WO2025235461A1 - CONTEXT MANAGEMENT FOR AIoT - Google Patents

Abstract

An ambient Internet of Things (AIoT) device is configured to receive a first message from a reader that comprises a device identification (ID) and a maximum number of reader transmissions parameter. The AIoT device is configured to store the device ID, initialize a counter value to zero, and receive a second message from the reader. The second message is a synch type message. The AIoT device is configured to increment the counter value, determine that the counter value is greater than the maximum number of reader transmissions parameter, release the stored device ID based on the counter value being greater than the maximum number of reader transmission parameter and transmit a message to the reader using a randomly selected device ID. The randomly selected device ID may be included in the message transmitted to the reader.

Description

CONTEXT MANAGEMENT FOR AloT

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/643,186, filed May 6, 2024, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

[0002] A study item on Ambient Internet of Things (loT) (AloT) has come from the increased popularity of loT. In recent years, loT has attracted much attention in the wireless communication world. More ‘things’ are expected to be interconnected for improving productivity efficiency and increasing comforts of life. Further reduction of size, complexity, and power consumption of loT devices can enable the deployment of tens or even hundreds of billion loT devices for various applications and provide added value across the entire value chain. It is impossible to power all the loT devices by battery that needs to be replaced or recharged manually, which leads to high maintenance cost, serious environmental issues, and even safety hazards for some use cases (e.g., wireless sensor in electric power and petroleum industry).

[0003] Considering the limited size and complexity required by practical applications for batteryless devices with no energy storage capability or devices with limited energy storage that do not need to be replaced or recharged manually, the output power of an energy harvester is typically from 1 pW to a few hundreds of W. Existing cellular devices may not work well with energy harvesting due to their peak power consumption of higher than 10mW.

[0004] An example type of application is asset identification, which presently has to resort mainly to barcode and radio frequency identification (RFID) in most industries. The main advantage of these two technologies is the ultra-low complexity and small form factor of the tags. However, the limited reading range of a few meters usually requires handheld scanning which leads to labor intensive and time-consuming operations, or RFID portals/gates which leads to costly deployments. Moreover, the lack of interference management schemes results in severe interference between RFID readers and capacity problems, especially in case of dense deployment. It is hard to support large-scale network with seamless coverage for RFID.

SUMMARY

[0005] A device may receive a first message from a reader. The first message may comprise a device identification (ID), a maximum number of reader transmissions, and a first session ID. The device may initializing a counter to zero. The device may receive a second message from the reader. The device may perform an action based on whether the device has a stored device ID and based on the second message. On a condition that the device has a stored device ID and the second message corresponds to a command type message, the device may reset the counter and perform an action based on a command received in the second message. The command received in the second message may be a read command or a write command. On a condition that the device has a stored device ID and the second message corresponds to a synch type message, the device may increment the counter, randomly select an occasion, perform a transmission to the reader in the selected occasion, wherein the transmission to the reader includes the stored device ID, and release the stored device ID on a condition that the counter reaches the maximum number of reader transmissions. The synch type message may be an inventor message or a query message. On a condition that the device has a stored device ID and the second message indicates to release the stored device ID, the device may release the stored device ID. On a condition that the device has a stored device ID and the second message indicates a second session ID and the second session ID is different than the first session ID, the device may release the stored device ID. On a condition that the device does not have a stored device ID and the second message corresponds to a synch type message, the device may randomly select an occasion and perform a transmission to the reader in the selected occasion. The transmission to the reader may include a randomly selected device ID.

[0006] A method may be used by an ambient Internet of Things (AloT) device. The method may comprise receiving a first message from a reader. The first message may comprises a device identification (ID) and a maximum number of reader transmissions parameter. The method may comprise storing the device ID. The method may comprise initializing a counter value to zero. The method may comprise receiving a second message from the reader. The second message may be a synch type message. The method may comprise incrementing the counter value. The method may comprise determining that the counter value is greater than the maximum number of reader transmissions parameter. The method may comprise releasing the stored device ID based on the counter value being greater than the maximum number of reader transmission parameter. The method may comprise transmitting a message to the reader using a randomly selected device ID. The received device ID may be an access stratum (AS) layer device ID. The device may be a tag. The randomly selected device ID may be included in the message transmitted to the reader. The method may comprise receiving a command type message. The method may comprise resetting the counter value to zero. The method may comprise performing an action based on the command type message. The action may be a read operation or a write operation. The method may comprise receiving a plurality of synch type message. The method may comprise incrementing the counter value after each received synch type message. The first message may further comprise a first session ID. The second message may include a second session ID. The method may comprise releasing the stored device ID based on the second session ID being different than the first session ID. The second message may include an indication to release the stored device ID. The method may comprise releasing the stored device ID based on the indication to release the stored device ID. The first message may be a paging type message. The synch type message may be an inventory message or a query type message.

[0007] An ambient Internet of Things (AloT) device may comprise a receiver, a processor, and a transmitter. The receiver may be configured to receive a first message from a reader. The first message may comprise a device identification (ID) and a maximum number of reader transmissions parameter. The processor may be configured to store the device ID. The processor may be further configured to initialize a counter value to zero. The receiver may be further configured to receive a second message from the reader. The second message may be a synch type message. The processor may be further configured to increment the counter value. The processor may be further configured to determine that the counter value is greater than the maximum number of reader transmissions parameter. The processor may be further configured to release the stored device ID based on the counter value being greater than the maximum number of reader transmission parameter. The transmitter may be configured to transmit a message to the reader using a randomly selected device ID. The received device ID may be an access stratum (AS) layer device ID. The device may be a tag. The randomly selected device ID may be included in the message transmitted to the reader. The receiver may be further configured to receive a command type message. The processor may be further configured to reset the counter value to zero. The processor may be further configured to perform an action based on the command type message. The action may be a read operation or a write operation. The receiver may be further configured to receive a plurality of synch type message. The processor may be further configured to increment the counter value after each received synch type message. The first message may further comprise a first session ID. The second message may include a second session ID. The processor may be further configured to release the stored device ID based on the second session ID being different than the first session ID. The second message may include an indication to release the stored device. The processor may be further configured to release the stored device ID based on the indication to release the stored device ID. The first message may be a paging type message. The synch type message may be an inventory message or a query type message.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] A more detailed understanding may be had from the following description, given by way of example in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals in the figures indicate like elements, and wherein:

[0009] FIG. 1A is a system diagram illustrating an example communications system in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented;

[0010] FIG. 1B is a system diagram illustrating an example wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1A according to an embodiment;

[0011] FIG. 1C is a system diagram illustrating an example radio access network (RAN) and an example core network (CN) that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1A according to an embodiment; [0012] FIG. 1D is a system diagram illustrating a further example RAN and a further example CN that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1A according to an embodiment;

[0013] FIG. 2 shows an example inventory procedure from RFID; and

[0014] FIG. 3 shows an example procedure for setting up and releasing a device ID.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating an example communications system 100 in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented. The communications system 100 may be a multiple access system that provides content, such as voice, data, video, messaging, broadcast, etc., to multiple wireless users. The communications system 100 may enable multiple wireless users to access such content through the sharing of system resources, including wireless bandwidth. For example, the communications systems 100 may employ one or more channel access methods, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), zero-tail unique-word discrete Fourier transform Spread OFDM (ZT-UW-DFT-S-OFDM), unique word OFDM (UW-OFDM), resource block-filtered OFDM, filter bank multicarrier (FBMC), and the like.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 1A, the communications system 100 may include wireless transmit/receive units (WTRUs) 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, a radio access network (RAN) 104, a core network (CN) 106, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 108, the Internet 110, and other networks 112, though it will be appreciated that the disclosed embodiments contemplate any number of WTRUs, base stations, networks, and/or network elements. Each of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may be any type of device configured to operate and/or communicate in a wireless environment. By way of example, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, any of which may be referred to as a station (STA), may be configured to transmit and/or receive wireless signals and may include a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a fixed or mobile subscriber unit, a subscription-based unit, a pager, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smartphone, a laptop, a netbook, a personal computer, a wireless sensor, a hotspot or Mi-Fi device, an Internet of Things (loT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery), an industrial device and applications (e.g., a robot and/or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and/or an automated processing chain contexts), a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and/or industrial wireless networks, and the like. Any of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and 102d may be interchangeably referred to as a UE.

[0017] The communications systems 100 may also include a base station 114a and/or a base station 114b. Each of the base stations 114a, 114b may be any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as the CN 106, the Internet 110, and/or the other networks 112. By way of example, the base stations 114a, 114b may be a base transceiver station (BTS), a NodeB, an eNode B (eNB), a Home Node B, a Home eNode B, a next generation NodeB, such as a gNode B (gNB), a new radio (NR) NodeB, a site controller, an access point (AP), a wireless router, and the like. While the base stations 114a, 114b are each depicted as a single element, it will be appreciated that the base stations 114a, 114b may include any number of interconnected base stations and/or network elements.

[0018] The base station 114a may be part of the RAN 104, which may also include other base stations and/or network elements (not shown), such as a base station controller (BSC), a radio network controller (RNC), relay nodes, and the like. The base station 114a and/or the base station 114b may be configured to transmit and/or receive wireless signals on one or more carrier frequencies, which may be referred to as a cell (not shown). These frequencies may be in licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or a combination of licensed and unlicensed spectrum. A cell may provide coverage for a wireless service to a specific geographical area that may be relatively fixed or that may change over time. The cell may further be divided into cell sectors. For example, the cell associated with the base station 114a may be divided into three sectors. Thus, in one embodiment, the base station 114a may include three transceivers, i.e., one for each sector of the cell. In an embodiment, the base station 114a may employ multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) technology and may utilize multiple transceivers for each sector of the cell. For example, beamforming may be used to transmit and/or receive signals in desired spatial directions.

[0019] The base stations 114a, 114b may communicate with one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d over an air interface 116, which may be any suitable wireless communication link (e.g., radio frequency (RF), microwave, centimeter wave, micrometer wave, infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV), visible light, etc.). The air interface 116 may be established using any suitable radio access technology (RAT).

