CN115225171B

CN115225171B - Signal processing method, electronic device, and computer-readable storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN115225171B
Application number: CN202110419448.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 蓝元皓; 黄建仁; 龙星宇
Original assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-04-19
Filing date: 2021-04-19
Publication date: 2025-08-05
Anticipated expiration: 2041-04-19
Also published as: CN115225171A

Abstract

The application relates to a signal processing method, an electronic device and a computer readable storage medium. The method includes receiving, by an electronic device, a beacon frame signal from an access device, the beacon frame signal being transmitted via a plurality of antennas of the access device, determining hybrid channel state information regarding a plurality of channels corresponding to the plurality of antennas based on the beacon frame signal, and obtaining channel state information of at least one of the plurality of channels from the hybrid channel state information. In this way, CSI corresponding to a single channel can be simply and effectively resolved from hybrid CSI related to multiple antenna channels, so as to achieve performance improvement of various related applications such as indoor positioning.

Description

Signal processing method, electronic device, and computer-readable storage medium

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of communications, and in particular to a signal processing method, an electronic device, and a computer readable storage medium in a multi-antenna application.

Background

With the development of communication technology, multiple antennas are widely used in various electronic devices and thus applied in various application scenarios. For example, in location-based services (location based service, LBS), indoor assisted positioning is proposed in addition to conventional global positioning system (global positioning system, GPS) positioning. Indoor assisted positioning using WiFi received signal strength (RECEIVED SIGNAL STRENGTH, RSS) is currently popular. For such indoor assisted positioning based on WiFi RSS, it has been proposed to use Channel State Information (CSI) estimation to achieve positioning. However, conventional CSI estimation techniques are designed for a single channel. In the case of WiFi access devices with multiple transmit antennas (i.e., multiple channels), using conventional CSI estimation techniques typically has lower positioning accuracy.

Disclosure of Invention

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a signal processing scheme capable of obtaining respective CSI for each of a plurality of transmit antennas (i.e., a plurality of channels).

According to a first aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, a signal processing method is provided. The method includes an electronic device receiving a beacon frame signal from an access device, the beacon frame signal being transmitted via a plurality of antennas of the access device, the electronic device determining hybrid channel state information about a plurality of channels corresponding to the plurality of antennas based on the beacon frame signal, and the electronic device obtaining channel state information for at least one of the plurality of channels from the hybrid channel state information. The channel state information of the channels corresponding to the respective antennas can be separated from the mixed channel state information of the multiple antennas.

According to a second aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, an electronic device is provided. The electronic device includes a processor and a memory including computer program code, the memory and the computer program code configured to, with the processor, cause the electronic device to receive a beacon frame signal from an access device, the beacon frame signal being transmitted via a plurality of antennas of the access device, determine hybrid channel state information related to a plurality of channels corresponding to the plurality of antennas based on the beacon frame signal, and obtain channel state information for at least one of the plurality of channels from the hybrid channel state information. Thereby realizing a device capable of obtaining channel state information of channels corresponding to respective antennas from mixed channel state information of multiple antennas.

According to a third aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a signal processing apparatus. The apparatus includes means for receiving a beacon frame signal from an access device, the beacon frame signal transmitted via a plurality of antennas of the access device, means for determining hybrid channel state information regarding a plurality of channels corresponding to the plurality of antennas based on the beacon frame signal, and means for obtaining channel state information for at least one of the plurality of channels from the hybrid channel state information. Thereby, an operation of obtaining channel state information of channels corresponding to respective antennas from mixed channel state information of multiple antennas can be performed.

According to a fourth aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, a computer-readable storage medium is provided. The computer readable storage medium comprises machine executable instructions which, when executed by a device, cause the device to perform the method of any possible implementation of the first aspect described above and any possible implementation of the first aspect.

According to a fifth aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a chip comprising a memory for storing a computer program and a processor for calling and running the computer program from the memory to perform the method of the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect.

According to a sixth aspect of embodiments of the present disclosure, a computer program product is provided. The computer program product comprises computer program code which, when executed by a device, causes the device to perform the method of the first aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspect.

As will be appreciated from the following description of example embodiments, CSI corresponding to a single channel may be simply and efficiently resolved from hybrid CSI related to multiple antenna channels according to the technical solutions presented herein. Based on the resulting CSI, various advantages may be achieved. For example, a great improvement in indoor positioning accuracy can be obtained. Of course, outdoor positioning may also be implemented. In addition, security monitoring or intruder detection mechanisms can be implemented, personnel health detection can also be implemented, and so on.

It should be understood that the description in this summary is not intended to limit key or critical features of the disclosed embodiments, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description.

