WO2025043562A1

WO2025043562A1 - Adjustment for sensing coverage area

Info

Publication number: WO2025043562A1
Application number: PCT/CN2023/115937
Authority: WO
Inventors: Wen Jian WANG; Jian Guo Liu; Yanni ZHOU; Fei Gao; Chao Jun XU
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: 2023-08-30
Filing date: 2023-08-30
Publication date: 2025-03-06
Anticipated expiration: 2026-02-28

Abstract

Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to apparatuses, methods, and a computer readable storage medium for adjustment for sensing coverage area. In the solution, an apparatus including a sensing management function may determine that a sensing coverage area of a sensing system is to be adjusted to sense a moving target, and the apparatus may transmit a sensing static power adjustment indication to a sensing transition device, where the sensing static power adjustment indication indicates to the sensing transition device to adjust static power of signals reflected from one or more stationary objects in the sensing coverage area. The sensing transition device may adjust static power of signals reflected from one or more stationary objects in a sensing coverage area based on the sensing static power adjustment indication. Accordingly, the sensing coverage area may be adjusted as the static power adjustment.

Description

ADJUSTMENT FOR SENSING COVERAGE AREA

FIELD

Example embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of communications and in particular, to apparatuses, methods, and a computer readable storage medium for adjustment for a sensing coverage area for a sensing system of a communication system.

BACKGROUND

Currently, integrating sensing into communication systems is still in its early stages of development. For example, research related to 5G-Advanced (5G-A) communication systems has focused on integration of communication and sensing functions in 5G-Acommunication systems. The integration of communication and sensing functions in 5G-Acommunication systems involves utilizing the characteristics of wireless channels of access nodes of access networks (e.g., WiFi^TM access networks or new radio (NR) access networks) of a 5G-A communication system to obtain information about an environment of the radio access nodes and to enable the radio access nodes to sense objects in an environment of the radio access nodes. Recent research related to integration of communication and sensing functions into communication systems, such as 5G-A communication systems, has focused on improving the ability of access nodes of access networks to sense objects.

SUMMARY

In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for adjustment for a sensing coverage area.

In a first aspect, there is provided an apparatus for a communication system. The apparatus comprises: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions of a sensing management function, wherein the instructions when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to perform: receiving, from a sensing receiver for a sensing system of the communication system, information about a sensing coverage area of the sensing system, the information at least comprising a sensing specific signal to noise ratio or an indication of the sensing coverage area; determining, based on the information about the sensing coverage area of the sensing system, whether the sensing coverage area of the sensing system is to be adjusted to sense a moving target; and based on determining that the sensing coverage area of the sensing system is to be adjusted, transmitting, to a sensing transition device, a sensing static power adjustment indication, wherein the sensing static power adjustment indication indicates to the sensing transition device to adjust static power of signals reflected from one or more stationary objects in the sensing coverage area to adjust the sensing coverage area of the sensing system.

In a second aspect, there is provided a sensing transition device. The sensing transition device comprises: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second apparatus at least to perform: receiving, from an apparatus comprising a sensing management function, a sensing static power adjustment indication to adjust static power of signals reflected from stationary objects; and performing a static power adjustment to adjust the static power of signals reflected from one or more stationary objects in a sensing coverage area of a sensing system based on the sensing static power adjustment indication.

In a third aspect, there is provided a sensing receiver for a sensing system for a communication system. The sensing receiver comprises at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the sensing receiver at least to perform: receiving, from a sensing transmitter, a dual function radar-communication (DFRC) waveform; processing the DFRC waveform for sensing for one or more sensing targets to generate information about a sensing coverage area of the sensing system; and transmitting, to an apparatus comprising a sensing management function, the information about the sensing coverage area of the sensing system, the information at least comprising a sensing specific signal to noise ratio or an indication of the sensing coverage area.

In a fourth aspect, there is provided a method performed by an apparatus for a communication system. The method comprises: receiving, from a sensing receiver for a sensing system of the communication system, information about a sensing coverage area of the sensing system, the information at least comprising a sensing specific signal to noise ratio or an indication of the sensing coverage area; determining, based on the information about the sensing coverage area of the sensing system, whether the sensing coverage area of the sensing system is to be adjusted to sense a moving target; and based on determining that the sensing coverage area of the sensing system is to be adjusted, transmitting, to a sensing transition device, a sensing static power adjustment indication, wherein the sensing static power adjustment indication indicates to the sensing transition device to adjust static power of signals reflected from one or more stationary objects in the sensing coverage area to adjust the sensing coverage area of the sensing system.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided a method performed by a sensing transition device. The method comprises: receiving, from an apparatus comprising a sensing management function, a sensing static power adjustment indication to adjust static power of signals reflected from stationary objects; and performing a static power adjustment to adjust the static power of signals reflected from one or more stationary objects in a sensing coverage area of a sensing system based on the sensing static power adjustment indication.

In a sixth aspect, there is provided a method performed by a sensing receiver for a sensing system for a communication system. The method comprises: receiving, from a sensing transmitter, a DFRC waveform; processing the DFRC waveform for sensing for one or more sensing targets to generate information about a sensing coverage area of the sensing system; and transmitting, to an apparatus comprising a sensing management function, the information about the sensing coverage area of the sensing system, the information at least comprising a sensing specific signal to noise ratio or an indication of the sensing coverage area.

In a seventh aspect, there is provided an apparatus for a communication system. The apparatus comprises: means for receiving, from a sensing receiver for a sensing system of the communication system, information about a sensing coverage area of the sensing system, the information at least comprising a sensing specific signal to noise ratio or an indication of the sensing coverage area; means for determining, based on the information about the sensing coverage area of the sensing system, whether the sensing coverage area of the sensing system is to be adjusted to sense a moving target; and means for based on determining that the sensing coverage area of the sensing system is to be adjusted, transmitting, to a sensing transition device, a sensing static power adjustment indication, wherein the sensing static power adjustment indication indicates to the sensing transition device to adjust static power of signals reflected from one or more stationary objects in the sensing coverage area to adjust the sensing coverage area of the sensing system.

In an eighth aspect, there is provided a sensing transition device. The sensing transition device comprises: means for receiving, from an apparatus comprising a sensing management function, a sensing static power adjustment indication to adjust static power of signals reflected from stationary objects; and means for performing a static power adjustment to adjust the static power of signals reflected from one or more stationary objects in a sensing coverage area of a sensing system based on the sensing static power adjustment indication.

In a ninth aspect, there is provided a sensing receiver for a sensing system for a communication system. The sensing receiver comprises: means for receiving, from a sensing transmitter, a DFRC waveform; means for processing the DFRC waveform for sensing for one or more sensing targets to generate information about a sensing coverage area of the sensing system; and means for transmitting, to an apparatus comprising a sensing management function, the information about the sensing coverage area of the sensing system, the information at least comprising a sensing specific signal to noise ratio or an indication of the sensing coverage area.

