one may be a secondary node. The first network device and the second network device may use different radio access technologies (RATs) . In some example embodiments, the first network device may be a first RAT device and the second network device may be a second RAT device. In some example embodiments, the first RAT device is eNB and the second RAT device is gNB. Information related with different RATs may be transmitted to the terminal device from at least one of the first network device or the second network device. In some example embodiments, first information may be transmitted to the terminal device from the first network device and second information may be transmitted to the terminal device from the second network device directly or via the first network device. In some example embodiments, information related with configuration for the terminal device configured by the second network device may be transmitted from the second network device via the first network device. Information related with reconfiguration for the terminal device configured by the second network device may be transmitted to the terminal device from the second network device directly or via the first network device.

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. The term ‘includes’ and its variants are to be read as open terms that mean ‘includes, but is not limited to. ’ The term ‘based on’ is to be read as ‘at least in part based on. ’ The term ‘one embodiment’ and ‘an embodiment’ are to be read as ‘at least one embodiment. ’ The term ‘another embodiment’ is to be read as ‘at least one other embodiment. ’ The terms ‘first, ’ ‘second, ’ and the like may refer to different or same objects. Other definitions, explicit and implicit, may be included below.

In some examples, values, procedures, or apparatus are referred to as ‘best, ’ ‘lowest, ’ ‘highest, ’ ‘minimum, ’ ‘maximum, ’ or the like. It will be appreciated that such descriptions are intended to indicate that a selection among many used functional alternatives can be made, and such selections need not be better, smaller, higher, or otherwise preferable to other selections.

As used herein, the term “resource, ” “transmission resource, ” “uplink resource, ” or “downlink resource” may refer to any resource for performing a communication, such as a resource in time domain, a resource in frequency domain, a resource in space domain, a resource in code domain, or any other resource enabling a communication, and the like. In the following, unless explicitly stated, a resource in both frequency domain and time domain will be used as an example of a transmission resource for describing some example embodiments of the present disclosure. It is noted that example embodiments of the present disclosure are equally applicable to other resources in other domains.

As used herein, the term “3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) sensing data” may refer to data derived from 3GPP radio signals impacted (e.g. reflected, refracted, diffracted) by an object or environment of interest for sensing purposes and optionally processed within the 5th Generation Mobile Communication Technology (5G) system.

The term “5G Wireless sensing” may refer to a 5G system (5GS) feature that provides capabilities to get information about characteristics of an environment and objects within the environment (e.g. shape, size, orientation, speed, location, distances or relative motion between objects, etc. ) using New Radio (NR) Radio Frequency (RF) signals and, in some cases, previously defined information available in EPC (Evolved Packet Core) and Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) .

The term “sensing measurement process” may refer to a process for collecting sensing measurement data.

The term “sensing transmitter” may refer to an entity that sends a sensing signal, which will be used by a sensing service in its operation. A sensing transmitter may be an NR Radio Access Network (RAN) node or a UE. A sensing transmitter can be located in the same or different entity as a sensing receiver.

The term “sensing receiver” may refer to an entity that receives the sensing signal, which will be used by a sensing service in its operation. A sensing receiver may be an NR RAN node or a UE. A sensing receiver can be located in the same or different entity as the sensing transmitter.

The term “sensing result” may refer to processed 3GPP sensing data requested by a service consumer.

The term “sensing target area” may refer to an area that needs to be sensed by deriving dynamic characteristics of the area from any moving obstacles (e.g. cars, humans, animals) from the impacted (e.g. reflected, refracted, diffracted) wireless signals. There are two kinds of target area: “static sensing target area” which may refer to a pre-defined area that does not move from the sensing transmitter’s perspective and “moving sensing target area” which may refer to a trusted zone with a target that moves from the sensing transmitter’s perspective.

The following Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) may be applied to the definition of the use cases for sensing quantitative requirements.

The term “accuracy of positioning estimate” may refer to the closeness of the measured sensing result (i.e., position) of a target object to its actual position value. It can be further derived into a horizontal sensing accuracy –referring to the sensing result error in a 2D reference or horizontal plane, and into a vertical sensing accuracy – referring to the sensing result error on the vertical axis or altitude.

The term “accuracy of velocity estimate” may refer to the closeness of the measured sensing result (i.e. velocity) of the target object’s velocity to its actual velocity.

The term “max sensing service latency” may refer to time elapsed between the event triggering the determination of the sensing result and the availability of the sensing result at the sensing system interface.

FIG. 1A illustrates a schematic diagram of an example communication environment 100 in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. The communication environment 100 shows a transportation scenario where sensing technologies are needed. As illustrated, to support smart transportation and/or autonomous driving, one or more of network devices 102-1, 102-2, terminal devices 103-1, 103-2, and vehicles 104-1, 104-2 are equipped with sensing technologies, to sense the traffic conditions. Accurate sensing results are important to enable the safe and reliable control of the vehicles and to avoid accidents in the environment. One or more of the network devices 102-1, 102-2, terminal devices 103-1, 103-2, and vehicles 104-1, 104-2 may transmit signals for sensing certain objects in the environment. One or more of the network devices 102-1, 102-2, terminal devices 103-1, 103-2, and vehicles 104-1, 104-2 may collect measurement results of the sensing signals for use in the smart transportation and/or autonomous driving.

In some example embodiments, the network devices 102-1, 102-2 and the terminal devices 103-1, 103-2 are in a radio access network (RAN) . The terminal devices 103-1, 103-2 may communicate with the network device (s) 102-1 and/or the network device 102-2. The network devices 102-1, 102-2 may communicatively connect with a core network (CN) 106, which may further connect with one or more third-party applications 108. The third-party applications 108 may include one or more applications which support the smart transportation and/or autonomous driving, such as the map service provider, the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) management platform, and the like. In some example embodiments, the vehicles 104-1, 104-2 may comprise communication devices which communicatively connect to the network devices 102-1, 102-2 or directly communicate with the third-party applications 108.

The various ways of transportation objects (e.g., vehicles, walking people, motor vehicles, non-motor vehicles, and the like) and the dense buildings make the traffic condition complicated. Typically, traffic accidents often happen at the crossroads for example the pedestrians suddenly rush to the road from the invisible place (e.g., behind the high buildings, behind the tall trees) , which cause an urgent need to monitor the real-time road status for all days. Thus, accurate sensing results are needed in order to provide driving warning or assistant driving information timely to the vehicles.

In the sensing scenario of smart transportation, the purposes of the sensing may include, but are not limited to, dynamic map (large area) for automatic driving, assisted driving, and road management based on the dynamic map; vehicle trajectory tracking; illegal driving (e.g. occupying the emergency lane, speeding) .

In addition to the smart transportation, there are many other sensing scenarios, such as unmanned aerial vehicle and indoor health. In the sensing scenario of unmanned aerial vehicle, the purposes of the sensing may include, but are not limited to, dynamic map (large area) such as automatic driving, assisted driving, route management based on a dynamic map; UAV trajectory tracking; space intrusion, route correction (such as UAV driving out of the air route, speeding, entering the no-fly zone) ; dynamic map (UE centred) : autonomous flying, assisted flying, and the like. In the sensing scenario of indoor health, the purposes of the sensing may include, but are not limited to, abnormal behavior detection (e.g., fall, sedentary, abnormal posture) ; detection of body indicators (e.g. respiration, heartbeat) ; smart control (control of the home based on human position and behaviour, such as turning on lights) .

Without loss of generality, FIG. 1B illustrates a schematic diagram of a general communication environment 105 in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. The communication environment 105 illustrates integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) , which aims to integrate sensing functions into the communication system. The sensing functions are expected to enable the network to “see” the world through the wireless signals and other inputs to connect the physical world with the digital world.

The communication environment 105 includes one or more sensing devices 110-1, 110-2, …, 110-N which may communicate with a sensing function device 130. As illustrated, one or more sensing devices 110-1, 110-2, …, 110-N are configured to transmit one or more signals to sense a target 120. For the purpose of discussion, the sensing devices 110-1, 110-2, …, 110-N may be collectively or individually referred to as sensing devices 110. Measurement result (s) of the transmitted signal (s) may be collected and provided to the sensing function device 130. In some example embodiments, the target 120 may have a communication capability, and may communicate with one or more sensing devices 110 and/or the sensing function device 130. In some example embodiments, the target 120 may collect the measurement result (s) of the transmitted signal (s) and provide it to the sensing function device 130.

The sensing function device 130 may determine a sensing result based on the received measurement result (s) . The sensing result may be used for various purposes depending on the actual use cases. For example, in the use cases of smart transportation and/or autonomous driving, the sensing result may be used to provide driving warning or assistant driving information to the vehicles.