[0020] More specifically, as noted above, the communications system 100 may be a multiple access system and may employ one or more channel access schemes, such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, and the like. For example, the base station 114a in the RAN 104 and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), which may establish the air interface 116 using wideband CDMA (WCDMA). WCDMA may include communication protocols such as High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) and/or Evolved HSPA (HSPA+). HSPA may include High-Speed Downlink (DL) Packet Access (HSDPA) and/or High-Speed Uplink (UL) Packet Access (HSUPA).

[0021] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), which may establish the air interface 116 using Long Term Evolution (LTE) and/or LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) and/or LTE-Advanced Pro (LTE-A Pro).

[0022] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as NR Radio Access , which may establish the air interface 116 using NR.

[0023] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement multiple radio access technologies. For example, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement LTE radio access and NR radio access together, for instance using dual connectivity (DC) principles. Thus, the air interface utilized by WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be characterized by multiple types of radio access technologies and/or transmissions sent to/from multiple types of base stations (e.g., an eNB and a gNB).

[0024] In other embodiments, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement radio technologies such as IEEE 802.11 (i.e., Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), IEEE 802.16 (i.e., Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)), CDMA2000, CDMA2000 1X, CDMA2000 EV-DO, Interim Standard 2000 (IS-2000), Interim Standard 95 (IS-95), Interim Standard 856 (IS-856), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE (GERAN), and the like.

[0025] The base station 114b in FIG. 1 A may be a wireless router, Home Node B, Home eNode B, or access point, for example, and may utilize any suitable RAT for facilitating wireless connectivity in a localized area, such as a place of business, a home, a vehicle, a campus, an industrial facility, an air corridor (e.g., for use by drones), a roadway, and the like. In one embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.11 to establish a wireless local area network (WLAN). In an embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.15 to establish a wireless personal area network (WPAN). In yet another embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may utilize a cellularbased RAT (e.g., WCDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR etc.) to establish a picocell or femtocell. As shown in FIG. 1A, the base station 114b may have a direct connection to the Internet 110. Thus, the base station 114b may not be required to access the Internet 110 via the CN 106.

[0026] The RAN 104 may be in communication with the CN 106, which may be any type of network configured to provide voice, data, applications, and/or voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services to one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d. The data may have varying quality of service (QoS) requirements, such as differing throughput requirements, latency requirements, error tolerance requirements, reliability requirements, data throughput requirements, mobility requirements, and the like. The CN 106 may provide call control, billing services, mobile location-based services, pre-paid calling, Internet connectivity, video distribution, etc., and/or perform high-level security functions, such as user authentication. Although not shown in FIG. 1A, it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 and/or the CN 106 may be in direct or indirect communication with other RANs that employ the same RAT as the RAN 104 or a different RAT. For example, in addition to being connected to the RAN 104, which may be utilizing a NR radio technology, the CN 106 may also be in communication with another RAN (not shown) employing a GSM, UMTS, CDMA 2000, WiMAX, E-UTRA, or WiFi radio technology.

[0027] The CN 106 may also serve as a gateway for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to access the PSTN 108, the Internet 110, and/or the other networks 112. The PSTN 108 may include circuit-switched telephone networks that provide plain old telephone service (POTS). The Internet 110 may include a global system of interconnected computer networks and devices that use common communication protocols, such as the transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP) and/or the internet protocol (IP) in the TCP/IP internet protocol suite. The networks 112 may include wired and/or wireless communications networks owned and/or operated by other service providers. For example, the networks 112 may include another CN connected to one or more RANs, which may employ the same RAT as the RAN 104 or a different RAT.

[0028] Some or all of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d in the communications system 100 may include multimode capabilities (e.g., the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may include multiple transceivers for communicating with different wireless networks over different wireless links). For example, the WTRU 102c shown in FIG. 1A may be configured to communicate with the base station 114a, which may employ a cellular-based radio technology, and with the base station 114b, which may employ an IEEE 802 radio technology.

[0029] FIG. 1B is a system diagram illustrating an example WTRU 102. As shown in FIG. 1B, the WTRU 102 may include a processor 118, a transceiver 120, a transmit/receive element 122, a speaker/microphone 124, a keypad 126, a display/touchpad 128, non-removable memory 130, removable memory 132, a power source 134, a global positioning system (GPS) chipset 136, and/or other peripherals 138, among others. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may include any sub-combination of the foregoing elements while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0030] The processor 118 may be a general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), any other type of integrated circuit (IC), a state machine, and the like. The processor 118 may perform signal coding, data processing, power control, input/output processing, and/or any other functionality that enables the WTRU 102 to operate in a wireless environment. The processor 118 may be coupled to the transceiver 120, which may be coupled to the transmit/receive element 122. While FIG. 1 B depicts the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 as separate components, it will be appreciated that the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 may be integrated together in an electronic package or chip.

[0031] The transmit/receive element 122 may be configured to transmit signals to, or receive signals from, a base station (e.g., the base station 114a) over the air interface 116. For example, in one embodiment, the transmit/receive element 122 may be an antenna configured to transmit and/or receive RF signals. In an embodiment, the transmit/receive element 122 may be an emitter/detector configured to transmit and/or receive IR, UV, or visible light signals, for example. In yet another embodiment, the transmit/receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and/or receive both RF and light signals. It will be appreciated that the transmit/receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and/or receive any combination of wireless signals. [0032] Although the transmit/receive element 122 is depicted in FIG. 1B as a single element, the WTRU 102 may include any number of transmit/receive elements 122. More specifically, the WTRU 102 may employ MIMO technology. Thus, in one embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include two or more transmit/receive elements 122 (e.g., multiple antennas) for transmitting and receiving wireless signals over the air interface 116.

[0033] The transceiver 120 may be configured to modulate the signals that are to be transmitted by the transmit/receive element 122 and to demodulate the signals that are received by the transmit/receive element 122. As noted above, the WTRU 102 may have multi-mode capabilities. Thus, the transceiver 120 may include multiple transceivers for enabling the WTRU 102 to communicate via multiple RATs, such as NR and IEEE 802.11 , for example. [0034] The processor 118 of the WTRU 102 may be coupled to, and may receive user input data from, the speaker/microphone 124, the keypad 126, and/or the display/touchpad 128 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) display unit or organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display unit). The processor 118 may also output user data to the speaker/microphone 124, the keypad 126, and/or the display/touchpad 128. In addition, the processor 118 may access information from, and store data in, any type of suitable memory, such as the non-removable memory 130 and/or the removable memory 132. The non-removable memory 130 may include random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), a hard disk, or any other type of memory storage device. The removable memory 132 may include a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, a memory stick, a secure digital (SD) memory card, and the like. In other embodiments, the processor 118 may access information from, and store data in, memory that is not physically located on the WTRU 102, such as on a server or a home computer (not shown).

[0035] The processor 118 may receive power from the power source 134, and may be configured to distribute and/or control the power to the other components in the WTRU 102. The power source 134 may be any suitable device for powering the WTRU 102. For example, the power source 134 may include one or more dry cell batteries (e.g., nickel-cadmium (NiCd), nickel-zinc (NiZn), nickel metal hydride (NiMH), lithium-ion (Li-ion), etc.), solar cells, fuel cells, and the like.

[0036] The processor 118 may also be coupled to the GPS chipset 136, which may be configured to provide location information (e.g., longitude and latitude) regarding the current location of the WTRU 102. In addition to, or in lieu of, the information from the GPS chipset 136, the WTRU 102 may receive location information over the air interface 116 from a base station (e.g., base stations 114a, 114b) and/ordetermine its location based on the timing of the signals being received from two or more nearby base stations. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may acquire location information by way of any suitable location-determination method while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0037] The processor 118 may further be coupled to other peripherals 138, which may include one or more software and/or hardware modules that provide additional features, functionality and/or wired or wireless connectivity. For example, the peripherals 138 may include an accelerometer, an e-compass, a satellite transceiver, a digital camera (for photographs and/or video), a universal serial bus (USB) port, a vibration device, a television transceiver, a hands free headset, a Bluetooth® module, a frequency modulated (FM) radio unit, a digital music player, a media player, a video game player module, an Internet browser, a Virtual Reality and/or Augmented Reality (VR/AR) device, an activity tracker, and the like. The peripherals 138 may include one or more sensors. The sensors may be one or more of a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a hall effect sensor, a magnetometer, an orientation sensor, a proximity sensor, a temperature sensor, a time sensor; a geolocation sensor, an altimeter, a light sensor, a touch sensor, a magnetometer, a barometer, a gesture sensor, a biometric sensor, a humidity sensor and the like.

[0038] The WTRU 102 may include a full duplex radio for which transmission and reception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated with particular subframes for both the UL (e.g., for transmission) and DL (e.g., for reception) may be concurrent and/or simultaneous. The full duplex radio may include an interference management unit to reduce and or substantially eliminate self-interference via either hardware (e.g., a choke) or signal processing via a processor (e.g., a separate processor (not shown) or via processor 118). In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include a halfduplex radio for which transmission and reception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated with particular subframes for either the UL (e.g., for transmission) or the DL (e.g., for reception)).

[0039] FIG. 1 C is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 104 and the CN 106 according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 104 may employ an E-UTRA radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 104 may also be in communication with the CN 106.

[0040] The RAN 104 may include eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c, though it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 may include any number of eNode-Bs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c overthe air interface 116. In one embodiment, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may implement MIMO technology. Thus, the eNode-B 160a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and/or receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a.

[0041] Each of the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the UL and/or DL, and the like. As shown in FIG. 10, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may communicate with one another over an X2 interface.

[0042] The CN 106 shown in FIG. 1C may include a mobility management entity (MME) 162, a serving gateway (SGW) 164, and a packet data network (PDN) gateway (PGW) 166. While the foregoing elements are depicted as part of the CN 106, it will be appreciated that any of these elements may be owned and/or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0043] The MME 162 may be connected to each of the eNode-Bs 162a, 162b, 162c in the RAN 104 via an S1 interface and may serve as a control node. For example, the MME 162 may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, bearer activation/deactivation, selecting a particular serving gateway during an initial attach of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like. The MME 162 may provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN 104 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as GSM and/or WCDMA.

