WO2025217834A1

WO2025217834A1 - Methods and apparatuses for sensing an object

Info

Publication number: WO2025217834A1
Application number: PCT/CN2024/088344
Authority: WO
Inventors: Zhan Zhang; Huaisong Zhu; Yipeng ZHANG
Original assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
Current assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson AB
Priority date: 2024-04-17
Filing date: 2024-04-17
Publication date: 2025-10-23
Anticipated expiration: 2026-10-17

Abstract

The present invention discloses methods and apparatuses for sensing an airborne object. In some embodiments, there proposes a method (600) performed by a first network function (301) implementing a sensing function. The method may comprise the step of receiving (S601) a sensing signal; determining (S602) information of a second network function (302) implementing a sensing function from the received sensing signal; transmitting (S603) the determined information to a third network function (311) implementing a sensing management function; and receiving (S604) an updated sensing group from the third network function (311). The embodiments may save most of sensing signaling/measurement overhead between the sensing nodes for coordination.

Description

METHODS AND APPARATUSES FOR SENSING AN OBJECT

Technical Field

The embodiments herein relate generally to the field of communication, and more particularly, the embodiments herein relate to methods and apparatuses for sensing an object.

Background

Figure 1 schematically illustrates an example use case for sensing an airborne object at high altitude. As shown in Figure 1, two network nodes 101 and 102 are used for sensing an airborne object 121 such as an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) .

For sensing an airborne object at higher altitudes, two main aspects that lead to a different radio environment may be almost free-space propagation, and antenna sidelobes/grating lobe.

As shown in Figure 1, the signal (main lobe) transmitted from the network nodes 101 and 102 may be down-tilting, for data communications with the terminal devices on the ground. Due to the down-tilting of the signal, the sidelobes of the signal may be up-tilting with a small angle. As a result, at a given location, it is likely that the strongest signal might come from a far-away BS (e.g., the network node 102) instead of a nearby one (e.g., the network node 101) to the airborne object 121 (e.g., a UAV) . For example, a sidelobe of the lobes 112 of the network node 102 may point to the air-borne object 121 whiles the lobes 111 of the network node 101 do not, which makes the signal from the network node 102 stronger.

In addition, the signal between the air-borne object 121 and the nearby BS (e.g., the network node 101) may be blocked by a high building, which may result to Loss of Signal (LOS) . Because of the LOS in signal propagation, a sensing base station located several kilometers away could receive a strong reflected sensing signal from the UAV while nearby BS’s sensing signal might not.

To ensure a detection possibility of the UAV and accurate position estimate of UAV, the current approach is to choose a relatively large group of Radio Base Station (RBS) in a large area scope, and all base stations in this large group/range will be coordinated and associated together to conduct the sensing, as shown in Figure 2, which schematically illustrates a joint sensing of a plurality of sensing node (e.g., RBS) .

Summary

However, there currently exists certain challenges. For an example, in most urban scenarios, a typical inter-site distance is 500 m. If the maximum grouping distance for RBSs on sensing is 5 km, then 215 cells must be grouped together. Obviously, this cell group is too large to be efficiently managed. A too large maximum grouping distance will trigger unwanted resource overhead for sensing, while a small grouping scope/distance will reduce the possibility of potential sensing detection by the group of RBSs on the UAV.

In other words, the more sensing transmitters or receivers (of grouped cells) are chosen for a group of sensing nodes, there are more needs for the sensing control unit/function to configure each of transmissions and receptions. Additionally, owing to the configuration decision are based on specific measurements/reports, a large number of sensing nodes (e.g., RBSs) unprecedentedly cause a large scale of measurements/reporting, which complicates the whole transmission/reception operation of a sensing network, eventually incurs a prohibiting cost in both radio resource and management as well as research and development (R&D) and engineering complexity.

Thus, the existing solution of simply extending grouping scope of cells for securing a sensing performance is problematic in practice.

Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges.

In some embodiments, there proposes a method performed by a first network function implementing a sensing function. The method may comprise the steps of receiving a sensing signal; determining information of a second network function implementing a sensing function from the received sensing signal; transmitting the determined information to a third network function implementing a sensing management function; and receiving an updated sensing group from the third network function.

In an embodiment, the step of determining the information of the second network function may further comprise the step of determining identity information of the second network function.

In an embodiment, the identity information of the second network function may be determined from a prefix signal block before a sequence of sensing signal bursts of the sensing signal, or from the sequence of sensing signal bursts of the sensing signal.

In an embodiment, the identity information of the second network function may be a global unique Identifier (ID) or a local group member ID.

In an embodiment, the step of determining the information of the second network function may further comprise the step of determining measurement information of the second network function.

In an embodiment, the measurement information of the second network function may be determined from the prefix signal block, from the sequence of sensing signal bursts, or from a look-up table with the identity information as index.

In an embodiment, the measurement information of the second network function may comprises at least one of: position information of the second network function; beam information of the second network function; transmitting power information of the second network function; repetition pattern of the sensing signal transmitted from the second network function; and resource allocation information of the sensing signal transmitted from the second network function.

In an embodiment, the method may further comprise the step of estimating a position of an airborne object according to the determined measurement information. In an embodiment, the sensing signal from the second network function may be reflected by the airborne object to the first network function.

In an embodiment, the step of transmitting the determined information may further comprise the step of transmitting the determined identity information, and at least one of the determined measurement information and the position of the airborne object.

In an embodiment, the method may further comprise the step of estimating the position of the airborne object using a joint sensing by a plurality of sensing functions within the updated sensing group.

In an embodiment, both the first network function and the second network function may be comprised in the updated sensing group.

In an embodiment, at least one of the first network function and the second network function may be implemented as a Radio Access Network (RAN) node. In an embodiment, the airborne object may be a UAV.

In some embodiments, there proposes a method performed by a second network function implementing a sensing function. The method may comprise the step of transmitting a sensing signal comprising information of the second network function. The information of the second network function may be received at a first network function implementing a sensing function. The information of the second network function then may be transmitted from the first network function to a third network function implementing a sensing management function. The method may comprise the step of receiving an updated sensing group from the third network function.

In an embodiment, the information of the second network function may comprise identity information of the second network function.

In an embodiment, the identity information of the second network function may be carried by a prefix signal block before a sequence of sensing signal bursts of the sensing signal, or by the sequence of sensing signal bursts of the sensing signal.

In an embodiment, the information of the second network function may further comprise measurement information of the second network function.

In an embodiment, the measurement information of the second network function may be carried by a prefix signal block before a sequence of sensing signal bursts of the sensing signal, by the sequence of sensing signal bursts of the sensing signal, or by a look-up table with the identity information as index.

In an embodiment, the measurement information of the second network function may comprise at least one of position information of the second network function; beam information of the second network function; transmitting power information of the second network function; repetition pattern of the sensing signal transmitted from the second network function; and resource allocation information of the sensing signal transmitted from the second network function.