Drawings

The above and other features, advantages and aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent by reference to the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, wherein like or similar reference numerals denote like or similar elements, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example communication network in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

fig. 2 shows a flow chart of a signal processing method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Fig. 3 shows a schematic diagram of an exemplary transmission process of a beacon frame signal according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 4 illustrates a flowchart of an exemplary method of acquiring CSI for at least one channel in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Fig. 5 shows a schematic diagram of a process of determining a hybrid channel impulse response (channel impulse response, CIR) in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Fig. 6 illustrates a flow chart of an exemplary method of acquiring a CIR of at least one channel in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Fig. 7 shows a schematic diagram of a process of acquiring CSI corresponding to the method of fig. 6;

Fig. 8 illustrates a flow chart of another exemplary method of acquiring a CIR of at least one channel in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 shows a schematic diagram corresponding to the method of FIG. 8;

fig. 10 shows a schematic diagram of an application of multi-antenna CSI in fingerprint positioning according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

Fig. 11 shows a schematic diagram of an application of multi-antenna CSI in angle of departure (angle of departure, aoD) positioning in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 shows a schematic block diagram of a signal processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and

Fig. 13 shows a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. While the embodiments of the present disclosure have been illustrated in the drawings, it should be understood that the present disclosure may be embodied in various forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein, but rather are provided to provide a more thorough and complete understanding of the present disclosure. It should be understood that the drawings and embodiments of the present disclosure are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

The term "including" and variations thereof as used herein are intended to be open-ended, i.e., including, but not limited to. The term "based on" is based at least in part on. The term "one embodiment" means "at least one embodiment" and the term "another embodiment" means "at least one other embodiment". Related definitions of other terms will be given in the description below.

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

The term "circuitry" as used herein refers to one or more of the following:

(a) Hardware-only circuit implementations (such as analog-only and/or digital-circuit implementations), and

(B) Combinations of hardware circuitry and software, such as (i) combinations of analog and/or digital hardware circuitry and software/firmware, if applicable, and (ii) any portion of a hardware processor and software, including digital signal processors, software, and memory that work together to cause an apparatus, such as an Optical Line Terminal (OLT) or other computing device, to perform various functions, and

(C) Hardware circuitry and/or a processor, such as a microprocessor or a portion of a microprocessor, that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but may not have software when software is not required for operation.

Definition of circuitry applies to all scenarios in which this term is used in this application (including in any claims). As another example, the term "circuitry" as used herein also covers an implementation of only a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors), or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor, or its accompanying software or firmware. For example, if applicable to the particular claim element, the term "circuitry" also covers a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit or similar integrated circuit in an OLT or other computing device.

As used herein, the term "terminal device" refers to any device having wireless or wired communication capabilities. Examples of terminal devices include, but are not limited to, customer Premise Equipment (CPE), user Equipment (UE), personal computer, desktop computer, mobile phone, cellular phone, smart phone, personal Digital Assistant (PDA), portable computer, tablet, wearable device, internet of things (IoT) device, machine Type Communication (MTC) device, in-vehicle device for V2X (X refers to pedestrian, vehicle, or infrastructure/network) communication, or image capturing device such as a digital camera, gaming device, music storage and playback device, or internet device capable of wireless or wired internet access and browsing, and so forth.

As used herein, the term "access device" may refer to a device for accessing any wired or wireless network via it. For example, the wired or wireless network may be a broadband network, the internet, a local area network, a metropolitan area network, a mobile communication network, and so on. The access device may support, for example, a WiFi protocol or any other similar protocol known or developed in the future. For example, the access device may be a wireless router, a terminal device with router functionality, a network device with router functionality, and so on. In view of the rapid development of communication technology, there will of course be future types of communication networks and communication protocols, with which the present invention may be combined. It should not be considered as limiting the scope of the present disclosure to only the communication networks and communication protocols described above.

In a conventional scheme for performing positioning using CSI estimation, CSI estimation may be performed using beacon frame signals periodically broadcast by an access device, and then positioning may be performed based on CSI amplitude phase information. In this scheme, the beacon frame signal is transmitted in such a manner that single stream data is transmitted on a plurality of antennas. That is, the same data (i.e., beacon frame signals) is transmitted on multiple antennas. Thus, the CSI estimation results in hybrid CSI associated with multiple channels of multiple antennas, and no CSI for the channels of the respective antennas is obtained. In this case, the amplitude and phase difference information between the transmitting antennas cannot be obtained through the CSI, and the CSI amplitude and phase information of only a single antenna is not beneficial to improving the positioning accuracy.

In another scheme, CSI estimation may be performed by multiple receive antennas to obtain CSI for each antenna. Although the amplitude and phase difference information between the receiving antennas can be obtained in this way, when the device to be positioned rotates or a certain receiving antenna is blocked, the positioning accuracy is seriously affected and the device can only be used in the device to be positioned with multiple antennas.

In view of this, embodiments of the present disclosure propose a signal processing scheme to overcome the above and other potential problems. According to the scheme proposed herein, CSI of channels corresponding to respective antennas are separated from the mixed CSI of the single stream beacon frame signal. Therefore, amplitude and phase difference information among all the transmitting antennas can be obtained, and the improvement of positioning accuracy is facilitated. For ease of understanding, this is described in detail below in connection with fig. 1-11.

