Patent Application
20240089894
The present Application for Patent claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Greek Patent Application No. 20210100171, entitled “ON-DEMAND POSITIONING REFERENCE SIGNAL SELECTION FOR DOUBLE DIFFERENCE POSITIONING SCHEMES”, filed Mar. 18, 2021, assigned to the assignee hereof, and expressly incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Wireless communication systems have developed through various generations, including a first-generation analog wireless phone service (1G), a second-generation (2G) digital wireless phone service (including interim 2.5G and 2.75G networks), a third-generation (3G) high speed data, Internet-capable wireless service, a fourth-generation (4G) service (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax), and a fifth generation (5G) service (e.g., 5G New Radio (NR)). There are presently many different types of wireless communication systems in use, including Cellular and Personal Communications Service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systems include the cellular Analog Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS), and digital cellular systems based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), the Global System for Mobile access (GSM) variation of TDMA, etc.
It is often desirable to know the location of a user equipment (UE), e.g., a cellular phone, with the terms “location” and “position” being synonymous and used interchangeably herein. A location services (LCS) client may desire to know the location of the UE and may communicate with a location center in order to request the location of the UE. The location center and the UE may exchange messages, as appropriate, to obtain a location estimate for the UE. The location center may return the location estimate to the LCS client, e.g., for use in one or more applications.
Obtaining the location of a mobile device that is accessing a wireless network may be useful for many applications including, for example, emergency calls, personal navigation, asset tracking, locating a friend or family member, etc. In industrial applications, the location of a mobile device may be necessary for asset tracking, robotic control, and other kinematic operations which may require a precise location of an end effector. Existing positioning methods include methods based on measuring radio signals transmitted from a variety of devices including satellite vehicles and terrestrial radio sources in a wireless network such as base stations and access points. Stations in a wireless network may be configured to transmit reference signals to enable mobile device to perform positioning measurements.
An example method for providing an on-demand positioning reference signal request according to the disclosure includes receiving a plurality of positioning reference signal measurement values from a target user equipment and at least one reference node, determining one or more on-demand positioning reference signals to be measured based at least in part on signal identification information associated with each of the plurality of positioning reference signal measurement values, and sending an indication of the one or more on-demand positioning reference signals to be measured to either of the target user equipment, the at least one reference node, or both.
Implementations of such a method may include one or more of the following features. At least one of the plurality of positioning measurement values received from the target user equipment and the at least one reference node may include a reference signal time difference value associated with a pair of positioning reference signals. At least one of the plurality of positioning measurement values received from the target user equipment and the at least one reference node may include a receive-transmit time difference of at least one positioning reference signal. At least one positioning reference signal measurement value based on the one or more on-demand positioning reference signals to be measured may be received from the target user equipment and the at least one reference node. The method may include determining that at least one measurement value of the at least one positioning reference signal measurement value based on the one or more on-demand positioning reference signals to be measured may be based at least in part on a line of sight path condition between an anchor station and the target user equipment, and a line of sight path condition between the anchor station and the at least one reference node. A positioning reference signal muting pattern may be transmitted to one or more anchor stations. Determining the one or more on-demand positioning reference signals to be measured may include constraining the one or more on-demand positioning reference signals to be measured based on a time window. The indication of the one or more on-demand positioning reference signals to be measured may include assistance data associated with one or more positioning reference signal resources.
An example method for on-demand positioning reference signal selection according to the disclosure includes receiving one or more positioning reference signal measurement values from a target user equipment, selecting a reference node based at least in part on signal identification information associated with each of the one or more positioning reference signal measurement values, determining one or more overlapping positioning reference signals to be measured based at least in part on a coarse location of the target user equipment and a location of the reference node, transmitting an indication of the one or more overlapping positioning reference signals to be measured to either the target user equipment, the reference node, or both, and receiving at least one positioning reference signal measurement value based on the one or more overlapping positioning reference signals to be measured from the target user equipment and the reference node.
Implementations of such a method may include one or more of the following features. The one or more positioning reference signal measurement values received from the target user equipment may include a reference signal time difference value associated with a pair of positioning reference signals. The one or more positioning reference signal measurement values received from the target user equipment may include a receive-transmit time difference of at least one positioning reference signal. Determining the one or more overlapping positioning reference signals to be measured may include determining a line of sight path condition between an anchor station and the target user equipment. One or more positioning reference signal measurement values may be received from the reference node, such that selecting the reference node may include determining an intersection of the signal identification information associated with each of the positioning reference signal measurement values received from the target user equipment and the signal identification information associated with each of the positioning reference signal measurement values received from the reference node. The method may include receiving one or more positioning reference signal measurement values from a plurality of reference nodes, determining a plurality of intersection values based at least in part on the signal identification information associated with each of the positioning reference signal measurement values received by the target user equipment and the signal identification information associated with each of the positioning reference signal measurement values received by the plurality of reference nodes, and selecting the reference node based at least in part on the plurality of intersection values, wherein the reference node is associated with a maximum of the plurality of intersection values. A positioning reference signal muting pattern may be transmitted to one or more base stations based at least in part on the one or more overlapping positioning reference signals. A time window for measuring at least one of the one or more overlapping positioning reference signals to be measured may be determined. The indication of the one or more overlapping positioning reference signals to be measured may include assistance data associated with one or more positioning reference signal resources. At least one measurement value of the at least one positioning reference signal measurement value based on the one or more overlapping positioning reference signals to be measured may be based at least in part on a line of sight path condition between an anchor station and the target user equipment, and a line of sight path condition between the anchor station and the reference node.
An example apparatus according to the disclosure includes a memory, at least one transceiver, at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, and configured to receive a plurality of positioning reference signal measurement values from a target user equipment and at least one reference node, determine one or more on-demand positioning reference signals to be measured based at least in part on signal identification information associated with each of the plurality of positioning reference signal measurement values, and send an indication of the one or more on-demand positioning reference signals to be measured to either of the target user equipment, the at least one reference node, or both.
An example apparatus according to the disclosure includes a memory, at least one transceiver, at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, and configured to receive one or more positioning reference signal measurement values from a target user equipment, select a reference node based at least in part on signal identification information associated with each of the one or more positioning reference signal measurement values, determine one or more overlapping positioning reference signals to be measured based at least in part on a coarse location of the target user equipment and a location of the reference node, transmit an indication of the one or more overlapping positioning reference signals to be measured to either the target user equipment, the reference node, or both, and receive at least one positioning reference signal measurement value based on the one or more overlapping positioning reference signals to be measured from the target user equipment and the reference node.
Items and/or techniques described herein may provide one or more of the following capabilities, as well as other capabilities not mentioned. Base stations in a communication network may be configured to transmit positioning reference signals. Client stations in the communication network may report positioning reference signal measurements to a network server. The client stations may include a target user equipment and reference nodes. The network server may determine overlapping positioning measurement signals between the network client stations. On-demand positioning reference signal measurement requests may be sent to one or more of the client stations based on the overlapping position measurement signals. The on-demand positioning reference signal measurement requests may increase the number of line of sight positioning reference signals the client stations may receive. The line of sight based measurements improve the quality of double difference time of arrival measurements. The accuracy of position estimates for a target user equipment may be improved. Other capabilities may be provided and not every implementation according to the disclosure must provide any, let alone all, of the capabilities discussed.
Techniques are discussed herein for configuring on demand positioning reference signal (PRS) resources in double difference (DD) positioning methods. For example, in a DD positioning method a target user equipment (UE) and a reference node may each receive positioning reference signals (PRSs) transmitted by a plurality of stations. The reference node may be a user equipment, or another station such as a base station (BS) configured to receive PRSs and communicate with a wireless network. The reference node is in a known location relative to the transmitting stations and thus the time of flight for signals sent between a station and a reference node via a line of sight (LOS) path are also known. The use of the reference node enables the network to mitigate the impact of timing errors (e.g., sync errors, group delays) which may reduce the accuracy of position measurements obtained by the target UE. DD positioning methods may, however, be impacted by noise associated with non-line of sight (NLOS) signals received by the target UE and the reference nodes. The techniques provided herein utilize on-demand PRS measurement request messages to reduce the errors associated with NLOS noise. For example, the on-demand PRS measurement requests may be used to increase the overlap in common LOS PRS measurements between the target UE and one or more reference nodes. The accuracy of position estimates for the target UE may improve with increases in common PRS measurement overlap. These techniques and configurations are examples, and other techniques and configurations may be used.