In an embodiment, the sensing signal from the second network function may be reflected by an airborne object to the first network function.

In an embodiment, at least one of the first network function and the second network function may be implemented as a RAN node. In an embodiment, the airborne object may be a UAV.

In some embodiments, there proposes a method performed by a third network function implementing a sensing management function. The method may comprise the step of receiving information of a second network function implementing a sensing function from a first network function implementing a sensing function. The information of the second network function may be determined at the first network function from a sensing signal. The method may further comprise the step of transmitting an updated sensing group to at least one of the first network function and the second network function.

In an embodiment, the step of receiving information may further comprise the step of receiving identity information of the second network function.

In an embodiment, the step of receiving information may further comprise receiving at least one of measurement information of the second network function and an estimated position of an airborne object. The sensing signal from the second network function may be reflected by the airborne object to the first network function.

In an embodiment, the method may further comprise the step of determining the updated sensing group according to the identity information of the second network function, and at least one of the measurement information of the second network function and the estimated position of the airborne object.

In an embodiment, the measurement information of the second network function may comprise at least one of: position information of the second network function; beam information of the second network function; transmitting power information of the second network function; repetition pattern of the sensing signal transmitted from the second network function; and resource allocation information of the sensing signal transmitted from the second network function.

In an embodiment, the estimated position of the airborne object may be estimated according to the measurement information.

In some embodiments, there proposes a first network function implementing a sensing function. The first network function may comprise at least one processor; and a non-transitory computer readable medium coupled to the at least one processor. In an embodiment, the non-transitory computer readable medium may store instructions executable by the at least one processor, whereby the at least one processor may be configured to perform the above methods related to the above first network function.

In some embodiments, there proposes a second network function implementing a sensing function. The second network function may comprise at least one processor; and a non-transitory computer readable medium coupled to the at least one processor. In an embodiment, the non-transitory computer readable medium may store instructions executable by the at least one processor, whereby the at least one processor may be configured to perform the above methods related to the above second network function.

In some embodiments, there proposes a third network function implementing a sensing management function. The third network function may comprise at least one processor; and a non-transitory computer readable medium coupled to the at least one processor. In an embodiment, the non-transitory computer readable medium may store instructions executable by the at least one processor, whereby the at least one processor may be configured to perform the above methods related to the above third network function.

In some embodiments, there proposes a sensing system for sensing a mobile object. The sensing system may comprise the above first network function, the above second network function, and the above third network function.

In some embodiments, there proposes a computer readable medium stores computer readable code, which when run on an apparatus, may cause the apparatus to perform any of the above methods.

In some embodiments, there proposes a computer program product stores computer readable code, which when run on an apparatus, may cause the apparatus to perform any of the above methods.

The embodiments may avoid most of measurement operation for grouping decision making and simplify or reduce all the necessary reference signal transmission/measurement/reporting phases for a cell-grouping decision-making. Hence, the embodiments may save most of sensing signaling/measurement overhead between the sensing nodes for coordination.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and form part of the specification, illustrate various embodiments of the present disclosure and, together with the description, further serve to explain the principles of the disclosure and to enable a person skilled in the pertinent art to make and use the embodiments disclosed herein. In the drawings, like reference numbers indicate identical or functionally similar elements, and in which:

Figure 1 schematically illustrates an example use case for sensing an airborne object at high altitude;

Figure 2 schematically illustrates a joint sensing of a plurality of sensing node;

Figure 3 shows an example communication system for sensing airborne object in accordance with some embodiments;

Figure 4 is a schematic signaling chart showing the messages in sensing an object in accordance with some embodiments;

Figure 5 schematically illustrates that a dedicated prefix resource block before the sensing sequence is used to carry the information of the transmission node, in accordance with some embodiments;

Figure 6 is a schematic flow chart showing an example method in the first network function, in accordance with some embodiments;

Figure 7 is a schematic flow chart showing an example method in the second network function, in accordance with some embodiments;

Figure 8 is a schematic flow chart showing an example method in the third network function, in accordance with some embodiments;

Figure 9 is a schematic block diagram showing an example first network function, in accordance with some embodiments;

Figure 10 is a schematic block diagram showing an example second network function, in accordance with some embodiments;

Figure 11 is a schematic block diagram showing an example third network function, in accordance with some embodiments;

Figure 12 shows an example of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments;

Figure 13 shows a UE in accordance with some embodiments;

Figure 14 shows a network node in accordance with some embodiments;

Figure 15 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized; and

Figure 16 is a schematic block diagram showing an example computer-implemented apparatus, in accordance with some embodiments.

Detailed Description of Embodiments

Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art. The elements of the drawings are not necessarily to scale relative to each other.

Reference to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearances of the phrase “in an embodiment” appearing in various places throughout the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

The term "A, B, or C" used herein means "A" or "B" or "C" ; the term "A, B, and C" used herein means “A” and “B” and “C” ; the term “A, B, and/or C” used herein means “A” , “B” , “C” , “A and B” , “A and C” , “B and C” or “A, B, and C” .

The embodiments may be implemented in the scenario as shown in Figure 3, which shows an example communication system 300 for sensing airborne object in accordance with some embodiments.

As shown in Figure 3, the communication system 300 may comprise a sensing transmission (Tx) node 302 (also referred as a second network function implementing a sensing function) , a sensing receiving (Rx) node 301 (also referred as a first network function implementing a sensing function) , and a sensing management function 311 (also referred as a third network function implementing a sensing management function) .

As shown in Figure 3, the sensing Tx node 302 and the sensing Rx node 301 each may be implemented as a network node, such as a RAN base station. The sensing management function 311 may be implemented in a dedicated server or in an existing server for example a server in the 5G core network or an Operation Administration and Maintenance (OAM) node. Alternatively, the sensing management function 311 may be implemented in either the sensing Tx node 302 or the sensing Rx node 301, or be distributed in the sensing Tx node 302 and the sensing Rx node 301. Note that, at least one of the sensing Tx node 302 and the sensing Rx node 301 may be implemented in a terminal device such as a User Equipment (UE) .

In an embodiment, the sensing Tx node 302 and the sensing Rx node 301 each may communicate with the airborne object 121 via an air interface, while the sensing Tx node 302 and the sensing Rx node 301 may communicate with each other via either an air interface or backhaul communication via for example X2 interface.

In an embodiment, the sensing signal transmitted from the sensing Tx node 302 may be received (for example occasionally) by the sensing Rx node 301, for example via the reflection at the airborne object 121.

In an embodiment, the communication system 300 may be configured in an OTT scenario. The OTT connection may be transparent in the sense that the participating communication devices through which the OTT connection passes are unaware of routing of uplink and downlink communications. For example, a base station may not or needs not be informed about the past routing of an incoming downlink communication with data originating from the server to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to a connected terminal device. Similarly, the base station needs not be aware of the future routing of an outgoing uplink communication originating from the terminal device towards the server.