In a tenth aspect, there is an apparatus for a communication system. The apparatus comprises: receiving circuitry configured to receive, from a sensing receiver for a sensing system of the communication system, information about a sensing coverage area of the sensing system, the information at least comprising a sensing specific signal to noise ratio or an indication of the sensing coverage area; determining circuitry configured to determine, based on the information about the sensing coverage area of the sensing system, whether the sensing coverage area of the sensing system is to be adjusted to sense a moving target; and transmitting circuitry configured to based on determining that the sensing coverage area of the sensing system is to be adjusted, transmit, to a sensing transition device, a sensing static power adjustment indication, wherein the sensing static power adjustment indication indicates to the sensing transition device to adjust static power of signals reflected from one or more stationary objects in the sensing coverage area to adjust the sensing coverage area of the sensing system.

In an eleventh aspect, there is provided a sensing transition device. The sensing transition device comprises: receiving circuitry configured to receive, from an apparatus comprising a sensing management function, a sensing static power adjustment indication to adjust static power of signals reflected from stationary objects; and performing circuitry configured to perform a static power adjustment to adjust the static power of signals reflected from one or more stationary objects in a sensing coverage area of a sensing system based on the sensing static power adjustment indication.

In a twelfth aspect, there is provided a sensing receiver for a sensing system for a communication system. The sensing receiver comprises: receiving circuitry configured to receive, from a sensing transmitter, a DFRC waveform; performing circuitry configured to process the DFRC waveform for sensing for one or more sensing targets to generate information about a sensing coverage area of the sensing system; and transmitting circuitry configured to transmit, to an apparatus comprising a sensing management function, the information about the sensing coverage area of the sensing system, the information at least comprising a sensing specific signal to noise ratio or an indication of the sensing coverage area.

In a thirteenth aspect, there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method in any of the fourth to sixth aspects.

In a fourteenth aspect, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions, which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus at least the method in any of the fourth to sixth aspects.

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:

FIGS. 1A-1F illustrate some example sensing systems;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of an integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) system in which some example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a procedure for sensing one or more targets in the ISAC system in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example schematic of adjustment of a sensing coverage area of a sensing system in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of a method performed by a SeMF in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of a method performed by a sensing transition device in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of a method performed by a sensing receiver in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device that is suitable for implementing some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

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

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

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

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 only 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) ;

(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) , New Radio (NR) , Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) , High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) , Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) , Non-terrestrial network (NTN) , IoT over NTN, and so on. Furthermore, the communications 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) , 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) or an access point (AP) , for example, a node B (NodeB or NB) , an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB) , a new radio (NR) NB (also referred to as a gNB) , a Remote Radio Unit (RRU) , a radio header (RH) , a remote radio head (RRH) , an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a relay, a low power node such as a femto, a pico, 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 (loT) device, a machine type communication (MTC) 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.

One of the most dynamic developments in the Wi-Fi industry recently has been the move to address whole-home Wi-Fi network coverage and performance. To address this need, several proprietary, multi-AP solutions have emerged on the market. According to market research from the national purchase diary group, these proprietary solutions currently represent approximately 40%by revenue of the North American retail AP market. These sales figures indicate a willingness by consumers to purchase equipment that will enhance the home Wi-Fi experience. At the same time, some service providers around the world are offering or planning solutions to address whole-home Wi-Fi coverage with extended sensing function as a service, and home builders are looking to deliver a great joint communication and sensing Wi-Fi experience with new home purchases.

The first international standard for sensing, IEEE P802.11bf^TM/D0.01, March 2022, defines that sensing is the use of received WLAN signal to detect features of an intended target of human/object/animal in a given environment. For example, the features like range, velocity, angular, motion, presence or proximity, gesture, etc. may be used in rooms, houses, cars, and enterprise environments. The targeted frequency bands may be between 1 GHz and 7.125 GHz and above 45 GHz.

WLAN sensing enables a STA to obtain sensing measurements of the channel (s) between AP and/or STA. With the execution of the WLAN sensing procedure, it is possible for a STA to obtain sensing measurements useful for detecting and tracking changes in the environment. For a sensing session, some sensing entity roles will be defined as follows:

Sensing receiver: A Sensing receiver is an entity that receives the sensing signal which the sensing service will use in its operation. A sensing receiver is an NR RAN node or a UE. A Sensing receiver can be located in the same or different entity as the Sensing transmitter. For example, a sensing receiver may be a STA that receives PPDUs sent by a sensing transmitter and performs sensing measurements in a WLAN sensing procedure.

Sensing transmitter: A Sensing transmitter is the entity that sends out the sensing signal which the sensing service will use in its operation. A Sensing transmitter is an NR RAN node or a UE. A Sensing transmitter can be located in the same or different entity as the Sensing receiver. For example, a sensing transmitter may be an AP that transmits PPDUs used for sensing measurement in a WLAN sensing procedure.

Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC) is a key technology of 5G-Advanced (5G-A) and 6G. It involves the integration of communication and sensing functions in a single system to enable efficient sharing of resources. The ISAC design allows communication and sensing functions to share the same resources, such as the frequency band and hardware, to improve spectrum efficiency and reduce costs. With the widely deployed communication infrastructure, such as 5G base stations, integrating sensing functions into communication systems has become a hot topic in recent years. This technology can be widely used in typical application scenarios such as smart transportation, low-altitude airspace, smart living, and smart networks. To achieve wireless sensing capability in current 5G networks, network transformation and upgrades are necessary.

Communication and sensing fusion achieves a unified design of communication and sensing functions through signal joint design and/or hardware sharing. The sensing part in communication and sensing fusion can be understood as a wireless sensing technology based on the communication system. It emits wireless signals towards the target area or object and analyzes the received echo signals to obtain corresponding sensing measurement information. Therefore, wireless communication networks (e.g., WiFi^TM networks and radio access networks) have natural wireless sensing capabilities. Base stations and terminals will have both communication and sensing capabilities, providing sensing services for various applications. The integration of communication and sensing functions in a single system offers several benefits, including increased spectrum efficiency, reduced costs, and improved performance.

Currently, communication and sensing fusion is still in its early stages of development. In the 5G-A phase, the main focus is on exploring the integration of communication and sensing functions based on the 5G network architecture and air interface enhancement design. This involves utilizing the wireless channel characteristics to obtain richer environmental information and enable basic sensing applications. To achieve this, 3GPP will define several key technical areas in Release 19 (Rel-19) related to communication and sensing fusion.

SA1 focuses on defining the service and system requirements for communication and sensing fusion, including the use cases, functional requirements, and performance metrics. This ensures that the integrated system meets the needs of different application scenarios, such as smart transportation, smart cities, and industrial automation. SA2 focuses on the architecture enchantments for 5G System, to meet the following requirements:

● Extension of 5G System Architecture to Support Sensing Functionality,

● Identify extensions or gaps of LCS (Location Services) -based architecture according to sensing Functional Requirements,

● LMF (Location management function) Role investigation and/or new network function (NF) with dedicated Sensing Functionality,

● Impact on Network Functions.

