WO2024130662A1

WO2024130662A1 - Distributed interference sensing

Info

Publication number: WO2024130662A1
Application number: PCT/CN2022/141154
Authority: WO
Inventors: Thomas Haaning Jacobsen; Paolo Baracca; Tao Tao; Nuno Manuel KIILERICH PRATAS; Daniel Medina; Dong Li
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy; Nokia Technologies Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy; Nokia Technologies Oy
Priority date: 2022-12-22
Filing date: 2022-12-22
Publication date: 2024-06-27
Anticipated expiration: 2025-06-22
Also published as: CN120419263A

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to devices, methods, apparatus and computer readable storage media for distributed interference sensing. An AP of a sub-network selects a first subset of terminal devices in the sub-network. The AP transmits, to the first subset of terminal devices, a first configuration of a first interference measurement. The AP receives, from the first subset of terminal devices, a first interference measurement report based on the first configuration. The first interference measurement report indicates first interference measured at the first subset of terminal devices. The AP determines second interference at a second subset of the terminal devices in the sub-network based on the first interference measurement report. The AP determines an action for managing the first and second interferences based on the first interference measurement report.

Description

DISTRIBUTED INTERFERENCE SENSING

FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of telecommunication and in particular, to devices, methods, apparatus and computer readable storage media for distributed interference sensing.

BACKGROUND

With the development of communication technology, sub-network (subNW) has been introduced to meet the extreme performance requirements in terms of latency, reliability and/or throughput envisioned for certain short range scenarios. The sub-networks are typically installed in specific entities e.g., in-vehicle, in-body, in-house to provide life-critical data service with extreme performances over the local capillary coverage. The deployment in the 6th generation (6G) mobile networks of sub-networks poses many new challenges, and a main challenge is the management of the interference among neighboring sub-networks that needs to be properly handled.

SUMMARY

In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for distributed interference sensing.

In a first aspect, there is provided an access point (AP) of a subNW. The AP comprises at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions. The instructions are configured to, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the AP to: select a first subset of terminal devices in the subNW; transmit, to the first subset of terminal devices, a first configuration of a first interference measurement; receive, from the first subset of terminal devices, a first interference measurement report based on the first configuration, the first interference measurement report indicating first interference measured at the first subset of terminal devices; determine second interference at a second subset of the terminal devices in the subNW based on the first interference measurement report; and determine an action for managing the first and second interferences based on the first interference measurement report.

In a second aspect, there is provided a first terminal device in a subNW. The first terminal device comprises at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions. The instructions are configured to, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first terminal device to: receive, from an AP of the subNW, a first configuration of a first interference measurement; perform, based on the first configuration, the first interference measurement; and transmit first interference measurement report to the AP based on the first configuration. The first interference measurement report indicates first interference measured at the first terminal devices and causing the AP to determine second interference at a second subset of terminal devices in the subNW.

In a third aspect, there is provided a method. The method comprises: selecting, at an AP of a subNW, a first subset of terminal devices in the subNW; transmitting, to the first subset of terminal devices, a first configuration of a first interference measurement; receiving, from the first subset of terminal devices, a first interference measurement report based on the first configuration, the first interference measurement report indicating first interference measured at the first subset of terminal devices; determining second interference at a second subset of the terminal devices in the subNW based on the first interference measurement report; and determining an action for managing the first and second interferences based on the first interference measurement report.

In a fourth aspect, there is provided a method. The method comprises: receiving, at a first terminal device in a subNW from an AP of the subNW, a first configuration of a first interference measurement; performing, based on the first configuration, the first interference measurement; and transmitting first interference measurement report to the AP based on the first configuration, the first interference measurement report indicating first interference measured at the first terminal device and causing the AP to determine second interference at a second subset of terminal devices in the subNW.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided an apparatus. The apparatus comprises: means for selecting, at an AP of a subNW, a first subset of terminal devices in the subNW; means for transmitting, to the first subset of terminal devices, a first configuration of a first interference measurement; means for receiving, from the first subset of terminal devices, a first interference measurement report based on the first configuration, the first interference measurement report indicating first interference measured at the first subset of terminal devices; means for determining second interference at a second subset of the terminal devices in the subNW based on the first interference measurement report; and means for determining an action for managing the first and second interferences based on the first interference measurement report.

In a sixth aspect, there is provided an apparatus. The apparatus comprises: means for receiving, at a first terminal device in a subNW from an AP of the subNW, a first configuration of a first interference measurement; means for performing, based on the first configuration, the first interference measurement; and means for transmitting first interference measurement report to the AP based on the first configuration, the first interference measurement report indicating first interference measured at the first terminal device and causing the AP to determine second interference at a second subset of terminal devices in the subNW.

In a seventh aspect, there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to any one of the above third or fourth aspect.

It is to be understood that the summary section is not intended to identify key or essential features of embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become easily comprehensible through the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 illustrates an example of subNW in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

Fig. 2 illustrates a signaling chart illustrating an example process according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 3 illustrates a signaling chart illustrating an example process according to other embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 4 illustrates a signaling chart illustrating an example process according to still other embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 5 illustrates a signaling chart illustrating an example process according to yet other embodiments of the present disclosure;

Figs. 6A and 6B illustrate an example of reporting IQ samples according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, respectively;

Fig. 7 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at an AP of a subNW according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 8 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a terminal device in a subNW according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

Fig. 9 illustrates a simplified block diagram of an apparatus that is suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure; and

Fig. 10 illustrates a block diagram of an example computer readable medium in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

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

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

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

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

References in the present disclosure to “one embodiment, ” “an embodiment, ” “an example embodiment, ” and the like indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but it is not necessary that every embodiment includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

It shall 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. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a” , “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” , “comprising” , “has” , “having” , “includes” and/or “including” , when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and/or components etc., but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and/or combinations thereof. As used herein, “at least one of the following: <a list of two or more elements>” and “at least one of <a list of two or more elements>” and similar wording, where the list of two or more elements are joined by “and” or “or” , mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all the elements.

As used in this application, the term “circuitry” may refer to one or more or all of the following:

(a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and/or digital circuitry) and

(b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable) :

(i) a combination of analog and/or digital hardware circuit (s) with software/firmware and

(ii) any portions of hardware processor (s) with software (including digital signal processor (s) ) , software, and memory (ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions) and

(c) hardware circuit (s) and or processor (s) , such as a microprocessor (s) or a portion of a microprocessor (s) , that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation.

This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and/or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

As used herein, the term “communication network” refers to a network following any suitable communication standards, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) , LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) , Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) , High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) , Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) , Non-terrestrial network (NTN) and so on. Furthermore, the communications between a terminal device and a network device in the communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocols, including, but not limited to, the first generation (1G) , the second generation (2G) , 2.5G, 2.75G, the third generation (3G) , the fourth generation (4G) , 4.5G, the fifth generation (5G) communication protocols, the sixth generation (6G) communication protocols and/or any other protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied in various communication systems. Given the rapid development in communications, there will of course also be future type communication technologies and systems with which the present disclosure may be embodied. It should not be seen as limiting the scope of the present disclosure to only the aforementioned system.