[0044] The SGW 164 may be connected to each of the eNode Bs 160a, 160b, 160c in the RAN 104 via the S1 interface. The SGW 164 may generally route and forward user data packets to/from the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. The SGW 164 may perform other functions, such as anchoring user planes during inter-eNode B handovers, triggering paging when DL data is available for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, managing and storing contexts of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like. [0045] The SGW 164 may be connected to the PGW 166, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices.

[0046] The CN 106 may facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to circuit-switched networks, such as the PSTN 108, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and traditional land-line communications devices. For example, the CN 106 may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 106 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to the other networks 112, which may include other wired and/or wireless networks that are owned and/or operated by other service providers.

[0047] Although the WTRU is described in FIGS. 1A-1 D as a wireless terminal, it is contemplated that in certain representative embodiments that such a terminal may use (e.g., temporarily or permanently) wired communication interfaces with the communication network.

[0048] In representative embodiments, the other network 112 may be a WLAN.

[0049] A WLAN in Infrastructure Basic Service Set (BSS) mode may have an Access Point (AP) for the BSS and one or more stations (STAs) associated with the AP. The AP may have access or an interface to a Distribution System (DS) or another type of wired/wireless network that carries traffic in to and/or out of the BSS. Traffic to STAs that originates from outside the BSS may arrive through the AP and may be delivered to the STAs. Traffic originating from STAs to destinations outside the BSS may be sent to the AP to be delivered to respective destinations. Traffic between STAs within the BSS may be sent through the AP, for example, where the source STA may send traffic to the AP and the AP may deliver the traffic to the destination STA. The traffic between STAs within a BSS may be considered and/or referred to as peer-to-peer traffic. The peer-to-peer traffic may be sent between (e.g., directly between) the source and destination STAs with a direct link setup (DLS). In certain representative embodiments, the DLS may use an 802.11e DLS or an 802.11z tunneled DLS (TDLS). A WLAN using an Independent BSS (IBSS) mode may not have an AP, and the STAs (e.g., all of the STAs) within or using the IBSS may communicate directly with each other. The IBSS mode of communication may sometimes be referred to herein as an “ad-hoc” mode of communication.

[0050] When using the 802.11ac infrastructure mode of operation or a similar mode of operations, the AP may transmit a beacon on a fixed channel, such as a primary channel. The primary channel may be a fixed width (e.g., 20 MHz wide bandwidth) or a dynamically set width. The primary channel may be the operating channel of the BSS and may be used by the STAs to establish a connection with the AP. In certain representative embodiments, Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA) may be implemented, for example in 802.11 systems. For CSMA/CA, the STAs (e.g., every STA), including the AP, may sense the primary channel. If the primary channel is sensed/detected and/or determined to be busy by a particular STA, the particular STA may back off. One STA (e.g., only one station) may transmit at any given time in a given BSS.

[0051] High Throughput (HT) STAs may use a 40 MHz wide channel for communication, for example, via a combination of the primary 20 MHz channel with an adjacent or nonadjacent 20 MHz channel to form a 40 MHz wide channel. [0052] Very High Throughput (VHT) STAs may support 20MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, and/or 160 MHz wide channels. The 40 MHz, and/or 80 MHz, channels may be formed by combining contiguous 20 MHz channels. A 160 MHz channel may be formed by combining 8 contiguous 20 MHz channels, or by combining two non-contiguous 80 MHz channels, which may be referred to as an 80+80 configuration. For the 80+80 configuration, the data, after channel encoding, may be passed through a segment parser that may divide the data into two streams. Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) processing, and time domain processing, may be done on each stream separately. The streams may be mapped on to the two 80 MHz channels, and the data may be transmitted by a transmitting STA. At the receiver of the receiving STA, the above described operation for the 80+80 configuration may be reversed, and the combined data may be sent to the Medium Access Control (MAC).

[0053] Sub 1 GHz modes of operation are supported by 802.11af and 802.11ah. The channel operating bandwidths, and carriers, are reduced in 802.11af and 802.11ah relative to those used in 802.11 n, and 802.11ac. 802.11 af supports 5 MHz, 10 MHz, and 20 MHz bandwidths in the TV White Space (TVWS) spectrum, and 802.11 ah supports 1 MHz, 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, and 16 MHz bandwidths using non-TVWS spectrum. According to a representative embodiment, 802.11 ah may support Meter Type Control/Machine-Type Communications (MTC), such as MTC devices in a macro coverage area. MTC devices may have certain capabilities, forexample, limited capabilities including support for (e.g., only support for) certain and/or limited bandwidths. The MTC devices may include a battery with a battery life above a threshold (e.g., to maintain a very long battery life).

[0054] WLAN systems, which may support multiple channels, and channel bandwidths, such as 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11 af, and 802.11 ah, include a channel which may be designated as the primary channel. The primary channel may have a bandwidth equal to the largest common operating bandwidth supported by all STAs in the BSS. The bandwidth of the primary channel may be set and/or limited by a STA, from among all STAs in operating in a BSS, which supports the smallest bandwidth operating mode. In the example of 802.11ah, the primary channel may be 1 MHz wide for STAs (e.g., MTC type devices) that support (e.g., only support) a 1 MHz mode, even if the AP, and other STAs in the BSS support 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, 16 MHz, and/or other channel bandwidth operating modes. Carrier sensing and/or Network Allocation Vector (NAV) settings may depend on the status of the primary channel. If the primary channel is busy, for example, due to a STA (which supports only a 1 MHz operating mode) transmitting to the AP, all available frequency bands may be considered busy even though a majority of the available frequency bands remains idle.

[0055] In the United States, the available frequency bands, which may be used by 802.11 ah, are from 902 MHz to 928 MHz. In Korea, the available frequency bands are from 917.5 MHz to 923.5 MHz. In Japan, the available frequency bands are from 916.5 MHz to 927.5 MHz. The total bandwidth available for 802.11ah is 6 MHz to 26 MHz depending on the country code.

[0056] FIG. 1 D is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 104 and the CN 106 according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 104 may employ an NR radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 104 may also be in communication with the CN 106.

[0057] The RAN 104 may include gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c, though it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 may include any number of gNBs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. In one embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement MIMO technology. For example, gNBs 180a, 108b may utilize beamforming to transmit signals to and/or receive signals from the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c. Thus, the gNB 180a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and/or receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement carrier aggregation technology. For example, the gNB 180a may transmit multiple component carriers to the WTRU 102a (not shown). A subset of these component carriers may be on unlicensed spectrum while the remaining component carriers may be on licensed spectrum. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement Coordinated Multi-Point (CoMP) technology. For example, WTRU 102a may receive coordinated transmissions from gNB 180a and gNB 180b (and/or gNB 180c).

[0058] The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using transmissions associated with a scalable numerology. For example, the OFDM symbol spacing and/or OFDM subcarrier spacing may vary for different transmissions, different cells, and/or different portions of the wireless transmission spectrum. The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using subframe or transmission time intervals (TTIs) of various or scalable lengths (e.g., containing a varying number of OFDM symbols and/or lasting varying lengths of absolute time).

[0059] The gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be configured to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c in a standalone configuration and/or a non-standalone configuration. In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c without also accessing other RANs (e.g., such as eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c). In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may utilize one or more of gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c as a mobility anchor point. In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using signals in an unlicensed band. In a non-standalone configuration WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with/connect to gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c while also communicating with/connecting to another RAN such as eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c. For example, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement DC principles to communicate with one or more gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c and one or more eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c substantially simultaneously. In the non-standalone configuration, eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may serve as a mobility anchor for WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may provide additional coverage and/or throughput for servicing WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c.

[0060] Each of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the UL and/or DL, support of network slicing, DC, interworking between NR and E-UTRA, routing of user plane data towards User Plane Function (UPF) 184a, 184b, routing of control plane information towards Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 182a, 182b and the like. As shown in FIG. 1 D, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may communicate with one another over an Xn interface.

[0061] The CN 106 shown in FIG. 1 D may include at least one AMF 182a, 182b, at least one UPF 184a, 184b, at least one Session Management Function (SMF) 183a, 183b, and possibly a Data Network (DN) 185a, 185b. While the foregoing elements are depicted as part of the CN 106, it will be appreciated that any of these elements may be owned and/or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0062] The AMF 182a, 182b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 104 via an N2 interface and may serve as a control node. For example, the AMF 182a, 182b may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, support for network slicing (e.g., handling of different protocol data unit (PDU) sessions with different requirements), selecting a particular SMF 183a, 183b, management of the registration area, termination of non-access stratum (NAS) signaling, mobility management, and the like. Network slicing may be used by the AMF 182a, 182b in order to customize CN support for WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c based on the types ofservices being utilized WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. For example, different network slices may be established for different use cases such as services relying on ultra-reliable low latency (URLLC) access, services relying on enhanced massive mobile broadband (eMBB) access, services for MTC access, and the like. The AMF 182a, 182b may provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN 104 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, and/or non-3GPP access technologies such as WiFi.

[0063] The SMF 183a, 183b may be connected to an AMF 182a, 182b in the CN 106 via an N11 interface. The SMF 183a, 183b may also be connected to a UPF 184a, 184b in the CN 106 via an N4 interface. The SMF 183a, 183b may select and control the UPF 184a, 184b and configure the routing of traffic through the UPF 184a, 184b. The SMF 183a, 183b may perform other functions, such as managing and allocating UE IP address, managing PDU sessions, controlling policy enforcement and QoS, providing DL data notifications, and the like. A PDU session type may be IPbased, non-IP based, Ethernet-based, and the like.

[0064] The UPF 184a, 184b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 104 via an N3 interface, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices. The UPF 184, 184b may perform other functions, such as routing and forwarding packets, enforcing user plane policies, supporting multi-homed PDU sessions, handling user plane QoS, buffering DL packets, providing mobility anchoring, and the like.