The LMF manages the overall co-ordination and scheduling of resources required for the location of a UE that is registered with or accessing 5G core network (5GCN) . The LMF also calculates or verifies a final location and any velocity estimate and may estimate the achieved accuracy for the final location. LMF functionalities are focusing only on connected UEs. In many use cases, a sensing service is requested for a defined area (e.g., parking lot or parking space, an industrial zone, etc. ) However, the current LMF logic cannot be used for the sensing service, thus a (new) dedicated Sensing Management Function (SeMF) may be preferable to avoid extending LMF that could lead to a complex design. SeMF can interact with an access and mobility management function (AMF) to coordinate the sensing functionality (reusing the spirit of LMF interaction with the AMF for the location services) .

FIGS. 1A-1F illustrate some example sensing systems. FIG. 1A may be regarded as a mono-static sensing system 110, where a single access node (e.g., gNB) 112 acts as sounder and sensor (e.g., is configured as a sensing receiver and a sensing transmitter) . FIG. 1B may be regarded as a bi-static (or multi-static) sensing system 120, where one access node (e.g., gNB) 122 acts as sounder (e.g., is configured as a sensing transmitter) and another access node (s) (e.g., gNB 124) (or other gNBs) acts as sensor (e.g., is (are) configured as a sensing receiver (s) ) . FIG. 1C may be regarded as a mono-static UE based sensing system 130, where a single UE 132 acts as sounder and sensor (e.g., is configured as a sensing receiver and a sensing receiver) . FIG. 1D may be regarded as a bi-static (or multi-static) UE based sensing system 140, where one UE 142 acts as sounder (e.g., is configured as a sensing transmitter) and another UE 144 (or other UEs) acts as sensor (e.g., is (are) configured as a sensor receiver (s) ) . FIG. 1E may be regarded as a DL-based collaborative sensing system 150, where one access node (e.g., gNB 152) acts as sounder and one UE 154 (or UEs) acts as sensor (e.g., acts as a sensing receiver) . FIG. 1F may be regarded as a UL-based collaborative sensing system 160, where one UE 162 acts as sounder (e.g., is configured as a sensing transmitter) and one access node (e.g., gNB) 164 (or multiple gNBs) acts as sensor (e.g., one access node is configured as a sensing receiver or multiple access nodes are configured as sensing receivers) .

In some examples, the sensing systems 110, 120, and 160 may be called as gNB sensing systems, while the sensing system 130, 140, and 150 may be called as UE sensing systems.

In general, the coverage problem for communication users has been a subject of discussion in 5G NR wireless networks, specifically addressing coverage enhancement and its associated parameters, which exhibit variations based on diverse deployment scenarios. Wireless sensing coverage area research focuses on improving the coverage and performance of WSNs in various communication technologies.

● Wi-Fi^TM Sensing: Wi-Fi^TM signals are utilized to detect the presence humans, track the motion of humans, and determine an activity performed by a human. Changes in signal characteristics of WiFi^TM signals received by a WiFi^TM sensor (e.g., a sensor configured to detect WiFi^TM signals) are analyzed to determine channel state information (CSI) and further track movement of objects, occupancy, and even physiological information.

● NR Sensing: NR, a 5G technology, offers advanced waveform designs such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) , enabling precise detection and characterization of the environment. NR-based sensing has been explored for radar sensing, indoor localization, and occupancy detection, providing higher-resolution sensing capabilities.

● Sensing in 6G Systems: Future 6G systems aim to support features such as ultra-reliable and low-latency communications, terahertz frequencies, and massive multi-input multi-output (MIMO) . These features facilitate high-resolution sensing, precise localization,and intelligent resource allocation for enhanced coverage and sensing capabilities.

Generally, a sensing range is limited or small for radio frequency (RF) sensing systems (e.g., sensing systems that transmit and receive RF signals) due to the inherent nature of the sensing system using reflection signals (e.g., RF signals reflected from objects) for sensing. Thus, there is a big difference between a communication range and a sensing range of an access node (or UE) that is configured to perform both sensing and communication, e.g., the communication range of a WiFi^TM access node can be tens of meters, while the sensing range of a WiFi^TM access node is merely 4-8 meters. Furthermore, because wireless sensing by an access node or UE (e.g., sensing receiver) relies on sensing reflections of wireless signals (e.g., RF signals) from a target (e.g., target object) for sensing the target, when there are other non-targets (e.g., stationary objects) in a coverage area of an access node or UE (e.g., sensing receiver) configured for wireless sensing, the non-target objects may interfere with reflections from target, thereby making sensing of the target (e.g., target object) by the access node (or UE) difficult. To ensure that a target (e.g., target object) can be sensed by access node or UE (e.g., a sensing receiver) , the coverage area of the sensing system (referred to herein as a sensing coverage) area should be enhanced.

To enhance a sensing coverage area of a station (STA) or a UE (e.g., a sensing receiver) , there are various techniques, such as cooperative sensing techniques and signal processing and AI techniques. The cooperative sensing techniques involve multiple entities which may collaborate and share information to achieve better comprehensive coverage area, or involve fusing data from multiple sources to enhance overall sensing capabilities of the STA or the UE (e.g., sensing receiver) . The signal processing and AI techniques include advanced signal processing, ML/AI models which extract meaningful information from wireless signals. These techniques may optimize a sensing coverage area, enable anomaly detection, and enhance overall sensing performance.

However, the current techniques for enhancing a sensing coverage area may need multiple entities to cooperate or may consume a large amount computing resources for the ML/AI model. Therefore, a further study on enhancing a sensing coverage area is still needed.

Example embodiments of the present disclosure provide methods for adjusting (e.g., enhancing) a sensing coverage area for a sensing system of a communication system, such as a 5G-A communication system. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, a sensing management function of a core network of the communication system may transmit a sensing static power adjustment indication to a sensing transition device, and thus the sensing transition device may adjust static power of signals reflected from one or more stationary objects in a sensing coverage area of the sensing system based on the sensing static power adjustment indication. Accordingly, the sensing coverage area may be adjusted (e.g., enhanced) as the static power of signals reflected from one or more stationary objects in a sensing coverage area of the sensing system is adjusted (e.g., increased) . Some example embodiments of the methods of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of an integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) system 200 in which some example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented.

The ISAC system 200 an NR system (e.g., a 5G or 5G-A communication system configured for wireless communications and sensing. The ISAC 200 may include a core network (not shown) comprising various network functions. The core network (not shown) may include an apparatus 210 that hosts or includes a sensing management function (SeMF) (e.g., may include program instructions of a SeMF stored in memory of the apparatus 210) . It is to be understood that the apparatus 210 may host or include another other network functions of a core network (e.g., instructions of other network functions of the core network) , however, for ease of illustration, only the SeMF is shown in FIG. 2.