Referring to
Additional components of the communication system 100 are described below. The communication system 100 may include additional or alternative components.
As shown in
While
The UE 105 may comprise and/or may be referred to as a device, a mobile device, a wireless device, a mobile terminal, a terminal, a mobile station (MS), a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Enabled Terminal (SET), or by some other name. Moreover, the UE 105 may correspond to a cellphone, smartphone, laptop, tablet, PDA, tracking device, navigation device, Internet of Things (IoT) device, asset tracker, health monitors, security systems, smart city sensors, smart meters, wearable trackers, or some other portable or moveable device. Typically, though not necessarily, the UE 105 may support wireless communication using one or more Radio Access Technologies (RATs) such as Global System for Mobile communication (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), LTE, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11 WiFi (also referred to as Wi-Fi), Bluetooth® (BT), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), 5G new radio (NR) (e.g., using the NG-RAN 135 and the 5GC 140), etc. The UE 105 may support wireless communication using a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) which may connect to other networks (e.g., the Internet) using a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) or packet cable, for example. The use of one or more of these RATs may allow the UE 105 to communicate with the external client 130 (e.g., via elements of the 5GC 140 not shown in
The UE 105 may include a single entity or may include multiple entities such as in a personal area network where a user may employ audio, video and/or data I/O (input/output) devices and/or body sensors and a separate wireline or wireless modem. An estimate of a location of the UE 105 may be referred to as a location, location estimate, location fix, fix, position, position estimate, or position fix, and may be geographic, thus providing location coordinates for the UE 105 (e.g., latitude and longitude) which may or may not include an altitude component (e.g., height above sea level, height above or depth below ground level, floor level, or basement level). Alternatively, a location of the UE 105 may be expressed as a civic location (e.g., as a postal address or the designation of some point or small area in a building such as a particular room or floor). A location of the UE 105 may be expressed as an area or volume (defined either geographically or in civic form) within which the UE 105 is expected to be located with some probability or confidence level (e.g., 67%, 95%, etc.). A location of the UE 105 may be expressed as a relative location comprising, for example, a distance and direction from a known location. The relative location may be expressed as relative coordinates (e.g., X, Y (and Z) coordinates) defined relative to some origin at a known location which may be defined, e.g., geographically, in civic terms, or by reference to a point, area, or volume, e.g., indicated on a map, floor plan, or building plan. In the description contained herein, the use of the term location may comprise any of these variants unless indicated otherwise. When computing the location of a UE, it is common to solve for local x, y, and possibly z coordinates and then, if desired, convert the local coordinates into absolute coordinates (e.g., for latitude, longitude, and altitude above or below mean sea level).
The UE 105 may be configured to communicate with other entities using one or more of a variety of technologies. The UE 105 may be configured to connect indirectly to one or more communication networks via one or more device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links. The D2D P2P links may be supported with any appropriate D2D radio access technology (RAT), such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, and so on. One or more of a group of UEs utilizing D2D communications may be within a geographic coverage area of a Transmission/Reception Point (TRP) such as one or more of the gNBs 100a, 110b, and/or the ng-eNB 114. Other UEs in such a group may be outside such geographic coverage areas or may be otherwise unable to receive transmissions from a base station. Groups of UEs communicating via D2D communications may utilize a one-to-many (1:M) system in which each UE may transmit to other UEs in the group. A TRP may facilitate scheduling of resources for D2D communications. In other cases, D2D communications may be carried out between UEs without the involvement of a TRP.
Base stations (BSs) in the NG-RAN 135 shown in
Base stations (BSs) in the NG-RAN 135 shown in
The BSs (e.g., gNB 110a, gNB 110b, ng-eNB 114) may each comprise one or more TRPs. For example, each sector within a cell of a BS may comprise a TRP, although multiple TRPs may share one or more components (e.g., share a processor but have separate antennas). The communication system 100 may include macro TRPs or the communication system 100 may have TRPs of different types, e.g., macro, pico, and/or femto TRPs, etc. A macro TRP may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by terminals with service subscription. A pico TRP may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a pico cell) and may allow unrestricted access by terminals with service subscription. A femto or home TRP may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a femto cell) and may allow restricted access by terminals having association with the femto cell (e.g., terminals for users in a home).
As noted, while
The gNBs 110a, 110b and the ng-eNB 114 may communicate with the AMF 115, which, for positioning functionality, communicates with the LMF 120. The AMF 115 may support mobility of the UE 105, including cell change and handover and may participate in supporting a signaling connection to the UE 105 and possibly data and voice bearers for the UE 105. The LMF 120 may communicate directly with the UE 105, e.g., through wireless communications. The LMF 120 may support positioning of the UE 105 when the UE 105 accesses the NG-RAN 135 and may support position procedures/methods such as Assisted GNSS (A-GNSS), Observed Time Difference of Arrival (OTDOA), Real Time Kinematics (RTK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential GNSS (DGNSS), Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID), angle of arrival (AOA), angle of departure (AOD), and/or other position methods. The LMF 120 may process location services requests for the UE 105, e.g., received from the AMF 115 or from the GMLC 125. The LMF 120 may be connected to the AMF 115 and/or to the GMLC 125. The LMF 120 may be referred to by other names such as a Location Manager (LM), Location Function (LF), commercial LMF (CLMF), or value added LMF (VLMF). A node/system that implements the LMF 120 may additionally or alternatively implement other types of location-support modules, such as an Enhanced Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) or a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP). At least part of the positioning functionality (including derivation of the location of the UE 105) may be performed at the UE 105 (e.g., using signal measurements obtained by the UE 105 for signals transmitted by wireless nodes such as the gNBs 110a, 110b and/or the ng-eNB 114, and/or assistance data provided to the UE 105, e.g. by the LMF 120).
The GMLC 125 may support a location request for the UE 105 received from the external client 130 and may forward such a location request to the AMF 115 for forwarding by the AMF 115 to the LMF 120 or may forward the location request directly to the LMF 120. A location response from the LMF 120 (e.g., containing a location estimate for the UE 105) may be returned to the GMLC 125 either directly or via the AMF 115 and the GMLC 125 may then return the location response (e.g., containing the location estimate) to the external client 130. The GMLC 125 is shown connected to both the AMF 115 and LMF 120, though one of these connections may be supported by the 5GC 140 in some implementations.
As further illustrated in
With a UE-assisted position method, the UE 105 may obtain location measurements and send the measurements to a location server (e.g., the LMF 120) for computation of a location estimate for the UE 105. For example, the location measurements may include one or more of a Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI), Round Trip signal propagation Time (RTT). Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) and/or Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) for the gNBs 110a, 110b, the ng-eNB 114, and/or a WLAN AP. The location measurements may also or instead include measurements of GNSS pseudorange, code phase, and/or carrier phase for the SVs 190-193.
With a UE-based position method, the UE 105 may obtain location measurements (e.g., which may be the same as or similar to location measurements for a UE-assisted position method) and may compute a location of the UE 105 (e.g., with the help of assistance data received from a location server such as the LMF 120 or broadcast by the gNBs 110a, 110b, the ng-eNB 114, or other base stations or APs).
With a network-based position method, one or more base stations (e.g., the gNBs 110a, 110b, and/or the ng-eNB 114) or APs may obtain location measurements (e.g., measurements of RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ or Time of Arrival (TOA) for signals transmitted by the UE 105) and/or may receive measurements obtained by the UE 105. The one or more base stations or APs may send the measurements to a location server (e.g., the LMF 120) for computation of a location estimate for the UE 105.