[0065] The CN 106 may facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the CN 106 may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 106 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to the other networks 112, which may include other wired and/or wireless networks that are owned and/or operated by other service providers. In one embodiment, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be connected to a local DN 185a, 185b through the UPF 184a, 184b via the N3 interface to the UPF 184a, 184b and an N6 interface between the UPF 184a, 184b and the DN 185a, 185b.

[0066] In view of FIGs. 1A-1 D, and the corresponding description of FIGs. 1A-1 D, one or more, or all, of the functions described herein with regard to one or more of: WTRU 102a-d, Base Station 114a-b, eNode-B 160a-c, MME 162, SGW 164, PGW 166, gNB 180a-c, AMF 182a-b, UPF 184a-b, SMF 183a-b, DN 185a-b, and/or any other device(s) described herein, may be performed by one or more emulation devices (not shown). The emulation devices may be one or more devices configured to emulate one or more, or all, of the functions described herein. For example, the emulation devices may be used to test other devices and/or to simulate network and/or WTRU functions.

[0067] The emulation devices may be designed to implement one or more tests of other devices in a lab environment and/or in an operator network environment. For example, the one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, or all, functions while being fully or partially implemented and/or deployed as part of a wired and/or wireless communication network in order to test other devices within the communication network. The one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, or all, functions while being temporarily implemented/deployed as part of a wired and/or wireless communication network. The emulation device may be directly coupled to another device for purposes of testing and/or performing testing using over-the-air wireless communications.

[0068] The one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, including all, functions while not being implemented/deployed as part of a wired and/or wireless communication network. For example, the emulation devices may be utilized in a testing scenario in a testing laboratory and/or a non-deployed (e.g., testing) wired and/or wireless communication network in order to implement testing of one or more components. The one or more emulation devices may be test equipment. Direct RF coupling and/or wireless communications via RF circuitry (e.g., which may include one or more antennas) may be used by the emulation devices to transmit and/or receive data.

[0069] The following abbreviations and acronyms may be referred to:

ACK Acknowledgement

BLER Block Error Rate

BWP Bandwidth Part

CA Carrier aggregation

CAP Channel Access Priority

CAPC Channel access priority class

CCA Clear Channel Assessment

CCE Control Channel Element

CE Control Element

CG Configured grant or cell group

CHO Conditional handover

CP Cyclic Prefix

CP-OFDM Conventional OFDM (relying on cyclic prefix)

CPA Conditional PsCell addition

CPAC Conditional PsCell addition/change

CPC Conditional PsCell change

CQI Channel Quality Indicator

CRC Cyclic Redundancy Check

CSI Channel State Information

CW Contention Window

CWS Contention Window Size

CO Channel Occupancy

DAI Downlink Assignment Index

DC Dual connectivity

DCI Downlink Control Information

DFI Downlink feedback information

DG Dynamic grant

DL Downlink DM-RS Demodulation Reference Signal

DRB Data Radio Bearer eLAA enhanced Licensed Assisted Access

FeLAA Further enhanced Licensed Assisted Access

HARQ Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request

IS In sync

LAA License Assisted Access

LBT Listen-Before-Talk

LTE Long Term Evolution e.g. from 3GPP LTE R8 and up

LTM L1/2 triggered mobility

NACK Negative ACK

MCG Master cell group

MAC Medium access control

MCS Modulation and Coding Scheme

MIMO Multiple Input Multiple Output

NR New Radio

OFDM Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing OOS Out of sync

PCell Primary cell

PCI Physical cell identity

PHY Physical Layer

PID Process ID

PO Paging Occasion

PRACH Physical Random Access Channel PSCell Primary SCG Cell

PSS Primary Synchronization Signal

RA Random Access (or procedure)

RACH Random Access Channel

RAR Random Access Response

RCU Radio access network Central Unit

RF Radio Front end

RLC Radio Link Control

RLF Radio Link Failure

RLM Radio Link Monitoring

RNTI Radio Network Identifier

RO RACH occasion

RRC Radio Resource Control

RRM Radio Resource Management RS Reference Signal

RSRP Reference Signal Received Power

RSSI Received Signal Strength Indicator

SCell Secondary cell

SCG Secondary cell group

SDU Service Data Unit

SIB System Information Broadcast

SpCell Special Cell*

SRS Sounding Reference Signal

SS Synchronization Signal

SSS Secondary Synchronization Signal

SWG Switching Gap (in a self-contained subframe)

SPS Semi-persistent scheduling

SUL Supplemental Uplink

TB Transport Block

TBS T ransport Block Size

TRP T ransmission / Reception Point

TSC Time-sensitive communications

TSN Time-sensitive networking

TTT Time to trigger

UAV Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle

UL Uplink

URLLC Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communications

WBWP Wide Bandwidth Part

WLAN Wireless Local Area Networks and related technologies (IEEE 8O2.xx domain)

[0070] A study is underway for deciding which functions are needed for an Ambient loT (AloT) compact protocol stack and lightweight signaling procedure to enable device originated - device terminated (DO-DTT) and deviceterminated (DT) data transmission (e.gl,: paging, random access, data transmission, including necessary radio resource control aspects, respecting the limitation in the general scope, and interactions with upper layers). For functionalities not listed above, they may be studied if found to be essential.

[0071] RFID is used currently for applications of asset identification. An inventory procedure from RFID is shown in FIG. 2. In the inventory procedure, an interrogator 202 selects which subset of TAGs will be energized by a Query message. The Interrogator sends a Query message 220 to energize all or a subset of TAGs 201. Following a Query message, a TAG 201 selects a random number from 0-(2^AQ)-1 230 and loads its memory with that number. At each transmission of a QueryRep 240, the TAG decrements its counter until the counter reaches zero (0) 250. QueryRep 240 corresponds to the access occasion in which the specific TAG responds. When the counter reaches 0, the TAG initiates a contention resolution procedure 260 which comprises transmitting its device ID in the uplink, and waiting for confirmation of the device ID in the downlink (to address a possible collision between multiple devices selecting the same random number). For a device that has passed contention resolution, the interrogator may send multiple read/write commands, to which the TAG should respond 270. The Interrogator sends a QueryRep 280 which is to show that there may be other access occasions which occur after QueryRep 240 where TAG 201 responds.

[0072] Ambient loT (AloT) may not have any connection establishment or radio resource control (RRC) states defined. Connection establishment in legacy procedures is used to maintain a context. Although connection establishment may not be supported, a context for the device should be maintained in the access stratum (AS) layer for multiple reasons. A context for the device should be maintained in the AS layer for device identification (ID) length reduction. Addressing a device with each transmission on the AloT interface using the full device ID consumes power unnecessarily, especially when only a few devices are active or need to be accessed at a time. It should be determined how to limit the number of devices whose context needs to be maintained, so the ID length can be kept short and how to synchronize the ID assignment/release between the reader and the device without a connection establishment procedure (or similar expensive signaling).

[0073] A context for the device should be maintained in the AS layer for device tracking in the network. A device can be reached via multiple WTRUs, especially in topology 2. It is preferable to avoid trying to reach the device via multiple WTRUs (i.e., the network (NW) should know which device can reach the WTRU). It is preferable that the device avoids responding to inventories/queries initiated by multiple intermediate nodes.

[0074] How to establish, maintain, and release device context for AloT requires new procedures which are more tailored to the low-power nature of these devices.

[0075] A device (i.e., TAG) may determine when to setup or release its AS-layer device ID based on the number of received messages from the reader, possibly of a specific type (i.e., WTRU).

[0076] A device may receive a first message from a reader. The first message may comprise a device ID (e.g., AS- layer device ID), a maximum number of reader transmissions, and/or a first session ID. The device may initialize a counter (e.g., initialize to zero) following reception of the device ID. Upon reception of a second message from the reader, if the device has a stored device ID, and if the second message corresponds to a command type and includes the stored device ID, the device may reset the counter and perform the received command (e.g., read/write). If the device has a stored device ID and if the second message corresponds to a sync type message (e.g., inventory message, or query type message), the device may: (i) increment the counter, (ii) randomly select an occasion and perform a transmission (e.g., send a message) to the reader by including the stored device ID in the message, and (iii) if the counter reaches the configured maximum number of reader transmissions, release the stored device ID. If the device has a stored device ID and if the second message indicates to release the stored device ID, the device may release the stored device ID. If the device has a stored device ID and if the second message indicates a second session ID and the second session ID is different from the first session ID, the device may release the stored device ID. If the device does not have a stored device ID, and if the second message corresponds to a sync type message (e.g., inventory message, or query type message), the device may randomly select an occasion and perform a transmission (e.g., send a message) to the reader by including a randomly chosen device ID in the message.

[0077] In an example, a device may receive a first message from a reader. The first message may comprise a device ID (e.g., an AS-layer device ID), a maximum count (e.g., maximum number of reader transmissions), and/or a first session ID. The device may receive a second message from the reader. If the second message corresponds to a command type message and comprises the device ID, the device may perform the received command (e.g., read/write). If the second message corresponds to a sync type message (e.g., inventory message, or query type message) and the device has received less than the maximum count number of sync type messages since it last received a command type message, the device may perform a transmission (e.g., send a message) using the device ID (e.g., the device includes the device ID in or with the message). If the second message corresponds to a sync type message (e.g., inventory message, or query type message) and (a) the device has received at least the maximum count number of sync type messages since it last received a command type message or (b) the second message indicates a second session ID that is different from the first session ID or indicates to release the device ID, the device may perform a transmission (e.g., send a message) using a randomly chosen device ID (e.g., the device includes the randomly chosen device ID in the message).

[0078] In this disclosure, the terms device, AloT UE, AloT WTRU, and TAG may be used interchangeably to mean the AloT device that is being inventoried/queried by the reader.

[0079] The term reader may refer to the entity which queries the AloT device, either directly, or via an intermediate WTRU, for example in topology 2. The term reader in topology 2 may also refer to the intermediate WTRU. As a result, the term reader may refer to a network node or a WTRU, depending on the context and/or the topology.