As used herein, the term “network device” refers to a node in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services therefrom. The network device may refer to a base station (BS) , for example, a node B (NodeB or NB) , an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB) , a NR NB (also referred to as a gNB) , a Remote Radio Unit (RRU) , a radio header (RH) , a remote radio head (RRH) , a relay, a low power node such as a femto, a pico, a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or non-ground network device such as a satellite network device, a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, a medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite and a geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) satellite, an aircraft network device, and so forth, depending on the applied terminology and technology.

The term “terminal device” refers to any end device that may be capable of wireless communication. By way of example rather than limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE) , a Subscriber Station (SS) , a Portable Subscriber Station, a Mobile Station (MS) , or an Access Terminal (AT) . The terminal device may include, but not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, a tablet, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA) , portable computers, desktop computer, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback appliances, vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE) , laptop-mounted equipment (LME) , USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer-premises equipment (CPE) , an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD) , a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery) , an industrial device and applications (e.g., a robot and/or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and/or an automated processing chain contexts) , a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and/or industrial wireless networks, and the like. In the following description, the terms “terminal device” , “communication device” , “terminal” , “user equipment” and “UE” may be used interchangeably.

As used herein, the term “AP” refers to a device serving and managing a sub-network. The AP may be connected to a gNB for a radio access network and provides a wireless access service for terminal devices within a coverage of the AP.

The deployment in 6G of “small mobile supporting life critical applications” subNWs poses many new challenges from the air interface design to the architectural enablers.

One main issue may be the management of interference among neighbouring subNWs that need to be properly handled. In order to manage the interference, an AP of a sub-network needs to become aware of a source of interference from its surroundings, estimate the impact of such interference to the devices in the subNW and take proper actions based on the acquired interference information and knowledge of its impact.

More concretely, consider a scenario where an AP of the subNW is the responsible device for managing devices in the subNW, the devices being located within a subNW entity (e.g. a vehicle) , and the devices fulfilling services of possible different service priorities. Then, an underlying challenge is that the AP needs the right tools for detecting interference, determining what impact the detected interference has to the subNW services and determining the right actions to mitigate or counteract the detected interference.

The AP itself could in principle conduct interference measurements, but it might not have a good picture of how that interference affects the devices in the subNW. Furthermore, these measurements will divert resources of the AP from being used to sustain the subNW services.

The AP could also acquire interference measurements from all its subNW devices, which would give a complete picture, but would be a very large overhead. Further, it might not be all devices in the subNW that are capable of conducting these measurements.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a solution for distributed interference sensing. In this solution, an AP of a subNW selects a first subset of terminal devices in the subNW and transmits, to the first subset of terminal devices, a configuration of an interference measurement. Then, the AP receives, from the first subset of terminal devices, a first interference measurement report based on the configuration. The first interference measurement report indicates first interference measured at the first subset of terminal devices. The AP determines second interference at a second subset of the terminal devices in the subNW based on the first interference measurement report. In turn, the AP determines an action for managing the first and second interferences based on the first interference measurement report. The first and the second subset of terminal devices may include one or more terminal devices in the subNW.

This solution allows the AP to become aware of surrounding interference sources by using the first subset of terminal devices in the subNW, which may act as interference measurement reference devices; and then use the input from these interference measurement reference devices to estimate the impact of the detected interference to other terminal devices (i.e., the second subset of the terminal devices) in the subNW. In turn, the AP may conduct an appropriate action to handle the interference (such as mitigating it or contacting the source) . In this way, the interference measurement reference devices become sentinels for other terminal devices in the subNW, which allows the AP to use the interference measurement reference devices to determine or predict the severeness of experienced interference and take a proper action.

Fig. 1 shows an example subNW 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. The subNW 100 may comprise first terminal devices 110-1, 110-2 and 110-3, second terminal devices 120-1, 120-2 and 120-3, as well as an AP 130. Hereinafter, for brevity, the first terminal devices 110-1, 110-2 and 110-3 may be collectively referred to as a first subset of terminal devices 110 or individually referred to as a first terminal device 110. Similarly, the second terminal devices 120-1, 120-2 and 120-3 may be collectively referred to as a second subset of terminal devices 120 or individually referred to as a second terminal device 120.

In some example embodiments, the AP 130 may be a special terminal device that provides connections between a network device (not shown) and the first subset of terminal devices 110 and the second subset of terminal devices 120 in the subNW 100.

In some example embodiments, the first subset of terminal devices 110 and the second subset of terminal devices 120 may receive interference signals from an interference source 140 external to the subNW 100, respectively. For example, the interference source 140 may be a transmitter in a neighbor subNW.

It is to be understood that the number of terminal devices and APs are for the purpose of illustration without suggesting any limitations. The subNW 100 may include any suitable number of terminal devices and APs adapted for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. Although not shown, it would be appreciated that one or more network devices may be located near the subNW 100.

Communications in the subNW 100 may be implemented according to any proper communication protocol (s) , comprising, but not limited to, the third generation (3G) , the fourth generation (4G) , the fifth generation (5G) and the sixth generation (6G) or beyond, wireless local network communication protocols such as Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 and the like, and/or any other protocols currently known or to be developed in the future. Moreover, the communication may utilize any proper wireless communication technology, comprising but not limited to: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) , Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) , Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) , Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) , Time Division Duplex (TDD) , Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) , Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple (OFDM) , Discrete Fourier Transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) and/or any other technologies currently known or to be developed in the future.

The subNW 100 may be a promising component in 6G to meet the extreme performance requirements in terms of latency, reliability and/or throughput envisioned for certain short range scenarios. The subNW 100 may be characterized by the following main properties:

- Support of extreme performance requirements in terms of latency (down to 100 us) , reliability (above 99.999%) and/or throughputs (up to Gbit/s/link) ;

- Low transmit power, which implies limited coverage range (e.g., in the order of few meters) ;

- Star topology or tree topology with the AP 130, the first subset of terminal devices 110 and the second subset of terminal devices 120 under control of the AP 130;

- Lack/limited mobility across different sub-networks: although sub-networks are mobile, handover of devices across sub-networks may happen only under specific conditions and for certain use cases;

- The subNW 100 may be connected to a radio access (wide area or enterprise) network, but may continue to work also when out of this radio access network coverage: more specifically, the AP 130 of the subNW 100 serves and manages the first subset of terminal devices 110 and the second subset of terminal devices 120 on one hand and is connected to a network device of the radio access network on the other hand. Therefore, the AP 130 represents a sort of special terminal device within the radio access network.

The subNW 100 will be able to run in the following different modes.

In some example embodiments, when the subNW 100 is connected to the overlay network, centralized resource selection (CRS) by the overlay next generation nodeB (ngNB) can be implemented. The overlay ngNB may have a whole picture of the interference conditions experienced by all the subnetworks, and thus CRS has the potential to achieve near optimum performance, only limited by the delay of measurements and information loss from measurements to the ngNB.

In some example embodiments, when the subNW 100 is not connected to the overlay network, it may act in a distributed resource selection (DRS) mode. Here, the subNW 100 will have to measure and initiate appropriate actions to combat or mitigate interference. Despite the lower information delay compared to the CRS mode, the challenge here is how to achieve a complete estimation of the subNW 100 as well as to timely act (before severe interference is experienced) .

In some example embodiments, when the subNW 100 is connected to the overlay network but only assisted by the overlay network and not fully managed, it will operate with hybrid resource selection (HRS) . This could be due to the overlay networks (limited) overview/capability or when it is preferred to save signalling resources between the subNW 100 and the overlay network.