The ISAC system 200 further includes a sensing transition device (STD) 220, which may communicate with the SeMF hosted on the apparatus 210. In some implementations, the STD 220 may be implemented as or may include or may be an access point (AP) , a repeater, a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) , an intelligent reflecting surface access point (IRS AP) , or a sensing-specific power tuning terminal that can adjust sensing static power. It is to be understood that the STD 220 may be implemented as (or include) another type of apparatus, another type of network element, or another type of device not listed herein, the present disclosure does not limit this aspect.

The ISAC system 200 further includes a sensing transmitter 230 (e.g., an AP or a gNB configured as a sensing transmitter) and a sensing receiver 240 (e.g., a STA or a UE configured as a sensing receiver) . The sensing transmitter 230 and the sensing receiver 240 together form a sensing system. In some implementations, the sensing transmitter 230 and the sensing receiver 240 may be regarded as a sounder and a sensor respectively.

In some example embodiments, the sensing transmitter 230 may be an access node of an access network (such as the gNB 152 of a radio access network shown in FIG. 1E) and the sensing receiver 240 may be a UE (such as the UE 154 shown in FIG. 1E) . In some other example embodiments, the sensing transmitter 230 may be an access point of a WiFi^TM network and the sensing receiver 240 may be a STA. However, it is to be understood that the sensing transmitter 230 may be some other access node of an access network.

The sensing system including the sensing transmitter 230 and the sensing receiver 240 may be used for sensing one or more targets, e.g., a target object 250 shown in FIG. 2. When sensing one or more targets, a sensing coverage area of the sensing system is considered, for example, the one or more targets should be located within a sensing coverage area of the sensing system. In other words, an object that is located outside of the sensing coverage area will not be regarded as a target for sensing.

In the present disclosure, the sensing coverage area of a sensing system may refer to an area or a range that the sensing system (e.g., the sensing receiver 240) can sense static and/or dynamic targets (e.g., objects) . The term sensing coverage area may be interchangeably used with a sensing coverage range, a sensing coverage boundary, sensing coverage, a sensing area, a sensing range, a coverage area for sensing, a coverage range for sensing, a coverage boundary for sensing, coverage for sensing, or the like, in the present disclosure.

The sensing system including the sensing transmitter 230 and the sensing receiver 240 of the ISAC system 200 may not be located in free space, for example, the sensing system may be located in a multi-path environment in which there may be one or more other objects which are not targets for sensing, for example, one or more stationary objects may be located within the sensing coverage area of the sensing system. As shown in FIG. 2, a stationary object 260 (such as a static closet or a desk) is shown within the sensing coverage area as an example.

There may be some sensing signals (e.g., wireless signals, such as RF signals) reflected from the one or more stationary objects located in the coverage area of the sensing system (such as the object 260 in FIG. 2) which may be received (or sensed) by the sensing receiver 240. In the present disclosure, the STD 220 of the ISAC system 200 may adjust (or change or control) power of sensing signals (e.g., wireless signals) reflected from the one or more stationary objects located in the coverage area. In the present disclosure, the power reflected from the one or more stationary objects in the sensing system may be referred to as sensing static power, static power, multi-path sensing static power, multi-path static power, a level of static power, a static power level, a LOS static power level.

In the present disclosure, how the STD 220 adjusts the static power is not limited, for example, the manners in which the STD 220 adjusts the static power may depend on a device type of the STD 220, a capability of the STD 220.

It is to be understood that the numbers of sensing transmitters (e.g., APs and/or gNBs) , sensing receivers (e.g., UEs and/or STAs) , apparatuses, objects, shown in FIG. 2 are only for the purpose of illustration only. The ISAC system 200 may include any suitable numbers of sensing transmitters (e.g., APs and/or gNBs) , sensing receivers (e.g., UEs and/or STAs) , apparatuses, and objects. For example, there may be multiple non-stationary (e.g., dynamic) targets to be sensed by the sensing systems of the ISAC system 200.

Referring to FIG. 3, an example of a procedure 300 for sensing one or more targets in the ISAC system 200 in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the procedure 300 will be described with reference to FIG. 2. The procedure 300 involves sending messages between the apparatus 210 comprising the SeMF, the STD 220, the sensing transmitter 230 (e.g., AP or gNB) , and the sensing receiver 240 (e.g., STA or UE) and operations performed by the apparatus 210 comprising the SeMF, the STD 220, the sensing transmitter 230 (e.g., AP or gNB) , and the sensing receiver 240 (e.g., STA or UE) .

In the procedure 300, the apparatus 210 receives a request for a sensing service at 310. The request for a sensing service may be called as a sensing service request in the present disclosure. In some implementations, the sensing service request may be transmitted by an application (i.e., a third application device) , a client (aclient side device) , or a network function of the core network of the ISAC system 200. In some example embodiments, when there is a moving target to be sensed, the sensing service request may be transmitted to the SeMF (e.g., the apparatus 210 comprising the SeMF) . A moving target to be sensed may also be called as a sensing target, a moving target, or a target in the present disclosure. In some example implementations, the sensing service is associated with a moving target, that is, the sensing service is used for sensing the moving target.

In some implementations, the sensing service request may indicate a type of sensing service (generally referred to herein a sensing service type, for example, the sensing service request may include an indication of a sensing service type for the sensing service. In some example embodiments, the sensing service type may indicate that the sensing service is one of: an intrusion detection, a gesture recognition, a positioning, or an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) tracking.

In some implementations, the sensing service request may include sensing assistance information for the sensing service (or for the sensing session) . In some implementations, the sensing assistance information for the sensing session may include sensing assistance information about the moving target. In some example embodiments, the sensing assistance information about the moving target may include one or more of: location information of the moving target (or the target to be sensed) , an initial moving speed of the moving target, an initial direction of movement of the moving target (i.e., an initial moving direction of the moving target) , ephemeris information of the moving target, information about an area for sensing the moving target, or information about a scenario or environment for sensing the moving target. In some example embodiments, the sensing assistance information may further include one or more QoS requirements for the sensing service (e.g., a QoS requirement for sensing the moving target) . For example, the information about an area for sensing the moving target may be information about a sensing range (or a sensing area or a sensing zone) for sensing the moving target, where the sensing range is an area that the application or the client is interested in. For example, location information of the moving target may be geography information, which may indicate a bedroom, a yard, a factory, or the like. For example, information about a scenario or environment for sensing the moving target may indicate that the scenario or environment for sensing the moving target is indoors, outdoors, line of sight (LOS) , non-line of sight (NLOS) , UAV sensing, intrusion detection, fall detection, urban, or rural.