Information provided by the gNBs 110a, 110b, and/or the ng-eNB 114 to the LMF 120 using NRPPa may include timing and configuration information for directional SS transmissions and location coordinates. The LMF 120 may provide some or all of this information to the UE 105 as assistance data in an LPP and/or NPP message via the NG-RAN 135 and the 5GC 140.
An LPP or NPP message sent from the LMF 120 to the UE 105 may instruct the UE 105 to do any of a variety of things depending on desired functionality. For example, the LPP or NPP message could contain an instruction for the UE 105 to obtain measurements for GNSS (or A-GNSS). WLAN, E-CID, and/or OTDOA (or some other position method). In the case of E-CID, the LPP or NPP message may instruct the UE 105 to obtain one or more measurement quantities (e.g., beam ID, beam width, mean angle, RSRP. RSRQ measurements) of directional signals transmitted within particular cells supported by one or more of the gNBs 110a, 110b, and/or the ng-eNB 114 (or supported by some other type of base station such as an eNB or WiFi AP). The UE 105 may send the measurement quantities back to the LMF 120 in an LPP or NPP message (e.g., inside a 5G NAS message) via the serving gNB 110a (or the serving ng-eNB 114) and the AMF 115.
As noted, while the communication system 100 is described in relation to 5G technology, the communication system 100 may be implemented to support other communication technologies, such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, etc., that are used for supporting and interacting with mobile devices such as the UE 105 (e.g., to implement voice, data, positioning, and other functionalities). In some such embodiments, the 5GC 140 may be configured to control different air interfaces. For example, the 5GC 140 may be connected to a WLAN using a Non-3GPP InterWorking Function (N3IWF, not shown
As noted, in some embodiments, positioning functionality may be implemented, at least in part, using the directional SS beams, sent by base stations (such as the gNBs 110a, 110b, and/or the ng-eNB 114) that are within range of the UE whose position is to be determined (e.g., the UE 105 of
Referring also to
The configuration of the UE 200 shown in
The UE 200 may comprise the modem processor 232 that may be capable of performing baseband processing of signals received and down-converted by the transceiver 215 and/or the SPS receiver 217. The modem processor 232 may perform baseband processing of signals to be upconverted for transmission by the transceiver 215. Also or alternatively, baseband processing may be performed by the general-purpose processor 230 and/or the DSP 231. Other configurations, however, may be used to perform baseband processing.
The UE 200 may include the sensor(s) 213 that may include, for example, an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) 270, one or more magnetometers 271, and/or one or more environment sensors 272. The IMU 270 may comprise one or more inertial sensors, for example, one or more accelerometers 273 (e.g., collectively responding to acceleration of the UE 200 in three dimensions) and/or one or more gyroscopes 274. The magnetometer(s) may provide measurements to determine orientation (e.g., relative to magnetic north and/or true north) that may be used for any of a variety of purposes, e.g., to support one or more compass applications. The environment sensor(s) 272 may comprise, for example, one or more temperature sensors, one or more barometric pressure sensors, one or more ambient light sensors, one or more camera imagers, and/or one or more microphones, etc. The sensor(s) 213 may generate analog and/or digital signals indications of which may be stored in the memory 211 and processed by the DSP 231 and/or the general-purpose processor 230 in support of one or more applications such as, for example, applications directed to positioning and/or navigation operations.
The sensor(s) 213 may be used in relative location measurements, relative location determination, motion determination, etc. Information detected by the sensor(s) 213 may be used for motion detection, relative displacement, dead reckoning, sensor-based location determination, and/or sensor-assisted location determination. The sensor(s) 213 may be useful to determine whether the UE 200 is fixed (stationary) or mobile and/or whether to report certain useful information to the LMF 120 regarding the mobility of the UE 200. For example, based on the information obtained/measured by the sensor(s) 213, the UE 200 may notify/report to the LMF 120 that the UE 200 has detected movements or that the UE 200 has moved, and report the relative displacement/distance (e.g., via dead reckoning, or sensor-based location determination, or sensor-assisted location determination enabled by the sensor(s) 213). In another example, for relative positioning information, the sensors/IMU can be used to determine the angle and/or orientation of the other device with respect to the UE 200, etc.
The IMU 270 may be configured to provide measurements about a direction of motion and/or a speed of motion of the UE 200, which may be used in relative location determination. For example, the one or more accelerometers 273 and/or the one or more gyroscopes 274 of the IMU 270 may detect, respectively, a linear acceleration and a speed of rotation of the UE 200. The linear acceleration and speed of rotation measurements of the UE 200 may be integrated over time to determine an instantaneous direction of motion as well as a displacement of the UE 200. The instantaneous direction of motion and the displacement may be integrated to track a location of the UE 200. For example, a reference location of the UE 200 may be determined, e.g., using the SPS receiver 217 (and/or by some other means) for a moment in time and measurements from the accelerometer(s) 273 and gyroscope(s) 274 taken after this moment in time may be used in dead reckoning to determine present location of the UE 200 based on movement (direction and distance) of the UE 200 relative to the reference location.
The magnetometer(s) 271 may determine magnetic field strengths in different directions which may be used to determine orientation of the UE 200. For example, the orientation may be used to provide a digital compass for the UE 200. The magnetometer(s) 271 may include a two-dimensional magnetometer configured to detect and provide indications of magnetic field strength in two orthogonal dimensions. Also or alternatively, the magnetometer(s) 271 may include a three-dimensional magnetometer configured to detect and provide indications of magnetic field strength in three orthogonal dimensions. The magnetometer(s) 271 may provide means for sensing a magnetic field and providing indications of the magnetic field, e.g., to the processor 210.
The transceiver 215 may include a wireless transceiver 240 and a wired transceiver 250 configured to communicate with other devices through wireless connections and wired connections, respectively. For example, the wireless transceiver 240 may include a transmitter 242 and receiver 244 coupled to one or more antennas 246 for transmitting (e.g., on one or more uplink channels and/or one or more sidelink channels) and/or receiving (e.g., on one or more downlink channels and/or one or more sidelink channels) wireless signals 248 and transducing signals from the wireless signals 248 to wired (e.g., electrical and/or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and/or optical) signals to the wireless signals 248. Thus, the transmitter 242 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined/integrated components, and/or the receiver 244 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined/integrated components. The wireless transceiver 240 may be configured to communicate signals (e.g., with TRPs and/or one or more other devices) according to a variety of radio access technologies (RATs) such as 5G New Radio (NR). GSM (Global System for Mobiles), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System). AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access). WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long-Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), V2C (Uu), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, Zigbee etc. NR systems may be configured to operate on different frequency layers such as FR1 (e.g., 410-7125 MHz) and FR2 (e.g., 24.25-52.6 GHz), and may extend into new bands such as sub-6 GHz and/or 100 GHz and higher (e.g., FR2x, FR3, FR4). The wired transceiver 250 may include a transmitter 252 and a receiver 254 configured for wired communication, e.g., with the NG-RAN 135 to send communications to, and receive communications from, the gNB 110a, for example. The transmitter 252 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined/integrated components, and/or the receiver 254 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined/integrated components. The wired transceiver 250 may be configured, e.g., for optical communication and/or electrical communication. The transceiver 215 may be communicatively coupled to the transceiver interface 214, e.g., by optical and/or electrical connection. The transceiver interface 214 may be at least partially integrated with the transceiver 215.
The user interface 216 may comprise one or more of several devices such as, for example, a speaker, microphone, display device, vibration device, keyboard, touch screen, etc. The user interface 216 may include more than one of any of these devices. The user interface 216 may be configured to enable a user to interact with one or more applications hosted by the UE 200. For example, the user interface 216 may store indications of analog and/or digital signals in the memory 211 to be processed by DSP 231 and/or the general-purpose processor 230 in response to action from a user. Similarly, applications hosted on the UE 200 may store indications of analog and/or digital signals in the memory 211 to present an output signal to a user. The user interface 216 may include an audio input/output (I/O) device comprising, for example, a speaker, a microphone, digital-to-analog circuitry, analog-to-digital circuitry, an amplifier and/or gain control circuitry (including more than one of any of these devices). Other configurations of an audio I/O device may be used. Also or alternatively, the user interface 216 may comprise one or more touch sensors responsive to touching and/or pressure, e.g., on a keyboard and/or touch screen of the user interface 216.