The sensing devices 110 may include various types of communication devices in different use cases for sensing. In some example embodiments, the sensing devices 110 may include but are not limited to network devices (e.g., ng-eNB or gNB or a distributed unit (DU) of an ng-eNB/gNB) , terminal devices, and/or any other devices which are equipped with sensing technologies and have communication capabilities. A sensing device 110 may transmit a sensing signal, and/or receive a sensing signal. In some example embodiments, a sensing device 110 may be referred to as a “sensing node” .

The target 120 may be any object or device to be sensed. In some examples, the target 120 may be a human body, car, building, animal, Machine-Type Communication (eMTC) device, Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) device, Redcap device, Ambient IoT Device A, Ambient IoT Device B, or Ambient IoT Device C.In some examples, the target 120 may have or may have no measurement capability to obtain a measurement result of a sensing signal, for example, a terminal device or other device specific for sensing measurement. A target 120 with the measurement capability may sometimes referred to as a “target device” with a measurement capability. The definitions of Ambient IoT Device A/B/C are as follows. Ambient IoT Device A has no energy storage, no independent signal generation, i.e. backscattering transmission. Ambient IoT Device B has energy storage, no independent signal generation, i.e. backscattering transmission. The use of stored energy can include amplification for reflected signals. Ambient IoT Device C has energy storage has independent signal generation, i.e. active RF component for transmission.

The sensing function device 130 may be any suitable types of devices which can receive measurement results of the signals and provide the sensing result. In some examples, the sensing function device 130 may include or be implemented as a CN function or entity in the CN or a network device in the RAN. Although the term “sensing function device” is used herein, it may be interchangeably used with any other terms.

The signal transmitted for sensing (sometimes referred to as “sensing signal” ) may include any suitable types of signal, including but not limited to, Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) , Channel-State-Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) , Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) , DeModulation Reference Signal (DMRS) , Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) , communication signal such as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) signal, specific sensing signal (s) , or any other signal.

A measurement result of a sensing signal for sensing may include the final sensing result such as the target distance, speed, dynamic maps, Reference Signal Received Power (RSPR) , Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) , channel information etc., intermediate results such as point cloud information based on the sensing measurement, preliminary results such as delay spread spectrum, Doppler spectrum and other information, and/or raw measurements of the signal such as the in-phase/quadrature (I/Q) stream, or the like. The type of the measurement result may be flexibly configured for different use cases.

A sensing result may include any desired information that can be derived from the measurement result (s) of the sensing signal (s) . As some examples, the sensing result may include a target distance of the target, a size of the target, a velocity of the target, a position of the target, a moving direction of the target, a surrounding environment of the target, real-time map, or the like.

In some example embodiments, the sensing devices 110 (e.g., network devices and/or terminal devices) may report their sensing capability so that the sensing function device 130 can know the sensing capability of the sensing devices 110 and select appropriate sensing devices 110 for a sensing service based-for example, the supported sensing modes, TX/RX functions. A supported sensing mode may indicate which communication device (s) transmits a sensing signal, which communication device (s) receives the sensing signal, and how measurements of the sensing signal are reported to the sensing function device 130. The sensing capability may indicate a supported sensing mode (s) of a sensing device 110, a role of the sensing device 110 in the supported sensing mode (s) (e.g., a role of transmitter, or a role of receiver) , sensing precise levels (e.g., the sensing distance, range resolution, or sensing speed, velocity resolution) .

The sensing function device 130 may perform sensing measurement configuration, to select the appropriate sensing devices 110 for sensing and sends the sensing measurement configuration to a network device to control the sensing process. The sensing measurement configuration may indicate a transmission mode, (e.g., a network device for sensing signal transmission, a terminal device for sensing signal reception) ; a role in the supported sensing mode (e.g., a role of transmitter, or a role of receiver) ; quality of service requirement, e.g. position accuracy, velocity accuracy, distance resolution; measurement reporting mode (e.g. period, or event trigger condition) ; and/or other assistant information (e.g. target size/moving trace) . The sensing devices 110 involved in a sensing service may report perception measurement results to the sensing function device 130. The measurements may include the final result, for example, target distance, speed, dynamic maps, RSPR/RSRQ, channel information etc.; intermediate results, for example, point cloud information based on the sensing measurement; preliminary results, for example, delay spread spectrum, Doppler spectrum and other information; original result, for example, the I/Q stream of the original signal.

In some example embodiments, sensing measurements may come from a single device, and the sensing function device 130 may process the measurements from this device. In some example embodiments, different sensing measurements may come from multiple devices, but the sensing function device 130 may process the different sensing measurements independently. In some example embodiments, different sensing measurements come from multiple sensing nodes, and the sensing function device 130 may process the different sensing measurements together.

The communications in the communication environments 100 and 105 may conform to any suitable standards including, but not limited to, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) , Long Term Evolution (LTE) , LTE-Evolution, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) , New Radio (NR) , Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) , Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) , GSM EDGE Radio Access Network (GERAN) , Machine Type Communication (MTC) and the like. The embodiments of the present disclosure may be performed according to any generation communication protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future. Examples of the communication protocols include, but not limited to, the first generation (1G) , the second generation (2G) , 2.5G, 2.75G, the third generation (3G) , the fourth generation (4G) , 4.5G, the fifth generation (5G) communication protocols, 5.5G, 5G-Advanced networks, or the sixth generation (6G) networks.

It is to be understood that the number of devices and their connections shown in FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B are only for the purpose of illustration without suggesting any limitation. The communication environments 100 and 105 may include any suitable number of devices configured to implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure. Although not shown, it would be appreciated that one or more additional devices may be located in the cell, and one or more additional cells may be deployed in the communication environment. It is noted that although illustrated as a network device, the network device may be another device than a network device. Although illustrated as a terminal device, the terminal device may be other device than a terminal device, such as a positioning reference unit (PRU) .

FIG. 2A illustrates schematic diagrams of six example sensing modes in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown, in Sensing Mode (A) 200, a sensing signal for sensing a target 230 is transmitted by a network device 210 and received or measured by the network device 210 itself. In Sensing Mode (B) 201, a sensing signal for sensing the target 230 is transmitted by the network device 210 and received or measured by another network device 212. In Sensing Mode (C) 202, a sensing signal for sensing the target 230 is transmitted by the network device 210 and received or measured by a terminal device 220.

In Sensing Mode (D) 203, a sensing signal for sensing the target 230 is transmitted by the terminal device 220 and received or measured by the terminal device 220 itself. In Sensing Mode (E) 204, a sensing signal for sensing the target 230 is transmitted by the terminal device 220 and received or measured by the network device 210. In Sensing Mode (F) 205, a sensing signal for sensing the target 230 is transmitted by the terminal device 220 and received or measured by another terminal device 222. The above six sensing modes 200-205 may be combined based on different scenarios, environments, and service requirements.

In some example embodiments, different sensing modes may be combined or mixed. FIG. 2B illustrates schematic diagrams of example mixed sensing modes in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, Sensing Mode (G) 206 is a mix of Sensing Mode (A) 200 and Sensing Mode (B) 201; Sensing Mode (H) 207 is a mix of Sensing Mode (A) 200 and Sensing Mode (C) 202; Sensing Mode (I) 208 is a mix of Sensing Mode (D) 203 and Sensing Mode (E) 204; Sensing Mode (J) 209 is a mix of Sensing Mode (E) 204 and Sensing Mode (F) 205. It would be appreciated that there may be various other combinations.

It would be appreciated that the sensing modes illustrated in FIGS. 2A-2B are examples only and there may be many other sensing modes. It would be appreciated that more than one second communication device may be involved in a sensing service. It can be seen from the sensing modes in FIGS. 2A-2B that there may be various combinations of the devices which are to measure a sensing signal.

There are some example sensing architectures to support communications related to sensing services of ISAC, including the tight coupling structure A1, the tight coupling structure A2, the loose coupling structure B1, the loose coupling structure B2, and so on. In the tight coupling A1, the sensing function (SF) is one logical entity, but in the tight coupling A2, SF-CU and SF-DU are two logical entities. The tight structure means the SF is one function in the fifth-generation core network (5GC) , while the Loose structure means the SF is one function independent of 5GC.

During a procedure between a sensing node (e.g., gNB/UE) and a SF, the gNB/UE reports sensing ability (sensing capability reporting) so that SF can know the sensing ability of gNB and select appropriate gNB for sensing service based-for example, the supported sensing mode, TX/RX. The sensing ability may include a supported mode, e.g. gNB1 sending UE receiving, a role in the supported mode, e.g. a transmitter and/or receiver, and a sensing precise level, e.g. sensing distance, range resolution, sensing speed, velocity resolution. The SF selects the appropriate gNB/UE for sensing and sends the sensing measurement configuration to the gNB to control the sensing process. For example, the sensing measurement configuration may indicate a transmission mode, e.g. gNB1 sending UE receiving; a role in the supported mode, e.g. transmitter or receiver; quality of service requirement, e.g. position accuracy, velocity accuracy, or distance resolution; a measurement reporting mode, e.g. period, or event trigger condition; or other assistant information, e.g. target size/moving trace.