In some implementations, the sensing service request may include one or more QoS requirements for the sensing service, e.g., one or more QoS requirements for sensing the moving target. It is to be understood that the one or more QoS requirements may be included in the sensing assistance information in the sensing service request, or may be included in the sensing service request independent from (e.g., in addition to) the sensing assistance information.

In the present disclosure, the one or more QoS requirements for sensing the moving target may also be referred to as one or more sensing requirements or key point indicators (KPIs) . In some example embodiments, the one or more QoS requirements may include one or more of: a first accuracy for the sensing coverage area (e.g., a ranging accuracy) , a first resolution for the sensing coverage area (e.g., a ranging resolution) , a second accuracy for a velocity of the moving target (e.g., a velocity accuracy of the velocity the moving target) , a second resolution for the velocity of the moving target (e.g., a velocity resolution) , a third accuracy for a movement direction of the moving target (e.g., an angel accuracy) , or a third resolution for the movement direction of the moving target (e.g., an angel resolution) .

In the present disclosure, accuracy is the degree of closeness between a measured or observed value and the true or accepted value. The accuracy reflects how well a measurement or observation corresponds to the actual value it represents. Resolution refers to the smallest distinguishable distance between the two sensing targets in a sensing system. For example, a resolution for a velocity may refer to the smallest distinguishable velocity difference between the two sensing targets in the sensing system.

In some example embodiments, the one or more QoS requirements may include one or more of: a false alarm rate for the moving target, a detection probability for the moving target, a maximum sensing latency for the moving target, an energy efficiency for the sensing service, or a maximum number of targets being sensed simultaneously. For example, the maximum number of targets being sensed simultaneously may be an expected largest number of targets to be sensed simultaneously (e.g., at the same time) . For example, if there are too many targets to be sensed at a same time, the sensing receiver may not be able to accuracy sensing the targets, and the accuracy and/or the latency for sensing the moving target may not fulfill a corresponding QoS requirement. In the present disclosure, latency is the time delay between the initiation of a sensing action and the occurrence of the first effect. For example, the false alarm rate refers to the frequency of issuing alarms erroneously in the absence of the moving target. For example, the detection probability indicates the frequency of correctly identifying the moving target. For example, the maximum sensing latency refers to the longest duration required to complete the sensing session. For example, the energy efficiency refers to the level of energy consumption necessary to achieve satisfactory performance during the sensing session at the sensing receiver.

In some example embodiments, the one or more QoS requirements may include one or more of: a refreshed frequency, or a refreshed rate for sensing the moving target. In some example embodiments, the one or more QoS requirements may include one or more of: a confidence level, or a maximum missed detection probability. For example, the maximum missed detection probability refers to the highest allowable likelihood of failing to correctly identify a moving target during the sensing session. It is to be understood that the one or more QoS requirements may include other QoS requirements which are described.

In the procedure 300, the SeMF (e.g., apparatus 210 comprising the SeMF) may select and configure an access node to be a sensing transmitter and a UE or STA to be sensing receiver at 320. The selected sensing transmitter and sensing receiver together form a sensing system.

In some implementations, the SeMF (e.g., the apparatus 210 comprising the SeMF) may select an access node (e.g., a gNB or an access point) to be a sensing transmitter 230 from multiple candidate access nodes and selects a UE or STA to be a sensing receiver 240 from multiple candidate UEs or STAs by utilizing one or more different approaches.

In some examples, the apparatus 210 may leverage its knowledge of location information of the moving target and/or information about an area for sensing the moving target (e.g., included in the sensing service request at 310) as well as a distribution of access nodes (e.g., gNBs or access points) , and select one access node (e.g., gNB or access point) to be the sensing transmitter 230. For example, an access node (e.g., gNB) which is closest to (or in) the interesting area for sensing the moving target may be selected.

In some other examples, the SeMF (e.g., apparatus 210 comprising the SeMF) may identify multiple UEs or STAs around the moving target. For example, the UEs or STAs located around the moving target is taken into consideration by the SeMF (e.g., the apparatus 210 when selecting a UE or STA to be a sensing transmitter) . For example, one UE or STA of the multiple UEs or STAs located around the moving target may be selected to be a sensing receiver 240. In some implementations, the SeMF (e.g., the apparatus 210 comprising the SeMF) may select an access node (e.g., gNB or access point) that serves the UE selected to be a sensing receiver 240 to be a sensing transmitter 230.

It is to be understood that although some examples are discussed with reference to a gNB and a UE forming a sensing system, in some other cases, an AP and an STA may be selected by the SeMF (e.g., the apparatus 210 comprising the SeMF) to form the sensing system, the present disclosure does not limit this aspect.

In some implementations, the sensing transmitter 230 (e.g., the access node) may be transmitting communications to the sensing receiver 240 (e.g., the UE) . In some example implementations, as shown in FIG. 3, the sensing transmitter 230 (e.g., a gNB or an AP) may transmit a communication waveform to the sensing receiver 240 (e.g., a UE or a STA) at 301. For example, the communication waveform may be normal MIMO-OFDM waveform. For example, a waveform matrix (X) may be generated and be used for transmitting the communication waveform, and the waveform matrix may be orthogonal, i.e., a corresponding covariance matrix may be an identity matrix. In some examples, the sensing receiver 240 (e.g., a UE or a STA) may calculate (e.g., compute) static power (which may be determined based on signals reflected from one or more stationary objects in the sensing coverage area) and determine (or measure) a raw CSI based on pre-defined reference signal (RS) configuration, for example, the raw CSI may be represented as H. For example, the predefined RS configuration may be received from the sensing transmitter 230 previously. In some implementations, the sensing receiver 240 (e.g., UE or a STA) may transmit the calculated (e.g., computed) static power and the raw CSI to the sensing transmitter 230 at 302.

In the procedure 300, the SeMF (e.g., the apparatus 210 comprising the SeMF) transmits, at 330, a sensing session establishment request to the sensing transmitter 230. The sensing session establishment request may also be called as a sensing session request for establishing a sensing session for a sensing service. For example, the sensing session establishment request is a request to establish a sensing session between the sensing transmitter 230 and the sensing receiver 240 for sensing the moving target. In some implementation, upon a gNB or AP being selected to be a sensing transmitter 230 by the SeMF (e.g., the apparatus 210 comprising the SeMF) , the SeMF (e.g., the apparatus 210 comprising the SeMF) may transmit a sensing session establishment request to the sensing transmitter 230.

In some implementations, the sensing session establishment request may include an identifier of the sensing session (e.g., a sensing session identifier that identifies a sensing session) and a sensing configuration for the sensing session. For example, the sensing configuration may indicate whether the sensing system is to perform a mono-static sensing or a bi-static sensing for the sensing session. For example, the sensing configuration may include an identifier of the sensing receiver 240.