It should also be understood that, a network function can be implemented either as a network element on a dedicated hardware, as a software instance running on a dedicated hardware, or as a virtualized function instantiated on an appropriate platform, e.g., on a cloud infrastructure.

Figure 4 is a schematic signaling chart showing the messages in sensing an object in accordance with some embodiments.

In an embodiment, the signaling chart in Figure 4 may include the following messages or steps:

Step 0. Before performing the sensing, the sensing management function 311 may configure self-info-contained sensing signal parameters and align the configuration with the sensing Tx node 302 and the sensing Rx node 301. In an example, at least a subset of the sensing nodes as shown in Figure 2 are configured with respective self-info-contained sensing signal parameters.

Here, the term self-info-contained sensing signal means that the transmitting node or function may transmit a sensing signal containing the information of itself. For example, the sensing signal transmitted from the sensing Tx node 302 may comprise the information related to the sensing Tx node 302. In an example, the sensing signal may comprise at least the identity information of the sensing Tx node 302.

Step 1. the sensing Tx node 302 may send out the self-info-contained sensing signal constructed at the step 0. In an example, at least a subset of the sensing nodes as shown in Figure 2 may send out the self-info-contained sensing signals.

In an example, none, one, some or all of the sent sensing signals may be reflected (for example occasionally) at the airborne object 121; none, one, some or all of the reflected sensing signal (s) may be received (for example occasionally) by at least a subset of the sensing nodes as shown in Figure 2. Since the number of the sensing nodes in Figure 2 is large (e.g., 215) , it is possible that the sensing signal (s) transmitted from one or more of the nodes is received by other one or more of the nodes. For simplicity, hereafter it is assumed that the sensing signal transmitted from the sensing Tx node 302 is received by the sensing Rx node 301.

Step 2. The sensing Rx node 301 may occasionally receive the sensing signal at configured resources and with the pre-configured parameter. The sensing Rx node 301 may decode the received signal to get Tx node information. For example, the sensing Rx node 301 may know which node sent this sensing signal from the identity information decoded from the received signal.

In an example, the information in the received sensing signal may be used for estimating the position of the airborne object 121. For example, from the decoded identity information, the sensing Rx node 301 may determine the position of the sensing Tx node 302 from the pre-configured information. Alternatively, the sensing Rx node 301 may request, over the backhaul link, the sensing Tx node 302 to provide its position. Since the sensing Rx node 301 also knows the position of itself, the sensing Rx node 301 may determine the airborne object 121 is located on an ellipse with the sensing Tx node 302 and the sensing Rx node 301 as the focus points. The estimation may be improved if the sensing Rx node 301 has more information on the airborne object 121.

In an example, the sensing signal may further comprise other information (such as measurement information or assisting information) to make the estimation more accurate.

Step 3. Once a signal is detected, the sensing Rx node 301 may feedback detection/measurement report to the sensing management function 311.

For example, the sensing Rx node 301 may transmit the decoded identity information of the sensing Tx node 302 to the sensing management function 311, so that the sensing management function 311 may know that the sensing Rx node 301 and the sensing Tx node 302 may be considered as a sensing node pair. In this pair, the sensing signal transmitted from the sensing Tx node 302 may be received by the sensing Rx node 301, and vice versa.

In an example, the sensing Rx node 301 may transmit more information to the sensing management function 311, for example the received measurement information and/or the estimated position of the airborne object 121.

Step 4. The sensing management function 311 may update the sensing group based on the information received from the sensing Rx node 301. For example, if the sensing Rx node 301 and the sensing Tx node 302 are not in a same sensing group, then according to sensing measurement results, the sensing management function 311 may dynamically add/remove the sensing Tx node 302 and the sensing Rx node 301 into/out a same sensing group. As a result, the sensing Rx node 301 and the sensing Tx node 302 may be in a same updated sensing group.

Note that, there may be other sensing node (s) in the updated sensing group, in addition to the sensing Rx node 301 and the sensing Tx node 302. All nodes or a subset of the nodes in the updated sensing group may be used to perform a joint sensing on the airborne object 121, for example to estimate and track the position of the airborne object 121.

Note that, the above steps may be performed repeatedly, to update the sensing group dynamically, so as to track the airborne object 121 during the movement of the airborne object 121.

Content of the Self-contain sensing signal

Through a self-contained sensing signal, the sensing Rx node 301 may be informed of the following information on the sensing Tx node 302:

Tx node ID. This ID may be a global unique ID such as ECGI, (including Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) ID, and E-UTRAN Cell ID) or a local group-member ID provided by the sensor management function 311. The sensing Rx node 301 may determine which node sent out the sensing signal with an assigned TX node ID.

Tx node Global Positioning System (GPS) information. With this information, the sensing parameter, such as the location of the airborne object 121, can be estimated with various algorithms. Since the sensing Tx node 302 may have a unique GPS location, the GPS information may be also used as the ID of the sensing Tx node 302.

Tx node Tx beam information. This information allows the sensing Rx node 301 to determine the angular information of the sensing Tx node 302, such as Angle of Arrival (AoA) /Angle of Department (AoD) , which may be used to estimate the position of the airborne object 121.

Tx node Tx power information. The sensing Rx node 301 may estimate a pathloss from the sensing Tx node 302 via the sensing object (i.e., the airborne object 121) to the sensing Rx node 301 using this information and possibly determine some signal filtering thresholds. This also helps to determine if the sensing Rx node 301 should be added to or removed from a particular sensing group. This information may be communicated to the sensing management function 311 as a decision basis.

Repetition pattern /resource allocation information of the sensing signal. The information carried by the signal may optionally also indicate a transmission repetition pattern and its radio resource allocation of a sensing signal so that the sensing Rx node 301 could combine the repeated signal replicates for a higher signal quality in terms of Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) or other Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) , so that detection rate or measurement accuracy (e.g., timing measurement) could be further improved.

Self-contain sensing signal design

Making a sensing signal self-contained may be done in a few different ways. Here are a few instances of an implementation.

(1) Dedicated frontend prefix resource block for an information before a sequence of sensing signal bursts.

Figure 5 schematically illustrates that a dedicated frontend prefix resource block before the sensing sequence (also referred as a sequence of sensing signal) may be used to carry the information of the sensing Tx node 302, in accordance with some embodiments.

In an example, as shown in Figure 5, before the transmission of the sensing bursts of a specialized sequence, the required transmitter information is sent via the dedicated resource block to carry system information. The dedicated resource block may also include at least one of an offset in time domain with the first sensing Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplex (OFDM) symbol in the sensing sequence, and an offset in frequency domain with the first Physical Resource Block (PRB) carrying the sensing sequence. With the offset (s) , the sensing Rx node 301 may be notified the timing from which the sensing sequence will be transmitted.