The gNB/UE reports perception measurement data to the SF. The measurement data may include the final result, for example, target distance, speed, dynamic maps, RSPR/RSRQ, channel information etc. In some cases, the measurement data may include intermediate results, for example, the point cloud information based on the sensing measurement. In some cases, the measurement data may include preliminary results, for example, delay spread spectrum, Doppler spectrum and other information; or may include original result: the I/Q stream of the original signal.

FIG. 3 illustrates a basic signaling flow 300 of ISAC in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In step 1a, an Application Function (AF) device sends a service request message (also known as a sensing service request) to trigger a sensing service. The service request message may include, for example but not limited to, a service type, a service requirement and the like. In step 1b, a NG-RAN node triggers the sensing service by sending a service request message, which is similar to that in the step 1a. In step 1c, UE triggers the sensing service by sending a service request message, which is also similar to that in step 1a. In step 2a, a NG-RAN node signaling procedure is performed, in which a network device acts as a sensing transmitter and the same network device acts as a sensing receiver, or a network device acts as a sensing transmitter and another network device acts as a sensing receiver. In step 2b, a UE signaling procedure is performed, in which a terminal device acts as a sensing transmitter and a network device acts as a sensing receiver, a terminal device acts as a sensing transmitter and another terminal device acts as a sensing receiver, or a network device acts as a sensing transmitter and a terminal device acts as a sensing receiver. In steps 3a-3c: a sensing function (SF) device sends a sensing result to the AF device, NG-RAN node and UE.

To perform the sensing services, multiple sensing nodes may share the sensing resources. In an example, related sensing nodes may share the sensing resources in the mixed sensing mode, and thus may contend for the shared sensing resources. In another example, a bandwidth part (BWP) or resource set is dedicated to sensing, and the sensing nodes that want to provide sensing services by the BWP or resource set have to share these resources. FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic diagram 400 for an example sensing signal transmission among shared sensing devices.

Since there are multiple sensing nodes share dedicated resources, it may cause resource conflict because the sensing services arrive randomly, and the sensing nodes do not know the shared available resources.

According to example embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a competition mechanism for sensing resource allocation in sensing nodes to avoid resource conflict.

Reference is made to FIG. 5, which illustrates a signaling flow 500 of resource competition for shared sensing resources in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The signaling flow 500 involves a sensing device 501 and one or more sensing devices 502-1, 502-2…, 502-M (collectively or individually referred to as sensing devices 502) . The sensing device 501 is sometimes referred to as a first sensing device, and a sensing device 502 is sometimes referred to as a second sensing device.

Any of the sensing device 501 and the one or more sensing devices 502-1, 502-2…, 502-M may be a sensing device 110 in FIG. 1B. In some example embodiments, any of the sensing device 501 and the sensing devices 502 may be the network devices (e.g., ng-eNB or gNB or a distributed unit (DU) of an ng-eNB/gNB) , terminal devices, and/or any other devices which are equipped with sensing technologies and have communication capabilities.

In the signaling flow 500, it is assumed that the sensing device 501 is a transmitter of a sensing signal for a sensing signal, and the at least one sensing device 502 is a receiver of the sensing signal. It would be appreciated that in some cases the sensing device 502 is both a transmitter and a receiver of the sensing signal, e.g., in Sensing Mode 200 and Sensing Mode 204 in FIG. 2A. It is further assumed that the sensing device 501 is configured with a set of shared sensing resources, which is shared with one or more other sensing devices. Thus, the sensing device 501 may contend with other sensing devices for using the shared sensing resources.

The sensing device 501 determines (505) resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in a set of shared sensing resources based on configuration information for signal measurement on the set of shared sensing resources. The sensing device 501 may monitor the shared sensing resources, e.g., by measuring signal strengths on the respective shared sensing resources, to determine whether a shared sensing resource is idle or occupied. A resource occupancy status of a shared sensing resource indicates an idle or available status or an occupied status.

In some example embodiments, the shared sensing resources may be configured by a sensing RAN device, a sensing terminal device, and/or a sensing function. In some example embodiments, in addition to the shared sensing resources, the sensing device 501 may also be configured with non-shared sensing resources.

The sensing device 501 selects (510) , based on the resource occupancy statuses of the respective shared sensing resources, a subset of available sensing resources from the set of shared sensing resources. The sensing device 501 may select some resources from the available shared sensing resources for the sensing service.

The sensing device 501 transmits (515) indication information at least indicating the selected subset of available sensing resources. As will be discussed below, the indication information may be transmitted to the receiving sensing device (s) , i.e., the at least one sensing device 502, and may optionally be detected by other sensing devices which attempt to transmit sensing signals using the set of shared sensing resources.

For the sensing services where a sensing UE is the transmitter and a RAN device is the receiver, a UE 1 is the transmitter and UE 2 is the receiver, a RAN device 1 is the transmitter and a RAN device 2 is the receiver, and a RAN device is the transmitter and a UE is the receiver, the exchange of the selected sensing resources are needed. In addition, for the mixed mode sensing service (such as UE 1 transmitting and UE 1 and RAN device 1 receiving, or RAN device 1 transmitting and RAN device 2 and RAN device 3 receiving) , the exchange of the selected sensing resources is also needed. In some example embodiments, if the sensing device 501 is also the receiver of the sensing signal, then it may not need to transmit the indication information to itself.

In some example embodiments, if a sensing device needs to inform the selected sensing resources to other devices, the sensing device may transmit the sensing service after transmitting the indication information of the selected sensing resources.

The sensing device 501 transmits (525) , to at least one sensing device 502 involved in a sensing service, a signaling signal for the sensing service using the selected subset of available sensing resources. The at least one sensing device 502 receives (520) the indication information, so that they may determine to monitor the indicated subset of available sensing resources on which the sensing device 501 is to transmit the sensing signal. Then the at least one sensing device 502 can receive (530) the sensing signal on the subset of available sensing resources. Some example embodiments related to the transmission of the indication information indicating the selected shared sensing resources will be discussed in detail below.

In some example embodiments, sensing devices may monitor the shared sensing resources after a sensing service comes. Accordingly, the sensing device 501 may determine whether a sensing service is triggered. In accordance with a determination that the sensing service is triggered, the sensing device 501 may determine resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in the set of shared sensing resources based on the configuration information. That is, when or after a sensing device comes to the sensing device 501, it may begin to monitor the shared sensing resources, so as to determine the resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources.

FIG. 6A illustrates an example timeline 600 (extending along time, RBs or frames) for sensing resource configuration and sensing signal transmission in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated, a sensing device is first configured with the shared sensing resources. After a sensing service is triggered, the sensing device starts to monitor the shared sensing resources. After available sensing resources are filtered based on the results of the monitoring, the sensing device can perform sensing signal transmission using the filtered available sensing resource. As an option, the sensing device may exchange information about the selected resources with other sensing devices, including the receiving sensing devices and/or sensing devices that are contending for the shared sensing resources.

In some example embodiments, the sensing devices monitor the shared sensing resources before a sensing service comes. Accordingly, after the set of shared sensing resources is configured for the sensing device 501 and before the sensing service is triggered, the sensing device 501 may determine resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in the set of shared sensing resources based on the configuration information. That is, the sensing device 501 may begin to monitor the shared sensing resources to determine the resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources before a sensing service is triggered for the sensing device 501.

FIG. 6B illustrates an example timeline 602 for sensing resource configuration and sensing signal transmission in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated, a sensing device is first configured with the shared sensing resources. With the configuration of the shared sensing resources, the sensing device may start to monitor the shared sensing resources. It is noted that the monitoring of the shared sensing resources may not necessarily immediately follow the configuration of the shared sensing resources, but may start by a time after the configuration of the shared sensing resources or may be triggered in other ways. After a sensing service is triggered, the sensing device may be able to filter available sensing resources based on the results of the monitoring. The sensing device can perform sensing signal transmission using the filtered available sensing resource. As an option, the sensing device may exchange information about the selected resources with other sensing devices, including the receiving sensing devices and/or sensing devices that are contending for the shared sensing resources.

In some example embodiments, the configuration information may indicate a configuration of the set of shared sensing resources. In response to a reception of the configuration of the set of shared sensing resources, the sensing device 501 may start to monitor resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in the set of shared sensing resources. That is, the sensing devices may measure the shared sensing resources once the sensing resources are configured or after a period of time when the sensing resources are configured.

The sensing device may measure all of the sharing sensing resources or potential available resources in the sharing sensing resources. As an example, the shared sensing resources are RB1-RB20, and a sensing UE knows RB1-RB5 are occupied by sensing RAN for a long time, so the sensing UE may just monitor RB6-RB20.