In some implementations, the sensing session establishment request may include sensing assistance information for the sensing session. In some implementations, the sensing session establishment request may include one or more QoS requirements for the sensing service. For example, the sensing assistance information transmitted to the sensing transmitter 230 may include part or all of the sensing assistance information included in the sensing service request. Some details on the sensing assistance information and the one or more QoS requirements may refer to those discussed above with reference to step 310, and thus will not repeat herein for brevity.

The sensing transmitter 230 transmits a DFRC waveform to the sensing receiver 240 at 332. In some implementations, upon receiving the sensing session establishment request from the apparatus 210, the sensing transmitter 230 may generate the DFRC waveform based on MIMO-OFDM and transmit the DFRC waveform. In some example implementations, the sensing session is triggered to be established by transmitting the DFRC waveform. For example, a DFRC waveform is a unified waveform that could be used for sensing (asensing channel) and communication (an NR communication) simultaneously. In some example implementations, the identifier of the sensing session and the sensing configuration included in the sensing session establishment request are used by the sensing transmitter 230 to establish the sensing session. In some implementations, the sensing assistance information and the one or more QoS requirements included in the sensing session establishment request may be considered by the sensing transmitter 230 to establish the sensing session. For example, the sensing transmitter 230 may generate the DFRC waveform and transmit the DFRC waveform by considering the sensing assistance information and/or the one or more QoS requirements.

In some example implementations, the DFRC waveform may be generated based on the usage of the MIMO radar for initial probing, that is, the transmitted waveform matrix X may be generated and the waveform matric is quasi-orthogonal, i.e., the corresponding covariance matrix must be a designated matrix according to the potential position of the sensing target.

The sensing receiver 240 performs sensing operations at 334. Specifically, the sensing receiver 240 calculates (e.g., computes) a second CSI, performs coverage evaluation, and generates a first sensing coverage report at 334. In some implementations, the sensing operation performed at 334 may include one or more of the following operations: data collection, data processing, data synchronization, measurement, calculation, assessment, validation, or evaluation.

In some implementations, the sensing receiver 240 may use a data collection method to collect sensing data. In some example implementations, the sensing receiver 240 may determine (or select) a data collection method to use to collect sensing data. For example, the data collection method may involve some parameters such as a sampling rate, duration, and sampling environment. For example, sensing data (such as raw sensing data) may be collected (or received, or sensed) by using the data collection method. In the present disclosure, sensing data may also be referred to as measurement data.

In some implementations, the sensing receiver 240 may use a data processing method for processing the sensing data to determine one or more sensing results for one or more sensing targets. In some example implementations, the sensing receiver 240 may determine (or select) a data processing method by considering e.g., assistance information for the sensing session, and the data processing method will be used for processing the sensing data to determine one or more sensing results for one or more sensing targets. For example, the data processing method may be filtering, noise reduction, or signal conditioning method. In some example implementations, the sensing results may also be referred to as measurement results, or sensing measurement results.

In addition or alternatively, the sensing receiver 240 may use a data synchronization method for maintaining a synchronization among multiple sensing receivers and for fulfilling a QoS requirement. In some example implementations, the sensing receiver 240 may determine (or select) a data synchronization method. For example, one or more data synchronization methods which may be used to align multiple sensing transmitters and/or receivers may be determined.

In some example implementations, there may be one or more sensing targets which may include the moving target associated with the sensing service. The sensing results for the one or more sensing targets may be determined by the sensing receiver 240. In some implementations the sensing receiver 240 may generate first information about sensing results for one or more sensing targets.

In some implementations, the first information may include one or more identifiers of the one or more sensing targets, and the sensing results for one or more sensing targets. In some implementations, the first information may include one or more accuracies for the one or more sensing targets, for example, the one or more accuracies may be associated with the sensing results. For example, a desired level of accuracy of the sensing results may be considered by the sensing receiver 240 while determining the sensing results. In some implementations, the first information may include one or more precisions for the one or more sensing targets, and/or one or more reliabilities for the one or more sensing targets. For example, a desired level of precision or reliability of the sensing results may be considered by the sensing receiver 240 while determining the sensing results. In some implementations, the first information may include at least one calibration operation for fulfilling the one or more accuracies, for example, at least one calibration operation may be performed by the sensing receiver 240 for determining the sensing results.

In some example implementations, the sensing results include a sensing specific signal to noise ratio (SSNR) . In some implementations, the sensing receiver 240 may identify one or more parameters or variables, calculate (e.g., compute) a first hybrid CSI based on the one or more parameters or variables, and further determine (or calculate or compute) the SSNR based on the first hybrid CSI.

In some implementations, the one or more parameters or variables may include one or more of: a signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) , received power of a reference signal (generally referred to a reference signal received power (RSRP) ) , a received signal strength indication (RSSI) , a path loss value, a processing gain, or a beamforming gain associated with the sensing session.

For example, the one or more parameters or variables to be measured may be based on previous sensing measurement results which may be performed under LOS and/or NLOS scenarios, where the one or more parameters or variables may include SINR, RSRP, or RSSI related to different targets within a range of the sensing receiver 240.

For example, the one or more parameters or variables to be measured may include one or more values such as a path loss value, a SINR value, or received signal power value and processing gain value. The one or more values may be calculated (or computed) based on parameters such as transmit power P_t, transmit antenna gain G_t, receive antenna gain G_r, noise energy E_N, or interference energy E_I. It is to be appreciated that some known methods or techniques may be referred to determine the transmit power, the transmit antenna gain, the receive antenna gain, the noise energy, the interference energy, and the one or more parameters or variables, which will not be repeated herein.

For example, the one or more parameters or variables to be measured may include beamforming gain, which refers to an increase in signal strength or quality achieved through the use of beamforming techniques in ISAC systems. By using the beamforming techniques, communications between the sensing transmitter 230 and the sensing receiver 240 may be improved by focusing the signal in a specific direction. For example, the strength of the signal received by the sensing receiver 240 is typically measured in decibels (dB) and represents the improvement compared to a non-beamforming scenario.

In some implementations, the sensing receiver 240 may calculate (or determine or compute) a first hybrid CSI based on the one or more parameters or variables. The first hybrid CSI may include a first CSI associated with NR communication, a second CSI associated with a sensing channel, and a third CSI associated with one or more interferences. For example, the one or more interferences may be from one or more objects which do not need to be sensed. That is, the sensing receiver 240 may calculate (or determine or compute) the first CSI, the second CSI, and the third CSI, which may be represented as H (e.g., including H_static (f) and H_n (f) ) , G (e.g., G_{sensing_target} (f) ) , and I (e.g., I_interferer (f) ) respectively, where f refers to a frequency and H_n (f) is associated with some noise terms.