(2) Sensing sequence itself is a self-explaining data-packet in a modulated signal.

In an example, the sensing sequence itself may carry the information of the sensing Tx node 302, so as to save the dedicated frontend prefix resource block of Figure 5. There are several options to make the sensing sequence itself be a self-explaining data-packet in a modulated signal.

In an example, the information of all of the sensing Tx nodes 302 may be included in a look-up table (LUT) , and each of the sensing Tx node 302 may be assigned to an entry (row) of the LUT with a dedicated sequence ID, by the sensing management function 311. Then, the sensing management function 311 may transmit the LUT to each of the sensing Rx nodes 301, in advance.

Table 1 shows an example of the above look-up table. Note that, in an example, the dedicated sequence ID may be used to indicate the identity of the sensing Tx node 302, thus may be seen as the identity information of the sensing Tx node 302.

Table 1: a look-up table carrying the information of Tx nodes

The sensing Tx node 302 may indicate the dedicated sequence ID in the sensing sequence. In an example, a sensing signal sequence (e.g., the root sequence number of the Zadoff-Chu sequence) may be created and sent. The sensing Tx node 302 may choose and transmit this specific sequence after adopting the transmission settings specified by a table item, such as using a corresponding beam and power specified by that table entry.

One example is construction of a sensing signal with a sequence length of 3276, operating in the frequency domain with 100MHz BW and 30KHz subcarrier space. Zadoff-Chu sequences may have 3271 distinct sequence variants with different root-index and each of sequences, one of them could be selected according to the predefined table to indicate the dedicated sequence ID of the sensing Tx node 302.

Then, the sensing Rx node 301 may obtain the dedicated sequence ID of the sensing Tx node 302 from the Zadoff-Chu sequence. The sensing Rx node 301 may further obtain the information (including identity information and optional measurement information) from the LUT configured in advance, by using the dedicated sequence ID.

In another example, the sensing sequence itself may be coded/modulated to directly carry all of the information of the sensing Tx node 302, rather than only the dedicated sequence ID. In such a case, the sensing signal itself is an information carrying data packet as conventional data transmission, carrying the required transmitter information; it is sent in a predetermined format/coding/time/frequency resource for any of potential receivers.

Namely, the whole transmission burst could be used for sensing, and the information carried by the sensing burst could indicate the full information of the transmitter relevant information. The configuration of predefined time/frequency resources may include at least one of: signal format such as modulation/coding parameters, offset in time domain with the first transmitted sensing OFDM symbol, and offset in frequency domain with the first PRB carries the sensing signal.

Note that, the embodiments are described with the airborne object 121, however same procedure may be also applicable to other object, for example object on the ground.

In the embodiments, a self-explanation sensing-signal may be used to carry the sensing transmitter information to a potential sensing receiver. Hence, without an online coordination, once a receiver occasionally received a signal reflected by an airborne object, the receiver may get all the necessary information from the received signal itself for the receiver side to perform an estimation of the position of the airborne object.

The self-information-contained sensing signal may be used to facilitate the sensing receiver to get the transmitter information, so as to reduce the coordinating complexity of the sensing group of cells for a secured detection rate.

Figure 6 is a schematic flow chart showing an example method 600 in the first network function, in accordance with some embodiments. In an embodiment, the flow chart in Figure 6 may be implemented in the sensing Rx node 301.

The method 600 may begin with step S601, in which the first network function such as the sensing Rx node 301 may receive a sensing signal.

Then, the method 600 may proceed to step S602, in which the first network function such as the sensing Rx node 301 may determine information of a second network function implementing a sensing function (such as the sensing Tx node 301) from the received sensing signal. In an embodiment, at least one of the first network function and the second network function may be implemented as a RAN node.

In an embodiment, the step S602 of determining the information of the second network function may further comprise the step of determining identity information of the second network function.

In an embodiment, the step S602 of determining the information of the second network function may further comprise the step of determining measurement information of the second network function.

In an embodiment, the method may further comprise an optional step (not shown in Figure 6) of estimating a position of an airborne object according to the determined measurement information. In an embodiment, the sensing signal from the second network function may be reflected by the airborne object to the first network function. In an embodiment, the airborne object may be a UAV.

Then, the method 600 may proceed to step S603, in which the first network function such as the sensing Rx node 301 may transmit the determined information to a third network function implementing a sensing management function such as sensing management function 311.

In an embodiment, the step S603 of transmitting the determined information may further comprise the step of transmitting the determined identity information, and at least one of the determined measurement information and the position of the airborne object.

Then, the method 600 may proceed to step S604, in which the first network function such as the sensing Rx node 301 may receive an updated sensing group from the third network function. In an embodiment, both the first network function and the second network function may be comprised in the updated sensing group.

In an embodiment, the method may further comprise a step (not shown in Figure 6) of estimating the position of the airborne object using a joint sensing by a plurality of sensing functions within the updated sensing group.

Note that, the method 600 may be performed repeatedly during the movement of the airborne object. In addition, the above steps are only examples, and the first network function may perform any related actions described with respect to Figures 1 to 5.

Figure 7 is a schematic flow chart showing an example method 700 in the second network function, in accordance with some embodiments. In an embodiment, the flow chart in Figure 7 may be implemented in the sensing Tx node 302.

The method 700 may begin with step S701, in which the second network function such as the sensing Tx node 302 may transmit a sensing signal comprising information of the second network function itself. In an example, the information of the second network function may be received at a first network function implementing a sensing function. The information of the second network function then may be transmitted from the first network function to a third network function implementing a sensing management function.

In an embodiment, the sensing signal from the second network function may be reflected by an airborne object to the first network function. In an embodiment, at least one of the first network function and the second network function may be implemented as a RAN node. In an embodiment, the airborne object may be a UAV.

Then, the method 700 may proceed to step S702, in which the second network function such as the sensing Tx node 302 may receive an updated sensing group from the third network function. In an embodiment, both the first network function and the second network function may be comprised in the updated sensing group.

In an embodiment, the method may further comprise a step (not shown in Figure 7) of estimating the position of the airborne object using a joint sensing by a plurality of sensing functions within the updated sensing group.

Note that, the method 700 may be performed repeatedly during the movement of the airborne object. In addition, the above steps are only examples, and the second network function may perform any related actions described with respect to Figures 1 to 5.

Figure 8 is a schematic flow chart showing an example method 800 in the third network function, in accordance with some embodiments. In an embodiment, the flow chart in Figure 8 may be implemented in the sensing management function 311.

The method 800 may begin with step S801, in which the third network function such as the sensing management function 311 may receive information of a second network function implementing a sensing function from a first network function implementing a sensing function. The information of the second network function may be determined at the first network function from a sensing signal.

In an embodiment, the step S801 of receiving information may further comprise the step of receiving identity information of the second network function.