In some example embodiments, the configuration information for the sensing device 501 may indicate a subset of shared sensing resources in the set of shared sensing resources to be monitored. For example, the sensing device 501 may be configured to send sensing signals only in some RBs/frequencies of the shared sensing resources. Then, the sensing device 501 can just monitor the resource occupancy status of these RBs/frequencies, and may only determine resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in the subset of shared sensing resources. As an example, the set of shared sensing resources are resource blocks numbered as RB1-RB20, and the sensing device 501 is configured to transmit the sensing signal in RB10-RB15. In this case, the sensing device 501 may only monitor the resource occupancy status of RB10-RB15, without monitoring other resource blocks.

In some example embodiments, the configuration information may indicate an indication of whether the sensing service is to use the set of shared sensing resources. For example, an indication may come with a sensing service to indicate if the sensing service prefers to use shared sensing resources or non-shared sensing resources. If the indication indicates that the sensing service is to use the set of shared sensing resources, the sensing device 501 may determine resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in the set of shared sensing resources.

In some example embodiments, the configuration information may indicate at least one criterion for determining whether the sensing service is to use the set of shared sensing resources. The at least one criterion may be a service priority or some criteria like latency, resolution. The sensing device 501 may determine, based on the at least one criterion, that the sensing service is to use the set of shared sensing resources. If it is determined that the sensing service is to use the set of shared sensing resources, the sensing device 501 may decide to monitor the shared sensing resources, to determine resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in the set of shared sensing resources. For example, if the service priority is a high priority or the service requires a low latency, then the sensing device 501 may decide to use the non-shared sensing resources instead of the shared sensing resources. In this case, the sensing device 501 may not need to monitor the shared sensing resources for the sensing signal transmission of the current triggered sensing service.

In some example embodiments, the configuration information may indicate a first configured time for a start of monitoring resource occupancy statuses of the set of shared sensing resources. The sensing device 501 may start to monitor resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in a set of shared sensing resources at the first configured time. In some example embodiments, the first configured time may be configured with the trigger of the sensing service. The first configured time may be a Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) , a timer, or a latency.

In some example embodiments, the sensing device 501 may be configured to perform periodic measurement on the shared sensing resources, to detect the resource occupancy statues. In some example embodiments, if the sensing service is periodically triggered, the sensing devices may begin the measurement before the sensing service is started.

In some example embodiments, the configuration information may indicate a second configured time for a start of the sensing service, referred to as a sensing starting time. The sensing device 501 may determine, based on the second configured time, a start time to monitor resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in the set of shared sensing resources. The start time to monitor resource occupancy statuses may be determined as earlier than the start of the serving service. In some example embodiments, the first configured time may be configured with the sensing service. Therefore, the sensing device 501 may not need to perform the monitoring as soon as possible after the shared sensing resources are configured. The sensing device 501 may start in the recent past of the sensing start time and finish the monitoring before the sensing start time.

In some example embodiments, to determine the resource occupancy statuses of the shared sensing resources, the sensing device 501 may measure respective received signal strengths of respective shared sensing resources. The sensing device 501 may determine whether the respective shared sensing resources are busy or occupied based on a determination of whether the respective received signal strengths exceed a signal strength threshold. For example, for one or more symbols, RBs, resources set, BWP, or frequency, if the received signal strength exceeds the signal strength threshold value, the sensing device 502 may determine that the symbols, RBs, resources set, or BWP is busy or occupied. The measure criteria and the signal strength threshold may be receiving signal power (dBm) , reference signal received power (RSRP) . In some example embodiments, the configuration information may indicate the signal strength threshold. In some example embodiments, the signal strength threshold may be pre-configured before the sensing service is triggered or configured with the sensing service.

In some example embodiments, the signal strength threshold is specific to the sensing service. The signal strength threshold may be different for sensing services. If some services require higher accuracy or resolution, then a low signal strength threshold is configured to ensure a low noise level in the sensing signal transmission. As an example, it is assumed that Sensing Service A is used for a car speed control service with a signal strength threshold X dBm, and Sensing Service B is used for intruder alarm with a signal strength threshold Y dBm. The sensing device may measure the receiving power of Z dBm on an RB, where the X<Z<Y. Then for Sensing Service A, the sensing device may determine that this RB is occupied, but for Sensing Service B, the sensing device may determine that this RB is not occupied.

n some example embodiments, the measurements on the shared sensing resources may be performed in a period of time after the sensing services are triggered. The sensing device 501 may perform, during a period of time, a plurality of measurements of respective received signal strengths of respective shared sensing resources in the set of shared sensing resources. The period of time can be represented by μm/ms/RBs/slots/subframes/frames and may be configured by the sensing function, the application function, or other sensing devices.

Then the sensing device 501 may determine respective continuous occupation ratio or respective accumulative occupation ratios of the respective received signal strengths during the period of time based on a determination of whether the plurality of measurements of the respective received signal strengths exceed a signal strength threshold. The sensing device 501 may determine whether the respective shared sensing resources are busy or occupied based on a determination of whether the respective continuous occupation ratio or respective accumulative occupation ratios of the respective received signal strengths exceed an occupation threshold.

If a continuous or accumulative resource occupation ratio is more significant than an occupation threshold, the sensing device 501 may determine that the measured resources are unavailable. if a continuous or accumulative resources occupation ratio is smaller than a threshold, the sensing device 501 may determine that the measured resources are available. For example, the sensing device 501 may be configured to perform a 10ms-period of time measurement after a sensing service is triggered, and the measured received signal strength of sharing sensing resources has an accumulative 2ms exceeding the signal strength threshold. Therefore, the accumulative resource occupation ratio is 20%. If the configured occupation threshold is 10%, the sensing device 501 may determine that these measured resources are unavailable.

If the measured received signal strength is larger than the signal strength threshold for a continuous or accumulative number of RBs/slots/subframes/frames, the sensing device 501 may determine that the measured resources are unavailable. If the measured signal strength is more minor than signal strength threshold for a continuous or accumulative number of RBs/slots/subframes/frames, the sensing device 501 may determine that the measured resources are available. For example, the sensing device is configured to perform a 100 RB period of time measurement after a sensing service is triggered, and the measured received signal strength of sharing sensing resources has an accumulative 20 RBs exceeding the signal strength threshold. If the configured occupation threshold is 10 RBs, the sensing device 501 may determine that these measured resources are unavailable.

In some example embodiments, the occupation ratio threshold may be different for sensing services. Then for each sensing service, there may be configured a specific occupation ration threshold. In some example embodiments, the occupation ratio threshold may be configured by the sensing function/application function/sensing RAN/sensing UE.

In some example embodiments, the measurement may be performed multiple times (periodically) in a period of time after the sensing service is triggered or before the sensing service is triggered. For any measurement, once the measured received signal strength of sharing sensing resources exceeds the signal strength threshold, the measured resources are considered unavailable. For example, a sensing device is configured to measure the shared sensing resources for 5ms, and the sensing device will monitor each RB 0.1ms once per 1ms, so the sensing device has 5 measurements for every RB. If the first measurement shows the received signal strength of an RB higher than the signal strength threshold, this RB is considered as unavailable.

In some example embodiments, the threshold (the signal strength threshold and/or the occupation threshold) may be adjusted if the sensing device cannot find enough available resources in the sharing sensing resources. Then, the sensing device may adjust the threshold so that more resources can be considered available.

In some example embodiments, the sensing device 501 may determine a first total number of available sensing resources from the set of shared sensing resources by applying the current signal strength threshold and/or the current occupation threshold. If the first total number of available sensing resources is below a required number of available sensing resources for transmitting the sensing signal, the sensing device 501 may adjust the signal strength threshold and/or the occupation threshold. Then the sensing device 501 can determine a second total number of available sensing resources from the set of shared sensing resources by applying the adjusted signal strength threshold and/or the adjusted occupation threshold, and decide to select the second total number of available sensing resources for transmitting the sensing signal.

In some example embodiments, the sensing device 501 may transmit a threshold adjustment request to a sensing resource management entity to request for the adjusted signal strength threshold and/or the adjusted occupation threshold. In some example embodiments, the sensing device 501 may adjust the signal strength threshold and/or the occupation threshold based on a threshold adjustment configuration. The threshold adjustment configuration may be provided to the sensing device 501 so that it can adjust the threshold by itself. The threshold adjustment configuration may be some adjusted step values. In some example embodiments, the sensing device 501 may adjust the signal strength threshold and/or the occupation threshold by a predetermined adjustment step. The adjustment step is a default or pre-configured value.

In some example embodiments, if the sensing device cannot find enough available resources in the sharing sensing resources, the sensing device may send a request message to the resource control node (sensing RAN/UE/sensing function) to request dedicated sensing resources. Specifically, the sensing device 501 may determine a first total number of available sensing resources from the set of shared sensing resources by applying the current signal strength threshold and/or the current occupation threshold. If the first total number of available sensing resources is below a required number of available sensing resources for transmitting the sensing signal, the sensing device 501 may transmit a resource request to a resource control entity to request for dedicated sensing resources for transmitting the sensing signal.