[0080] In this disclosure, we may use the terms reader, network, and intermediate WTRU, interchangeably to mean the reader.

[0081] In this disclosure, inventory may refer to the overall procedure of a reader triggering access by multiple devices using a sequence of messages (e.g., similar to query, followed by query rep in RFID). For example, the inventory procedure may refer to a single round of attempts to have each device respond or attempt to respond with its access ID, or perform a random access channel (RACH) procedure. For example, the inventory procedure may refer to a set of access occasions which may have zero or at least one device respond within the access occasion. [0082] An inventory procedure may occur similar to a legacy RFID procedure. Although referred to herein as inventory procedure, it may be termed differently in device requirements or specifications (e.g., query procedure, paging procedure, etc.).

[0083] In this disclosure, occasion may refer to the opportunity for a device transmission that may be delimited by the transmission of a query rep message (or similar). For example, a device may perform a transmission in an occasion by performing a AloT transmission in a defined time following the query rep associated with that transmission. An occasion may comprise both a time aspect and a frequency aspect. For example, a device may determine an occasion as a transmission following a specific query rep, and by transmitting on one of a number of frequencies (e.g., FDM). Wherever embodiments indicate selection of an occasion, they may apply equivalently to selection of only a time component and/or selection of a frequency component.

[0084] Herein, depending on the embodiment or description, any reference to time may be associated with an absolute time measurement (e.g., seconds, slots, frames, etc.). Alternatively or in addition, it may refer to a number of executions of a procedure, possibly triggered by a reader (e.g., number of inventory procedures, number of accesses or RACH procedures, etc.). Alternatively or in addition, it may refer to a number of messages, possibly of a specific type, or including specific information, as described herein, received or transmitted. [0085] A device may receive a temporary ID from a reader. The device may store the temporary ID and use it for identifying future messages which are intended for that device. For example, a device may determine that it is being addressed by a message from the reader if that message includes the temporary ID.

[0086] In an embodiment, a device may store a temporary ID following success of an access procedure, such as a random access procedure. For example, the device may store the temporary ID following successful contention resolution. For example, if the device receives an information element from the reader which is identical to an information element transmitted by the device in a previous message, the device may store the temporary ID.

[0087] In an embodiment, a device may store a temporary ID following a successful command procedure, possibly of a certain type, possibly containing some specific information element within the command or the control element(s) transmitted with the command. For example, a device may receive a write command intended for upper layers. If the write command is successful, the device may store the temporary device ID. For example, the device may store the temporary device ID following transmission of an acknowledgement to an upper layer command.

[0088] A device may determine a temporary ID using or based on any or a combination of the following.

[0089] A device may determine a temporary ID from a control element received from the reader. For example, the temporary ID may be provided by the reader, for example, in a control element, a protocol header, and/or an explicit data field, in, for example a protocol layer (e.g., RRC or MAC).

[0090] A device may determine a temporary ID from another device ID. For example, the temporary ID may be a function of an existing device ID already assigned to the device (e.g., by another layer, or statically). For example, it may be a subset of bits of a device ID. For example, it may be a function (e.g., linear combination) of the device ID. [0091] A device may determine a temporary ID from data received from the reader. For example, the temporary ID may be selected from data received or transmitted by the device. For example, the device may receive a write command which includes an indication to derive a new device ID. The device may determine the device ID as the subset of bits received from the data to be written. For example, the temporary ID may be determined as the data written to the device following a specific write command, either signaled, or based on the timing of the received write command (e.g., a write command indicated as the assignment of a temporary ID, or the first write command following a specific event).

[0092] A device may determine a temporary ID based on a random selection. For example, the device may randomly select its device ID, possibly from a subset of device IDs, possibly with a configured number of bits.

[0093] A device may determine a temporary ID based on device transmission characteristics. The device may determine a device ID or part of a device ID as a function of one or more parameters of a transmission by the device. For example, the device may determine an ID using the time and/or frequency resource indices of a random access transmission (e.g., an initial transmission). For example, the device (and the reader) may determine the device ID based on the channel structure of the device’s transmission. The channel structure may include the transmission duration, the transmission modulation and coding (e.g., the MCS used for the transmission), the preamble used for the transmission, and/or the time/frequency resource used for the transmission.

[0094] A device may determine a temporary ID based on a device capability.

[0095] The device may determine a temporary ID based on one or more of its capability. Such capability may include time processing capability and/or synchronization capability and/or energy harvesting capability. The time processing capability may include the time required by the device to process and/or decode a received transmission from a reader. The time processing capability may include the time required to prepare and transmit a transmission to the reader. The synchronization capability may include the device capability of maintaining its internal timing and frequency within a preconfigured interval relative to the network timing and or frequency. The energy harvesting capability may include the device required time to charge and/or the maximum level of energy that may be stored in the device. The energy harvesting capability may include the discharging time as well. In an example, devices with a first processing time capability/synchronization capability/energy harvesting capability may be (pre)configured to select a temporary ID from a first range of temporary IDs and devices with a second processing time capability/synchronization capability/energy harvesting capability may be (pre)configured to select a temporary ID from a second range of temporary IDs.

[0096] The device may determine a temporary ID based on feedback received from the reader. Such feedback may be transmitted to a group of devices or alternatively a single device. For example, one or more devices may transmit a first transmission (e.g., attempt to access the network) to the reader. The reader may transmit a feedback to the devices indicating the temporary ID or range of temporary IDs to use for the subsequent transmissions.

[0097] In an example, a device may determine its temporary ID based on a combination of the above. For example, the temporary ID may comprise a set of bits that are randomly selected and a set of bits received in a control element. [0098] In an embodiment, a device may be assigned with more than one temporary ID. For example, an inventory round may be associated with multiple sessions. The device may be configured with a session ID which is valid only in one specific session, and with a separate temporary ID that is valid across all sessions.

[0099] A device may perform different behavior with respect to the inventory procedure depending on the identity it is referenced with in a message intended for the device. For example, the device may release the session ID. For example, a device may assume a session ended if it is referenced with the inventory ID during a particular session. For example, the device may assume it has succeeded or failed a transmission procedure or an access procedure. For example, a device may change the criteria for selection of transmission resources (e.g., it may change from selecting the same frequency resource, to selecting from any frequency resource). For example, a device may release its context, as described herein.

[0100] Such behaviors described above may also be applicable to the case where the device is referenced with its permanent ID while it has a stored ID.

[0101] A WTRU (reader) may signal, or send, a result of a procedure/action by a change of ID. In an embodiment, a WTRU may maintain multiple IDs (e.g., multiple temporary IDs) for a particular device and may signal a specific action by referencing the device with a specific ID (more globally used, such as a permanent ID or an inventory ID) over another (more locally used such as a temporary ID or a session ID). For example, if the WTRU does not have any subsequent commands to send to a device, it may send a message with a more global ID. For example, if the WTRU is intending to release the more local ID, it may send a message with a more global ID. For example, if the WTRU has successfully received a transmission (e.g., possibly a last transmission for some time) from a device, it may send an acknowledgement with a more global ID. For example, if the WTRU intends for the device to release its context, as described herein, it may transmit a message with a more global ID. [0102] A device with a temporary ID may alter its reception and/or transmission behavior. A device having a stored temporary ID may behave differently from an access perspective compared to a device without a stored temporary ID. For example, a device with a stored temporary ID may perform a different access procedure compared to a device without a stored temporary ID. A device with a stored temporary ID may be addressed (e.g., by a reader) with either the stored temporary ID or another ID (e.g., a configured ID, or a permanent ID). For example, a device with a stored temporary ID may perform a first action when addressed with the temporary ID, and may perform a second action when addressed with its permanent ID. For example, a device with a stored temporary ID may release/update the temporary ID when addressed with its permanent ID. For example, a device with a stored temporary ID may determine that a number of transmissions by the reader (e.g., possibly after a specific message addressed to the temporary ID) which do not include an ID, are addressed to the device. For example, a device with a temporary ID may be configured with rules/conditions to release or update the temporary ID.

[0103] A device may release the temporary ID. A device may be configured with or receive conditions for releasing its temporary ID. A device which releases its temporary ID may revert to the use of another ID (e.g., a permanent ID, or an ID configured by another layer). Such conditions may be based on any or a combination of the following.

[0104] A condition may be a period of time, possibly following a specific reception or transmission. In an embodiment, the device may be configured with a temporary ID which may be valid for a period of time. For example, the device may receive a temporary ID, and may be addressed by the temporary ID for a period of time following reception or storage of the ID. The time may be configured by the reader, or it may be predefined. The time may further be determined based on the message or command that initially configured resulted in storage or assignment of the temporary ID. In an embodiment, the device may be configured with a temporary ID which may be valid for a period of time following the transmission of a message by the device. For example, the device may select a temporary ID and may transmit the temporary ID in a message to the reader. The device may maintain the temporary ID for a period of time following transmission of the message. For example, the device may be assigned a temporary ID and may maintain the temporary ID for a period of time following transmission of an acknowledgement message which acknowledges the assignment. In an embodiment, the device may be configured with a temporary ID which may be valid following reception of a specific message. For example, the device may extend the validity of a temporary ID upon reception of a message. For example, the device may extend the validity of a temporary ID by an amount of time each time the device receives a specific command (e.g. a write command) or a message including a specific information element or an explicit indication (e.g., a sync message). For example, the device my extend the validity of a temporary ID by an amount of time each time the device receives a command, or a message intended for it, possibly which addresses it with the temporary ID.

[0105] A condition may be a number of messages transmitted or received, possibly with certain characteristics or contents. In an embodiment, a device may release a temporary ID following reception of a number (e.g., configured or predefined) of messages received, possibly of a specific type. For example, a device may release a temporary ID following reception of a number (N) of synchronization messages by the reader. For example, a device may release a temporary ID following reception of N messages which are not intended for that device. For example, a device may release a temporary ID following reception of N paging messages, possibly that do not include the device’s ID. In an embodiment, a device may release a temporary ID following reception of a message that includes its permanent ID. In an embodiment, a device may release a temporary ID following transmission of a number of messages. For example, a device may release a temporary ID following transmission of N acknowledgement messages, possibly to reception of a message of a specific type, or having specific characteristics described above. In an embodiment, a device may release a temporary ID following a number of times the temporary ID is used by the device. This may comprise determining that a message from the reader is intended to the device (e.g., due to the temporary device ID being included in the message) and/or including the temporary ID in a message transmitted to the reader.