The SPS receiver 217 (e.g., a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver) may be capable of receiving and acquiring SPS signals 260 via an SPS antenna 262. The antenna 262 is configured to transduce the SPS signals 260 to wired signals, e.g., electrical or optical signals, and may be integrated with the antenna 246. The SPS receiver 217 may be configured to process, in whole or in part, the acquired SPS signals 260 for estimating a location of the UE 200. For example, the SPS receiver 217 may be configured to determine location of the UE 200 by trilateration using the SPS signals 260. The general-purpose processor 230, the memory 211, the DSP 231 and/or one or more specialized processors (not shown) may be utilized to process acquired SPS signals, in whole or in part, and/or to calculate an estimated location of the UE 200, in conjunction with the SPS receiver 217. The memory 211 may store indications (e.g., measurements) of the SPS signals 260 and/or other signals (e.g., signals acquired from the wireless transceiver 240) for use in performing positioning operations. The general-purpose processor 230, the DSP 231, and/or one or more specialized processors, and/or the memory 211 may provide or support a location engine for use in processing measurements to estimate a location of the UE 200.
The UE 200 may include the camera 218 for capturing still or moving imagery. The camera 218 may comprise, for example, an imaging sensor (e.g., a charge coupled device or a CMOS imager), a lens, analog-to-digital circuitry, frame buffers, etc. Additional processing, conditioning, encoding, and/or compression of signals representing captured images may be performed by the general-purpose processor 230 and/or the DSP 231. Also or alternatively, the video processor 233 may perform conditioning, encoding, compression, and/or manipulation of signals representing captured images. The video processor 233 may decode/decompress stored image data for presentation on a display device (not shown). e.g., of the user interface 216.
The position (motion) device (PMD) 219 may be configured to determine a position and possibly motion of the UE 200. For example, the PMD 219 may communicate with, and/or include some or all of, the SPS receiver 217. The PMD 219 may also or alternatively be configured to determine location of the UE 200 using terrestrial-based signals (e.g., at least some of the signals 248) for trilateration, for assistance with obtaining and using the SPS signals 260, or both. The PMD 219 may be configured to use one or more other techniques (e.g., relying on the UE's self-reported location (e.g., part of the UE's position beacon)) for determining the location of the UE 200, and may use a combination of techniques (e.g., SPS and terrestrial positioning signals) to determine the location of the UE 200. The PMD 219 may include one or more of the sensors 213 (e.g., gyroscope(s), accelerometer(s), magnetometer(s), etc.) that may sense orientation and/or motion of the UE 200 and provide indications thereof that the processor 210 (e.g., the general-purpose processor 230 and/or the DSP 231) may be configured to use to determine motion (e.g., a velocity vector and/or an acceleration vector) of the UE 200. The PMD 219 may be configured to provide indications of uncertainty and/or error in the determined position and/or motion.
Referring also to
The transceiver 315 may include a wireless transceiver 340 and a wired transceiver 350 configured to communicate with other devices through wireless connections and wired connections, respectively. For example, the wireless transceiver 340 may include a transmitter 342 and receiver 344 coupled to one or more antennas 346 for transmitting (e.g., on one or more uplink channels) and/or receiving (e.g., on one or more downlink channels) wireless signals 348 and transducing signals from the wireless signals 348 to wired (e.g., electrical and/or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and/or optical) signals to the wireless signals 348. Thus, the transmitter 342 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined/integrated components, and/or the receiver 344 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined/integrated components. The wireless transceiver 340 may be configured to communicate signals (e.g., with the UE 200, one or more other UEs, and/or one or more other devices) according to a variety of radio access technologies (RATs) such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobiles), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long-Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, Zigbee etc. The wired transceiver 350 may include a transmitter 352 and a receiver 354 configured for wired communication, e.g., with the network 140 to send communications to, and receive communications from, the LMF 120 or another network server, for example. The transmitter 352 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined/integrated components, and/or the receiver 354 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined/integrated components. The wired transceiver 350 may be configured, e.g., for optical communication and/or electrical communication.
The configuration of the TRP 300 shown in
Referring also to
The transceiver 415 may include a wireless transceiver 440 and a wired transceiver 450 configured to communicate with other devices through wireless connections and wired connections, respectively. For example, the wireless transceiver 440 may include a transmitter 442 and receiver 444 coupled to one or more antennas 446 for transmitting (e.g., on one or more downlink channels) and/or receiving (e.g., on one or more uplink channels) wireless signals 448 and transducing signals from the wireless signals 448 to wired (e.g., electrical and/or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electrical and/or optical) signals to the wireless signals 448. Thus, the transmitter 442 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined/integrated components, and/or the receiver 444 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined/integrated components. The wireless transceiver 440 may be configured to communicate signals (e.g., with the UE 200, one or more other UEs, and/or one or more other devices) according to a variety of radio access technologies (RATs) such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System for Mobiles), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long-Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, Zigbee etc. The wired transceiver 450 may include a transmitter 452 and a receiver 454 configured for wired communication, e.g., with the NG-RAN 135 to send communications to, and receive communications from, the TRP 300, for example. The transmitter 452 may include multiple transmitters that may be discrete components or combined/integrated components, and/or the receiver 454 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components or combined/integrated components. The wired transceiver 450 may be configured, e.g., for optical communication and/or electrical communication.
The configuration of the server 400 shown in
Referring to
Referring to
A base station may transmit the PRS over a particular PRS bandwidth, which may be configured by higher layers. The base station may transmit the PRS on subcarriers spaced apart across the PRS bandwidth. The base station may also transmit the PRS based on the parameters such as PRS periodicity TPRS, subframe offset PRS, and PRS duration NPRS. PRS periodicity is the periodicity at which the PRS is transmitted. The PRS periodicity may be, for example, 160, 320, 640 or 1280 ins. Subframe offset indicates specific subframes in which the PRS is transmitted. And PRS duration indicates the number of consecutive subframes in which the PRS is transmitted in each period of PRS transmission (PRS occasion). The PRS duration may be, for example, 1, 2, 4 or 6 ms.
The PRS periodicity TPRS and the subframe offset PRS may be conveyed via a PRS configuration index IPRS. The PRS configuration index and the PRS duration may be configured independently by higher layers. A set of NPRS consecutive subframes in which the PRS is transmitted may be referred to as a PRS occasion. Each PRS occasion may be enabled or muted, for example, the UE may apply a muting bit to each cell. A PRS resource set is a collection of PRS resources across a base station which have the same periodicity, a common muting pattern configuration, and the same repetition factor across slots (e.g., 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 16, 32 slots).
In general, the PRS resources depicted in
A PRS resource set is a set of PRS resources used for the transmission of PRS signals, where each PRS resource has a PRS resource ID. In addition, the PRS resources in a PRS resource set are associated with the same transmission-reception point (e.g., a TRP 300). Each of the PRS resources in the PRS resource set have the same periodicity, a common muting pattern, and the same repetition factor across slots. A PRS resource set is identified by a PRS resource set ID and may be associated with a particular TRP (identified by a cell ID) transmitted by an antenna panel of a base station. A PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set may be associated with an omnidirectional signal, and/or with a single beam (and/or beam ID) transmitted from a single base station (where a base station may transmit one or more beams). Each PRS resource of a PRS resource set may be transmitted on a different beam and as such, a PRS resource, or simply resource can also be referred to as a beam. Note that this does not have any implications on whether the base stations and the beams on which PRS are transmitted are known to the UE.