In some example embodiments, the sensing device 501 may determine a first total number of available sensing resources from the set of shared sensing resources by applying the signal strength threshold and/or the occupation threshold. If the first total number of available sensing resources is below a required number of available sensing resources for transmitting the sensing signal, the sensing device 501 may continue to measure respective received signal strengths of respective shared sensing resources in the set of shared sensing resources until the required number of available sensing resources are determined.

In some example embodiments, if the sensing devices are configured to send sensing signals only in some dedicated RBs/frequencies of the shared sensing resources, the sensing devices have to wait for all RBs/frequencies to be available. Therefore, the sensing devices need to restart or extend the sensing time of the resource measurement once one of these RBs are busy.

In some example embodiments, if the sensing device is configured to send sensing signals only in some dedicated RBs/frequencies of the shared sensing resources, the sensing device may wait for all RBs/frequencies to be available. For example, the sensing device 501 is configured to transmit the signaling signal in a subset of sensing resources in the set of shared sensing resources. In this case, the sensing device 501 may monitor resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in the subset of sensing resources until a required number of sensing resources within the subset of sensing resources are detected to be available. Then the sensing device 501 can select the required number of sensing resources for transmitting the sensing signal. In some example embodiments, the subset of sensing resources may be configured to be located within a specific frequency band. The sensing device 501 may monitor resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in the subset of sensing resources until the subset of sensing resources within the specific frequency band are detected to be available.

A resource conflict may happen since multiple sensing devices may filter the available resources. In some example embodiments, a sharing sensing resource selection mechanism may be introduced based on the sensing devices ID to avoid the potential sharing sensing resource confliction. If the sensing device 501 determines a sensing resource conflict with at least one further sensing device, the sensing device 501 may select the subset of available sensing resources from the set of shared sensing resources based on an identity of the sensing device 501. In some example embodiments, if some sensing devices detect the sharing sensing resource conflict, they can generate a random value that delays the sensing signal transmission. For example, if the sensing device 501 detects a sensing resource conflict with at least one further sensing device, the sensing device 501 may transmit the sensing signal with a first delay, the first delay being determined based on a first random value.

As mentioned above, after selecting the available sensing resources, the sensing device 501 transmits indication information at least indicating the selected available sensing resources.

In some example embodiments, the sensing device 501 may transmit the indication information at least indicating the selected subset of available sensing resources using a control resource associated with or comprised in the set of shared sensing resources. Each shared sensing resource may have a set of resources used for transmitting selected resources, namely control resources. The control resources could be part of the shared sensing resources. The control resource could be configured when the shared sensing resources are configured. For example, the configuration includes frequency domain information, time domain information, periodic information about the control resources. In some example embodiments, the control resources may be associated with the shared sensing resources in other ways, and thus the control resources may be determined once the shared sensing resources are configured. In some example embodiments, the control resources may be shared by sensing devices.

If a sensing device selects some resources from the available sharing sensing resources for sensing signal transmission, the sensing device may use the control resource to indicate the selected shared sensing resources.

In some example embodiments, the indication information indicating the selected available sensing resources may indicate the scheduling information of the selected available sensing resources. For example, the indication information may indicate a frequency, time and/or periodicity configuration of the selected subset of available sensing resources, e.g., the scheduling information of the current RB or slot and the scheduling information of future scheduling information.

In some example embodiments, the indication information may further indicate at least one identity (ID) of the at least one sensing device 502 which is to receive the sensing signal transmission. The ID may be a Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) , NR Cell Global Identifier (NCGI) , gNB ID, or some newly defined sensing device ID.

In some example embodiments, the indication information may further indicate usage of a control resource for transmitting the indication information, so that other sensing devices can know which control resources are available to transmit scheduling information. In some examples, the indication information may include the usage of the control resources corresponding to the current RB or slot and the control resource usage information of the future RB/slots.

In some example embodiments, the control resource is determined based on a predetermined resource pattern or a configuration from a resource control entity.

FIGS. 7A-7E illustrate schematic diagrams of example resource patterns in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. In the example resource pattern 710 in FIG. 7A, the configuration may indicate that a BWP or some RBs are configured as shared sensing resources; for each slot, the first and second symbols are used as control resources 711 without further configuration, while other symbols are sensing resources 712. In the example resource pattern 720 in FIG. 7B, the configuration may indicate that a BWP or some RBs are configured as shared sensing resources; for each slot, the first and eighth symbols are used as control resources 721 without further configuration, while other symbols are sensing resources 722. The control resources may be mandatory in each slot, or the control resources exist per every 2, 3 or other number of slots.

In the example resource pattern 730 in FIG. 7C, the configuration may indicate that a BWP or some RBs are configured as shared sensing resources 732, and for each slot, the control resources 731 are some physical resource blocks (PRBs) below the configured BWP without further configuration.

In the example resource pattern 740 in FIG. 7D, the configuration may indicate that a BWP or some RBs are configured as shared sensing resources 742; and for each RB, the first and second symbols (or other symbols) are used as control resources 741 without further configuration, as shown in FIG. 7D. Furthermore, some symbols are used as control resources 751 more flexibly without additional configuration, as shown in the example resource pattern 750 in FIG. 7E. Other symbols in the RB are configured as sensing resources 752.

In some example embodiments, the control resource is selected from a set of shared control resources. Since the control resources are also shared by multiple sensing devices, a control resources RB may be used by multiple sensing devices simultaneously. Then, a resource conflict may occur. In some example embodiments, a control resource section mechanism based on the sensing devices ID may be introduced to avoid the control resource confliction. In accordance with a determination of a control resource conflict with at least one further sensing device, the sensing device 501 may select the control resource from the set of shared control resources based on an identity of the sensing device 501. In some example embodiments, if some sensing devices detect the control resource conflict, they can generate a random value that delays the control resources broadcast for each sensing device. In accordance with a determination of a control resource conflict with at least one further sensing device, the sensing device 501 may transmit the indication information with a second delay, the delay being determined based on a second random value.

In some example embodiments, the sensing device 501 may transmit the indication information in a broadcast manner.

The receiving sensing device (s) 502 are configured to use the shared sensing resources required to monitor the corresponding control resources to decode the target sensing device ID and control resources usage from the indication information.

By broadcasting the indication information indicating the available sensing resources selected by the sensing device 501, other sensing devices which also contends for the same set of shared sensing resources may be aware of the resource selection by the sensing device 501 and can avoid selecting the same shared sensing resources.

In some example embodiments, if a transmitting sensing device wants to use the shared sensing resource allocation information to help the shared resources selection, it can decode the shared sensing resource allocation. From the perspective of the sensing device 501, it may also monitor the resource selection by other sensing devices, by monitoring the set of shared control resources. In some example embodiments, the sensing device 501 may receive the further indication information by monitoring a set of control resources associated with or comprised in the set of shared sensing resources. If the sensing device 501 receives further indication information indicating a further subset of available sensing resources selected by a further sensing device from the set of shared sensing resources, the sensing device 501 may select, based on a result of the resource occupancy statuses and the further indication information, a subset of available sensing resources from the set of shared sensing resources.

It is noted that Sensing Device 1 can only decode the broadcast information of Sensing Device 2 when the air interface between them is good enough. Sensing Device 1 needs to avoid the control resources allocation conflict. This is because if the channel condition is too bad to decode the broadcast information successfully, Sensing Device 1 does not need to consider the control resources allocation conflict against to Sensing Device 2.

An example is provided below for a better understating about the transmission/reception of the indication information.

It is assumed that there are shared sensing resources RB1-RB100 where the control resources RB1 -RB5 per 2 slots. The shared sensing resources are shared by UE 1/2/3 and gNB 1/2. At T1, UE 4 is configured as a sensing device for tracking to use the sharing sensing resources RB1-RB100, and the sensing mode is UE 4 transmit and gNB 1 receives. Then, the UE 4 begins to monitor the control resources RB1 –RB5 and measure the received RSRP of RB6 -RB100.

After 4 slots (T1 + 4 slots) , the UE 4 selects RB6 -RB10 to transmit the sensing signal. UE 4 decodes the control resources at T1 + 1 slot and T1 + 3 slot and finds that the control resource at T1 + 5 slot is occupied by UE 1 &gNB 1, but RB 1 -RB2 is available at T1 + 7 slot. Then, the UE 4 broadcasts via RB 1 -RB2 at the T1 +7 slot that the RB6 -RB10 is scheduled to transmit sensing signal to gNB 1 at the T1 +8 slot. Then, the gNB 1 receives the sensing signal from UE 1 at the T1 + 8 slot.

If UE 2 also wants to use RB1 –RB2 at T1 + 7 to broadcast, resource conflict is detected by UE 2 and UE 4. Then, the UE 4 generates a random value of 4, so it should try to use the control resource after 4 slots, and the UE 2 generates a random value of 2, so it should try to use the control resource after 2 slots.