An enabling technical component for provisioning of extreme performance requirements is the subband channelization of the carrier, i.e., the carrier bandwidth is divided into multiple subbands and each subnetwork operates in one or more subbands to provide extreme connections. In this case, the resource selection scheme is essentially about selecting which subband (s) is to be allocated to each subNW based on the available information.

Fig. 2 illustrates a signaling chart illustrating a process 200 for distributed interference sensing in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the process 200 will be described with reference to Fig. 1. The process 200 may involve the first subset of terminal devices 110 and the AP 130 in Fig. 1.

As shown in Fig. 2, the AP 130 selects 210 the first subset of terminal devices 110 in the subNW 100.

In some example embodiments, the AP 130 may select the first subset of terminal devices 110 in such a way that they are representatives for the second subset of terminal devices 120, meaning the second subset of terminal devices 120 does not have to conduct interference measurements.

In some example embodiments, if an average interference power of a subset of terminal devices in the subNW 100 is higher than an interference power threshold, the AP 130 may select the subset of terminal devices as the first subset of terminal devices 110.

Alternatively, or additionally, in some example embodiments, if an average Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) of a subset of terminal devices in the subNW 100 is below an SINR threshold, the AP 130 may select the subset of terminal devices as the first subset of terminal devices 110.

Alternatively, or additionally, in some example embodiments, if a subset of terminal devices in the subNW 100 has an interference correlation with the second subset of terminal devices 120 in the subNW 100, the AP 130 may select the subset of terminal devices as the first subset of terminal devices 110.

Consider an example of determining the interference correlation between the first subset of terminal devices 110 and the second subset of terminal devices 120. In this example, the AP 130 receives a first set of RSSI measurements from the first subset of terminal devices 110 and a second set of RSSI measurements from the second subset of terminal devices 120 on the same time and same frequency resources. Upon receiving the two sets of RSSI measurements, the AP 130 may determine whether the two sets of RSSI measurements are varying in a similar manner. When the first set of RSSI measurements increases by 6 dB on average and the second set of RSSI measurements increases only by 5 dB, the AP 130 may determine that the first subset of terminal devices 110 has a strong interference correlation with the second subset of terminal devices 120.

Another example of determining the interference correlation will be described hereinafter with reference to Fig. 5.

It shall be understood that there are statistical methods to determine a correlation between two sets of samples, which can be done by treating the two sets as a time varying series, or to window the two sets of samples and then calculate the correlation between the two sets assuming the underlying distribution is normally distributed.

Alternatively, or additionally, in some example embodiments, if a resource utilization of a subset of terminal devices in the subNW 100 is lower than a utilization threshold, the AP 130 may select the subset of terminal devices as the first subset of terminal devices 110. For example, if a processing resource utilization of a subset of terminal devices in the subNW 100 is lower than a respective utilization threshold, the AP 130 may select the subset of terminal devices as the first subset of terminal devices 110. For another example, if an RF resource utilization of a subset of terminal devices in the subNW 100 is lower than a respective utilization threshold, the AP 130 may select the subset of terminal devices as the first subset of terminal devices 110. The examples of the RF resource may comprise antenna elements, antenna panels, or transceivers.

Alternatively, or additionally, in some example embodiments, if a subset of terminal devices in the subNW 100 is located at an edge of the subNW 100, the AP 130 may select the subset of terminal devices as the first subset of terminal devices 110.

Alternatively, or additionally, in some example embodiments, if a subset of terminal devices in the subNW 100 has capability to perform the first interference measurement, the AP 130 may select the subset of terminal devices as the first subset of terminal devices 110.

Upon selecting the first subset of terminal devices 110, the AP 130 transmits 220, to the first subset of terminal devices 110, a first configuration of a first interference measurement.

In some example embodiments, the first configuration of the first interference measurement indicates at least one of the following:

- a type of the first interference measurement to be performed,

- time and frequency resources for the first interference measurement,

- a pattern for performing the first interference measurement (e.g. periodicity) ,

- at least one metric to be included in the first interference measurement report, or

- a threshold level for transmitting the first interference measurement report.

In some example embodiments, the type of the first interference measurement may comprise a Zero-Power (ZP) measurement. In such example embodiments, the first configuration of the first interference measurement may indicate time and frequency resources for the ZP measurement, such as Zero-Power Channel State Information Reference Signals (ZP CSI-RS) resources. The first subset of terminal devices 110 may measure on a set of resource elements (REs) associated with the ZP CSI-RS resources where the AP 130 will not transmit. Hence, this gives a measurement of an energy level caused by other transmitters, such as neighbor subNWs.

In some example embodiments, the AP 130 may configure the first subset of terminal devices 110 to perform the ZP measurement on an active sub-channel or on a sub-channel which is to be active.

In some example embodiments, the AP 130 may configure the ZP measurement to be performed on the same time and could be on the same set of resource elements (REs) for all the terminal devices in the first subset 110. Thus, the AP 130 may be able to correlate the measurements results from all the terminal devices in the first subset 110.

Alternatively, or additionally, in some example embodiments, the type of the first interference measurement may comprise a non-zero-power (NZP) measurement. In such example embodiments, the first subset of terminal devices 110 may perform the NZP measurement with a set of known reference signals that could be used by neighbor subNWs. This type of measurement makes sense to acquire measurements from other subNWs.

In some example embodiments, the at least one metric to be included in the first interference measurement report may comprise at least one of the following:

- Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) –RSSI is an energy measurement on a subband, which is useful to measure the power present to the subband. The RSSI measurement is independent of whether a terminal device can decode the information.

- Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) –RSRP is useful to estimate the signal power of a known reference signal being transmitted. This is useful when the interference source 140 is known or it is to detect whether the interference source is known. This can be done to determine the interference strength from another subNW.

- Time of Arrival (ToA) –ToA gives valuable information on how to communicate with the interference source 140 and to identify its position. ToA will be mainly useful when the interference source 140 is another subNW, as it is likely inaccurate if the transmitting reference signals is not known.

- Angle of Arrival (AoA) –AoA is also useful to determine the position of the interference source 140 and then give valuable information on how to communicate with the interference source 140.

- In-phase Quadrature (IQ) samples (or a quantized version) –The report of IQ samples allows the subNW 100 to process the received samples from all the terminal devices in the first subset 110 together. Despite the larger overhead, this also has the possibility to improve the accuracy of e.g. AoA estimation.

With continued reference to Fig. 2, the first subset of terminal devices 110 performs 230 the first interference measurement based on the first configuration.

In turn, the first subset of terminal devices 110 transmits 240, to the AP 130, a first interference measurement report based on the first configuration. The first interference measurement report indicates first interference measured at the first subset of terminal devices 110. For example, the first interference may be caused by the interference source 140 in Fig. 1.

Accordingly, the AP 130 receives the first interference measurement report from the first subset of terminal devices 110.

Then, the AP 130 determines 250 second interference at the second subset of terminal devices 120 based on the first interference measurement report. Each of the terminal devices in the second subset is different from that in the first subset.

In some example embodiments, the AP 130 may select a further subset of terminal devices in the subNW 100 as the second subset of terminal devices 120.