In an embodiment, the step S801 of receiving information may further comprise receiving at least one of measurement information of the second network function and an estimated position of an airborne object. The sensing signal from the second network function may be reflected by the airborne object to the first network function.

In an embodiment, the method may further comprise a step (not shown in Figure 8) of determining the updated sensing group according to the identity information of the second network function, and at least one of the measurement information of the second network function and the estimated position of the airborne object.

In an embodiment, the measurement information of the second network function may comprises at least one off position information of the second network function; beam information of the second network function; transmitting power information of the second network function; repetition pattern of the sensing signal transmitted from the second network function; and resource allocation information of the sensing signal transmitted from the second network function.

Then, the method 800 may proceed to step S802, in which the third network function such as the sensing management function 311 may transmit an updated sensing group to at least one of the first network function and the second network function.

Note that, the method 800 may be performed repeatedly during the movement of the airborne object. In addition, the above steps are only examples, and the third network function may perform any related actions described with respect to Figures 1 to 5.

Figure 9 is a schematic block diagram showing an example first network function 900, in accordance with some embodiments. In an embodiment, the example first network function 900 in Figure 9 may be implemented as the sensing Rx node 301.

In an embodiment, the first network function 900 may include at least one processor 901; and a non-transitory computer readable medium 902 coupled to the at least one processor 901. The non-transitory computer readable medium 902 may store instructions executable by the at least one processor 901, whereby the at least one processor 901 may be configured to perform the steps in the example method 600 as shown in the schematic flow charts of Figure 6 respectively; the details thereof are omitted here.

Note that, the first network function 900 may be implemented as hardware, software, firmware and any combination thereof. For example, the first network function 900 may include a plurality of units, circuities, modules, means or the like, each of which may be used to perform one or more steps of the example method 600 or one or more steps shown in Figures 1 to 5 related to the sensing Rx node 301.

Figure 10 is a schematic block diagram showing an example second network function 1000, in accordance with some embodiments. In an embodiment, the example second network function 1000 in Figure 10 may be implemented as the sensing Tx node 302.

In an embodiment, the second network function 1000 may include at least one processor 1001; and a non-transitory computer readable medium 1002 coupled to the at least one processor 1001. The non-transitory computer readable medium 1002 may store instructions executable by the at least one processor 1001, whereby the at least one processor 1001 may be configured to perform the steps in the example method 700 as shown in the schematic flow charts of Figure 7 respectively; the details thereof are omitted here.

Note that, the second network function 1000 may be implemented as hardware, software, firmware and any combination thereof. For example, the second network function 1000 may include a plurality of units, circuities, modules, means or the like, each of which may be used to perform one or more steps of the example method 700 or one or more steps shown in Figures 1 to 5 related to the sensing Tx node 302.

Figure 11 is a schematic block diagram showing an example third network function 1100, in accordance with some embodiments. In an embodiment, the example third network function 1100 in Figure 11 may be implemented as the sensing management function 311.

In an embodiment, the third network function 1100 may include at least one processor 1101; and a non-transitory computer readable medium 1102 coupled to the at least one processor 1101. The non-transitory computer readable medium 1102 may store instructions executable by the at least one processor 1101, whereby the at least one processor 1101 may be configured to perform the steps in the example method 800 as shown in the schematic flow charts of Figure 8 respectively; the details thereof are omitted here.

Note that, the third network function 1100 may be implemented as hardware, software, firmware and any combination thereof. For example, the third network function 1100 may include a plurality of units, circuities, modules, means or the like, each of which may be used to perform one or more steps of the example method 800 or one or more steps shown in Figures 1 to 5 related to the sensing management function 311.

Figure 12 shows an example of a communication system 1200 in accordance with some embodiments.

In the example, the communication system 1200 includes a telecommunication network 1202 that includes an access network 1204, such as a radio access network (RAN) , and a core network 1206, which includes one or more core network nodes 1208. The access network 1204 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 1210a and 1210b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 1210) , or any other similar 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points. Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network 1202 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 1202 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in the telecommunication network 1202, including one or more network nodes 1210 and/or core network nodes 1208.

Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (O-RU) , an open distributed unit (O-DU) , an open central unit (O-CU) , including an O-CU control plane (O-CU-CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP) , a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp) , or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification) . The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an A1, F1, W1, E1, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes 1210 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE) , such as by connecting UEs 1212a, 1212b, 1212c, and 1212d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 1212) to the core network 1206 over one or more wireless connections.

Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 1200 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and/or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and/or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 1200 may include and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and/or other similar type of system.

The UEs 1212 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 1210 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 1210 are arranged, capable, configured, and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 1212 and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 1202 to enable and/or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and/or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 1202.

In the depicted example, the core network 1206 connects the network nodes 1210 to one or more host computing systems, such as host 1216. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 1206 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 1208) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and/or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 1208. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC) , Mobility Management Entity (MME) , Home Subscriber Server (HSS) , Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) , Session Management Function (SMF) , Authentication Server Function (AUSF) , Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF) , Unified Data Management (UDM) , Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP) , Network Exposure Function (NEF) , and/or a User Plane Function (UPF) .

The host 1216 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 1204 and/or the telecommunication network 1202. The host 1216 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio/video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

As a whole, the communication system 1200 of Figure 12 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) ; Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) ; Long Term Evolution (LTE) , and/or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi) ; and/or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax) , Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and/or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

In some examples, the telecommunication network 1202 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 1202 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 1202. For example, the telecommunications network 1202 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and/or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) /Massive IoT services to yet further UEs.

In some examples, the UEs 1212 are configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 1204 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 1204. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single-or multi-RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) , such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio -Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) .

In the example, the hub 1214 communicates with the access network 1204 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 1212c and/or 1212d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 1210b) . In some examples, the hub 1214 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 1214 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 1206 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 1214 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 1210, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 1214. As another example, the hub 1214 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 1214 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR device, display, loudspeaker, or other media delivery device, the hub 1214 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 1214 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and/or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 1214 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular ifone or more of the UEs are low energy IoT devices.

The hub 1214 may have a constant/persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 1210b. The hub 1214 may also allow for a different communication scheme and/or schedule between the hub 1214 and UEs (e.g., UE 1212c and/or 1212d) , and between the hub 1214 and the core network 1206. In other examples, the hub 1214 is connected to the core network 1206 and/or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 1214 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 1204 and/or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 1210 while still connected via the hub 1214 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 1214 may be a dedicated hub -that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to/from the UEs from/to the network node 1210b. In other embodiments, the hub 1214 may be a non-dedicated hub -that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 1210b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and/or end point for certain data channels.

Figure 13 shows a UE 1300 in accordance with some embodiments. The UE 1300 presents additional details of some embodiments of the UE 1212 of Figure 12. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and/or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA) , wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage/playback device, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE) , laptop-mounted equipment (LME) , an Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR) device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE) , vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded/integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) , including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and/or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC) , vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) , vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) , or vehicle-to-everything (V2X) . In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and/or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller) . Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter) .