If there is a UE 3 broadcast at T1 + 3 that slot RB6 -RB10 at T1 + 7 is scheduled to transmit sensing by UE3. However, the distance between UE3 and UE4 is far, and the channel condition is bad. Then, UE 4 cannot decode the broadcast information from UE3, and it does not know the scheduling of UE3. Therefore, the UE 3 and UE 4 will transmit sensing signals at RB6 -RB10 at the same time. However, it may not be considered a resource conflict since they may not have significant interference due to the long distance.

In some example embodiments, a reservation mechanism is introduced for sensing resource allocation to avoid resource conflict in the set of shared sensing resources. According to the reservation mechanism, the sensing devices need to monitor the control resources to know the sharing sensing resources scheduling and the usage of control resources. The sensing devices may select some resources that are not occupied by other sensing devices according to the detected indication information in the control resources. In this case, the sensing devices may not need to measure the sharing sensing resource. If a sensing service is triggered for a sensing device, e.g., by sensing devices or by a core network entity, the sensing device can transmit the sensing signal using the selected resources.

In some example embodiments, for some sensing services, the sensing devices may blindly select the sensing resources from the set of sharing sensing resources to perform the sensing signal transmission. In some example embodiments, the sensing devices may select the sensing resources based on the respective IDs of the sensing devices to avoid the potential sharing sensing resource conflict.

FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart of a communication method 800 implemented at a sensing device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 1300 will be described from the perspective of a first sensing device, which may be the sensing device 501 in FIG. 5.

At block 810, the first sensing device determines resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in a set of shared sensing resources based on configuration information for signal measurement on the set of shared sensing resources.

At block 820, the first sensing device selects, based on the resource occupancy statuses of the respective shared sensing resources, a subset of available sensing resources from the set of shared sensing resources.

At block 830, the first sensing device transmits indication information at least indicating the selected subset of available sensing resources.

At block 840, the first sensing device transmits, to at least one second sensing device involved in a sensing service, a signaling signal for the sensing service using the selected subset of available sensing resources.

In some example embodiments, in accordance with a determination that the sensing service is triggered, the first sensing device may determine resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in the set of shared sensing resources based on the configuration information, or after the set of shared sensing resources is configured for the first sensing device and before the sensing service is triggered, the first sensing device may determine resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in the set of shared sensing resources based on the configuration information.

In some example embodiments, the configuration information indicates a subset of shared sensing resources in the set of shared sensing resources to be monitored, and the first sensing device may determine resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in the subset of shared sensing resources.

In some example embodiments, the configuration information indicates an indication of whether the sensing service is to use the set of shared sensing resources or at least one criterion for determining whether the sensing service is to use the set of shared sensing resources, and the first sensing device may determine, based on the indication or the at least one criterion, that the sensing service is to use the set of shared sensing resources. Further, in accordance with a determination that the sensing service is to use the set of shared sensing resources, the first sensing device may determine resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in the set of shared sensing resources.

In some example embodiments, the configuration information indicates a first configured time for a start of monitoring resource occupancy statuses of the set of shared sensing resources or a second configured time for a start of the sensing service, and the first sensing device may start to monitor resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in a set of shared sensing resources at the first configured time or determine, based on the second configured time, a start time to monitor resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in the set of shared sensing resources, the start time being earlier than the start of the serving service.

In some example embodiments, the configuration information indicates a configuration of the set of shared sensing resources, and in response to a reception of the configuration of the set of shared sensing resources, the first sensing device may start to monitor resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in the set of shared sensing resources.

In some example embodiments, the configuration information indicates the signal strength threshold, and the first sensing device may measure respective received signal strengths of respective shared sensing resources in the set of shared sensing resources, and determine whether the respective shared sensing resources are busy or occupied based on a determination of whether the respective received signal strengths exceed a signal strength threshold.

In some example embodiments, the signal strength threshold is specific to the sensing service.

In some example embodiments, the first sensing device may perform, during a period of time, a plurality of measurements of respective received signal strengths of respective shared sensing resources in the set of shared sensing resources, determine respective continuous occupation ratio or respective accumulative occupation ratios of the respective received signal strengths during the period of time based on a determination of whether the plurality of measurements of the respective received signal strengths exceed a signal strength threshold, and determine whether the respective shared sensing resources are busy or occupied based on a determination of whether the respective continuous occupation ratio or respective accumulative occupation ratios of the respective received signal strengths exceed an occupation threshold.

In some example embodiments, the first sensing device may determine a first total number of available sensing resources from the set of shared sensing resources by applying the signal strength threshold and/or the occupation threshold, in accordance with a determination that the first total number of available sensing resources is below a required number of available sensing resources for transmitting the sensing signal, adjust the signal strength threshold and/or the occupation threshold, determine a second total number of available sensing resources from the set of shared sensing resources by applying the adjusted signal strength threshold and/or the adjusted occupation threshold, and select the second total number of available sensing resources for transmitting the sensing signal.

In some example embodiments, the first sensing device may transmit a threshold adjustment request to a sensing resource management entity to request for the adjusted signal strength threshold and/or the adjusted occupation threshold, or adjust the signal strength threshold and/or the occupation threshold based on a threshold adjustment configuration, or adjust the signal strength threshold and/or the occupation threshold by a predetermined adjustment step.

In some example embodiments, the first sensing device may determine a first total number of available sensing resources from the set of shared sensing resources by applying the signal strength threshold and/or the occupation threshold, in accordance with a determination that the first total number of available sensing resources is below a required number of available sensing resources for transmitting the sensing signal, transmit a resource request to a resource control entity to request for dedicated sensing resources for transmitting the sensing signal.

In some example embodiments, the first sensing device may determine a first total number of available sensing resources from the set of shared sensing resources by applying the signal strength threshold and/or the occupation threshold, and in accordance with a determination that the first total number of available sensing resources is below a required number of available sensing resources for transmitting the sensing signal, measure respective received signal strengths of respective shared sensing resources in the set of shared sensing resources until the required number of available sensing resources are determined.

In some example embodiments, the first sensing device is configured to transmit the signaling signal in a subset of sensing resources in the set of shared sensing resources, and w the first sensing device may monitor resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in the subset of sensing resources until a required number of sensing resources within the subset of sensing resources are detected to be available, and select the required number of sensing resources for transmitting the sensing signal.

In some example embodiments, the subset of sensing resources is configured to be located within a specific frequency band, and the first sensing device may monitor resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in the subset of sensing resources until the subset of sensing resources within the specific frequency band are detected to be available.

In some example embodiments, in accordance with a determination of a sensing resource conflict with at least one further sensing device, the first sensing device may select the subset of available sensing resources from the set of shared sensing resources based on an identity of the first sensing device, or in accordance with a determination of a sensing resource conflict with at least one further sensing device, the first sensing device may transmit the sensing signal with a first delay, the first delay being determined based on a first random value.

In some example embodiments, the first sensing device may transmit the indication information at least indicating the selected subset of available sensing resources using a control resource associated with or comprised in the set of shared sensing resources.

In some example embodiments, the control resource may be determined based on a predetermined resource pattern or a configuration from a resource control entity.

In some example embodiments, the control resource is selected from a set of shared control resources, and in accordance with a determination of a control resource conflict with at least one further sensing device, the first sensing device may select the control resource from the set of shared control resources based on an identity of the first sensing device, or in accordance with a determination of a control resource conflict with at least one further sensing device, the first sensing device may transmit the indication information with a second delay, the delay being determined based on a second random value.

In some example embodiments, wherein the indication information indicates at least one of the following: a frequency, time and/or periodicity configuration of the selected subset of available sensing resources, at least one identity of the at least one second sensing device, usage of a control resource for transmitting the indication information.

In some example embodiments, the first sensing device may transmit the indication information in a broadcast manner.

In some example embodiments, the first sensing device may receive further indication information indicating a further subset of available sensing resources selected by a further sensing device from the set of shared sensing resources, and select, based on a result of the resource occupancy statuses and the further indication information, a subset of available sensing resources from the set of shared sensing resources.

In some example embodiments, the first sensing device may receive the further indication information by monitoring a set of control resources associated with or comprised in the set of shared sensing resources.

FIG. 9 is a simplified block diagram of a device 900 that is suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 900 can be considered as a further example implementation of any of the devices as shown in FIG. 1A. Accordingly, the device 900 can be implemented at or as at least a part of the sensing device 110.