In some example embodiments, the AP 130 may select a further subset of terminal devices in the subNW 100 as the second subset of terminal devices 120 if at least one of the following conditions is met:

- reliability required by the further subset of terminal devices is above a reliability threshold,

- latency required by the further subset of terminal devices is below a latency threshold,

- Quality of Service (QoS) priority of a service required by the further subset of terminal devices is above a priority threshold,

- survival time of a service required by the further subset of terminal devices is below a time threshold, or

- Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) required by the further subset of terminal devices is above an SINR threshold.

In turn, the AP 130 determines 260 an action for managing the first and second interferences based on the first interference measurement report.

In some example embodiments, if the AP 130 determines that the first and second interferences are caused by a further subNW, the AP 130 may communicate with at least one device in the further subNW to change radio access parameters for the further subNW.

In some example embodiments, the at least one device in the further subNW may comprise an AP of the further subNW or a terminal device in the further subNW.

In some example embodiments, in order to change radio access parameters for the further subNW, the further subNW may perform at least one of the following: reducing transmission power, changing subband, doing beam realignment, or initiating beam based connection.

In some example embodiments, the AP 130 may communicate with the at least one device in the further subNW based on at least one of the following:

- positions of the AP 130 and the at least one device in the further subNW,

- a network device in a wide area network associated with the subNW 100 and the further subNW, or

- an overlay network associated with the subNW 100 and the further subNW.

In some example embodiments, the overlay network may comprise a wide area public network or a private network.

In some example embodiments, if the AP 130 determines that the first and second interferences are not caused by the further subNW, the AP 130 may change radio access parameters for the subNW 100.

In some example embodiments, in order to change the radio access parameters for the subNW 100, the AP 130 may perform at least one of the following: increasing transmitting power, decreasing Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) , initiating beam alignment or realignment, using a narrow RX beam and a narrow TX beam, or increasing transmission bandwidth.

In some example embodiments, in order to determine the action for managing the first and second interferences, the AP 130 may estimate link quality required by the first subset of terminal devices 110. Then, the AP 130 may determine an interference power threshold to the second subset of terminal devices 120 based on the first interference measurement report and the estimated link quality.

Based on the interference power threshold to the second subset of the terminal devices, the AP 130 may determine whether at least one of the following conditions is not met:

- reliability required by the second subset of terminal devices 120 is above a reliability threshold,

- latency required by the second subset of terminal devices 120 is below a latency threshold,

- QoS priority of a service required by the second subset of terminal devices 120 is above a priority threshold,

- survival time of a service required by the second subset of terminal devices 120 is below a time threshold, or

- SINR required by the second subset of terminal devices 120 is above an SINR threshold.

If the at least one of the above conditions is not met, the AP 130 may determine the action for managing the first and second interferences in the subNW 100.

Consider an example of triggering the action for managing the first and second interferences. In this example, the second subset of terminal devices 120 needs reliability above 99.99%. In one scenario, this is achieved by 99.9999%. However, when the AP 130 determines, based on the first interference measurement report, the second interference at the second subset of terminal devices 120 has increased to a certain level, the AP 130 estimates that the reliability is 99.99%, which is acceptable but leaves no margin for error. Thus, the AP 130 may trigger the action for managing the first and second interferences. For example, the AP 130 may change transmission parameters.

With the process 200, the AP 130 is able to acquire sufficient interference awareness for the subNW 100 without having to perform measurements itself or configure all terminal devices in the subNW 100 to perform measurements.

In addition, the AP 130 may determine, based on the first interference measurement report from the first subset of terminal devices 110, a proper set of actions to handle the interference the subNW 100 experiences.

Furthermore, the AP 130 may select the first subset of terminal devices 110 in such a way that they are representatives for the second subset of terminal devices 120, meaning these devices does not have to conduct interference measurements.

Hereinafter, some example implementations of the process 200 will be described with reference to Figs. 3 to 5.

Fig. 3 illustrates a signaling chart illustrating a process 300 for distributed interference sensing in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the process 300 will be described with reference to Fig. 1. The process 300 may involve the first subset of terminal devices 110, the second subset of terminal devices 120, the AP 130 and the interference source 140 in Fig. 1.

In some example embodiments, the process 300 may be used for initially identifying the need for the first subset of terminal devices 110 and configuration of the first subset of terminal devices 110.

As shown in Fig. 3, the AP 130 identifies 310 the need for the first subset of terminal devices 110 to act as interference measurement reference devices.

In some example embodiments, if the AP 130 identifies, based on its own incapability, a large difference between its own measurements and other sub-network measurements, the AP 130 may determine the need for the first subset of terminal devices 110.

Then, the AP 130 selects 320 the first subset of terminal devices 110. The action 320 may be considered as an example implementation of the action 210 in Fig. 2. Thus, details of the action 320 are omitted for brevity.

In turn, the AP 130 transmits 330, to the first subset of terminal devices 110, the first configuration of the first interference measurement. The AP 130 transmits 335, to second subset of terminal devices 120, the first configuration of the first interference measurement.

The action 330 may be considered as an example implementation of the action 220 in Fig. 2. For example, the AP 130 may request measurement of RSRP, RSSI or SINR from the first subset of terminal devices 110 by transmitting the first configuration of the first interference measurement. The action 335 is similar to the action 330. For example, the AP 130 may request measurement of RSRP, RSSI or SINR from the second subset of terminal devices 120 by transmitting the first configuration of the first interference measurement. Thus, details of the actions 330 and 335 are omitted for brevity.

The first subset of terminal devices 110 receives 340 an interference signal from the interference source 140. The second subset of terminal devices 120 receives 350 an interference signal from the interference source 140.

The first subset of terminal devices 110 performs 360 the first interference measurement based on the first configuration. The second subset of terminal devices 120 performs 370 the first interference measurement based on the first configuration. The action 360 may be considered as an example implementation of the action 230 in Fig. 2. The action 375 is similar to the action 360. Thus, details of the actions 360 and 370 are omitted for brevity.

In some example embodiments, based on the first configuration, the first subset of terminal devices 110 may perform the first interference measurement periodically or aperiodically. An example scenario could be when a vehicle uses one part of terminal devices 110 in the first subset 110 when it is on the highway and then needs another part of terminal devices 110 in the first subset 110 when it is in the city. Another example scenario could be when the second subset of terminal devices 120 expand or change. In such example embodiments, the AP 130 may re-perform the actions 320 and 330.

In such example embodiments, the AP 130 may activate or deactivate all or part of the terminal devices in the first subset 110 to perform the first interference measurement. This can be done by enabling or disabling the first configuration of the first interference measurement.

The first subset of terminal devices 110 transmits 380, to the AP 130, the first interference measurement report based on the first configuration. The first interference measurement report indicates first interference measured at the first subset of terminal devices 110. The first interference may be caused by the interference signal from the interference source 140. The action 380 may be considered as an example implementation of the action 240 in Fig. 2. Thus, details of the action 380 is omitted for brevity.

The second subset of terminal devices 120 transmits 390, to the AP 130, an interference measurement report based on the first configuration. The interference measurement report indicates interference measured at the second subset of terminal devices 120. The interference may be caused by the interference signal from the interference source 140. The action 390 is similar to the action 380. Thus, details of the action 390 is omitted for brevity.

Fig. 4 illustrates a signaling chart illustrating a process 400 for distributed interference sensing in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the process 400 will be described with reference to Fig. 1. The process 400 may involve the first subset of terminal devices 110, the second subset of terminal devices 120, the AP 130 and the interference source 140 in Fig. 1.