[0106] A condition may be a number of messages received without an access. In an embodiment, a device may release a temporary ID following reception of a number of messages which do not initiate an access (e.g., random access, response, or transmission). For example, a device may release a temporary ID following reception of N sync messages without any paging message or read/write command. For example, a device may release a temporary ID following reception of N inventory initiation messages (e.g., paging messages) each not including the device’s ID or requiring the device to initiate an access.

[0107] A condition may be a number of access failures. In an embodiment, a device may release a temporary ID following a number of access failures, which may comprise failure of random access, contention resolution failure, and/or transmission without acknowledgement.

[0108] A condition may be an explicit indication from the reader, possibly included in a message or upper layer command. In an embodiment, a reader may include an explicit indication (e.g., in a MAC CE, or in a dedicated bit within a MAC header). The device may release the temporary ID upon reception of such explicit indication.

[0109] A condition may be a specific message type. In an embodiment, a device may release its temporary device ID upon reception of a specific message type (e.g., a write command), possibly upon reception of such command with other conditions defined herein (e.g., reception of the command while the device had an assigned temporary ID or reception of the command without any ID contained in the command).

[0110] A condition may be a change in a value or identifier included in messages by the reader. In an embodiment, a device may release its temporary device ID when it determines that an identifier transmitted by the reader has changed. For example, the reader may transmit a sequence or value (e.g., a session number) with its messages to the device. If the value of the sequence changes (e.g., the reader increments the session number) the device may release its temporary ID.

[0111] A condition may be a message from the device. In an embodiment, the device may release its temporary ID upon transmission of a message (e.g., a specific message) to the reader. For example, the device may determine to release its temporary ID upon transmission of a response to the reader wherein the response may include data and/or an acknowledgement.

[0112] A device may update its temporary ID. A device may update its temporary ID based on one or more conditions. Such conditions may be similar to the conditions described herein regarding when to release its temporary ID. Such conditions may be dependent on the reception, from the readerof another temporary device ID. For example, a device may update its temporary ID if a condition described herein for release is satisfied and the device receives a message that includes a new temporary ID or enables derivation of a new temporary ID (e.g., a write message, a message of a specific type). [0113] A device may transmit a message to the reader indicating the storage or update of its temporary ID. In an embodiment, a device may include the temporary ID with a message (e.g., acknowledgement) to the reader. For example, upon a condition for release or update of the temporary ID, the device may compute or determine a new temporary ID and may include the temporary ID in a message. In an embodiment, a device may indicate that it used a temporary ID received from the reader. For example, upon reception of a message from the reader with an ID which may be potentially used by the device as a temporary ID, and upon meeting a condition described herein, the device may include an explicit indication (e.g., a MAC CE, or setting a dedicated bit in a MAC header) in its next transmission (e.g., an acknowledgement to the message) to indicate to the reader that the device has used the received temporary ID.

[0114] An intermediate WTRU may assign/update/release a temporary ID linked to a device. A WTRU may associate a temporary ID to a device. Such ID may have a permanent ID, or an upper layer ID. The device may be referenced (e.g., by the upper layers, by the application layers, by the network) with the permanent ID. The WTRU may maintain a linking, mapping, or association of the temporary ID to the permanent ID. An advantage of maintaining such association is to reduce the overhead of paging or message transmission to/from the device.

[0115] A WTRU may assign a temporary ID to a device. For example, a WTRU may include the temporary ID in a control message to the device (e.g., a message in the random access procedure, an acknowledgement message after the random access procedure, or a data transmission message to the device). In an example, a WTRU may use a portion of data, a portion of the permanent ID, or any information, possibly transmitted to the device as the temporary ID for that device. In such a case, the WTRU may indicate to the device to use the information element as the temporary ID. Such indication may be included in a message to the device (e.g., a MAC CE, or a dedicated bit field in the message to the device).

[0116] A WTRU may update, replace, or release the temporary ID associated with a device. For example, the WTRU may update the temporary ID by including a new temporary ID to be used by the device in a message to the device. For example, the WTRU may update the temporary ID following reception of the ID, or of an indication from the device. For example, a WTRU may update the temporary ID following a number of messages, a number of failed messages, or a period of time. For example, a WTRU may release the temporary ID, and may signal such to the device by including the permanent ID in a message to the device. Other conditions may be used for release or replacement of the temporary ID by the WTRU. Such conditions may mirror the conditions at the device for releasing/replacing the temporary ID. For example, the WTRU may release the temporary ID, and transmit to the device using the permanent ID following a number of transmissions to the device (e.g., with the temporary ID) without reception from the device of a message (e.g., an acknowledgement).

[0117] A WTRU may assign/update/release a temporary ID based on any or a combination of the following factors. [0118] A WTRU may assign/update/release a temporary ID based on an indication (or lack thereof) from the network, possibly for a period of time, or a number of messages. In an embodiment, a WTRU may receive an indication to release one or more temporary device ID. For example, a WTRU may release all temporary IDs upon reception of an RRC message (e.g., reconfiguration message, release message, or release with specific indication). For example, a WTRU may release all temporary device IDs upon a system information update. For example, a WTRU may release the temporary IDs associated with one or more devices indicated by the network. For example, a WTRU may receive a message with a list of devices (e.g., the permanent ID, or the temporary ID) for which the WTRU should release the temporary ID. For example, the WTRU may receive an RRC message (e.g., reconfiguration message) with a list of permanent IDs for which the WTRU should release its temporary ID. For example, the WTRU may receive a paging message from the network with a list of devices (e.g., permanent ID) and may release the temporary IDs associated with the list of devices in the paging message. In an embodiment, a WTRU may release the temporary ID associated with a device following a period of time where the device is not referenced by the network. For example, if the WTRU does not receive any inventory requests from the network which include the device (e.g., based on the permanent device ID) over a configured time period, the WTRU may release the temporary ID associated with the device. For example, if the WTRU receives a number (X) or inventory requests that do not include the device ID (e.g., permanent ID) of the device, the WTRI may release the temporary ID of the device.

[0119] A WTRU may assign/update/release a temporary ID based on an ability/inability to communicate with a device, possibly for a period of time or a number of messages. In an embodiment, a WTRU may determine to update or release a temporary ID associated with a device based on its ability or inability to communicate with the device. For example, the temporary device ID may be released following the inability of the WTRU to receive transmissions from the device. For example, the WTRU may release the temporary ID of a device if the device fails to respond to X consecutive paging messages or command messages. For example, the WTRU may release the temporary ID of a device if the device fails to receive X consecutive acknowledgements from the device.

[0120] A WTRU may assign/update/release a temporary ID based on a mobility event at the WTRU. In an embodiment, a WTRU may determine to update or release a temporary ID following a mobility event at the WTRU, such as a handover, cell reselection, RAN area update, tracking area update, or similar. For example, a WTRU may determine to update or release a temporary ID if its location changes by at least a configured or predetermined amount. For example, a WTRU may determine to update or release a temporary ID following a period of time where the WTRU has maintained a specific speed. In an embodiment, a WTRU may determine to release a temporary ID upon triggering RLF or upon failing a re-establishment.

[0121] A WTRU may assign/update/release a temporary ID based on a presence of additional messages to be transmitted to the device. In an embodiment, a WTRU may determine to assign a temporary ID based on the need to issue multiple messages (e.g., commands, requests, or tracking messages) to the device. For example, if the WTRU is provided at least X commands to be sent to the device, it may assign a temporary ID. For example, if the WTRU is provided with a command to issue to the device following an inventory procedure or tracking procedure, it may assign a temporary ID. For example, if the device is requested, by the network, to issue periodic tracking messages to the device, it may assign a temporary ID.

[0122] A WTRU may assign/update/release a temporary ID based on a device capability. In an embodiment, a WTRU may determine whether to assign a temporary ID based on the device capability. For example, a device may indicate to the WTRU whether it is able to support the storage of a temporary ID (either explicitly, or implicitly by the detection of another information element such as device type). A WTRU may assign a temporary ID if (e.g., only if) the device is capable of supporting such.

[0123] An intermediate WTRU may reference a device without transmission of an ID in the message. In an embodiment, a WTRU may transmit a message to a device without the inclusion of an ID. Such may be applicable only to certain messages or message types (e.g., read/write commands). Such may be applicable only following the success of another procedure by that device (e.g., a random access procedure), and only limited to certain resources (e.g., specific frequency resource, specific time or access occasion, or specific slot number). For example, if a device succeeds random access in a specific frequency, the WTRU may transmit command messages to the device without the inclusion of a device ID (temporary or permanent).

[0124] In an embodiment, a WTRU may transmit at most a number (N) (e.g., configured or predetermined) of messages to a device without the need for a device ID included in the message. A WTRU may extend the number of messages that may be transmitted without a device ID by including an explicit indication in a message, by including the device ID in the message, or by including a particular data element (e.g., a MAC CE, a request, or similar) in the message. For example, a device may interpret a message received as being for itself when it does not include a device ID for a maximum of N messages not including a device ID.

[0125] In an embodiment, a WTRU may continue to transmit a message intended to a device without including the device ID by using the same resource (e.g., the same frequency resource, the same timeslot, and/or the same occasion) as a previous message. For example, a device may receive one or more messages without a device ID in one resource. If a device receives a message with its device ID in another (second) resource, subsequent messages in the first resource may not be interpreted or received by the device unless the message includes the device ID.

[0126] In an embodiment, a WTRU may transmit messages without a device ID only to devices which have an assigned temporary ID. For example, a device which has a stored temporary ID may assume one or more messages received without a device ID are intended for it, possibly based on other conditions herein.