Fig. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example communication network 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. As shown in fig. 1, the network 100 may include an electronic device 110 and access devices 120, 130, and 140. Access device 120 may include antennas 121 and 122, access device 130 may include antennas 131 and 132, and access device 140 may include antennas 141 and 142. It should be appreciated that each of these antennas may function as both a transmitting antenna and a receiving antenna. Access devices 120, 130, and 140 may each communicate with electronic device 110 via a respective one or more antennas. Communications within the communication network 100 may follow a WiFi protocol or any other known or future developed similar protocol.

Although electronic device 110 is shown here as a terminal device and access devices 120, 130, and 140 are shown as wireless routers, it should be understood that this is merely an example and that electronic device 110 and access devices 120, 130, and 140 may be in any other suitable form. Furthermore, it should be understood that the number of electronic devices and access devices, as well as the number of antennas of the access devices, are not limited to the example shown in fig. 1, but may be any other suitable number, greater or lesser.

In some scenarios, access devices 120, 130, and 140 may each transmit a beacon frame signal to electronic device 110 via a respective transmit antenna, e.g., periodically broadcast the beacon frame signal. Electronic device 110 may be located, for example, indoor assisted location, by means of beacon frame signals from access devices 120, 130, and 140. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, for any one of access devices 120, 130, and 140, electronic device 110 may determine hybrid CSI related to multiple channels of multiple antennas of the access device based on a single stream beacon frame signal from the access device and strip CSI of the channels of the respective antennas from the hybrid CSI. As described in more detail below in connection with fig. 2.

Fig. 2 shows a flow chart of a signal processing method 200 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The method 200 may be implemented at an electronic device (e.g., the electronic device 110 of fig. 1), such as in an Integrated Circuit (IC) within the electronic device. For convenience, fig. 2 will be described herein in connection with the example of fig. 1. It should be understood that the method of fig. 2 may include other additional steps not shown, or some steps shown may be omitted. The scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

As shown in fig. 2, at block 210, electronic device 110 receives a beacon frame signal from an access device (e.g., access device 120, 130, or 140 of fig. 1, described below as access device 120 for convenience). Electronic device 110 may receive a beacon frame signal on a particular time slot. For example, the beacon frame signal is transmitted via antennas 121 and 122 of access device 120. Fig. 3 shows a schematic diagram of an exemplary transmission process 300 of a beacon frame signal according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

As shown in fig. 3, the beacon frame signal is processed in the form of a single spatial stream 310 by channel coding, interleaving, constellation mapping, and inverse fast fourier transform (INVERSE FAST Fourier transformation, IFFT). These processes may also be collectively referred to herein as a transmit (Tx) IFFT. And then transmitted through the transmit chains 320 corresponding to the antennas 121 and 122, respectively. On the transmit chain corresponding to the antenna 121, the beacon frame signal processed as described above is inserted into a Guard Interval (GI) and a window, and is transmitted after analog and radio frequency conversion by the antenna 121. The beacon frame signal processed as described above is subjected to cyclic shift diversity (CYCLIC SHIFT DIVERSITY, CSD) processing on a transmit chain corresponding to the antenna 122, inserted into the GI and window, and then transmitted after analog and radio frequency conversion at the antenna 122. Accordingly, electronic device 110 may receive the mixed signal, i.e., the single stream beacon frame signal, from antennas 121 and 122.

At block 220, electronic device 110 determines hybrid CSI for a plurality of channels corresponding to a plurality of antennas 121 and 122 of access device 120 based on the received beacon frame signals. For example, electronic device 110 may determine the hybrid CSI by performing channel estimation based on the beacon frame signal. It should be appreciated that any suitable channel estimation algorithm known in the art or developed in the future may be employed herein to determine the hybrid CSI. In order to avoid obscuring the present invention, description is omitted herein.

At block 230, electronic device 110 obtains CSI for at least one of the plurality of channels from the hybrid CSI. In some embodiments, electronic device 110 may obtain CSI for each of the plurality of channels from the hybrid CSI. Of course, electronic device 110 may also obtain the respective CSI for only a portion of the plurality of channels from the hybrid CSI. In some embodiments, electronic device 110 may obtain CSI for at least one channel based on a transition between the frequency domain and the time domain. An example process of acquiring CSI for at least one channel is described below in connection with fig. 4.

Fig. 4 illustrates a flowchart of an exemplary method 400 of acquiring CSI for at least one channel in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method 400 may be implemented at an electronic device (e.g., the electronic device 110 of fig. 1), such as in an IC within the electronic device. For convenience, fig. 4 will be described herein in connection with the example of fig. 1. It should be understood that the method of fig. 4 may include other additional steps not shown, or some steps shown may be omitted. The scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

As shown in fig. 4, at block 410, electronic device 110 may determine a number of multiple antennas from the received beacon frame signal. For example, electronic device 110 may resolve the number of transmit antennas based on the content of the beacon frame signal.