In some example embodiments, the process 400 may be used for further configuration of the first subset of terminal devices 110, determining the interference power threshold to the second subset of terminal devices 120 and determining an action for managing the interferences.

In some example embodiments, the interference power threshold to the second subset of terminal devices 120 may be associated with an interference power threshold that the second subset of terminal devices 120 can tolerate, i.e., the interference power threshold resembles a maximum interference power level which still allows a link between the second subset of terminal devices 120 and the AP 130 to have a sufficient link quality (for example, Block Error Ratio (BLER) ) .

In the process 400, the AP 130 may determine the maximum interference power level based on the interference measurement reports from the first subset of terminal devices 110 and the second subset of terminal devices 120.

Specifically, the AP 130 may request measurements of RSRP or RSSI from the first subset of terminal devices 110 and the second subset of terminal devices 120. The AP 130 may use a mapping function to identify the current SINR based on the measurements of RSRP or RSSI. Alternatively, the AP 130 may request measurements of SINR from the first subset of terminal devices 110 and the second subset of terminal devices 120. Then, the AP 130 may estimate a gap between the current SINR and the SINR that the second subset of terminal devices 120 can tolerate. In turn, the AP 130 may determine the maximum interference power level based on the gap.

Alternatively, if a service is already running, the AP 130 may determine the maximum interference power level by its own link adaptation loop with the second subset of terminal devices 120.

Alternatively, the AP 130 may determine the interference power threshold to the second subset of the terminal devices by using CSI reports from the first subset of terminal devices 110. Specifically, AP 130 requests a CSI report and transmits CSI-RS to the first subset of terminal devices 110. The first subset of terminal devices 110 measures the CSI-RS and estimates the CQI and Rank Indicator (RI) . Then, the first subset of terminal devices 110 reports the CQI and RI to the AP 130. Then, the AP 130 may estimate link quality required by the first subset of terminal devices 110 and determine SINR associated with the estimated link quality. The SINR may be referred to as SINR that the second subset of terminal devices 120 can tolerate. In turn, the AP 130 may estimate a gap between the current SINR and the SINR that the second subset of terminal devices 120 can tolerate. Then, the AP 130 may determine the interference power threshold resembling the maximum interference power level based on the gap.

Upon determining the maximum interference power level, the AP 130 may convert the maximum interference power level into an RSSI which is straight forward if it is the second subset of terminal devices 120 that reports RSRP, RSSI or SINR. The AP 130 may determine 410 the interference power threshold by adding the RSSI (if the measurement represents an idle/no interference measurement) and a margin which the AP 130 may estimate based on interference variability, channel variations and so on.

In turn, the AP 130 determines 420, based on the interference power threshold to the second subset of terminal devices 120, the threshold level for transmitting the first interference measurement report. For example, the AP 130 may determine the threshold level to be equal to the interference power threshold to the second subset of terminal devices 120. For another example, the AP 130 may determine the threshold level to be slightly higher than the interference power threshold to the second subset of the terminal devices so as to allow a margin for variances between the measurement at the first subset of terminal devices 110 and the experienced interference at the second subset of terminal devices 120.

In turn, the AP 130 transmits 430, to the first subset of terminal devices 110, the first configuration of the first interference measurement. The first configuration of the first interference measurement may comprise the threshold level for transmitting the first interference measurement report. The action 430 may be considered as an example implementation of the action 220 in Fig. 2. Thus, details of the action 430 is omitted for brevity.

The first subset of terminal devices 110 receives 440 an interference signal from the interference source 140. The second subset of terminal devices 120 receives 445 an interference signal from the interference source 140.

The first subset of terminal devices 110 performs 450 the first interference measurement based on the first configuration. The action 450 may be considered as an example implementation of the action 230 in Fig. 2. Thus, details of the action 450 is omitted for brevity.

In turn, the first subset of terminal devices 110 determines 460 whether the threshold level for transmitting the first interference measurement report is reached.

If the threshold level is reached, the first subset of terminal devices 110 further determines 465 whether the first interference comes from a known radio access technology (RAT) . For example, the first subset of terminal devices 110 further determines whether the first interference comes from another subNW. If the first interference comes from a known RAT, the first subset of terminal devices 110 transmits 470, to the AP 130, the first interference measurement report based on the first configuration.

In some example embodiments, the first configuration of the first interference measurement may indicates if the first subset of terminal devices 110 determines the ZP-CSI REs contain a known reference signal with a certain probability, the first interference measurement report comprises ToA, AoA, RSRP and/or IQ samples.

Upon receiving the first interference measurement report, the AP 130 determines 480 second interference at the second subset of terminal devices 120 based on the first interference measurement report. The action 480 may be considered as an example implementation of the action 250 in Fig. 2. Thus, details of the action 480 is omitted for brevity.

Then, the AP 130 determines 490 an action for managing the first and second interferences based on the first interference measurement report. The action 490 may be considered as an example implementation of the action 260 in Fig. 2. Thus, details of the action 490 is omitted for brevity.

In some example embodiments, the AP 130 may configure the first subset of terminal devices 110 to perform the first interference measurement periodically or aperiodically. An example scenario could be when a vehicle implementing the subNW 100 uses one part of terminal devices in the first subset 110 when it is on the highway and then needs another part of terminal devices in the first subset 110 when it is in the city. Another example scenario could be when the second subset of terminal devices 120 expand or change. In such example embodiments, the AP 130 may re-perform the actions 220 and 230 in Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 illustrates a signaling chart illustrating a process 500 for distributed interference sensing in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the process 500 will be described with reference to Fig. 1. The process 500 may involve the first subset of terminal devices 110, the second subset of terminal devices 120 and the AP 130 in Fig. 1.

In some example embodiments, the process 500 may be used for reevaluation of the interference correlation between the first subset of terminal devices 110 and the second subset of terminal devices 110.

As shown in Fig. 5, the AP 130 transmits 510 a second configuration to the first subset of terminal devices 110. The second configuration is indicative of a second interference measurement to be performed at the first subset of terminal devices 110 and the second subset of terminal devices 120.

The AP 130 transmits 520 the second configuration to the second subset of terminal devices 120.

Upon receiving the second configuration, the first subset of terminal devices 110 performs 530 the second interference measurement based on the second configuration.

Upon receiving the second configuration, the second subset of terminal devices 120 performs 540 the second interference measurement based on the second configuration.

In turn, the first subset of terminal devices 110 transmits 550, to the AP 130, a second measurement report based on the second configuration. The second subset of terminal devices 120 transmits 560, to the AP 130, a third measurement report based on the second configuration.

Each of the second and third measurement report may comprise measurement of at least one of the following: RSSI, RSRP, ToA, AoA or IQ samples.

In turn, based on the second and third measurement reports, the AP 130 estimates an interference correlation factor between the first subset of terminal devices 110 and the second subset of terminal devices 120.

In some example embodiments, the AP 130 may transmit to the first subset of terminal devices 110 and the second subset of terminal devices 120 the second configuration based on determining at least one of the following:

- link quality from the second subset of terminal devices 120 falls below a quality threshold,

- the first interference measurement report is not received from the first subset of terminal devices 110,

- the interference correlation factor changes, or

- at least one third terminal device joins the subNW 100, or

- at least one terminal device leaves the subNW 100, or

- at least one terminal device in the subNW 100 has changed its position.