Referring to
Note that the terms positioning reference signal and PRS are reference signals that can be used for positioning, such as but not limited to, PRS signals, navigation reference signals (NRS) in 5G, downlink position reference signals (DL-PRS), uplink position reference signals (UL-PRS), tracking reference signals (TRS), cell-specific reference signals (CRS), channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS), primary synchronization signals (PSS), secondary synchronization signals (SSS), sounding reference signals (SRS), etc.
The ability of a UE to process PRS signals may vary based on the capabilities of the UE. In general, however, industry standards may be developed to establish a common PRS capability for UEs in a network. For example, an industry standard may require that a duration of DL PRS symbol in units of milliseconds (ms) a UE can process every T ms assuming a maximum DL PRS bandwidth in MHz, which is supported and reported by UE. As examples, and not limitations, the maximum DL PRS bandwidth for the FR1 bands may be 5, 10, 20, 40, 50, 80, 100 MHz, and for the FR2 bands may be 50, 100, 200, 400 MHz. The standards may also indicate a DL PRS buffering capability as a Type 1 (i.e., sub-slot/symbol level buffering), or a Type 2 (i.e., slot level buffering). The common UE capabilities may indicate a duration of DL PRS symbols N in units of ms a UE can process every T ms assuming maximum DL PRS bandwidth in MHz, which is supported and reported by a UE. Example T values may include 8, 16, 20, 30, 40, 80, 160, 320, 640, 1280 ms, and example N values may include 0.125, 0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 20, 25, 30, 32, 35, 40, 45, 50 ms. A UE may be configured to report a combination of (N. T) values per band, where N is a duration of DL PRS symbols in ms processed every T ms for a given maximum bandwidth (B) in MHz supported by a UE. In general, a UE may not be expected to support a DL PRS bandwidth that exceeds the reported DL PRS bandwidth value. The UE DL PRS processing capability may be defined for a single positioning frequency layer 700. The UE DL PRS processing capability may be agnostic to DL PRS comb factor configurations such as depicted in
Referring to
D=c*(t) (1)
For example, the distance between the UE 805 and the first base station 810 is c*(T2−T1), the distance between the UE 805 and the second base station 812 is c*(T3−T1), and the distance between the UE 805 and the third base station 814 is c*(T4−T1). The stations may use other transmission times (i.e., not all stations must transmit at time T1). Using the respective distances as a radius, a circular representation of the area around the base stations may be used to determine a position estimate for the UE 805 (e.g., using trilateration). Additional stations may be used (e.g., using multi-lateration techniques). ToA positioning methods may be used for two-dimensional as well as three-dimensional position estimates. Three-dimensional resolution can be performed by constructing spherical instead of circular models.
A drawback of ToA positioning methods is the requirement for precise time synchronization of all stations. Even small issues with time synchronization may result in very large errors in the resulting positioning estimates. For example, a time measurement error as small as 100 nanoseconds can result in a localization error of 30 meters. ToA-based positioning solutions are particularly susceptible to outages in station timing sources which may cause a base station to lose time synchronization. Other positioning techniques, such as round trip timing (RTT) and Angle of Arrival (AoA) are less dependent on station time synchronization.
Referring to
Since the UE 905 and base station 910 are exchanging messages, which may include timing information, the impact of a timing offset between the stations may be minimized. That is, the RTT procedures may be used in asynchronous networks. A drawback to RTT procedures, however, is that in dense operating environments, where there are many UEs exchanging RTT messages with base stations, the bandwidth required for the UL SRS for positioning messages may increase the messaging overhead and utilize excess network bandwidth. In this use case, passive positioning techniques may reduce the bandwidth required for positioning by eliminating transmissions from the UE.
Referring to
D
gNB1-UE
=c*((T3−T1)) (3)
D
gNB2-UE
=c*((T6−T1)−(T4−T2)−(T2−T1))=c*(T6−T4) (4)
D
gNB2-UE
−D
gNB1-UE
=c*((T6−T3)−(T4−T2)−(T2−T1) (5)
In operation, in an example, the base stations 1010, 1012 may utilize synchronized timing to compute the time of flight values. In an example, the first DL PRS 1004 and the second DL PRS 1006 may include timing information (such as in the RTT message flow 900) and thus may reduce the impact of a timing offset between the stations.
Referring to
Referring to
In operation, the first base station 1202 is configured to transmit PRS resources such as a first PRS 1206 which is received by both the target UE 1205 and the reference node 1210. Preferably, the same instance of the first PRS 1206 received by the UE 1205 and reference node 1210, but different instances of the first PRS 1206 may be received by the UE 1205 and the reference node 1210. The second base station 1204 is configured to transmit PRS resources such as one or more instances of a second PRS 1208 which is received by both the target UE 1205 and the reference node 1210. The first and second PRS 1206, 1208 may be in the same or different positioning frequency layers. Since the reference node 1210 is in a known location, the expected time of arrivals (ToAs) and the reference signal timing difference (RSTD) for the first and second PRSs 1206, 1208 are known based on the propagation time of the RF signals. A delay in the actual measurements as compared to the expected ToAs may be used to determine the group delay associated with the PRSs 1206, 1208.
Referring to
The LMF 120 may be configured to utilize different criteria for determining the PRS resources the reference nodes 1310a-b and the UE 1305 may receive. For example, the location of the UE 1305, and the locations of the reference nodes 1310a-b may be used to determine if they are within respective regions covered by PRS resources. The coverage may be interpreted as the PRS resource which may be measured, reported, or identified based on line-of-sight (LOS) measurements obtained by the reference nodes 1310a-b. Filtering (e.g., outlier removal) and other channel estimation/path loss techniques may be used to determine the LOS measurements.
In an example, the LMF 120 may be configured to select a reference node to obtain DD-TDOA measurements with a target UE based on a number of overlapped PRS measurements the reference node and the target UE may receive (i.e., the number of PRS that can be received by both the reference node and the target UE). For example, the target UE 1305 and the first reference node 1310a are located to receive PRS from gNBj and gNBk, and the target UE 1305 and the second reference node 1310b are configured to receive PRS from gNBl. In this example, the first reference node 1310a may be selected since it has a larger number of overlapping PRS with the UE 1305 then the second reference node 1310b. The selection of the first reference node 1310a in
In an example, the LMF 120 may evaluate the accuracy of a target UE positioning session. For example, the LMF 120 may be configured to detect timing errors, or determine other quality or accuracy metrics, of the DD-TDOA measurements obtained by a target UE—reference node pair. If the measurements include timing errors, or fail to meet established quality and/or accuracy requirements, the LMF 120 may provide an on-demand request to the target UE and/or the reference node and/or to other reference nodes to increase the number of PRS resources each station should attempt to measure. The increase in attempted PRS measurements may increase the overlapped measurements between the target UE and the reference node, which may also increase the number of overlapped LOS measurements. A larger overlap of LOS measurements may increase the accuracy of the target UE positioning session.