At block 420, electronic device 110 may determine a hybrid CIR based on the determined hybrid CSI. In some embodiments, electronic device 110 may determine the hybrid CIR by performing a frequency-domain to time-domain conversion on the hybrid CSI. For example, electronic device 110 may determine the hybrid CIR by performing a discrete fourier transform (discrete Fourier transformation, DFT) on the hybrid CSI. As another example, electronic device 110 may determine the hybrid CIR by performing a fast fourier transform (fast Fourier transformation, FFT) on the hybrid CSI. Of course, any other suitable manner of frequency-domain to time-domain conversion is possible.

For ease of understanding, fig. 5 shows a schematic diagram of a process 500 of determining a hybrid CIR in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in fig. 5, electronic device 110, upon receiving the single stream beacon frame signals transmitted by access device 120 via antennas 121 and 122, may determine hybrid CSI 510 by performing channel estimation. Then, by performing frequency-domain to time-domain conversion on the hybrid CSI 510, the hybrid CIR 520 may be determined. It should be understood that the graphs of hybrid CSI 510 and hybrid CIR 520 shown in fig. 5 are for illustration only and not for limitation.

Returning to fig. 4, after determining the number of antennas and the hybrid CIR, at block 430, electronic device 110 may determine the CIR of at least one channel from the hybrid CIR based on the determined number of antennas. The process of separating the CIRs of at least one channel from a single hybrid CIR associated with multiple channels is described in detail below in connection with the examples of fig. 6-7. Fig. 6 shows a flowchart of an exemplary method 600 of acquiring a CIR, and fig. 7 shows a schematic diagram 700 of a process of acquiring CSI corresponding to the method of fig. 6, according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The method 600 may be implemented at an electronic device (e.g., the electronic device 110 of fig. 1). For convenience, fig. 6 will be described herein in connection with the examples of fig. 1 and 5. It should be understood that the method of fig. 6 may include other additional steps not shown, or some steps shown may be omitted. The scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

As shown in fig. 6, at block 610, electronic device 110 may determine a cyclic delay between multiple antennas based on a number of antennas. As can be seen from the foregoing description in connection with fig. 3, there may be a cyclic delay between transmissions of multiple antennas through CSD processing. A total fixed delay is typically set for the transmission of multiple antennas. According to the total fixed delay and the number of antennas, the cyclic delay between the antennas can be obtained. In this case, the cyclic delay is also fixed. It should be understood that the disclosed embodiments are not so limited. In some alternative embodiments, the cyclic delay may be variable. For example, it may be set in a predetermined manner. In this case, the corresponding cyclic delay may also be obtained according to the total fixed delay, the number of antennas, and the predetermined manner. For ease of description, a fixed cyclic delay of 200ns is illustrated here. Of course, 200ns is merely an example, and other values are possible.

At block 620, the electronic device 110 may determine a first peak from the hybrid CIR520, the first peak corresponding to at least one channel and the magnitude of the first peak being greater than a predetermined threshold. It will be appreciated that the predetermined threshold may be set in any suitable manner, as embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited in this regard. In some embodiments, the electronic device 110 may determine a first maximum peak, i.e., the earliest one, from the hybrid CIR520, as shown at 701 in fig. 7. In some alternative embodiments, the electronic device 110 may determine a second maximum peak from the hybrid CIR520, as shown at 702 in fig. 7. Peak 701 and peak 702 will correspond to different antenna channels, for example, corresponding to antennas 121 and 122, respectively. It should be understood that these are examples only, and that other suitable means are possible. For convenience, the peak 701 is described below as an example.

At block 630, electronic device 110 may determine a CIR of a corresponding channel (e.g., a channel of antenna 121) from hybrid CIR 520 based on the determined first peak 701 and the cyclic delay. In some embodiments, electronic device 110 may determine time window 710 based on first peak 701 and a cyclic delay (e.g., 200 ns), and may obtain the CIR of the corresponding channel from hybrid CIR 520 based on time window 710.

Returning to fig. 4, at block 440, electronic device 110 may determine CSI for the at least one channel based on the determined CIR for the at least one channel. In some embodiments, electronic device 110 may determine the corresponding CSI by performing a time-to-frequency domain conversion on the determined CIR. For example, electronic device 110 may determine the corresponding CSI by performing an inverse discrete fourier transform (INVERSE DISCRETE Fourier transformation, IDFT) on the determined CIR. As another example, electronic device 110 may determine the corresponding CSI by performing IFFT on the determined CIR. Of course, any other suitable manner of time-domain to frequency-domain conversion is possible. As shown in fig. 7, electronic device 110 may obtain a corresponding CSI 720 (e.g., CSI of a channel corresponding to antenna 121) based on the CIR truncated by time window 710.

In some embodiments, electronic device 110 may remove the CIR intercepted by time window 710 to obtain CIR730 for the remaining channels. In a similar manner, electronic device 110 may then determine time window 740 and continue to obtain the CIR of another channel (e.g., the channel corresponding to antenna 122) from hybrid CIR520 based on time window 740. In turn, electronic device 110 may obtain a corresponding CSI 750 (e.g., CSI for the channel corresponding to antenna 122) based on the CIR truncated by time window 740. Similarly, CSI for all channels can be stripped out. It should be understood that the graph shown in fig. 7 is for illustration only and not for limitation.