In some example embodiments, the AP 130 may determine, based at least on the interference correlation factor, an interference power threshold to the second subset of terminal devices 120.

As described above, the at least one metric to be included in the first interference measurement report may comprise IQ samples. The first interference measurement report comprising the IQ samples will allow the AP 130 to effectively use the first subset of terminal devices 110 as a distributed antenna system (DAS) . With the DAS, the AP 130 will use information from the first subset of terminal devices 110 and all their antennas to better estimate metrics from the measurements, such as AoA, ToA. Illustrative examples will be described with reference to Figs. 6A and 6B.

Figs. 6A and 6B illustrate an example of reporting IQ samples according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, respectively.

In Fig. 6A, the first subset of terminal devices 110 can estimate AoA just using broad beams because of the small form factor, i.e., limited number of active antenna elements.

In Fig. 6B, the first subset of terminal devices 110 operates as a DAS by reporting IQ samples to the AP 130. The first subset of terminal devices 110 can be used jointly as a single bigger array of not regularly placed antenna elements, which are capable to more precisely estimate AoA because of the narrower beams it can create.

In some example embodiments, the AP 130 may select a subset of terminal devices in the subNW 100 as the first subset of terminal devices 110 based on at least one of the following:

- the synchronization accuracy of the subset of terminal devices with the AP 130;

- the position accuracy and stability of the subset of terminal devices: the subset of terminal devices should have a static relative position from the AP 130; OR

- capacity for interference measurement reporting.

In some example embodiments, the AP 130 may apply synchronization enhancing procedures at least towards the first subset of terminal devices 110 (for example, increasing the bandwidth of its synchronization reference signals) .

Fig. 7 shows a flowchart of an example method 700 implemented at an AP in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 700 will be described from the perspective of the AP 130 with respect to Fig. 1.

At block 710, the AP 130 selects the first subset of terminal devices 110 in the subNW 100.

At block 720, the AP 130 transmits, to the first subset of terminal devices 110, a first configuration of a first interference measurement.

At block 730, the AP 130 receives, from the first subset of terminal devices 110, a first interference measurement report based on the first configuration. The first interference measurement report indicates first interference measured at the first subset of terminal devices 110.

At block 740, the AP 130 determines second interference at a second subset of terminal devices 120 in the subNW 100 based on the first interference measurement report.

At block 750, the AP 130 determines an action for managing the first and second interferences based on the first interference measurement report.

In some example embodiments, selecting the first subset of terminal devices comprises: selecting a subset of terminal devices in the sub-network as the first subset of terminal devices by determining at least one of the following:

- an average interference power of the subset of terminal devices is higher than an interference power threshold,

- an average Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) of the subset of terminal devices is below an SINR threshold,

- the subset of terminal devices has an interference correlation with the second subset of the terminal devices in the sub-network,

- a resource utilization of the subset of terminal devices is lower than a utilization threshold,

- the subset of terminal devices is located at an edge of the sub-network,

- the subset of terminal devices has capability to perform the first interference measurement.

- a type of the first interference measurement to be performed,

- time and frequency resources for the first interference measurement,

- a pattern for performing the first interference measurement, or

- at least one metric to be included in the first interference measurement report.

In some example embodiments, the action for managing the first and second interferences comprises at least one of the following:

- based on determining that the first and second interferences are caused by a further sub-network, communicating with at least one device in the further sub-network to change radio access parameters for the further sub-network; or

- based on determining that the first and second interferences are not caused by the further sub-network, changing radio access parameters for the sub-network.

In some example embodiments, communicating with at least one device in the further sub-network comprises: communicating with the at least one device in the further sub-network based on at least one of the following:

- positions of the AP 130 and the at least one device in the further sub-network,

- a network device in a wide area network associated with the sub-network and the further sub-network, or

- an overlay network associated with the sub-network and the further sub-network.

In some example embodiments, the method 700 further comprises: estimating link quality required by the first subset of the terminal devices; and determining an interference power threshold to the second subset of the terminal devices based on the first interference measurement report and the estimated link quality.

In some example embodiments, the method 700 further comprises: selecting a further subset of terminal devices in the sub-network as the second subset of the terminal devices based on determining at least one of the following conditions is met:

- reliability required by the further subset of the terminal devices is above a reliability threshold,

- latency required by the further subset of the terminal devices is below a latency threshold,

- Quality of Service (QoS) priority of a service required by the further subset of the terminal devices is above a priority threshold,

- survival time of a service required by the further subset of the terminal devices is below a time threshold, or

- Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) required by the further subset of the terminal devices is above an SINR threshold.

In some example embodiments, determining the action for managing the first and second interferences in the sub-network comprises: based on the interference power threshold to the second subset of the terminal devices, determining whether at least one of the conditions is not met; and based on determining that the at least one of the conditions is not met, determining the action for managing the first and second interferences in the subnetwork.

In some example embodiments, the method 700 further comprises: transmitting, to the first subset of terminal devices and the second subset of the terminal devices, a second configuration indicative of a second interference measurement to be performed at the first subset of terminal devices and the second subset of the terminal devices; receiving, from the first subset of terminal devices, a second measurement report based on the second configuration; receiving, from the second subset of the terminal devices, a third measurement report based on the second configuration; and estimating, based on the second and third measurement reports, an interference correlation factor between the first subset of terminal devices and the second subset of the terminal devices.

In some example embodiments, the method 700 further comprises: determining, based at least on the interference correlation factor, an interference power threshold to the second subset of the terminal devices.

In some example embodiments, the method 700 further comprises: determining, based at least on the interference power threshold to the second subset of the terminal devices, a threshold level for transmitting the first interference measurement.

In some example embodiments, the first configuration of the first interference measurement indicates the threshold level for transmitting the first interference measurement report.

In some example embodiments, transmitting to the first subset of terminal devices and the second subset of the terminal devices the second configuration comprises: transmitting to the first subset of terminal devices and the second subset of the terminal devices the second configuration based on determining at least one of the following:

- link quality from the second subset of the terminal devices falls below a quality threshold,

- the first interference measurement report is not received from the first subset of terminal devices,

- the interference correlation factor changes, or

- at least one third terminal device joins the sub-network, or

- at least one of the terminal devices leaves the sub-network, or

- at least one of the terminal devices has changed its position.

In some example embodiments, the method 700 further comprises: activating or deactivating all or part of the terminal devices in the first subset to perform the first interference measurement.

Fig. 8 shows a flowchart of an example method 800 implemented at a terminal device in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 800 will be described from the perspective of the first terminal device 110 with respect to Fig. 1.

At block 810, the first terminal device 110 receives, from the AP 130 of the subNW 100, a first configuration of a first interference measurement.

At block 820, the first terminal device 110 performs, based on the first configuration, the first interference measurement.

At block 830, the first terminal device 110 transmits first interference measurement report to the AP 130 based on the first configuration. The first interference measurement report indicates first interference measured at the first terminal device 110 and causes the AP 130 to determine second interference at the second subset of terminal devices 120 in the subNW 100.

In some example embodiments, the configuration of the interference measurement indicates at least one of the following:

- a type of the first interference measurement to be performed,

- time and frequency resources for the first interference measurement,

- a pattern for performing the first interference measurement, or

In some example embodiments, the method 800 further comprises: being activated or deactivated to perform the first interference measurement.