The UE 1300 includes processing circuitry 1302 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1304 to an input/output interface 1306, a power source 1308, a memory 1310, a communication interface 1312, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 13. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

The processing circuitry 1302 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 1310. The processing circuitry 1302 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) , application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) , etc. ) ; programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP) , together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 1302 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs) .

In the example, the input/output interface 1306 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and/or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 1300. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc. ) , a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

In some embodiments, the power source 1308 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet) , photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source 1308 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 1308 itself, and/or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 1300 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 1308. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 1308 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 1300 to which power is supplied.

The memory 1310 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM) , read-only memory (ROM) , programmable read-only memory (PROM) , erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM) , electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) , magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 1310 includes one or more application programs 1314, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 1316. The memory 1310 may store, for use by the UE 1300, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

The memory 1310 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID) , flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM) , synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM) , external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs) , such as a USIM and/or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC) , integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card. ’ The memory 1310 may allow the UE 1300 to access instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 1310, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

The processing circuitry 1302 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 1312. The communication interface 1312 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 1322. The communication interface 1312 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network) . Each transceiver may include a transmitter 1318 and/or a receiver 1320 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth) . Moreover, the transmitter 1318 and receiver 1320 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 1322) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 1312 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and/or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA) , Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) , GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR) , UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP) , synchronous optical networking (SONET) , Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) , QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) , and so forth.

Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 1312, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature) , random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors) , in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent) , in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request) , or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient) .

As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (IoT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an IoT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door/window sensor, a flood/moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal-or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) , and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an IoT device comprises circuitry and/or software in dependence of the intended application of the IoT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 1300 shown in Figure 13.

As yet another specific example, in an IoT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and/or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and/or measurements to another UE and/or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and/or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and/or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

Figure 14 shows a network node 1400 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and/or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points) , base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs) ) , O-RAN nodes or components of an O-RAN node (e.g., O-RU, O-DU, O-CU) .

Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an O-RAN access node) and/or remote radio units (RRUs) , sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs) . Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS) .

Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs) , base transceiver stations (BTSs) , transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell/multicast coordination entities (MCEs) , Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs) ) , and/or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs) .

The network node 1400 includes a processing circuitry 1402, a memory 1404, a communication interface 1406, and a power source 1408. The network node 1400 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc. ) , which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 1400 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components) , one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 1400 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs) . In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 1404 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 1410 may be shared by different RATs) . The network node 1400 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 1400, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 1400.

The processing circuitry 1402 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and/or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 1400 components, such as the memory 1404, to provide network node 1400 functionality.

In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1402 includes a system on a chip (SOC) . In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1402 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1412 and baseband processing circuitry 1414. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1412 and the baseband processing circuitry 1414 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips) , boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1412 and baseband processing circuitry 1414 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

The memory 1404 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM) , read-only memory (ROM) , mass storage media (for example, a hard disk) , removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD) ) , and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and/or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 1402. The memory 1404 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and/or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 1402 and utilized by the network node 1400. The memory 1404 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 1402 and/or any data received via the communication interface 1406. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1402 and memory 1404 is integrated.

The communication interface 1406 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and/or data between a network node, access network, and/or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 1406 comprises port (s) /terminal (s) 1416 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 1406 also includes radio front-end circuitry 1418 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 1410. Radio front-end circuitry 1418 comprises filters 1420 and amplifiers 1422. The radio front-end circuitry 1418 may be connected to an antenna 1410 and processing circuitry 1402. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 1410 and processing circuitry 1402. The radio front-end circuitry 1418 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 1418 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 1420 and/or amplifiers 1422. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 1410. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 1410 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 1418. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 1402. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.

In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 1400 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 1418, instead, the processing circuitry 1402 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 1410. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 1412 is part of the communication interface 1406. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 1406 includes one or more ports or terminals 1416, the radio front-end circuitry 1418, and the RF transceiver circuitry 1412, as part of a radio unit (not shown) , and the communication interface 1406 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 1414, which is part of a digital unit (not shown) .

The antenna 1410 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals. The antenna 1410 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 1418 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 1410 is separate from the network node 1400 and connectable to the network node 1400 through an interface or port.

The antenna 1410, communication interface 1406, and/or the processing circuitry 1402 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and/or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and/or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 1410, the communication interface 1406, and/or the processing circuitry 1402 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and/or any other network equipment.

The power source 1408 provides power to the various components of network node 1400 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component) . The power source 1408 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 1400 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 1400 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 1408. As a further example, the power source 1408 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

Embodiments of the network node 1400 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 14 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and/or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 1400 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 1400 and to allow output of information from the network node 1400. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 1400. In some embodiments providing a core network node, such as core network node 1208 of Figure 12, some components, such as the radio front-end circuitry 1418 and the RF transceiver circuitry1412 may be omitted.

Figure 15 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1500 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 1500 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host) , then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 1500 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an 0-2 interface. Virtualization may facilitate distributed implementations of a network node, UE, core network node, or host.

Applications 1502 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc. ) are run in the virtualization environment 1500 to implement some of the features, functions, and/or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

Hardware 1504 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and/or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and/or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input/output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 1506 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs) ) , provide VMs 1508a and 1508b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 1508) , and/or perform any of the functions, features and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 1506 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 1508.

The VMs 1508 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1506. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 1502 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 1508, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV) . NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

In the context of NFV, a VM 1508 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 1508, and that part of hardware 1504 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and/or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context ofNFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that mn in one or more VMs 1508 on top of the hardware 1504 and corresponds to the application 1502.

Hardware 1504 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 1504 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1504 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 1510, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 1502. In some embodiments, hardware 1504 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 1512 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

Figure 16 is a schematic block diagram showing an example computer-implemented apparatus 1600, in accordance with some embodiments. In an embodiment, the apparatus 1600 may be configured as the above mentioned apparatus, such as the sensing Rx node 301, the sensing Tx node 302, the sensing management function 311.

In an embodiment, the apparatus 1600 may include but not limited to at least one processor such as Central Processing Unit (CPU) 1601, a computer-readable medium 1602, and a memory 1603. The memory 1603 may comprise a volatile (e.g., Random Access Memory, RAM) and/or non-volatile memory (e.g., a hard disk or flash memory) . In an embodiment, the computer-readable medium 1602 may be configured to store a computer program and/or instructions, which, when executed by the processor 1601, causes the processor 1601 to carry out any of the above mentioned methods.

In an embodiment, the computer-readable medium 1602 (such as non-transitory computer readable medium) may be stored in the memory 1603. In another embodiment, the computer program may be stored in a remote location for example computer program product 1604 (also may be embodied as computer-readable medium) , and accessible by the processor 1601 via for example carrier 1605. In an embodiment, the computer-readable medium 1602 (such as non-transitory computer readable medium) may be stored in the processor 1601.