Another embodiment of separating CIRs of at least one channel from a single hybrid CIR associated with multiple channels is described below in conjunction with fig. 8-9. Fig. 8 shows a flowchart of another exemplary method 800 of acquiring a CIR according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and fig. 9 shows a schematic diagram 900 of a process of acquiring CSI corresponding to the method of fig. 8. The method 800 may be implemented at an electronic device (e.g., the electronic device 110 of fig. 1), such as in an IC within the electronic device. For convenience, fig. 8 will be described herein in connection with the examples of fig. 1 and 5. It should be understood that the method of fig. 8 may include other additional steps not shown, or some steps shown may be omitted. The scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

As shown in fig. 8, at block 810, the electronic device 110 may determine a plurality of peaks from the hybrid CIR 520 based on the number of antennas, the plurality of peaks having an amplitude greater than a predetermined threshold. In some embodiments, the electronic device 110 may determine the same number of maximum peaks as the number of antennas from the hybrid CIR. In some alternative embodiments, the electronic device 110 may determine the same number of next largest peaks adjacent to the largest peak from the hybrid CIR as the number of antennas. Of course, without limitation, any other suitable peaks are possible.

Then, at block 820, the electronic device 110 may determine a CIR for at least one channel based on a peak of the plurality of peaks corresponding to the at least one channel. As shown in fig. 9, electronic device 110 may determine peak 910 from hybrid CIR 520 as the CIR of the corresponding antenna channel (e.g., corresponding to antenna 121). After the CIR for the channel is obtained, the operations described above in connection with block 440 of FIG. 4 may be performed. The CSI of the channel is determined by time-to-frequency domain conversion of the CIR. As shown in fig. 9, electronic device 110 may determine CSI 920 for the respective channel from the CIR corresponding to peak 910. In some embodiments, electronic device 110 may determine peak 930 from hybrid CIR 520 as the CIR of the corresponding antenna channel (e.g., corresponding to antenna 122). CSI 940 for the antenna channel may be determined by performing a time-to-frequency domain conversion of the CIR. Similarly, CSI for all channels can be stripped out. It should be understood that the graph shown in fig. 9 is for illustration only and not for limitation.

To this end, CSI of the corresponding channel may be stripped from the hybrid CSI related to the multiple antenna channels, also referred to as multi-antenna CSI. Based on the multi-antenna CSI thus stripped, it can be applied to positioning, particularly indoor positioning. Thereby, the positioning accuracy can be greatly improved. For ease of understanding, this is described in detail below in conjunction with fig. 10 and 11.

Fig. 10 shows a schematic diagram 1000 of an application of multi-antenna CSI in fingerprint positioning according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fingerprint positioning may include an offline training phase and an online positioning phase. During the offline training phase, the fingerprint location database may be modeled by signal fingerprinting. During the online location phase, location may be performed by performing signal fingerprint matching based on a fingerprint location database. Multi-antenna CSI according to embodiments of the present disclosure may be used in both phases. For convenience, fig. 10 will be described below in conjunction with the example of fig. 1.

As shown in fig. 10, signal fingerprinting may be performed at reference points 1001, 1002, 1003, 1004, 1005, and 1006 by a sample device 1010. Assuming that the coordinate of the reference point 1001 is (x ₁,y₁), the coordinate of the reference point 1002 is (x ₂,y₂), the coordinate of the reference point 1003 is (x ₃,y₃), the coordinate of the reference point 1004 is (x ₄,y₄), the coordinate of the reference point 1005 is (x ₅,y₅), and the coordinate of the reference point 1006 is (x ₆,y₆). In the example of fig. 10, sample device 1010 is at reference point 1005. In some embodiments, the signal fingerprint may be acquired by crowdsourcing acquisition at random reference points. Of course, the signal fingerprint may also be acquired by manual acquisition at a designated reference point. For example, at reference point 1005, sample device 1010 may acquire CSI ₁₁ and CSI ₁₂ related to access device 120 (also referred to herein as AP1 for convenience), CSI ₂₁ and CSI ₂₂ related to access device 130 (also referred to herein as AP2 for convenience), and CSI ₃₁ and CSI ₃₂ related to access device 140 (also referred to herein as AP3 for convenience) by the methods described above in connection with fig. 2-9, as shown in table 1 below.

Table 1 examples of signal fingerprints taken at reference points

Reference point coordinates	(x₅,y₅)
		AP name-1	AP1
Signal fingerprint-1	CSI₁₁,CSI₁₂
		AP name-2	AP2
Signal fingerprint-2	CSI₂₁,CSI₂₂
		AP name-3	AP3
Signal fingerprint-3	CSI₃₁,CSI₃₂

Similarly, corresponding similar information may also be collected from other reference points. Based on the signal fingerprint information collected at these reference points, a fingerprint location database 1020 may be established.