As shown, the device 900 includes a processor 910, a memory 920 coupled to the processor 910, a suitable transceiver 940 coupled to the processor 910, and a communication interface coupled to the transceiver 940. The memory 920 stores at least a part of a program 930. The transceiver 940 may be for bidirectional communications or a unidirectional communication based on requirements. The transceiver 940 may include at least one of a transmitter 942 and a receiver 944. The transmitter 942 and the receiver 944 may be functional modules or physical entities. The transceiver 940 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication, though in practice an Access Node mentioned in this application may have several ones. The communication interface may represent any interface that is necessary for communication with other network elements, such as X2/Xn interface for bidirectional communications between eNBs/gNBs, S1/NG interface for communication between a Mobility Management Entity (MME) /Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) /SGW/UPF and the eNB/gNB, Un interface for communication between the eNB/gNB and a relay node (RN) , or Uu interface for communication between the eNB/gNB and a terminal device.

The program 930 is assumed to include program instructions that, when executed by the associated processor 910, enable the device 900 to operate in accordance with the embodiments of the present disclosure, as discussed herein with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9. The embodiments herein may be implemented by computer software executable by the processor 910 of the device 900, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. The processor 910 may be configured to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure. Furthermore, a combination of the processor 910 and memory 920 may form processing means 950 adapted to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure.

The memory 920 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, semiconductor based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory, as non-limiting examples. While only one memory 920 is shown in the device 900, there may be several physically distinct memory modules in the device 900. The processor 910 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network, and may include one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The device 900 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock which synchronizes the main processor.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a sensing device comprising a circuitry is provided. The circuitry is configured to: determine resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in a set of shared sensing resources based on configuration information for signal measurement on the set of shared sensing resources; select, based on the resource occupancy statuses of the respective shared sensing resources, a subset of available sensing resources from the set of shared sensing resources; transmit indication information at least indicating the selected subset of available sensing resources; and transmit, to at least one second sensing device involved in a sensing service, a signaling signal for the sensing service using the selected subset of available sensing resources.

The term “circuitry” used herein may refer to hardware circuits and/or combinations of hardware circuits and software. For example, the circuitry may be a combination of analog and/or digital hardware circuits with software/firmware. As a further example, the circuitry may be any portions of hardware processors with software including digital signal processor (s) , software, and memory (ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a terminal device or a network device, to perform various functions. In a still further example, the circuitry may be hardware circuits and or processors, such as a microprocessor or a portion of a microprocessor, that requires software/firmware for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation. As used herein, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (s) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor (s) and its (or their) accompanying software and/or firmware.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a sensing apparatus is provided. The sensing apparatus comprises means for means for determining, by a first sensing device, resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in a set of shared sensing resources based on configuration information for signal measurement on the set of shared sensing resources; means for selecting, based on the resource occupancy statuses of the respective shared sensing resources, a subset of available sensing resources from the set of shared sensing resources; means for transmitting indication information at least indicating the selected subset of available sensing resources; and means for transmitting, to at least one second sensing device involved in a sensing service, a signaling signal for the sensing service using the selected subset of available sensing resources.

In summary, embodiments of the present disclosure provide the following aspects.

In an aspect, it is proposed a sensing device comprising: a processor configured to cause the communication device to: determine resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in a set of shared sensing resources based on configuration information for signal measurement on the set of shared sensing resources; select, based on the resource occupancy statuses of the respective shared sensing resources, a subset of available sensing resources from the set of shared sensing resources; transmit indication information at least indicating the selected subset of available sensing resources; and transmit, to at least one second sensing device involved in a sensing service, a signaling signal for the sensing service using the selected subset of available sensing resources.

In some example embodiments, the processor is configured to cause the first sensing device to: in accordance with a determination that the sensing service is triggered, determine resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in the set of shared sensing resources based on the configuration information; or after the set of shared sensing resources is configured for the first sensing device and before the sensing service is triggered, determine resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in the set of shared sensing resources based on the configuration information.

In some example embodiments, the configuration information indicates a subset of shared sensing resources in the set of shared sensing resources to be monitored, and wherein the processor is configured to cause the first sensing device to: determine resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in the subset of shared sensing resources.

In some example embodiments, the configuration information indicates an indication of whether the sensing service is to use the set of shared sensing resources or at least one criterion for determining whether the sensing service is to use the set of shared sensing resources, and wherein the processor is configured to cause the first sensing device to: determine, based on the indication or the at least one criterion, that the sensing service is to use the set of shared sensing resources; and in accordance with a determination that the sensing service is to use the set of shared sensing resources, determine resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in the set of shared sensing resources.

In some example embodiments, the configuration information indicates a first configured time for a start of monitoring resource occupancy statuses of the set of shared sensing resources or a second configured time for a start of the sensing service, and wherein the processor is configured to cause the first sensing device to: start to monitor resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in a set of shared sensing resources at the first configured time; or determine, based on the second configured time, a start time to monitor resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in the set of shared sensing resources, the start time being earlier than the start of the serving service.

In some example embodiments, the configuration information indicates a configuration of the set of shared sensing resources, and wherein the processor is configured to cause the first sensing device to: in response to a reception of the configuration of the set of shared sensing resources, start to monitor resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in the set of shared sensing resources.

In some example embodiments, the configuration information indicates the signal strength threshold, and wherein the processor is configured to cause the first sensing device to: measure respective received signal strengths of respective shared sensing resources in the set of shared sensing resources; and determine whether the respective shared sensing resources are busy or occupied based on a determination of whether the respective received signal strengths exceed a signal strength threshold.

In some example embodiments, the processor is configured to cause the first sensing device to: perform, during a period of time, a plurality of measurements of respective received signal strengths of respective shared sensing resources in the set of shared sensing resources; determine respective continuous occupation ratio or respective accumulative occupation ratios of the respective received signal strengths during the period of time based on a determination of whether the plurality of measurements of the respective received signal strengths exceed a signal strength threshold; and determine whether the respective shared sensing resources are busy or occupied based on a determination of whether the respective continuous occupation ratio or respective accumulative occupation ratios of the respective received signal strengths exceed an occupation threshold.

In some example embodiments, the processor is configured to cause the first sensing device to: determine a first total number of available sensing resources from the set of shared sensing resources by applying the signal strength threshold and/or the occupation threshold; in accordance with a determination that the first total number of available sensing resources is below a required number of available sensing resources for transmitting the sensing signal, adjust the signal strength threshold and/or the occupation threshold; determine a second total number of available sensing resources from the set of shared sensing resources by applying the adjusted signal strength threshold and/or the adjusted occupation threshold; and select the second total number of available sensing resources for transmitting the sensing signal.

In some example embodiments, the processor is configured to cause the first sensing device to: transmit a threshold adjustment request to a sensing resource management entity to request for the adjusted signal strength threshold and/or the adjusted occupation threshold; or adjust the signal strength threshold and/or the occupation threshold based on a threshold adjustment configuration; or adjust the signal strength threshold and/or the occupation threshold by a predetermined adjustment step.

In some example embodiments, the processor is configured to cause the first sensing device to: determine a first total number of available sensing resources from the set of shared sensing resources by applying the signal strength threshold and/or the occupation threshold; in accordance with a determination that the first total number of available sensing resources is below a required number of available sensing resources for transmitting the sensing signal, transmit a resource request to a resource control entity to request for dedicated sensing resources for transmitting the sensing signal.

In some example embodiments, the processor is configured to cause the first sensing device to: determine a first total number of available sensing resources from the set of shared sensing resources by applying the signal strength threshold and/or the occupation threshold; and in accordance with a determination that the first total number of available sensing resources is below a required number of available sensing resources for transmitting the sensing signal, measure respective received signal strengths of respective shared sensing resources in the set of shared sensing resources until the required number of available sensing resources are determined.

In some example embodiments, the first sensing device is configured to transmit the signaling signal in a subset of sensing resources in the set of shared sensing resources, and wherein the processor is configured to cause the first sensing device to: monitor resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in the subset of sensing resources until a required number of sensing resources within the subset of sensing resources are detected to be available; and select the required number of sensing resources for transmitting the sensing signal.

In some example embodiments, the subset of sensing resources are configured to be located within a specific frequency band, and wherein the processor is configured to cause the first sensing device to: monitor resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in the subset of sensing resources until the subset of sensing resources within the specific frequency band are detected to be available.

In some example embodiments, the processor is configured to cause the first sensing device to: in accordance with a determination of a sensing resource conflict with at least one further sensing device, select the subset of available sensing resources from the set of shared sensing resources based on an identity of the first sensing device; or in accordance with a determination of a sensing resource conflict with at least one further sensing device, transmit the sensing signal with a first delay, the first delay being determined based on a first random value.

In some example embodiments, the processor is configured to cause the first sensing device to: transmit the indication information at least indicating the selected subset of available sensing resources using a control resource associated with or comprised in the set of shared sensing resources.

In some example embodiments, the control resource is selected from a set of shared control resources, and wherein the processor is configured to cause the first sensing device to: in accordance with a determination of a control resource conflict with at least one further sensing device, select the control resource from the set of shared control resources based on an identity of the first sensing device; or in accordance with a determination of a control resource conflict with at least one further sensing device, transmit the indication information with a second delay, the delay being determined based on a second random value.