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
At stage 1518, the network server 1512 is configured to determine whether additional (i.e., on-demand) PRS measurements may be required to determine the position of the target UE 1502. For example, the PRS measurement reports 1516 may contain ambiguous TDOA measurements due to NLOS signals or a lack of overlapping PRS resources between the target UE 1502 and the reference nodes 1504, 1506. In an example, the network server 1512 may be configured with one or more data structures including coverage areas associated with PRS resources transmitted by the base stations 1508, 1510. The PRS resources may be associated with one or more reference nodes which are in a position and configured to receive the PRS resources. The network server 1512 may also be configured to utilize a coarse location of the target UE 1502 to determine a set of PRS resources the target UE 1502 may be expected to receive. The network server 1512 may then determine an overlap based on the PRS resources the reference nodes 1504, 1506 may receive and the PRS resources the target UE 1502 may receive. The overlap may be based on other operational factors which may impact the ability of stations to receive PRS resources. For example, muting patterns, device capabilities (e.g., bandwidth, frequency), and measurement gap configurations may be used to identify and/or constrain the PRS resources in the overlap. The network server 1512 may determine a set of PRS resources in the overlap and generate one or more on-demand requests to instruct the target UE 1502 and/or one or more of the reference nodes 1504, 1506 to obtain measurements of additional PRS resources. In a first example message flow 1500, the network server 1512 may provide a first on-demand PRS measurement request message 1520a to the target UE 1502 configured to increase the number of PRS the UE 1502 should attempt to measure. For example, referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
At stage 1602, the method includes receiving one or more positioning reference signal measurement values from a target user equipment. A server 400, including a transceiver 415 and the processor 410, may be a means for receiving one or more PRS measurement values. In an example, referring to
At stage 1604, the method includes selecting a reference node based at least in part on signal identification information associated with each of the one or more positioning reference signal measurement values. The server 400, including the processor 410, may be a means for selecting a reference node. The network server 1512 may be configured to select a reference node to obtain DD-TDOA measurements with a target UE based on a number of overlapped PRS measurements the reference node and the target UE reported at stage 1602 (i.e., the number of PRS that were received by both the reference node and the target UE). In an example, the network server 1512 may be configured to determine an intersection of PRS received by the target UE 1502 and each of the reference nodes 1504, 1506. The reference node with the maximum number of intersected PRS may be selected. For example, referring to
At stage 1606, the method includes determining one or more overlapping positioning reference signals to be measured. The server 400, including the processor 410, may be a means for determining one or more overlapping PRS to be measured. In an example, the network server 1512 may be configured with one or more data structures including coverage areas associated with PRS resources transmitted by the base stations 1508, 1510. The PRS resources may be associated with one or more reference nodes which are in a position and may (e.g., potentially) receive the PRS resources. The network server 1512 may also be configured to utilize a coarse location of the target UE 1502 to determine a set of PRS resources the target UE 1502 may potentially receive. The network server 1512 may then determine one or more overlapping PRS based on the intersection of the PRS resources received by the selected reference node, and the PRS resources the target UE may potentially receive. For example, referring to
At stage 1608, the method includes transmitting an indication of the one or more overlapping positioning reference signals to be measured to either the target user equipment, the reference node, or both. The server 400, including the transceiver 415 and the processor 410, may be a means for transmitting the indication of the one or more overlapping PRSs to be measured. In an example, the network server 1512 may send one or more on-demand PRS measurement request messages to the target UE 1502 and/or one or more reference nodes 1504, 1506. For example, the network server 1512 may determine a set of PRS resources in the overlap at stage 1606 and generate one or more on-demand requests to instruct the target UE 1502 and/or one or more of the reference nodes 1504, 1506 to obtain measurements of additional PRS resources. In an example, the on-demand request may include an indication of a time frame, or time window, in which the target UE 1502 and/or reference nodes may measure the PRS. The time window may help to reduce the time gap between measurements by the target UE and the reference nodes. Referring to the first example message flow 1500, the network server 1512 may provide indication of the one or more overlapping PRSs as the first on-demand PRS measurement request message 1520a. The indication of the one or more overlapping PRS may be assistance data including PRS resource information configured to enable the target UE 1502 to increase the number of PRS the UE 1502 may attempt to measure. For example, referring to
At stage 1610, the method includes receiving at least one positioning reference signal measurement value based on the one or more overlapping positioning reference signals to be measured from the target user equipment and the reference node. The server 400, including the transceiver 415 and the processor 410, may be a means for receiving at least one PRS measurement value. In an example, the target UE 1502 and the selected reference node (e.g., the first reference node 1504) may receive one or more of the PRS resources transmitted at stage 1608 and provide PRS measurement reports to the network server 1512. The measurement values may include signal identification information and corresponding RSTD, TOA, TDOA, RTT, Rx-Tx time difference, or other positioning measurement values to enable the network server to perform double differential measurements for the target UE and the selected reference node. In an example, the process may iterate back to stage 1602 to increase the number of LOS PRS measurements obtained by the target UE and the reference node, or additional reference nodes.
Referring to
At stage 1702, the method includes receiving one or more positioning reference signal measurement values from a target user equipment. A server 400, including a transceiver 415 and the processor 410, may be a means for receiving one or more PRS measurement values. In an example, referring to
At stage 1704, the method includes selecting at least a first reference node and a second reference node based at least in part on signal identification information associated with each of the one or more positioning reference signal measurement values. The server 400, including the processor 410, may be a means for selecting at least a first reference node and a second reference node. The network server 1512 may be configured to select a first reference node and a second reference node to obtain DD-TDOA measurements with a target UE based on a number of overlapped PRS measurements the respective reference nodes have with the target UE based on the PRS signal measurements reported at stage 1702. (i.e., the number of PRS that were received by both a respective reference node and the target UE). For example, referring to
At stage 1706, the method includes determining one or more overlapping positioning reference signals to be measured based at least in part on a coarse location of the target user equipment and respective locations of the first reference node and the second reference node. The server 400, including the processor 410, may be a means for determining one or more overlapping PRS. In an example, the network server 1512 may be configured with one or more data structures including coverage areas associated with PRS resources transmitted by the base stations 1508, 1510. The PRS resources may be associated with one or more reference nodes which are in a position and may (e.g., potentially) receive the PRS resources. The network server 1512 may also be configured to utilize a coarse location of the target UE 1502 to determine a set of PRS resources the target UE 1502 may potentially receive. The network server 1512 may then determine one or more overlapping PRS based on the intersection of the PRS resources received by the first and second reference nodes, and the PRS resources received by the target UE. The network server 1512 may be configured to select the overlapping PRS based on other operational factors which may impact the ability of stations to receive PRS resources. For example, muting patterns, device capabilities (e.g., bandwidth, frequency), and measurement gap configuration may be used to identify and/or constrain the PRS resources in the overlap.
At stage 1708, the method includes transmitting an indication of the one or more overlapping positioning reference signals to be measured to one or more of the target user equipment, the first reference node, and the second reference node. The server 400, including the transceiver 415 and the processor 410, may be a means for transmitting the indication of the one or more overlapping PRSs. In an example, the network server 1512 may send one or more on-demand PRS measurement request messages to the target UE 1502 and/or one or more reference nodes 1504, 1506. For example, the network server 1512 may determine a set of PRS resources in the overlap at stage 1706 and generate one or more on-demand requests to instruct the target UE 1502 and/or one or more of the reference nodes 1504, 1506 to obtain measurements of additional PRS resources. Referring to the first example message flow 1500, the network server 1512 may provide an indication of the one or more overlapping PRSs as one or more on-demand PRS measurement request messages 1520a-c. The indication of the one or more overlapping PRS may be assistance data including PRS resource information configured to enable the target UE 1502 and the reference nodes 1504, 1506 to increase the number of LOS PRS resources to measure and report. In an example, the network server 1512 may be configured to mute PRS transmissions from one or more base stations 1508, 1510 to reduce interference with the overlapping PRS. For example, a PRS muting pattern may be configured to provide the overlapping PRS priority over other PRS resources 1514 to reduce the potential of NLOS noise.
At stage 1710, the method includes receiving at least one positioning reference signal measurement value based on the one or more overlapping positioning reference signals to be measured from the target user equipment and the first reference node, or from the target user equipment and the second reference node. The server 400, including the transceiver 415 and the processor 410, may be a means for receiving at least one PRS measurement value. In an example, the target UE 1502 and the first and second reference nodes may receive one or more of the PRS resources transmitted at stage 1708 and provide PRS measurement reports to the network server 1512. The measurement values may include signal identification information and corresponding RSTD, TOA, TDOA, RTT, Rx-Tx time difference, or other positioning measurement values to enable the network server to perform double differential measurements for the target UE and at least one of the first and second reference nodes.