Based on the fingerprint positioning database 1020, positioning of the electronic device 110 may be performed. For example, electronic device 110 may measure multi-antenna CSI according to the methods described above in connection with fig. 2-9, and then match the measured CSI with the signal fingerprints in fingerprint location database 1020. From the matched signal fingerprints, the corresponding reference point coordinates can be determined. Based on the reference point coordinates, the location of the electronic device 110 may be determined. Thereby completing the positioning of the electronic device 110. Of course, the electronic device 110 may also transmit the measured multi-antenna CSI to the server, and the server performs similar operations to locate the electronic device 110.

Fig. 11 shows a schematic diagram 1100 of an application of multi-antenna CSI in AoD positioning according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. AoD positioning may include an off-line inventory phase and an on-line positioning phase. During the offline banking phase, an access device location database may be established by collecting the location of access devices (e.g., wiFi APs). During the online positioning phase, positioning may be performed by an AoD angle determined based on the access device location database and multi-antenna CSI according to embodiments of the present disclosure. For convenience, fig. 11 will be described below in conjunction with the example of fig. 1.

As shown in fig. 11, the location information of the access devices 120, 130, and 140 may be collected offline. In some embodiments, the location information of access devices 120, 130, and 140 may be collected by manual calibration. In some embodiments, the location information of the access devices 120, 130, and 140 may also be collected by way of AoD reverse positioning. In this case, multi-antenna CSI may be acquired by a sample device (not shown here) according to the method described above in connection with fig. 2 to 9, and then AoD may be determined according to the multi-antenna CSI, and location information of the corresponding access device may be determined based on reverse angle information of the AoD. For example, crowd-sourced data measured at multiple different locations for the same access device (e.g., access device 120) may be obtained in a crowd-sourced manner, which may include sample device measured AoD and current measured location information. The location information of the access device 120 is then calculated from the crowd sourced data by reverse locating. Similarly, location information for other access devices 130 and 140 may be obtained. Of course, the location information of the access device may also be obtained in any other suitable way. For example, it may be determined that the access device 120 (also referred to herein as AP 1) has a coordinate of (x ₁,y₁), the access device 130 (also referred to herein as AP2 for convenience) has a coordinate of (x ₂,y₂), and the access device 140 (also referred to herein as AP3 for convenience) has a coordinate of (x ₃,y₃). An access device location database 1110 may thus be established. Table 2 below shows an example of an access device location database.

Table 2 example of accessing a device location database

AP name-1	AP1
		AP position-1	(x₁,y₁)
AP name-2	AP2
		AP position-2	(x₂,y₂)
AP name-3	AP3
		AP position-3	(x₃,y₃)

Based on the access device location database 1110, positioning of the electronic device 110 may be performed. For example, electronic device 110 may measure multi-antenna CSI according to the methods described above in connection with fig. 2-9, and may then determine AoD information with respect to the corresponding access device based on the measured CSI. For example, electronic device 110 may obtain CSI ₁₁ and CSI ₁₂ associated with access device 120, CSI ₂₁ and CSI ₂₂ associated with access device 130, and by the methods described above in connection with fig. 2-9, CSI ₃₁ and CSI ₃₂ related to access device 140. The AoD angle θ ₁ with respect to access device 120 may be calculated from CSI ₁₁ and CSI ₁₂. From CSI ₂₁ and CSI ₂₂, an AoD angle θ ₂ with respect to access device 130 may be calculated. From CSI ₃₁ and CSI ₃₂, an AoD angle θ ₃ with respect to access device 140 may be calculated. The location of the electronic device 110 may be determined by geometric positioning based on the location information of the access device in the access device location database 1110 and the corresponding AoD information. Of course, the electronic device 110 may also transmit the measured multi-antenna CSI to the server, and the server performs similar operations to locate the electronic device 110. It should be appreciated that other suitable angle information may be used for positioning than using the AoD angle.

Examples of applications of multi-antenna CSI in indoor positioning are described above. It should be appreciated that the multi-antenna CSI may also be applied to various other suitable scenarios besides the indoor positioning described above. For example, it can be used to find devices. For example, an unmanned aerial vehicle may be sought, a smart terminal such as a cell phone, a smart watch, etc. In some embodiments, the location of the device may be found via the multi-antenna CSI estimation AoD method. Of course, other methods may be used. In other scenarios, the multi-antenna CSI may also be used for security monitoring or intruder detection. In this case, the multi-antenna CSI may be changed due to a change of personnel in the environment, so that personnel detection in the environment may be performed, and security monitoring or intruder detection may be implemented. In still other scenarios, the multi-antenna CSI may be used for health detection. In this case, the multi-antenna CSI may be combined with wireless sensing techniques to enable sleep condition detection, fall detection, even further heartbeat detection, etc.