In some example embodiments, the method 800 further comprises performing the first interference measurement periodically or aperiodically.

In some example embodiments, the first configuration of the first interference measurement indicates a threshold level for transmitting the first interference measurement report.

In some example embodiments, the method 800 further comprises: receiving, from the AP, a second configuration indicative of a second interference measurement; performing the second interference measurement based on the second configuration; and transmitting, to the AP, a second measurement report based on the second configuration. The second measurement report is used for estimating, at the AP, an interference correlation factor between the first terminal device and the second subset of the terminal devices.

In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing any of the method 700 (for example, the AP 130) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 700. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The apparatus may be implemented as or included in the AP 130. In some example embodiments, the means may comprise a processor and a memory.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for selecting, at an AP of a sub-network, a first subset of terminal devices in the sub-network; means for transmitting, to the first subset of terminal devices, a first configuration of a first interference measurement; means for receiving, from the first subset of terminal devices, a first interference measurement report based on the first configuration, the first interference measurement report indicating first interference measured at the first subset of terminal devices; means for determining second interference at a second subset of the terminal devices in the sub-network based on the first interference measurement report; and means for determining an action for managing the first and second interferences based on the first interference measurement report.

In some example embodiments, the means for selecting the first subset of terminal devices comprises: means for selecting a subset of terminal devices in the sub-network as the first subset of terminal devices by determining at least one of the following:

- the subset of terminal devices is located at an edge of the sub-network,

- a type of the first interference measurement to be performed,

- time and frequency resources for the first interference measurement,

- a pattern for performing the first interference measurement, or

In some example embodiments, the means for communicating with at least one device in the further sub-network comprises: means for communicating with the at least one device in the further sub-network based on at least one of the following:

- positions of the AP and the at least one device in the further sub-network,

In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for estimating link quality required by the first subset of the terminal devices; and means for determining an interference power threshold to the second subset of the terminal devices based on the first interference measurement report and the estimated link quality.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for selecting a further subset of terminal devices in the sub-network as the second subset of the terminal devices based on determining at least one of the following conditions is met:

In some example embodiments, the means for determining the action for managing the first and second interferences in the sub-network comprises: based on the interference power threshold to the second subset of the terminal devices, means for determining whether at least one of the conditions is not met; and based on determining that the at least one of the conditions is not met, means for determining the action for managing the first and second interferences in the subnetwork.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for transmitting, to the first subset of terminal devices and the second subset of the terminal devices, a second configuration indicative of a second interference measurement to be performed at the first subset of terminal devices and the second subset of the terminal devices; means for receiving, from the first subset of terminal devices, a second measurement report based on the second configuration; means for receiving, from the second subset of the terminal devices, a third measurement report based on the second configuration; and means for estimating, based on the second and third measurement reports, an interference correlation factor between the first subset of terminal devices and the second subset of the terminal devices.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for determining, based at least on the interference correlation factor, an interference power threshold to the second subset of the terminal devices.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for determining, based at least on the interference power threshold to the second subset of the terminal devices, a threshold level for transmitting the first interference measurement.

In some example embodiments, the means for transmitting to the first subset of terminal devices and the second subset of the terminal devices the second configuration comprises: means for transmitting to the first subset of terminal devices and the second subset of the terminal devices the second configuration based on determining at least one of the following:

- the interference correlation factor changes, or

- at least one third terminal device joins the sub-network, or

- at least one of the terminal devices leaves the sub-network, or

- at least one of the terminal devices has changed its position.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for activating or deactivating all or part of the terminal devices in the first subset to perform the first interference measurement.

In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing any of the method 800 (for example, the first terminal device 110) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 800. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The apparatus may be implemented as or included in the first terminal device 110. In some example embodiments, the means may comprise a processor and a memory.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for receiving, at a first terminal device in a sub-network from an AP of the sub-network, a first configuration of a first interference measurement; means for performing, based on the first configuration, the first interference measurement; and means for transmitting first interference measurement report to the AP based on the first configuration, the first interference measurement report indicating first interference measured at the first terminal device and causing the AP to determine second interference at a second subset of terminal devices in the sub-network.

- a type of the first interference measurement to be performed,

- time and frequency resources for the first interference measurement,

- a pattern for performing the first interference measurement, or

In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for being activated or deactivated to perform the first interference measurement.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for performing the first interference measurement periodically or aperiodically.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for receiving, from the AP, a second configuration indicative of a second interference measurement; means for performing the second interference measurement based on the second configuration; and means for transmitting, to the AP, a second measurement report based on the second configuration. The second measurement report is used for estimating, at the AP, an interference correlation factor between the first terminal device and the second subset of the terminal devices.

Fig. 9 is a simplified block diagram of a device 900 that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 900 may be provided to implement a communication device, for example, the AP 130 or the first terminal device 110 as shown in Fig. 1. As shown, the device 900 includes one or more processors 910, one or more memories 920 coupled to the processor 910, and one or more communication modules 940 coupled to the processor 910.

The communication module 940 is for bidirectional communications. The communication module 940 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interfaces may represent any interface that is necessary for communication with other network elements. In some example embodiments, the communication module 940 may include at least one antenna.

The processor 910 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network and may include one or more of the following: general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The device 900 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock which synchronizes the main processor.

The memory 920 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of the non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a Read Only Memory (ROM) 924, an electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM) , a flash memory, a hard disk, a compact disc (CD) , a digital video disk (DVD) , an optical disk, a laser disk, and other magnetic storage and/or optical storage. Examples of the volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a random access memory (RAM) 922 and other volatile memories that will not last in the power-down duration.

A computer program 930 includes computer executable instructions that could be executed by the associated processor 910. The program 930 may be stored in the memory, e.g., ROM 924. The processor 910 may perform any suitable actions and processing by loading the program 930 into the RAM 922.

The example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by means of the program 930 so that the device 900 may perform any process of the disclosure as discussed with reference to Figs. 1 to 8. The example embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

In some example embodiments, the program 930 may be tangibly contained in a computer readable medium which may be included in the device 900 (such as in the memory 920) or other storage devices that are accessible by the device 900. The device 900 may load the program 930 from the computer readable medium to the RAM 922 for execution. The computer readable medium may include any types of tangible non-volatile storage, such as ROM, EPROM, a flash memory, a hard disk, CD, DVD, and the like. Fig. 10 shows an example of the computer readable medium 1000 which may be in form of CD, DVD or other optical storage disk. The computer readable medium has the program 930 stored thereon.

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

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

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

In the context of the present disclosure, the computer program code or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable the device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of the carrier include a signal, computer readable medium, and the like.

The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable medium may include but not limited to an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of the computer readable storage medium would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM) , a read-only memory (ROM) , an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory) , an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) , an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

It should be appreciated that though some embodiments may be implemented by/at IAB nodes, solutions including methods and apparatus proposed in this disclosure could also be applied in other communication systems where similar technical problems exist. Further, while operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Likewise, while several specific implementation details are contained in the above discussions, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination.