In some examples, the sensing receiver 240 may further calculate (or determine or compute) the SSNR based on the first hybrid CSI. For example, the sensing receiver 240 may use Equation (1) to calculate (or determine or compute) the SSNR:

In some example implementations, SSNR may be expressed in decibels or dB. In equation (1) , P_d=S_{sensing_target}, which is the power of the incoming signal that is reflected from the moving target, which may be calculated (or determined or computed) using Equation (2) :

In Equation (1) , I_{non-sensing_target} represents the interference power of the other (interfering) signals including the power of static object and the power of dynamic objects that do not need to be sensed in the ISAC system, and N represents some noise term, which may be constant or random. In Equation (1) , |H_n (f) |² is the power of noise, H_static (f) and G_{sensing_target} (f) are the signals arriving through static path and moving object path, respectively. Note that both static path signal and moving object path signal can be utilized for communication, for example, the sensing receiver 240 may receive a signal reflected from a stationary object through a static path, and may receive a signal reflected from a moving object through a moving object path. In Equation (1) , I_interferer (f) refers to interferences from the other moving (or dynamic) objects, for example, there may be multiple moving objects which can be senses by the sensing receiver 240, however, there may be only one moving target in the multiple moving objects, and other moving objects may cause interferences to the moving target.

Optionally, the sensing receiver 240 may generate second information about one or more methods used for determining the sensing results. For example, the second information may indicate that a data collection method, a data processing method, and/or a data synchronization method is used by the sensing receiver 240 for determining sensing results.

In some implementations, the sensing receiver 240 may determine a sensing coverage area based on the sensing results. In some example embodiments, the sensing receiver 240 may determine one or more metrics, which will be used for determining the sensing coverage area. The one or more metrics may be referred to as measurement metrics or performance indicators for the sensing coverage area in the present disclosure. In some examples, the one or more metrics may be represented as one or more algorithms, e.g., one or more mathematical formulas.

In some implementations, the one or more metrics may be associated with a criteria defined in Equation (3) below:

In Equation (3) , d_T represents a distance between the sensing transmitter and the sensing target, and d_R represents a distance between the sensing transmitter and the sensing target. In Equation (3) , K=P_t·G_t·G_r·λ²/ (4π) ², and P_t represents transmit power, G_t represents transmit antenna gain, and G_r represents receive antenna gain. P_LoS represents signal power (static power) in free space where the static path is the LOS path, which may be defined asP_i represents interference power (e.g., power of signals which interfere with signals reflected by the moving target) which is linearly proportional to the static power of signals reflected from one or more stationary objects, which may be defined as P_i=γP_LoS+b . γ, λ, and b are coefficients used for determining the sensing coverage area.

In some implementations, the sensing receiver 240 may perform at least one evaluation process for evaluating the sensing results. In some example implementations, the at least one evaluation process may include one or more of: assessing and quantifying uncertainties for the sensing results, identifying one or more sources of errors of the sensing results, applying one or more statistical methods to the sensing results, comparing the sensing results with reference results, or validating an accuracy and a reliability of the sensing results.

In some example implementations, the sensing receiver 240 may perform an uncertainty analysis for the sensing results.

In some example implementations, the sensing receiver 240 may assess and quantify the uncertainties of the sensing results. In some example implementations, the sensing receiver 240 may identify one or more sources of errors, such as noise, bias, or environment factors, for the sensing results. In some example implementations, the sensing receiver 240 may apply one or more statistical methods, such as error propagation or confidence intervals, to estimate measurement uncertainties, on the sensing results. In some example implementations, the sensing receiver 240 may compare one or more obtained sensing results with reference results (or reference measurements) , e.g., the reference measurements may be based on established standards, or theoretical models. In some example implementations, the sensing receiver 240 may validate an accuracy and a reliability of the sensing results, e.g., through cross-validation or independent verification.

It is to be understood that some parameters, metrics, methods, processes are described above used by the sensing receiver 240 to determine the sensing coverage area, however, some other parameters, metrics, methods, or processes may also be utilized to determine the sensing coverage area.

In some implementations, the sensing receiver 240 forms (or generates or determines) a first sensing coverage report. In some example implementations, the first sensing coverage report may be generated based on the sensing operation performed by the sensing receiver 240.

In some implementations, the first sensing coverage report may indicate the sensing coverage area directly. In some example implementations, the first sensing coverage report may include information about a boundary of the sensing coverage area determined by the sensing receiver 240. In some example implementations, the first sensing coverage report may further include information about how the sensing coverage area is determined by the sensing receiver 240.

In some implementations, the first sensing coverage report may include the sensing results. In some example implementations, the first sensing coverage report may include the SSNR which is determined based on Equation (1) . In some other example implementations, the first sensing coverage report may include the first hybrid CSI (the first CSI, the second CSI, and the third CSI) which may be used for determining the SSNR. In some example embodiments, the first sensing coverage report may further include information about how a sensing coverage area should be determined based on the sensing results.

In some examples, the first sensing coverage report may include first information about the sensing results for one or more sensing targets, which has described above. In some examples, the first sensing coverage report may include second information about one or more methods for determining the sensing results, which has described above. In some examples, the first sensing coverage report may include an indication of the one or more metrics used for determining the sensing coverage area, in some examples, some analysis techniques used for interpreting the one or more metrics may also be presented. In some examples, the first sensing coverage report may include third information about at least one evaluation process described above.

In the procedure 300, the sensing receiver 240 transmits, at 340, the first sensing coverage report to the apparatus 210. In addition, the SeMF (e.g., the apparatus 210 comprising the SeMF) determines at 350 whether the sensing coverage area should be adjusted (e.g., enhanced) based on information included in the first sensing coverage report.

In some implementations, the SeMF (e.g., the apparatus 210 comprising the SeMF) may determine the sensing coverage area of the sensing system, determine whether the moving target is moving (has moved or is going to be) outside of the sensing coverage area, and further determine whether the sensing coverage area is to be adjusted. As shown in FIG. 3, the apparatus 210 determines that the sensing coverage area needs to be adjusted, e.g. since the moving target is outside of sensing coverage area at 350. For example, the apparatus 210 may determine that the sensing coverage area needs to be enhanced.

In some example implementations, the first sensing coverage report may indicate the sensing coverage area directly, and accordingly the apparatus 210 may be aware of the sensing coverage area. In some example implementations, the first sensing coverage report may further include information about how the sensing coverage area is determined, and accordingly the SeMF (e.g., the apparatus 210 comprising the SeMF) may be aware of how the sensing coverage area is determined.

In some other example implementations, the fist sensing coverage report may include sensing results, such as the SSNR, and/or the first hybrid SCI. The SeMF (e.g., the apparatus 210 comprising the SeMF) may determine the sensing coverage area based on the sensing results, by using one or more metrics for determining the sensing coverage area. For example, the one or more metrics may be included in the first sensing coverage report. For another example, the one or more metrics may be determined (or selected) by the SeMF (e.g., the apparatus 210 comprising the SeMF) . In this event, the computation resources of the apparatus 210 comprising the SeMF may be utilized more efficient.