Corresponding to the above-described signal processing method, the embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a signal processing apparatus and device, which are described below with reference to fig. 12 and 13. Fig. 12 shows a schematic block diagram of a signal processing apparatus 1200 according to an embodiment of the disclosure. Apparatus 1200 may be implemented at an electronic device (e.g., electronic device 110 of fig. 1). For convenience, fig. 12 is described below in connection with the example of fig. 1. The apparatus 1200 may be part of the electronic device or may be the electronic device itself. It should be understood that apparatus 1200 may include additional components than those shown or omit some of the components shown therein, as embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited in this regard.

As shown in fig. 12, the apparatus 1200 may include a receiving unit 1210, a determining unit 1220, and an acquiring unit 1230. The receiving unit 1210 may be configured to receive a beacon frame signal from an access device (e.g., the access device 120, 130 or 140 of fig. 1, described below as access device 120 for convenience) that is transmitted via multiple antennas of the access device 120. The determining unit 1220 may be configured to determine hybrid CSI related to a plurality of channels corresponding to the plurality of antennas based on the beacon frame signal. The acquisition unit 1230 may be configured to acquire CSI of at least one channel of the plurality of channels from the hybrid CSI.

In some embodiments, the acquisition unit 1230 may include a first determination unit configured to determine the number of the plurality of antennas from the beacon frame signal, a second determination unit configured to determine a hybrid CIR based on the hybrid CSI, a third determination unit configured to determine a CIR of the at least one channel from the hybrid CIR based on the number of the plurality of antennas, and a fourth determination unit configured to determine channel state information of the at least one channel based on the CIR.

In some embodiments, the third determining unit may include a peak determining unit configured to determine a plurality of peaks from the hybrid CIR based on the number of the plurality of antennas, the plurality of peaks having an amplitude greater than a predetermined threshold, and a first CIR determining unit configured to determine a CIR of the at least one channel based on a peak of the plurality of peaks corresponding to the at least one channel.

In some alternative embodiments, the third determining unit may include a cyclic delay determining unit configured to determine a cyclic delay between the plurality of antennas based on the number of the plurality of antennas, a first peak determining unit configured to determine a first peak from the hybrid CIR, the first peak corresponding to the at least one channel and having a magnitude greater than a predetermined threshold, and a second CIR determining unit configured to determine a CIR of the at least one channel from the hybrid channel impulse response based on the first peak and the cyclic delay.

In some embodiments, the second determining unit may include a hybrid CIR determining unit configured to determine a hybrid CIR by frequency-domain to time-domain converting the hybrid CSI. In some embodiments, the fourth determining unit may include a CSI determining unit configured to determine CSI of the at least one channel by time-to-frequency domain converting the CIR of the at least one channel.

In some embodiments, the apparatus 1200 may further comprise a positioning unit configured to position the electronic device 110 based on the acquired CSI. In some embodiments, the positioning unit may comprise at least one of an angular positioning unit configured to determine angular information of the electronic device 110 relative to the access device 120 to position the electronic device 110 in combination with location information of the access device 120, or a fingerprint positioning unit configured to position the electronic device 110 based on a fingerprint positioning database corresponding to different locations of the electronic device 110, the fingerprint positioning database comprising a set of predetermined CSI corresponding to different locations of the electronic device 110.

In some embodiments, the electronic device may be a terminal device and the access device 120 may be a WiFi access device.

Fig. 13 is a simplified block diagram of a device 1300 suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 1300 may be provided to implement an electronic device or an access device. As shown, the device 1300 includes one or more processors 1310, one or more memories 1320 coupled to the processors 1310, and one or more communication modules 1340 coupled to the processors 1310.

The communication module 1340 is used for two-way communication. The communication module 1340 has a communication interface to facilitate communication. The communication interface may represent any interface necessary to communicate with other network elements.

The processor 1310 may be of any type suitable to the local technology network and may include, by way of non-limiting example, one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors, and processors based on a multi-core processor architecture. The device 1300 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips, that are temporally slaved to a clock that is synchronized to the master processor.

Memory 1320 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memory include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 1324, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, a hard disk, a Compact Disk (CD), a Digital Video Disk (DVD), and other magnetic and/or optical storage devices. Examples of volatile memory include, but are not limited to, random Access Memory (RAM) 1322 and other volatile memory that does not last for the duration of the power outage.

The computer program 1330 includes computer-executable instructions that are executed by an associated processor 1310. Program 1330 may be stored in ROM 1320. Processor 1310 may perform any suitable actions and processes by loading program 1330 into RAM 1320.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by means of program 1330 such that device 1300 performs the processes of the present disclosure as discussed with reference to fig. 2-9. The apparatus 1300 may correspond to the signal processing device 1200 described above, and each functional module in the signal processing device 1200 is implemented in software of the apparatus 1300. In other words, the functional blocks included in the signal processing apparatus 1200 are generated after the processor 1310 of the device 1300 reads the program codes stored in the memory 1320. Embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented in hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

In some embodiments, program 1330 may be tangibly embodied in a computer-readable medium, which may be included in device 1300 (such as in memory 1320) or other storage device accessible by device 1300. Program 1330 may be loaded from a computer-readable medium into RAM 1322 for execution. The computer readable medium may include any type of tangible, non-volatile memory, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc.