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

Claims

An access point of a sub-network, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the access point at least to:

select a first subset of terminal devices in the sub-network;

transmit, to the first subset of terminal devices, a first configuration of a first interference measurement;

receive, from the first subset of terminal devices, a first interference measurement report based on the first configuration, the first interference measurement report indicating first interference measured at the first subset of terminal devices;

determine second interference at a second subset of the terminal devices in the sub-network based on the first interference measurement report; and

determine an action for managing the first and second interferences based on the first interference measurement report.
The access point of claim 1, wherein the access point is caused to select a subset of terminal devices in the sub-network as the first subset of terminal devices by determining at least one of the following:

an average interference power of the subset of terminal devices is higher than an interference power threshold,

an average Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) of the subset of terminal devices is below an SINR threshold,

the subset of terminal devices has an interference correlation with the second subset of the terminal devices in the sub-network,

a resource utilization of the subset of terminal devices is lower than a utilization threshold,

the subset of terminal devices is located at an edge of the sub-network,

the subset of terminal devices has capability to perform the first interference measurement.
The access point of claim 1, wherein the first configuration of the first interference measurement indicates at least one of the following:

a type of the first interference measurement to be performed,

time and frequency resources for the first interference measurement,

a pattern for performing the first interference measurement, or

at least one metric to be included in the first interference measurement report.
The access point of claim 1, wherein the action for managing the first and second interferences comprises at least one of the following:

based on determining that the first and second interferences are caused by a further sub-network, communicating with at least one device in the further sub-network to change radio access parameters for the further sub-network; or

based on determining that the first and second interferences are not caused by the further sub-network, changing radio access parameters for the sub-network.
The access point of claim 4, wherein the access point is caused to communicate with the at least one device in the further sub-network based on at least one of the following:

positions of the access point and the at least one device in the further sub-network,

a network device in a wide area network associated with the sub-network and the further sub-network, or

an overlay network associated with the sub-network and the further sub-network.
The access point of claim 1, wherein the access point is further caused to:

estimate link quality required by the first subset of the terminal devices;

determine an interference power threshold to the second subset of the terminal devices based on the first interference measurement report and the estimated link quality.
The access point of claim 6, wherein the access point is further caused to select a further subset of terminal devices in the sub-network as the second subset of the terminal devices based on determining at least one of the following conditions is met:

reliability required by the further subset of the terminal devices is above a reliability threshold,

latency required by the further subset of the terminal devices is below a latency threshold,

Quality of Service (QoS) priority of a service required by the further subset of the terminal devices is above a priority threshold,

survival time of a service required by the further subset of the terminal devices is below a time threshold, or

Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) required by the further subset of the terminal devices is above an SINR threshold.
The access point of claim 7, wherein the access point is caused to determine the action for managing the first and second interferences in the sub-network by:

based on the interference power threshold to the second subset of the terminal devices, determining whether at least one of the conditions is not met; and

based on determining that the at least one of the conditions is not met, determining the action for managing the first and second interferences in the subnetwork.
The access point of claim 1, wherein the access point is further caused to:

transmit, to the first subset of terminal devices and the second subset of the terminal devices, a second configuration indicative of a second interference measurement to be performed at the first subset of terminal devices and the second subset of the terminal devices;

receive, from the first subset of terminal devices, a second measurement report based on the second configuration;

receive, from the second subset of the terminal devices, a third measurement report based on the second configuration; and

based on the second and third measurement reports, estimate an interference correlation factor between the first subset of terminal devices and the second subset of the terminal devices.
The access point of claim 9, wherein the access point is further caused to:

determine, based at least on the interference correlation factor, an interference power threshold to the second subset of the terminal devices.
The access point of claim 6 or 10, wherein the access point is further caused to:

determine, based at least on the interference power threshold to the second subset of the terminal devices, a threshold level for transmitting the first interference measurement.
The access point of claim 11, wherein the first configuration of the first interference measurement indicates the threshold level for transmitting the first interference measurement report.
The access point of claim 9, wherein the access point is caused to transmit to the first subset of terminal devices and the second subset of the terminal devices the second configuration based on determining at least one of the following:

link quality from the second subset of the terminal devices falls below a quality threshold,

the first interference measurement report is not received from the first subset of terminal devices,

the interference correlation factor changes, or

at least one third terminal device joins the sub-network, or

at least one of the terminal devices leaves the sub-network, or

at least one of the terminal devices has changed its position.
The access point of claim 1, wherein the access point is further caused to:

activate or deactivate all or part of the terminal devices in the first subset to perform the first interference measurement.
A first terminal device in a sub-network, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first terminal device at least to:

receive, from an access point of the sub-network, a first configuration of a first interference measurement;

perform, based on the first configuration, the first interference measurement; and

transmit first interference measurement report to the access point based on the first configuration, the first interference measurement report indicating first interference measured at the first terminal device and causing the access point to determine second interference at a second subset of terminal devices in the sub-network.
The first terminal device of claim 15, wherein the configuration of the interference measurement indicates at least one of the following:

a type of the first interference measurement to be performed,

time and frequency resources for the first interference measurement,

a pattern for performing the first interference measurement, or

at least one metric to be included in the first interference measurement report.
The first terminal device of claim 15, wherein the first terminal device is further caused to:

be activated or deactivated to perform the first interference measurement.
The first terminal device of claim 15, wherein the first terminal device is further caused to perform the first interference measurement periodically or aperiodically.
The first terminal device of claim 15, wherein the first configuration of the first interference measurement indicates a threshold level for transmitting the first interference measurement report.
The first terminal device of claim 15, wherein the first terminal device is further caused to:

receive, from the access point, a second configuration indicative of a second interference measurement;

perform the second interference measurement based on the second configuration; and

transmit, to the access point, a second measurement report based on the second configuration, the second measurement report being used for estimating, at the access point, an interference correlation factor between the first terminal device and the second subset of the terminal devices.
A method, comprising:

selecting, at an access point of a sub-network, a first subset of terminal devices in the sub-network;

transmitting, to the first subset of terminal devices, a first configuration of a first interference measurement;

receiving, from the first subset of terminal devices, a first interference measurement report based on the first configuration, the first interference measurement report indicating first interference measured at the first subset of terminal devices;

determining second interference at a second subset of the terminal devices in the sub-network based on the first interference measurement report; and

determining an action for managing the first and second interferences based on the first interference measurement report.
A method, comprising:

receiving, at a first terminal device in a sub-network from an access point of the sub-network, a first configuration of a first interference measurement;

performing the first interference measurement based on the first configuration; and

transmitting first interference measurement report to the access point based on the first configuration, the first interference measurement report indicating first interference measured at the first terminal device and causing the access point to determine second interference at a second subset of terminal devices in the sub-network.
An apparatus, comprising:

means for selecting, at an access point of a sub-network, a first subset of terminal devices in the sub-network;

means for transmitting, to the first subset of terminal devices, a first configuration of a first interference measurement;

means for receiving, from the first subset of terminal devices, a first interference measurement report based on the first configuration, the first interference measurement report indicating first interference measured at the first subset of terminal devices;

means for determining second interference at a second subset of the terminal devices in the sub-network based on the first interference measurement report; and

means for determining an action for managing the first and second interferences based on the first interference measurement report.
An apparatus, comprising:

means for receiving, at a first terminal device in a sub-network from an access point of the sub-network, a first configuration of a first interference measurement;

means for performing the first interference measurement based on the first configuration; and

means for transmitting first interference measurement report to the access point based on the first configuration, the first interference measurement report indicating first interference measured at the first terminal device and causing the access point to determine second interference at a second subset of terminal devices in the sub-network.
A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the method of claim 21 or 22.