Referring to
At stage 1802, the method includes receiving a plurality of positioning reference signal measurement values from a target user equipment and at least one reference node. A server 400, including a transceiver 415 and the processor 410, may be a means for receiving the plurality of PRS measurement values. In an example, referring to
At stage 1804, the method includes determining one or more on-demand positioning reference signals to be measured based at least in part on signal identification information associated with each of the plurality of positioning reference signal measurement values. The server 400, including the processor 410, may be a means for determining one or more on-demand PRSs to be measured. The network server 1512 may be configured select the at least one reference node based on the number of PRS measurements provided at stage 1802. For example, the reference node which provides the greatest number of PRS measurements, or the reference node with the most overlapped PRS with the target UE may be selected. Referring to
At stage 1806, the method includes transmitting an indication of the one or more on-demand positioning reference signals to be measured to either the target user equipment, the at least one reference node, or both. The server 400, including the transceiver 415 and the processor 410, may be a means for transmitting the indication of the one or more on-demand PRSs to be measured. In an example, the network server 1512 may send one or more on-demand PRS measurement request messages to the target UE 1502 and/or one or more reference nodes 1504, 1506. For example, the network server 1512 may determine a set of PRS resources in the overlap at stage 1804 and generate one or more on-demand requests to instruct the target UE 1502 and/or one or more of the reference nodes 1504, 1506 to obtain measurements of additional PRS resources. In an example, the on-demand request may include an indication of a time frame, or time window, in which the target UE 1502 and/or reference nodes may measure the PRS. The time window may help to reduce the time gap between measurements by the target UE and the reference nodes. Referring to the first example message flow 1500, the network server 1512 may provide indication of the one or more overlapping PRSs as the first on-demand PRS measurement request message 1520a. The indication of the one or more overlapping PRS may be assistance data including PRS resource information configured to enable the target UE 1502 to increase the number of PRS the UE 1502 may attempt to measure. For example, referring to
Other examples and implementations are within the scope of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to the nature of software and computers, functions described above can be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or a combination of any of these. Features implementing functions may also be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different physical locations. For example, one or more functions, or one or more portions thereof, discussed above as occurring in the LMF 120 may be performed outside of the LMF 120 such as by the TRP 300 or the UE 200.
As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. For example, “a processor” may include one processor or multiple processors. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” and/or “including,” as used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
Also, as used herein, “or” as used in a list of items prefaced by “at least one of” or prefaced by “one or more of” indicates a disjunctive list such that, for example, a list of “at least one of A, B, or C,” or a list of “one or more of A, B, or C” means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C), or combinations with more than one feature (e.g., AA, AAB, ABBC, etc.).
Substantial variations may be made in accordance with specific requirements. For example, customized hardware might also be used, and/or particular elements might be implemented in hardware, software (including portable software, such as applets, etc.) executed by a processor, or both. Further, connection to other computing devices such as network input/output devices may be employed.
The systems and devices discussed above are examples. Various configurations may omit, substitute, or add various procedures or components as appropriate. For instance, features described with respect to certain configurations may be combined in various other configurations. Different aspects and elements of the configurations may be combined in a similar manner. Also, technology evolves and, thus, many of the elements are examples and do not limit the scope of the disclosure or claims.
A wireless communication system is one in which communications are conveyed wirelessly, i.e., by electromagnetic and/or acoustic waves propagating through atmospheric space rather than through a wire or other physical connection. A wireless communication network may not have all communications transmitted wirelessly but is configured to have at least some communications transmitted wirelessly. Further, the term “wireless communication device,” or similar term, does not require that the functionality of the device is exclusively, or evenly primarily, for communication, or that the device be a mobile device, but indicates that the device includes wireless communication capability (one-way or two-way), e.g., includes at least one radio (each radio being part of a transmitter, receiver, or transceiver) for wireless communication.
Specific details are given in the description to provide a thorough understanding of example configurations (including implementations). However, configurations may be practiced without these specific details. For example, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, and techniques have been shown without unnecessary detail in order to avoid obscuring the configurations. This description provides example configurations, and does not limit the scope, applicability, or configurations of the claims. Rather, the preceding description of the configurations provides a description for implementing described techniques. Various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the scope of the disclosure.
The terms “processor-readable medium,” “machine-readable medium,” and “computer-readable medium,” as used herein, refer to any medium that participates in providing data that causes a machine to operate in a specific fashion. Using a computing platform, various processor-readable media might be involved in providing instructions/code to processor(s) for execution and/or might be used to store and/or carry such instructions/code (e.g., as signals). In many implementations, a processor-readable medium is a physical and/or tangible storage medium. Such a medium may take many forms, including but not limited to, non-volatile media and volatile media. Non-volatile media include, for example, optical and/or magnetic disks. Volatile media include, without limitation, dynamic memory.
A statement that a value exceeds (or is more than or above) a first threshold value is equivalent to a statement that the value meets or exceeds a second threshold value that is slightly greater than the first threshold value. e.g., the second threshold value being one value higher than the first threshold value in the resolution of a computing system. A statement that a value is less than (or is within or below) a first threshold value is equivalent to a statement that the value is less than or equal to a second threshold value that is slightly lower than the first threshold value. e.g., the second threshold value being one value lower than the first threshold value in the resolution of a computing system.
Implementation examples are described in the following numbered clauses:
Clause 1. A method for providing an on-demand positioning reference signal request, comprising: receiving a plurality of positioning reference signal measurement values from a target user equipment and at least one reference node; determining one or more on-demand positioning reference signals to be measured based at least in part on signal identification information associated with each of the plurality of positioning reference signal measurement values; and sending an indication of the one or more on-demand positioning reference signals to be measured to either of the target user equipment, the at least one reference node, or both.
Clause 2. The method of clause 1 wherein at least one of the plurality of positioning measurement values received from the target user equipment and the at least one reference node includes a reference signal time difference value associated with a pair of positioning reference signals.
Clause 3. The method of clause 1 wherein at least one of the plurality of positioning measurement values received from the target user equipment and the at least one reference node includes a receive-transmit time difference of at least one positioning reference signal.
Clause 4. The method of clause 1 further comprising receiving at least one positioning reference signal measurement value from the target user equipment and the at least one reference node based on the one or more on-demand positioning reference signals to be measured.
Clause 5. The method of clause 4 further comprising determining that at least one measurement value of the at least one positioning reference signal measurement value based on the one or more on-demand positioning reference signals is based at least in part on a line of sight path condition between an anchor station and the target user equipment, and a line of sight path condition between the anchor station and the at least one reference node.
Clause 6. The method of clause 1 further comprising transmitting a positioning reference signal muting pattern to one or more anchor stations.
Clause 7. The method of clause 1 further wherein determining the one or more on-demand positioning reference signals to be measured includes constraining the one or more on-demand positioning reference signals based on a time window.
Clause 8. The method of clause 1 wherein the indication of the one or more on-demand positioning reference signals to be measured includes assistance data associated with one or more positioning reference signal resources.
Clause 9. A method for on-demand positioning reference signal selection, comprising: receiving one or more positioning reference signal measurement values from a target user equipment; selecting a reference node based at least in part on signal identification information associated with each of the one or more positioning reference signal measurement values; determining one or more overlapping positioning reference signals to be measured based at least in part on a coarse location of the target user equipment and a location of the reference node; transmitting an indication of the one or more overlapping positioning reference signals to be measured to either the target user equipment, the reference node, or both; and receiving at least one positioning reference signal measurement value based on the one or more overlapping positioning reference signals to be measured from the target user equipment and the reference node.
Clause 10. The method of clause 9 wherein the one or more positioning reference signal measurement values received from the target user equipment include a reference signal time difference value associated with a pair of positioning reference signals.
Clause 11. The method of clause 9 wherein the one or more positioning reference signal measurement values received from the target user equipment include a receive-transmit time difference of at least one positioning reference signal.
Clause 12. The method of clause 9 wherein determining the one or more overlapping positioning reference signals to be measured includes determining a line of sight path condition between an anchor station and the target user equipment.
Clause 13. The method of clause 9 further comprising receiving one or more positioning reference signal measurement values from the reference node, wherein selecting the reference node includes determining an intersection of the signal identification information associated with each of the positioning reference signal measurement values received from the target user equipment and the signal identification information associated with each of the positioning reference signal measurement values received from the reference node.