[0127] In an embodiment, a WTRU may transmit messages without a device ID only to devices which do not have a stored temporary ID. For example, a device which does not have a stored temporary ID may assume one or more messages received without a device ID are intended for it, possibly based on other conditions herein.

[0128] A device and/or a reader (WTRU) may maintain a temporary transmission context. In an embodiment, which is related to the maintenance of a temporary ID, the concepts or ideas related to maintenance of a temporary ID may be extended also to a device context, which may relate to any of the device’s security parameters, device transmission parameters, and/or resource allocation parameters, such as: assigned and potentially persistent resources such as frequency resources in successive occasions, successive inventory procedures, successive slots of an inventory procedure; transmission power (maximum, minimum, actual); MCS; number of retransmissions; timing parameters between transmission and reception.

[0129] A device and/or a reader may establish, store, update or release its context based on any or a combination of the conditions associated the same described herein for a temporary device ID. Similarly, a device and/or a WTRU may communicate its context to a peer in a message. Similarly, upon an event which establishes a context, the device may use the latest transmission parameters and/or security parameters that were used during the establishment of the context (e.g., the selected parameters from the last message transmission).

[0130] A WTRU may transmit a message to release a device’s transmission context. For example, an explicit message (e.g., paging message indicating a device’s ID and the intention to release its context) may be used by the WTRU to force a device to release its transmission context. As described herein related to device ID, a WTRU may trigger such a transmission as a result of events such as mobility, state change, and/or explicit network indication. [0131] A reader may indicate whether a subsequent command may be performed. In an embodiment, a reader may indicate to a device in an inventory procedure whether a subsequent command may be performed following successful inventory. For example, the reader may indicate implicitly or explicitly whether the reader intends to send subsequent commands (e.g., read or write command) following successful random access by the device within the inventory procedure. Such indication may be sent explicitly in the paging message or one of the messages sent by the reader that is part of the inventory procedure (e.g., the occasion initiation message) using in indication or a flag (e.g., subsequent command to be sent). Alternatively, such indication may be sent implicitly, by including information in the paging message or one of the messages sent by the reader as part of the inventory procedure (e.g., the occasion initiation message) that indicates such. For example, the reader may inform the device that subsequent command messages will be sent by including time/frequency resources, by including an AS layer ID, and/or by including an indication to store some context. Such information may be included at any stage of the random access procedure in a reader transmission.

[0132] A device which receives an indication that a subsequent command may be performed by the reader may perform one or a set of different actions compared to the case where the device does not receive such indication. For example, a device may, if it receives the indication, store the AS layer ID or AS context, rather than not store the AS layer ID or AS context. For example, a device may, if it receives the indication, perform monitoring for subsequent messages from the reader, rather than perform other actions (e.g., device charging) which may make the device not ready to receive a message from the reader. For example, a device may, if it receives the indication, derive and/or send an alternative device ID to be used by the reader during command transmission. For example, the device may, upon reception of the indication, derive an encrypted version of its device ID to ensure security of transmission of the device ID. For example, the device may, upon reception of the indication, send a device ID to be used by the reader for inclusion in future transmissions by the reader. Such device ID may be included in a device transmission that is part of the random access (e.g., msg2, msg4) or may be added to the data transmission by the device following successful random access. For example, the reader may receive a device ID (possibly encrypted) from the device and use the received device ID in subsequent command messages. For example, a device may, if it receives the indication, apply or update specific AS layer configuration or parameters (rather than ignore or not update them) which may relate to the device’s transmission, such as its transmit power, or number of repetitions.

[0133] A WTRU (reader) may be configured with a (periodic) inventory procedure for device tracking. In an embodiment, a WTRU may initiate a regular (potentially periodic) transmission of a paging message of initiation of an inventory procedure for a subset of devices. Such devices may be those configured by the network. For example, the WTRU may receive an indication of a set of devices (e.g., permanent IDs or upper layer IDs) in an RRC message to be tracked. For example, the WTRU may determine the devices to be tracked based on the frequency by which they are inventoried by the network.

[0134] A WTRU may trigger such a tracking inventory by transmitting a paging message (or similar downlink message). In an embodiment, a WTRU may include the IDs (e.g., the temporary IDs) of the devices to respond to the tracking inventory in a paging message. The WTRU may further include an indication in the paging message that the response is intended for tracking purposes. In an embodiment, a WTRU may transmit a paging message including only an indication that the response should be a tracking inventory response. A device may have been set up previously by the WTRU to always respond to tracking inventory messages, or to respond to at least a certain ratio of such messages, by, for example: receiving a configuration associated with the response, and/or being configured with a temporary device ID (e.g., a tracking inventory ID).

[0135] A device, upon receiving a paging message dedicated for tracking inventory, may perform a short (possibly contention-based) transmission, such as transmission of an acknowledgement, or a protocol control elements (e.g., MAC CE). A device may include additional device specific information in the response, such as: a buffer status report (BSR) or information about pending data for transmission; device status, such as charging status, and/or amount of stored energy; information about the carrier wave used for backscattering, such as measured power, frequency, and/or identity; device capability information; pending short data that may fit in an acknowledgement message; and a device ID (e.g., a temporary ID or a tracking inventory ID).

[0136] A WTRU (e.g., reader) may be configured with events/triggers for initiating a tracking inventory. A WTRU may initiate tracking inventory periodically. A WTRU may initiate a tracking inventory based on any or a combination of the following.

[0137] A WTRU may initiate a tracking inventory based on mobility. For example, a WTRU may initiate a tracking inventory following a mobility event, such as a handover, cell reselection, RAN area update, or tracking area update (or similar area update procedure). For example, a WTRU may initiate a tracking inventory following a change of its position, by at least a certain amount. For example, a WTRU may scale the periodicity of a periodic tracking inventory procedure based on its WTRU speed.

[0138] A WTRU may initiate a tracking inventory based on state transitions. For example, a WTRU may initiate a tracking inventory upon connection establishment/resume, or upon release to IDLE or INACTIVE state.

[0139] A WTRU may initiate a tracking inventory based on a network indication. For example, a WTRU may receive an indication from the network to trigger a tracking inventory, such as via an RRC message, a paging message, a change of system information, and/or a change of tracking area/RAN area.

[0140] A WTRU (e.g., reader) may report results of tracking inventory to the network. In an embodiment, a WTRU may report the results of tracking inventory to the network. For example, it may report the identities of the devices the reader is tracking. Alternatively, it may report any additional information being transmitted by the device to the WTRU, as described herein (e.g., contention window (CW) measurements, BSR).

[0141] A WTRU may be configured with events for which tracking inventory should be reported. Such events may depend on the WTRU’s RRC state. For example, a WTRU in RRC_IDLE/RRC_INACTIVE may initiate a connection establishment or resume to report results of a tracking inventory to the network. For example, a WTRU may be configured with a different event or set of events while in RRC_IDLE/RRC_INACTIVE for initiating an RRC connection in order to report the results of a tracking inventory. Alternatively, a WTRU in RRCJNACTIVE may report tracking inventory using small data transfer (SDT).

[0142] A WTRU may be configured to report tracking inventory based on one or a combination of the following events.

[0143] A WTRU may be configured to report tracking inventory based on a change in the (number) of responding devices. For example, this may comprise a device that previously responded, no longer responding. For example, this may comprise a new device responding. For example, this may comprise a device not responding for a period of time or over a number of inventory procedures.

[0144] A WTRU may be configured to report tracking inventory based on a change in any of the parameters reported by a one or more devices. For example, this may comprise a change in the CW reported by a device. For example, this may comprise a change in the measurements of a carrier wave reported by a device, possibly by a configured amount. For example, this may comprise a change in the available data to be reported at a device, possibly by a configured amount.

[0145] A WTRU may be configured to report tracking inventory based on a change in the measurement of the device transmission, made by the WTRU. For example, this may comprise a change in the device measurements (e.g., reference signal received power (RSRP)) made by the WTRU from the device’s transmission .

[0146] A device may select from a number of potential readers to communicate with. A device may perform reader selection among multiple readers performing transmissions (e.g., paging, inventory, command).

[0147] Reader selection may comprise determining which reader(s) a device may respond to. For example, a reader may respond to paging messages from a first reader (the selected reader) but not a second reader.

[0148] Reader selection may comprise determining to transmit a first response or response type to a first reader (the selected reader) and a second response type to a second reader (the non-selected reader). For example, a device may respond to a paging message from the selected reader with its device ID, while it may respond to a paging message from the non-selected reader with an indication that it has selected another reader (e.g., by transmitting the identity of the selected reader).

[0149] Reader selection may comprise determining which reader(s) a device may respond to a specific type of paging or request to. For example, a device may respond to a special inventory (e.g., a paging message which contains a tracking request, a specific type of paging message, a paging transmitted with/without a temporary ID) only to the selected reader, while it may respond to all other requests or paging messages to all other readers.

[0150] In an embodiment, a device may perform reader selection periodically (e.g., based on a period of time). In an embodiment, a device may perform reader ( reflection based on the occurrence of one or more events, or based on one or more conditions, for example as described herein, being satisfied. In an embodiment, a device may perform reader (reflection after reception and/or transmission of a number of messages, possibly of a specific type, possibly from a specific reader (e.g., the currently selected reader).

[0151] A device may use one or a combination of the following criteria or conditions to perform reader selection.

[0152] A device may perform reader selection based on reception of a number of messages (e.g., paging messages) intended for the device. In an embodiment, a device may determine to perform reselection of the reader or may determine the reader to select based on counting of the number of paging messages received from the currently selected reader or another reader. For example, if the device receives X (e.g., configured) consecutive paging requests or inventory requests from a reader that is not the selected reader which includes the device’s ID, the device may reselect this reader. For example, if the device receives Y (e.g., configured) paging requests or inventory requests from a reader that is not the selected reader without the reception of a paging request or inventory request from the currently selected reader, the device may reselect the reader. For example, a device may select the reader that transmits the largest number of paging messages or inventory messages that includes the device’s ID, possibly in a configured time frame.