In general, the various example embodiments of the disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. While aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated or described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other pictorial representation, it is well understood that the blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof. Examples of hardware devices that may be used to implement embodiments of the present disclosure include, but are not limited to, field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), application Specific Standard Products (ASSPs), systems on a chip (SOCs), complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs), and the like.

By way of example, embodiments of the present disclosure may be described in the context of machine-executable instructions, such as program modules, being included in devices on a real or virtual processor of a target. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. In various embodiments, the functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between described program modules. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed within local or distributed devices. In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage media.

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

In the context of this disclosure, computer program code or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable an apparatus, device, or processor to perform the various processes and operations described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer readable media, and the like.

Examples of signals may include electrical, optical, radio, acoustical or other form of propagated signals, such as carrier waves, infrared signals, etc.

A machine-readable medium may be any tangible medium that can contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The machine-readable medium may be a machine-readable signal medium or a machine-readable storage medium. The machine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination thereof. More detailed examples of a machine-readable storage medium include an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination thereof.

In addition, although operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In some cases, multitasking or parallel processing may be beneficial. Likewise, although the foregoing discussion contains certain specific implementation details, this should not be construed as limiting the scope of any invention or claims, but rather as describing particular embodiments that may be directed to particular inventions. Certain features that are described in this specification in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination.

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

Claims

1. A signal processing method, comprising:

An electronic device receiving a beacon frame signal from an access device, the beacon frame signal being transmitted via a plurality of antennas of the access device;

The electronic device determining mixed channel state information about a plurality of channels corresponding to the plurality of antennas based on the beacon frame signals, and

The electronic device obtains channel state information for at least one of the plurality of channels from the mixed channel state information,

Wherein obtaining channel state information for the at least one channel comprises:

determining a number of the plurality of antennas from the beacon frame signal;

determining a hybrid channel impulse response based on the hybrid channel state information;

determining a channel impulse response of the at least one channel from the hybrid channel impulse response based on the number of the plurality of antennas, and

Channel state information for the at least one channel is determined based on the channel impulse response.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining a channel impulse response of the at least one channel comprises:

determining a plurality of peaks from the hybrid channel impulse response based on the number of the plurality of antennas, the plurality of peaks having amplitudes greater than a predetermined threshold, and

A channel impulse response of the at least one channel is determined based on a peak of the plurality of peaks corresponding to the at least one channel.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining a channel impulse response of the at least one channel comprises:

determining a cyclic delay between the plurality of antennas based on the number of the plurality of antennas;

Determining a first peak from the mixed channel impulse response, the first peak corresponding to the at least one channel and the first peak having an amplitude greater than a predetermined threshold, and

A channel impulse response of the at least one channel is determined from the hybrid channel impulse response based on the first peak and the cyclic delay.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the hybrid channel impulse response comprises:

a hybrid channel impulse response is determined by frequency-domain to time-domain conversion of the hybrid channel state information.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein determining channel state information for the at least one channel comprises:

channel state information of the at least one channel is determined by time-to-frequency domain converting the channel impulse response of the at least one channel.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

and positioning the electronic equipment based on the acquired channel state information.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein locating the electronic device comprises at least one of:

Determining angle information of the electronic device relative to the access device to locate the electronic device in combination with location information of the access device, or

The electronic device is located based on a fingerprint location database corresponding to different locations of the electronic device, the fingerprint location database including a set of predetermined channel state information corresponding to different locations of the electronic device.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic device is a terminal device and the access device is a WiFi access device.

9. An electronic device, comprising:

processor, and

A memory comprising computer program code;

the memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the processor, cause the electronic device to:

Receiving a beacon frame signal from an access device, the beacon frame signal being transmitted via a plurality of antennas of the access device;

Determining mixed channel state information related to a plurality of channels corresponding to the plurality of antennas based on the beacon frame signals, and

Channel state information of at least one of the plurality of channels is obtained from the mixed channel state information,

Wherein the electronic device is caused to obtain channel state information for the at least one channel by:

determining a number of the plurality of antennas from the beacon frame signal;

10. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the electronic device is caused to determine the channel impulse response of the at least one channel by:

11. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the electronic device is caused to determine a channel impulse response of the at least one channel by:

12. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the electronic device is caused to determine the hybrid channel impulse response by:

13. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the electronic device is caused to determine channel state information for the at least one channel by:

14. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the electronic device is further caused to:

15. The electronic device of claim 14, wherein the electronic device is caused to locate the electronic device by at least one of:

The electronic device is located based on a fingerprint library corresponding to different locations of the electronic device, the fingerprint library comprising a set of predetermined channel state information corresponding to different locations of the electronic device.

16. The electronic device of claim 9, wherein the electronic device is a terminal device and the access device is a WiFi access device.

17. A computer readable storage medium comprising machine executable instructions which, when executed by a device, cause the device to perform the method of any of claims 1-8.