In some example embodiments, the indication information indicates at least one of the following: a frequency, time and/or periodicity configuration of the selected subset of available sensing resources, at least one identity of the at least one second sensing device, usage of a control resource for transmitting the indication information.

In some example embodiments, the processor is configured to cause the first sensing device to: transmit the indication information in a broadcast manner.

In some example embodiments, the processor is configured to cause the first sensing device to: receive further indication information indicating a further subset of available sensing resources selected by a further sensing device from the set of shared sensing resources; and select, based on a result of the resource occupancy statuses and the further indication information, a subset of available sensing resources from the set of shared sensing resources.

In some example embodiments, the processor is configured to cause the first sensing device to: receive the further indication information by monitoring a set of control resources associated with or comprised in the set of shared sensing resources.

In an aspect, a sensing device comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory coupled to the at least one processor and storing instructions thereon, the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, causing the device to perform the method implemented by the sensing device discussed above.

In an aspect, a computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when executed on at least one processor, causing the at least one processor to perform the method implemented by the sensing device discussed above.

In an aspect, a computer program comprising instructions, the instructions, when executed on at least one processor, causing the at least one processor to perform the method implemented by the sensing device discussed above.

Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. While various aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other pictorial representation, it will be appreciated that the blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, being executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor, to carry out the process or method as described above with reference to FIGS. 1A to 8. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, or the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired in various embodiments. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

Program code for carrying out methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes may be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that the program codes, when executed by the processor or controller, cause the functions/operations specified in the flowcharts and/or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may execute entirely on a machine, partly on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine or entirely on the remote machine or server.

The above program code may be embodied on a machine-readable medium, which may be any tangible medium that may contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The machine readable medium may be a machine readable signal medium or a machine readable storage medium. A machine readable medium may include but not limited to an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of the machine readable storage medium would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM) , a read-only memory (ROM) , an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory) , an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) , an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

Further, while operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Likewise, while several specific implementation details are contained in the above discussions, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination.

Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the present disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

A first sensing device comprising:

a processor configured to cause the first sensing device to:

determine resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in a set of shared sensing resources based on configuration information for signal measurement on the set of shared sensing resources;

select, based on the resource occupancy statuses of the respective shared sensing resources, a subset of available sensing resources from the set of shared sensing resources;

transmit indication information at least indicating the selected subset of available sensing resources; and

transmit, to at least one second sensing device involved in a sensing service, a signaling signal for the sensing service using the selected subset of available sensing resources.
The first sensing device of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to cause the first sensing device to:

in accordance with a determination that the sensing service is triggered, determine resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in the set of shared sensing resources based on the configuration information; or

after the set of shared sensing resources is configured for the first sensing device and before the sensing service is triggered, determine resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in the set of shared sensing resources based on the configuration information.
The first sensing device of claim 1 or 2, wherein the configuration information indicates a subset of shared sensing resources in the set of shared sensing resources to be monitored, and wherein the processor is configured to cause the first sensing device to:

determine resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in the subset of shared sensing resources.
The first sensing device of any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the configuration information indicates an indication of whether the sensing service is to use the set of shared sensing resources or at least one criterion for determining whether the sensing service is to use the set of shared sensing resources, and wherein the processor is configured to cause the first sensing device to:

determine, based on the indication or the at least one criterion, that the sensing service is to use the set of shared sensing resources; and

in accordance with a determination that the sensing service is to use the set of shared sensing resources, determine resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in the set of shared sensing resources.
The first sensing device of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the configuration information indicates a first configured time for a start of monitoring resource occupancy statuses of the set of shared sensing resources or a second configured time for a start of the sensing service, and wherein the processor is configured to cause the first sensing device to:

start to monitor resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in a set of shared sensing resources at the first configured time; or

determine, based on the second configured time, a start time to monitor resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in the set of shared sensing resources, the start time being earlier than the start of the serving service.
The first sensing device of any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the configuration information indicates a configuration of the set of shared sensing resources, and wherein the processor is configured to cause the first sensing device to:

in response to a reception of the configuration of the set of shared sensing resources, start to monitor resource occupancy statuses of respective shared sensing resources in the set of shared sensing resources.
The first sensing device of any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the configuration information indicates the signal strength threshold, and wherein the processor is configured to cause the first sensing device to:

measure respective received signal strengths of respective shared sensing resources in the set of shared sensing resources; and

determine whether the respective shared sensing resources are busy or occupied based on a determination of whether the respective received signal strengths exceed a signal strength threshold.
The first sensing device of any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the processor is configured to cause the first sensing device to:

perform, during a period of time, a plurality of measurements of respective received signal strengths of respective shared sensing resources in the set of shared sensing resources;

determine respective continuous occupation ratio or respective accumulative occupation ratios of the respective received signal strengths during the period of time based on a determination of whether the plurality of measurements of the respective received signal strengths exceed a signal strength threshold; and

determine whether the respective shared sensing resources are busy or occupied based on a determination of whether the respective continuous occupation ratio or respective accumulative occupation ratios of the respective received signal strengths exceed an occupation threshold.
The first sensing device of claim 7 or 8, wherein the processor is configured to cause the first sensing device to:

determine a first total number of available sensing resources from the set of shared sensing resources by applying the signal strength threshold and/or the occupation threshold;

in accordance with a determination that the first total number of available sensing resources is below a required number of available sensing resources for transmitting the sensing signal, adjust the signal strength threshold and/or the occupation threshold;

determine a second total number of available sensing resources from the set of shared sensing resources by applying the adjusted signal strength threshold and/or the adjusted occupation threshold; and

select the second total number of available sensing resources for transmitting the sensing signal.
The first sensing device of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to cause the first sensing device to:

transmit a threshold adjustment request to a sensing resource management entity to request for the adjusted signal strength threshold and/or the adjusted occupation threshold; or

adjust the signal strength threshold and/or the occupation threshold based on a threshold adjustment configuration; or

adjust the signal strength threshold and/or the occupation threshold by a predetermined adjustment step.
The first sensing device of claim 7 or 8, wherein the processor is configured to cause the first sensing device to:

determine a first total number of available sensing resources from the set of shared sensing resources by applying the signal strength threshold and/or the occupation threshold;

in accordance with a determination that the first total number of available sensing resources is below a required number of available sensing resources for transmitting the sensing signal, transmit a resource request to a resource control entity to request for dedicated sensing resources for transmitting the sensing signal.
The first sensing device of claim 7 or 8, wherein the processor is configured to cause the first sensing device to:

determine a first total number of available sensing resources from the set of shared sensing resources by applying the signal strength threshold and/or the occupation threshold; and

in accordance with a determination that the first total number of available sensing resources is below a required number of available sensing resources for transmitting the sensing signal, measure respective received signal strengths of respective shared sensing resources in the set of shared sensing resources until the required number of available sensing resources are determined.
The first sensing device of any of claims 1 to 12, wherein the processor is configured to cause the first sensing device to:

in accordance with a determination of a sensing resource conflict with at least one further sensing device, select the subset of available sensing resources from the set of shared sensing resources based on an identity of the first sensing device; or

in accordance with a determination of a sensing resource conflict with at least one further sensing device, transmit the sensing signal with a first delay, the first delay being determined based on a first random value.
The first sensing device of any of claims 1 to 13, wherein the processor is configured to cause the first sensing device to:

transmit the indication information at least indicating the selected subset of available sensing resources using a control resource associated with or comprised in the set of shared sensing resources.
The first sensing device of claim 14, wherein the control resource is determined based on a predetermined resource pattern or a configuration from a resource control entity.
The first sensing device of claim 14 or 15, wherein the control resource is selected from a set of shared control resources, and wherein the processor is configured to cause the first sensing device to:

in accordance with a determination of a control resource conflict with at least one further sensing device, select the control resource from the set of shared control resources based on an identity of the first sensing device; or

in accordance with a determination of a control resource conflict with at least one further sensing device, transmit the indication information with a second delay, the delay being determined based on a second random value.
The first sensing device of any of claims 1 to 16, wherein the indication information indicates at least one of the following:

a frequency, time and/or periodicity configuration of the selected subset of available sensing resources,

at least one identity of the at least one second sensing device,

usage of a control resource for transmitting the indication information.
The first sensing device of any of claims 1 to 17, wherein the processor is configured to cause the first sensing device to:

transmit the indication information in a broadcast manner.
The first sensing device of any of claims 1 to 18, wherein the processor is configured to cause the first sensing device to:

receive further indication information indicating a further subset of available sensing resources selected by a further sensing device from the set of shared sensing resources; and

select, based on a result of the resource occupancy statuses and the further indication information, a subset of available sensing resources from the set of shared sensing resources.
The first sensing device of claim 19, wherein the processor is configured to cause the first sensing device to:

receive the further indication information by monitoring a set of control resources associated with or comprised in the set of shared sensing resources.