[0153] A device may perform reader selection based on random access results. In an embodiment, a device may determine to perform reselection of the reader or may determine the selected reader based on random access results. For example, a device may trigger reselection of the reader following failure of random access by the device to a specific reader a predetermined or configured number of times. For example, a device may trigger reselection of the reader following failure of random access by the device to a specific reader which may have occurred at least X times in the last Y attempts (where X and Y may be configured or predefined).

[0154] A device may perform reader selection based on distance to the reader and/or path loss and/or reader transmit power. In an embodiment, a device may determine the reader to select based on a measure or indication of the distance, path loss, and/or transmit power from the reader. For example, a reader may include in its transmissions (e.g., its paging message) a range quantity. Such quantity may correspond to a transmit power. For example, a reader may increase the included quantity with each increase in transit power (e.g., tx power1 :1 < tx power2:2 < ....). A device may select the reader which transmits the smallest/largest quantity. For example, a device may select the reader which has a broadcasted location (e.g., included in reader transmissions) which is closest to the device’s own location.

[0155] A device may perform reader selection based on resources available for inventory or random access. In an embodiment, a device may select the reader based on the available resources provided by the reader. For example, the device may select the reader providing the largest number of resources (e.g., occasions, frequency resources, time resources, or the like). For example, the device may reselect to a different reader if there exists a reader which provides at least a configured number of resources more than the number of resources provided by the currently selected reader.

[0156] A device may perform reader selection based on a measured quality of the reader transmissions. In an embodiment, a device may select the reader based on measurements of the reader transmissions. For example, the device may select the reader with the largest received RSRP.

[0157] A device may perform reader selection based on an explicit release by the reader. In an embodiment, a reader may transmit an explicit message or an explicit indication in a message to trigger the device to select a different reader. A reader may indicate the identity of the reader to select or a set of readers to select from.

[0158] In an embodiment, a device may use different selection and reselection rules based on whether the device has an assigned temporary ID, for example as defined herein. For example, a device with no assigned temporary ID may respond to all readers. For example, a device with an assigned temporary ID may respond only to the selected reader (e.g., the reader that assigned its temporary ID). For example, a device with an assigned temporary ID may use a first condition or criteria, for example as discussed above, to reselect to a different reader. On the other hand, if it does not have any temporary IDs assigned (possibly by the currently selected reader) it may use a different condition or criteria to select a reader, or reselect to another reader if it has one selected.

[0159] In an embodiment, a device with an assigned temporary ID may release the temporary ID when it reselects to a different reader.

[0160] A device (i.e., TAG) may determine when to setup or release its AS-layer device ID based on the number of received messages from a reader, possibly of a specific type (i.e., WTRU). [0161] FIG. 3 shows an example procedure 300 for setting up and releasing a device ID. A device may receive a first message from a reader (e.g., WTRU) 305. The first message may comprises a device ID (e.g., AS-layer device ID) a maximum number of reader transmissions, and/or a first session ID. The device may initialize a counter (e.g., initialize or set the counter to a value, for example, to zero) following reception of the device ID 310. The device may receive a second message from the reader 315. The device may take action based on the second message and based on whether the device has a stored device ID 320.

[0162] If the device has a stored device ID, and if the second message corresponds to a command type and includes the stored device ID, the device may reset the counter 325 and perform the received command (read/write) 330.

[0163] If the device has a stored device ID and if the second message corresponds to a sync type message (e.g., inventory message, or query type message), the device may: (i) increment the counter 335, (ii) randomly select an occasion and perform transmission (Tx) to the reader by including the stored device ID in the message 340, and (iii) if the counter reaches the configured maximum number of reader transmissions, release the stored device ID 345.

[0164] If the device has a stored device ID and if the second message indicates to release the stored device ID, the device may release the stored device ID 350.

[0165] If the device has a stored device ID and if the second message indicates a second session ID and the second session ID is different from the first session ID, the device may release the stored device ID 355.

[0166] Otherwise, if the device does not have a stored device ID, and if the second message corresponds to a sync type (e.g., inventory message, or query type message), the device may randomly select an occasion and perform transmission (e.g., send a message) to the reader by including a randomly chosen device ID in the message 360.

[0167] In an example, a device may receive a first message from a reader that comprises a device ID (e.g., an AS- layer device ID) and a maximum count (e.g., maximum number of reader transmissions), and/or a first session ID. The device may receive a second message from the reader. If the second message corresponds to a command type message and comprises the device ID, the device may perform the received command (e.g., read/write). If the second message corresponds to a sync type message (e.g., inventory message, or query type message) and the device has received less than the maximum count number of sync type messages since it last received a command type message, the device may perform a transmission using the device ID (e.g., the device includes the device ID in a message). If the second message corresponds to a sync type message (e.g., inventory message, or query type message) and (a) the device has received at least the maximum count number of sync type messages since it last received a command type message or (b) the second message indicates a second session ID that is different from the first session ID or indicates to release the device ID, the device may perform a transmission using a randomly chosen device ID (e.g., the device includes the randomly chosen device ID in a message).

[0168] A method may be used by a node. The method may comprise receiving a first message from a reader. The first message may comprise a device identification (ID), a maximum number of reader transmissions, and a first session ID. The method may comprise initializing a counter to zero. The method may comprise receiving a second message from the reader. The method may comprise performing an action based on whether the device has a stored device ID and based on the second message. The method may comprise, on a condition that the device has a stored device ID and the second message corresponds to a command type message: resetting the counter; and performing an action based on a command received in the second message. The received command may be a read command or a write command. The method may comprise, on a condition that the device has a stored device ID and the second message corresponds to a synch type message: incrementing the counter; randomly selecting an occasion; performing a transmission to the reader in the selected occasion, wherein the transmission to the reader includes the stored device ID; and releasing the stored device ID on a condition that the counter reaches the maximum number of reader transmissions. The synch type message may be an inventor message or a query message. The method may comprise, on a condition that the device has a stored device ID and the second message indicates to release the stored device ID, releasing the stored device ID. The method may comprise, on a condition that the device has a stored device ID and the second message indicates a second session ID and the second session ID is different than the first session ID, releasing the stored device ID. The method may comprise, on a condition that the device does not have a stored device ID and the second message corresponds to a synch type message: randomly selecting an occasion; and performing a transmission to the reader in the selected occasion, wherein the transmission to the reader includes a randomly selected device ID.

[0169] Although features and elements are described above in particular combinations, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that each feature or element can be used alone or in any combination with the other features and elements. In addition, the methods described herein may be implemented in a computer program, software, or firmware incorporated in a computer-readable medium for execution by a computer or processor. Examples of computer-readable media include electronic signals (transmitted over wired or wireless connections) and computer- readable storage media. Examples of computer-readable storage media include, but are not limited to, a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a register, cache memory, semiconductor memory devices, magnetic media such as internal hard disks and removable disks, magneto-optical media, and optical media such as CD-ROM disks, and digital versatile disks (DVDs). A processor in association with software may be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver for use in a WTRU, UE, terminal, base station, RNC, or any host computer.

Claims

CLAIMS What is Claimed:

1. A method for use by an ambient Internet of Things (AloT) device, the method comprising: receiving a first message from a reader, wherein the first message comprises a device identification (ID), and a maximum number of reader transmissions parameter; storing the device ID; initializing a counter value to zero; receiving a second message from the reader, wherein the second message is a synch type message; incrementing the counter value; determining whether the counter value is greater than the maximum number of reader transmissions parameter; releasing the stored device ID based on the counter value being greater than the maximum number of reader transmissions parameter; and transmitting a message to the reader using a randomly selected device ID.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the device ID in the received first message is an access stratum (AS) layer device ID.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the device is a tag.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the randomly selected device ID is included in the message transmitted to the reader.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: receiving a command type message; resetting the counter value to zero; and performing an action based on the command type message, wherein the action is a read operation or a write operation.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: receiving a plurality of synch type messages; and incrementing the counter value after each received synch type message.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first message further comprises a first session ID.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the second message includes a second session ID and the method further comprises: releasing the stored device ID based on the second session ID being different than the first session ID.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second message includes an indication to release the stored device ID and the method further comprises: releasing the stored device ID based on the indication to release the stored device ID.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first message is a paging type message and wherein the synch type message is an inventory message or a query type message.

11. An ambient Internet of Things (AloT) device comprising: a receiver; a processor; and a transmitter, wherein: the receiver is configured to receive a first message from a reader, wherein the first message comprises a device identification (ID), and a maximum number of reader transmissions parameter; the processor is configured to store the device ID; the processor is further configured to initialize a counter value to zero; the receiver is further configured to receive a second message from the reader, wherein the second message is a synch type message; the processor is further configured to increment the counter value; the processor is further configured to determine whether the counter value is greater than the maximum number of reader transmissions parameter; the processor is further configured to release the stored device ID based on the counter value being greater than the maximum number of reader transmission parameter; and the transmitter is configured to transmit a message to the reader using a randomly selected device ID.

12. TheAloT device ofclaim 11 , wherein the device ID in the received first message is an access stratum (AS) layer device ID.

13. The AloT device of claim 11 , wherein the device is a tag.

14. The AloT device of claim 11 , wherein the randomly selected device ID is included in the message transmitted to the reader.

15. The AloT device of claim 11 , wherein: the receiver is further configured to receive a command type message; the processor is further configured to reset the counter value to zero; and the processor is further configured to perform an action based on the command type message, wherein the action is a read operation or a write operation.

16. The AloT device of claim 11 , wherein: the receiver is further configured to receive a plurality of synch type message; and the processor is further configured to increment the counter value after each received synch type message.

17. The AloT device of claim 11 , wherein the first message further comprises a first session ID.

18. TheAloT device ofclaim 17, wherein the second message includes a second session ID and wherein: the processor is further configured to release the stored device ID based on the second session ID being different than the first session ID.

19. The AloT device of claim 11 , wherein the second message includes an indication to release the stored device ID and wherein: the processor is further configured to release the stored device ID based on the indication to release the stored device ID.

20. The AloT device of claim 11 , wherein the first message is a paging type message and wherein the synch type message is an inventory message or a query type message.