Clause 14. The method of clause 9 further comprising: receiving one or more positioning reference signal measurement values from a plurality of reference nodes; determining a plurality of intersection values based at least in part on the signal identification information associated with each of the positioning reference signal measurement values received by the target user equipment and the signal identification information associated with each of the positioning reference signal measurement values received by the plurality of reference nodes; and selecting the reference node based at least in part on the plurality of intersection values, wherein the reference node is associated with a maximum of the plurality of intersection values.
Clause 15. The method of clause 9 further comprising transmitting a positioning reference signal muting pattern to one or more wireless nodes based at least in part on the one or more overlapping positioning reference signals.
Clause 16. The method of clause 9 further comprising determining a time window for measuring at least one of the one or more overlapping positioning reference signals.
Clause 17. The method of clause 9 wherein the indication of the one or more overlapping positioning reference signals to be measured includes assistance data associated with one or more positioning reference signal resources.
Clause 18. The method of clause 9 further comprising determining that at least one measurement value of the at least one positioning reference signal measurement value based on the one or more overlapping positioning reference signals to be measured is based at least in part on a line of sight path condition between an anchor station and the target user equipment, and a line of sight path condition between the anchor station and the reference node.
Clause 19. An apparatus, comprising: a memory, at least one transceiver; at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, and configured to: receive a plurality of positioning reference signal measurement values from a target user equipment and at least one reference node; determine one or more on-demand positioning reference signals to be measured based at least in part on signal identification information associated with each of the plurality of positioning reference signal measurement values; and send an indication of the one or more on-demand positioning reference signals to be measured to either of the target user equipment, the at least one reference node, or both.
Clause 20. The apparatus of clause 19 wherein at least one of plurality of positioning measurement values received from the target user equipment and the at least one reference node includes a reference signal time difference value associated with a pair of positioning reference signals.
Clause 21. The apparatus of clause 19 wherein at least one of the plurality of positioning measurement values received from the target user equipment and the at least one reference node includes a receive-transmit time difference of at least one positioning reference signal.
Clause 22. The apparatus of clause 19 wherein the at least one processor is further configured to receive at least one positioning reference signal measurement value based on the one or more on-demand positioning reference signals to be measured from the target user equipment and the at least one reference node.
Clause 23. The apparatus of clause 22 wherein the at least one positioning reference signal measurement value based on the one or more on-demand positioning reference signals to be measured includes at least one measurement value based at least in part on a line of sight path condition between an anchor station and the target user equipment, and a line of sight path condition between the anchor station and the at least one reference node.
Clause 24. The apparatus of clause 19 wherein the at least one processor is further configured to transmit a positioning reference signal muting pattern to one or more anchor stations based at least in part on the one or more on-demand positioning reference signals.
Clause 25. The apparatus of clause 19 wherein the at least one processor is further configured to determine a time window for measuring at least one of the one or more on-demand positioning reference signals.
Clause 26. The apparatus of clause 19 wherein the indication of the one or more on-demand positioning reference signals includes assistance data associated with one or more positioning reference signal resources.
Clause 27. An apparatus, comprising: a memory; at least one transceiver; at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, and configured to: receive one or more positioning reference signal measurement values from a target user equipment; select a reference node based at least in part on signal identification information associated with each of the one or more positioning reference signal measurement values; determine one or more overlapping positioning reference signals to be measured based at least in part on a coarse location of the target user equipment and a location of the reference node; transmit an indication of the one or more overlapping positioning reference signals to be measured to either the target user equipment, the reference node, or both; and receive at least one positioning reference signal measurement value based on the one or more overlapping positioning reference signals to be measured from the target user equipment and the reference node.
Clause 28. The apparatus of clause 27 wherein the one or more positioning reference signal measurement values received from the target user equipment include a reference signal time difference value associated with a pair of positioning reference signals.
Clause 29. The apparatus of clause 27 wherein the one or more positioning reference signal measurement values received from the target user equipment include a receive-transmit time difference of at least one positioning reference signal.
Clause 30. The apparatus of clause 27 wherein the at least one processor is further configured to determine a line of sight path condition between an anchor station and the target user equipment.
Clause 31. The apparatus of clause 27 wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive one or more positioning reference signal measurement values from the reference node; and determine an intersection of the signal identification information associated with each of the positioning reference signal measurement values received from the target user equipment and the signal identification information associated with each of the positioning reference signal measurement values received from the reference node.
Clause 32. The apparatus of clause 27 wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: receive one or more positioning reference signal measurement values from a plurality of reference nodes; determine a plurality of intersection values based at least in part on the signal identification information associated with each of the positioning reference signal measurement values received by the target user equipment and the signal identification information associated with each of the positioning reference signal measurement values received by the plurality of reference nodes; and select the reference node based at least in part on the plurality of intersection values, wherein the reference node is associated with a maximum of the plurality of intersection values.
Clause 33. The apparatus of clause 27 wherein the at least one processor is further configured to transmit a positioning reference signal muting pattern to one or more base stations based at least in part on the one or more overlapping positioning reference signals.
Clause 34. The apparatus of clause 27 wherein the at least one processor is further configured to determine a time window for measuring at least one of the one or more overlapping positioning reference signals.
Clause 35. The apparatus of clause 27 wherein the indication of the one or more overlapping positioning reference signals to be measured includes assistance data associated with one or more positioning reference signal resources.
Clause 36. The apparatus of clause 27 wherein the at least one positioning reference signal measurement value based on the one or more overlapping positioning reference signals to be measured includes at least one measurement value based at least in part on a line of sight path condition between an anchor station and the target user equipment, and a line of sight path condition between the anchor station and the reference node.
Clause 37. An apparatus for providing an on-demand positioning reference signal request, comprising: means for receiving a plurality of positioning reference signal measurement values from a target user equipment and at least one reference node; means for determining one or more on-demand positioning reference signals to be measured based at least in part on signal identification information associated with each of the plurality of positioning reference signal measurement values; and means for sending an indication of the one or more on-demand positioning reference signals to be measured to either of the target user equipment, the at least one reference node, or both.
Clause 38. An apparatus for on-demand positioning reference signal selection, comprising: means for receiving one or more positioning reference signal measurement values from a target user equipment; means for selecting a reference node based at least in part on signal identification information associated with each of the one or more positioning reference signal measurement values; means for determining one or more overlapping positioning reference signals to be measured based at least in part on a coarse location of the target user equipment and a location of the reference node; means for transmitting an indication of the one or more overlapping positioning reference signals to be measured to either the target user equipment, the reference node, or both; and means for receiving at least one positioning reference signal measurement value based on the one or more overlapping positioning reference signals to be measured from the target user equipment and the reference node.
Clause 39. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium comprising processor-readable instructions configured to cause one or more processors to provide an on-demand positioning reference signal request, comprising: code for receiving a plurality of positioning reference signal measurement values from a target user equipment and at least one reference node; code for determining one or more on-demand positioning reference signals to be measured based at least in part on signal identification information associated with each of the plurality of positioning reference signal measurement values; and code for sending an indication of the one or more on-demand positioning reference signals to be measured to either of the target user equipment, the at least one reference node, or both.
Clause 40. A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium comprising processor-readable instructions configured to cause one or more processors to select on-demand positioning reference signals, comprising: code for receiving one or more positioning reference signal measurement values from a target user equipment; code for selecting a reference node based at least in part on signal identification information associated with each of the one or more positioning reference signal measurement values; code for determining one or more overlapping positioning reference signals to be measured based at least in part on a coarse location of the target user equipment and a location of the reference node; code for transmitting an indication of the one or more overlapping positioning reference signals to be measured to either the target user equipment, the reference node, or both; and code for receiving at least one positioning reference signal measurement value based on the one or more overlapping positioning reference signals to be measured from the target user equipment and the reference node.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20210100171 | Mar 2021 | GR | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/US2022/020724 | 3/17/2022 | WO |