In an embodiment, the computer-readable medium 1602 and/or the computer program product 1604 may be distributed and/or stored on a removable computer-readable medium, e.g. diskette, CD (Compact Disk) , DVD (Digital Video Disk) , flash or similar removable memory media (e.g. compact flash, SD (secure digital) , memory stick, mini SD card, MMC multimedia card, smart media) , HD-DVD (High Definition DVD) , or Blu-ray DVD, USB (Universal Serial Bus) based removable memory media, magnetic tape media, optical storage media, magneto-optical media, bubble memory, or distributed as a propagated signal via a network (e.g. Ethernet, ATM, ISDN, PSTN, X. 25, Internet, Local Area Network (LAN) , or similar networks capable of transporting data packets to the infrastructure node) .

Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and/or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and/or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and/or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and/or by end users and a wireless network generally.

ADDITIONAL EMBODIMENTS

Embodiment 1. A method (600) performed by a first network function (301) implementing a sensing function, comprising:

- receiving (S601) a sensing signal;

- determining (S602) information of a second network function (302) implementing a sensing function from the received sensing signal; and

- estimating a position of an airborne object (121) , based on the determined information.

Embodiment 2. The method (600) according to Embodiment 1, wherein determining (S602) the information of the second network function (302) further comprises determining identity information of the second network function (302) .

Embodiment 3. The method (600) according to claim Embodiment 2, wherein the identity information of the second network function (302) is determined from a prefix signal block before a sequence of sensing signal bursts of the sensing signal, or from the sequence of sensing signal bursts of the sensing signal.

Embodiment 4. The method (600) according to Embodiment 2 or 3, wherein the identity information of the second network function (302) is a global unique Identifier (ID) or a local group member ID.

Embodiment 5. The method (600) according to any of Embodiments 2 to 4, wherein determining (S602) the information of the second network function (302) further comprises determining measurement information of the second network function (302) .

Embodiment 6. The method (600) according to Embodiment 5, wherein the measurement information of the second network function (302) is determined from the prefix signal block, from the sequence of sensing signal bursts, or from a look-up table with the identity information as index.

Embodiment 7. The method (600) according to Embodiment 5 or 6, wherein the measurement information of the second network function (302) comprises at least one of:

- position information of the second network function (302) ;

- beam information of the second network function (302) ;

- transmitting power information of the second network function (302) ;

- repetition pattern of the sensing signal transmitted from the second network function (302) ; and

- resource allocation information of the sensing signal transmitted from the second network function (302) .

Embodiment 8. The method (600) according to Embodiment 6 or 7, wherein the position of the airborne object (121) is estimated according to the determined measurement information; and/or

wherein the sensing signal from the second network function (302) is reflected by the airborne object (121) to the first network function (301) .

Embodiment 9. The method (600) according to any of Embodiments 1 to 8, further comprising:

- transmitting (S603) the determined information to a third network function (311) implementing a sensing management function; and

- receiving (S604) an updated sensing group from the third network function (311) .

Embodiment 10. The method (600) according to Embodiment 9, wherein transmitting (S603) the determined information further comprising: transmitting the determined identity information, and at least one of the determined measurement information and the position of the airborne object (121) .

Embodiment 11. The method (600) according to Embodiment 1, 8, or 10, further comprising:

- estimating the position of the airborne object (121) using a joint sensing by a plurality of sensing functions within the updated sensing group.

Embodiment 12. The method (600) according to any one of Embodiment 1 to 1 1, wherein both the first network function (301) and the second network function (302) are comprised in the updated sensing group.

Embodiment 13. The method (600) according to any one of Embodiment 1 to 12, wherein at least one of the first network function (301) and the second network function (302) is implemented as a Radio Access Network (RAN) node; and/or

wherein the airborne object (121) is an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) .

With the additional embodiments, the self-information-contained sensing signal may be used to facilitate the sensing receiver to get the transmitter information, so as to reduce the coordinating complexity of the sensing group of cells for a secured detection rate.

Abbreviations
ECGI     E-UTRAN Cell Global Identifier
E-UTRAN  Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network
ID       Identifier
JCAS     Joint Communication and Sensing
LOS      Loss of Signal
OAM      Operation Administration and Maintenance
PLMN     Public Land Mobile Network
RAN      Random Access Network
UAV      Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
UE       User Equipment
UMTS     Universal Mobile Telecommunications System.

Claims

A method (600) performed by a first network function (301) implementing a sensing function, comprising:

-receiving (S601) a sensing signal;

-determining (S602) information of a second network function (302) implementing a sensing function from the received sensing signal;

-transmitting (S603) the determined information to a third network function (311) implementing a sensing management function; and

-receiving (S604) an updated sensing group from the third network function (311) .
The method (600) according to claim 1, wherein determining (S602) the information of the second network function (302) further comprises determining identity information of the second network function (302) .
The method (600) according to claim 2, wherein the identity information of the second network function (302) is determined from a prefix signal block before a sequence of sensing signal bursts of the sensing signal, or from the sequence of sensing signal bursts of the sensing signal.
The method (600) according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the identity information of the second network function (302) is a global unique Identifier (ID) or a local group member ID.
The method (600) according to any of claims 2 to 4, wherein determining (S602) the information of the second network function (302) further comprises determining measurement information of the second network function (302) .
The method (600) according to claim 5, wherein the measurement information of the second network function (302) is determined from the prefix signal block, from the sequence of sensing signal bursts, or from a look-up table with the identity information as index.
The method (600) according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the measurement information of the second network function (302) comprises at least one of:

-position information of the second network function (302) ;

-beam information of the second network function (302) ;

-transmitting power information of the second network function (302) ;

-repetition pattern of the sensing signal transmitted from the second network function (302) ; and

-resource allocation information of the sensing signal transmitted from the second network function (302) .
The method (600) according to claim 6 or 7, further comprising:

-estimating a position of an airborne object (121) according to the determined measurement information,

wherein the sensing signal from the second network function (302) is reflected by the airborne object (121) to the first network function (301) .
The method (600) according to claim 8, wherein transmitting (S603) the determined information further comprising: transmitting the determined identity information, and at least one of the determined measurement information and the position of the airborne object (121) .
The method (600) according to claim 8 or 9, further comprising:

-estimating the position of the airborne object (121) using a joint sensing by a plurality of sensing functions within the updated sensing group.
The method (600) according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein both the first network function (301) and the second network function (302) are comprised in the updated sensing group.
The method (600) according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein at least one of the first network function (301) and the second network function (302) is implemented as a Radio Access Network (RAN) node; and/or

wherein the airborne object (121) is an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) .
A method (700) performed by a second network function (302) implementing a sensing function, comprising:

-transmitting (S701) a sensing signal comprising information of the second network function (302) , wherein the information of the second network function (302) is received at a first network function (301) implementing a sensing function, and is transmitted from the first network function (301) to a third network function (311) implementing a sensing management function; and

-receiving (S702) an updated sensing group from the third network function (311) .
The method (700) according to claim 13, wherein the information of the second network function (302) comprises identity information of the second network function (302) .
The method (700) according to claim 14, wherein the identity information of the second network function (302) is carried by a prefix signal block before a sequence of sensing signal bursts of the sensing signal, or by the sequence of sensing signal bursts of the sensing signal.
The method (700) according to claim 14 or 15, wherein the identity information of the second network function (302) is a global unique Identifier (ID) or a local group member ID.
The method (700) according to claim 14, wherein the information of the second network function (302) further comprises measurement information of the second network function (302) .
The method (700) according to claim 17, wherein the measurement information of the second network function (302) is carried by a prefix signal block before a sequence of sensing signal bursts of the sensing signal, by the sequence of sensing signal bursts of the sensing signal, or by a look-up table with the identity information as index.
The method (700) according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the measurement information of the second network function (302) comprises at least one of:

-position information of the second network function (302) ;

-beam information of the second network function (302) ;

-transmitting power information of the second network function (302) ;

-repetition pattern of the sensing signal transmitted from the second network function (302) ; and

-resource allocation information of the sensing signal transmitted from the second network function (302) .
The method (700) according to any one of claims 12 to 19, further comprising:

-estimating the position of the airborne object (121) using a joint sensing by a plurality of sensing functions within the updated sensing group.
The method (700) according to any one of claims 12 to 20, wherein both the first network function (301) and the second network function (302) are comprised in the updated sensing group.
The method (700) according to any one of claims 12 to 21, wherein the sensing signal from the second network function (302) is reflected by an airborne object (121) to the first network function (301) .
The method (700) according to claim 22, wherein at least one of the first network function (301) and the second network function (302) is implemented as a Radio Access Network (RAN) node; and/or

wherein the airborne object (121) is an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) .
A method (800) performed by a third network function (311) implementing a sensing management function, comprising:

-receiving (S801) information of a second network function (302) implementing a sensing function from a first network function (301) implementing a sensing function, wherein the information of the second network function (302) is determined at the first network function (301) from a sensing signal;

-transmitting (S802) an updated sensing group to at least one of the first network function (301) and the second network function (302) .
The method (800) according to claim 24, wherein receiving (S801) information further comprising: receiving identity information of the second network function (302) .
The method (800) according to claim 25, wherein the identity information of the second network function (302) is carried by a prefix signal block before a sequence of sensing signal bursts of the sensing signal, or by the sequence of sensing signal bursts of the sensing signal.
The method (800) according to 25 or 26, wherein the identity information of the second network function (302) is a global unique Identifier (ID) or a local group member ID.
The method (800) according to claim 25, wherein receiving (S801) information further comprising: receiving at least one of measurement information of the second network function (302) and an estimated position of an airborne object (121) ,

wherein the sensing signal from the second network function (302) is reflected by the airborne object (121) to the first network function (301) .
The method (800) according to claim 28, further comprising:

-determining the updated sensing group according to the identity information of the second network function (302) , and at least one of the measurement information of the second network function (302) and the estimated position of the airborne object (121) .
The method (800) according to claims 28 or 29, wherein the measurement information of the second network function (302) is carried by a prefix signal block before a sequence of sensing signal bursts of the sensing signal, by the sequence of sensing signal bursts of the sensing signal, or by a look-up table with the identity information as index.
The method (800) according to any of claims 28 to 30, wherein the measurement information of the second network function (302) comprises at least one of:

-position information of the second network function (302) ;

-beam information of the second network function (302) ;

-transmitting power information of the second network function (302) ;

-repetition pattem of the sensing signal transmitted from the second network function (302) ; and

-resource allocation information of the sensing signal transmitted from the second network function (302) .
The method (800) according to claims 28 to 31, wherein the estimated position of the airborne object (121) is estimated according to the measurement information.
The method (800) according to any one of claims 24 to 32, wherein both the first network function (301) and the second network function (302) are comprised in the updated sensing group.
The method (800) according to any one of claims 28 to 32, wherein at least one of the first network function (301) and the second network function (302) is implemented as a Radio Access Network (RAN) node; and/or

wherein the airborne object (121) is an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) .
A first network function (900) implementing a sensing function, comprising:

-at least one processor (901) ; and

-a non-transitory computer readable medium (902) coupled to the at least one processor (901) , the non-transitory computer readable medium (902) contains instructions executable by the at least one processor (901) , whereby the at least one processor (901) is configured to perform the method (600) according to any one of claims 1 to 12.
A second network function (1000) implementing a sensing function, comprising:

-at least one processor (1001) ; and

-a non-transitory computer readable medium (1002) coupled to the at least one processor (1001) , the non-transitory computer readable medium (1002) contains instructions executable by the at least one processor (1001) , whereby the at least one processor (1001) is configured to perform the method (700) according to any one of claims 13 to 23.
A third network function (1100) implementing a sensing management function, comprising:

-at least one processor (1101) ; and

-a non-transitory computer readable medium (1102) coupled to the at least one processor (1101) , the non-transitory computer readable medium (1102) contains instructions executable by the at least one processor (1101) , whereby the at least one processor (1101) is configured to perform the method (800) according to any one of claims 24 to 34.
A sensing system for sensing a mobile object, comprising:

-a first network function (900) implementing a sensing function, comprising:

-at least one processor (901) ; and

-a non-transitory computer readable medium (902) coupled to the at least one processor (901) , the non-transitory computer readable medium (902) contains instructions executable by the at least one processor (901) , whereby the at least one processor (901) is configured to perform the method (600) according to any one of claims 1 to 12;

-a second network function (1000) implementing a sensing function, comprising:

-at least one processor (1001) ; and

-a non-transitory computer readable medium (1002) coupled to the at least one processor (1001) , the non-transitory computer readable medium (1002) contains instructions executable by the at least one processor (1001) , whereby the at least one processor (1001) is configured to perform the method (700) according to any one of claims 13 to 23; and

-a third network function (1100) implementing a sensing management function, comprising:

-at least one processor (1101) ; and

-a non-transitory computer readable medium (1102) coupled to the at least one processor (1101) , the non-transitory computer readable medium (1102) contains instructions executable by the at least one processor (1101) , whereby the at least one processor (1101) is configured to perform the method (800) according to any one of claims 24 to 34.
A computer readable medium (1602) comprising computer readable code, which when run on an apparatus (1600) , causes the apparatus (1600) to perform the method (600, 700, 800) according to any one of claims 1-34.
A computer program product (1604) comprising computer readable code, which when run on an apparatus (1600) , causes the apparatus (1600) to perform the method (600, 700, 800) according to any one of claims 1-34.