In some example implementations, the SeMF (e.g., the apparatus 210 comprising the SeMF) may determine a current location of the moving target based on the sensing service request and/or the first sensing coverage report. In some example implementations, the SeMF (e.g., the apparatus 210 comprising the SeMF) may further determine that the moving target is moving out of the sensing coverage area, e.g., the moving target is near a boundary of the sensing coverage area and its moving direction is pointed to outside of the sensing coverage area. In some example implementations, the apparatus 210 may further determine that there is a need for adjusting the sensing coverage area upon a determination that moving target is moving out of the sensing coverage area.

In some examples implementations, the adjustment for the sensing coverage area may enlarge (increase) the sensing coverage area or reduce (decrease) the sensing coverage area.

In some example implementations, the SeMF (e.g., the apparatus 210 comprising the SeMF) may determine an adjustment value for sensing static power. In some example implementations, the adjustment value for sensing static power of signals reflected from one or more stationary objects in the sensing coverage area may be represented as ΔP, which may be a negative or positive value and defined in Equation (3) above.

In some example implementations, the adjustment value may be value used for changing multi-path static power, and may indicate a change to a static power induced by multiple paths except the LOS signals, e.g., walls, desks, chairs, and/or many other objects.

In the procedure 300, the SeMF (e.g., the apparatus 210 comprising the SeMF) transmits a sensing static power adjustment indication to the STD 220 at 360. In some implementations, the sensing static power adjustment indication may be a static power adjustment indication, which may include the adjustment value ΔP.

In some implementations, the sensing static power adjustment indication may be used to indicate to the STD 220 to adjust static power of signals reflected from one or more stationary objects in the sensing coverage area, to adjust the sensing coverage area. In addition, the STD 220 makes an adjustment based on the sensing static power adjustment indication at 370. In some implementations, the STD 220 may perform one or more changes (or actions or operations) to adjust the static power of signals reflected from one or more stationary objects in the sensing coverage area, based on the sensing static power adjustment indication. For example, with reference to FIG. 2, static power of signals reflected by the stationary object 260 may be adjusted or changed by the STD 220. For ease of description, the term “static power” is used in the following context for referring to the static power of signals reflected from one or more stationary objects in the sensing coverage area.

In some implementations, an offset of the static power of signals reflected from one or more stationary objects in the sensing coverage area being adjusted may equal to the adjustment value ΔP, and accordingly the sensing coverage area may be enlarged or reduced.

In some example implementations, the static power adjustment performed by the STD 220 may include increasing the static power of signals reflected from one or more stationary objects in the sensing coverage area by the adjustment value. For example, the adjustment value ΔP>0, and the static power may be raised or increased to a higher value.

In some example implementations, the static power adjustment performed by the STD 220 may include decreasing the static power of signals reflected from one or more stationary objects in the sensing coverage area by an opposite value of the adjustment value. For example, the adjustment value ΔP<0 , and the static power may be reduced or decreased to a lower value.

In some example implementations, the static power adjustment performed by the STD 220 may include stabilizing the static power of signals reflected from one or more stationary objects in the sensing coverage area. For example, the adjustment value ΔP= 0, and the static power may be maintained at a constant value without any change.

In some examples, the static power adjustment performed by the STD 220 may include modulating the static power hierarchically, periodically or in a specific pattern.

In some examples, the static power adjustment performed by the STD 220 may include reducing or disconnecting a power supply of the STD 220 to a certain load. For example, a load saving may be maintained to balance the overall power demand.

In some examples, the static power adjustment performed by the STD 220 may include redistributing the power load among multiple sources associated with the static power. For example, a load balancing may be maintained.

In some examples, the static power adjustment performed by the STD 220 may include imposing a maximum limit on the static power. For example, power limiting may be considered to prevent the static power from exceeding a certain threshold.

In some examples, the static power adjustment performed by the STD 220 may include applying a power ramping for the static power within a specific time period. For example, the static power may be increased or decreased gradually by the power ramping step.

In the procedure 300, the STD 220 transmits a sensing static power adjustment response to the apparatus 210 at 380. In some implementations, the sensing static power adjustment response may be a static power adjustment response, which may indicate that the power adjustment has been performed by the STD 220.

In some example implementations, the sensing static power adjustment response may indicate the static power adjustment performed by the STD 220, details on the static power adjustment performed by the STD 220 may refer to those discussed above with reference to step 370, and thus will not be repeated herein.

In addition or alternatively, the apparatus 210 may further transmit a coverage re-evaluation request to the sensing receiver 240 at 392. In some examples, the coverage re-evaluation request may include an ID of the sensing session.

Accordingly, the sensing receiver 240 may further perform sensing based on the coverage re-evaluation request, for example, the sensing receiver 240 may calculate (e.g., compute) a second hybrid CSI, perform at least one coverage evaluation process, and form a second sensing coverage report at 394. The operation at 394 is similar with that at 334 and thus will not be repeated herein. However, since the static power is adjusted, accordingly the sensing coverage area is accordingly be adjusted, the second sensing coverage report may be different from the first sensing coverage report. For example, the second sensing coverage report may indicate a further sensing coverage area, or may include further measurement results (such as a further SSNR) which are used for determine the further sensing coverage area.

In addition or alternatively, the sensing receiver 240 may transmit the second sensing coverage report to the apparatus 210. As such, the apparatus 210 may be aware of or may determine the further sensing coverage area.

In addition or alternatively, as shown in FIG. 3, the apparatus 210 may determine that the moving target is in new coverage at 398. In some implementations, the apparatus 210 may determine that the moving target has moved to a different coverage area (such as associated with another sensing transmitter and another sensing receiver) , and then the apparatus 210 may determine to stop the coverage adjustment. For example, a session with the STD 220, which may be regarded as a coverage enhancement session in some cases, may be terminated.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example schematic 400 of sensing coverage area adjustment in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. In FIG. 4, the solid line 410 refers to a sensing coverage area (i.e., a boundary of the sensing coverage area) associated with the first sensing coverage area report, e.g., without the STD 220 manipulating the static power.

In some examples, the sensing coverage area may be either decreased (refer to the dash line 422 in FIG. 4) or increased (refer to the dash line 424 in FIG. 4) . For example, the STD 220 may manipulate the sensing static power, so as to increase or decrease the sensing coverage area. For example, since there are always multipath reflections from surroundings, the sensing coverage area in the multipath-rich environment could be either increased or decreased by the tuning of STD 220.

According to the embodiments with reference to FIGS. 2-4, the sensing coverage area may be dynamically adjusted. In the solution, an apparatus (which may be the SF or SeMF) may transmit a sensing static power adjustment indication to the STD, and thus the STD may perform a static power adjustment based on the sensing static power adjustment indication, so as to adjust sensing coverage area.

It is to be understood that the proposed solution in the present disclosure may be discussed in context of any communication system, such as C5G+, 5GA, 6G, ISAC, Wi-Fi, etc. and the proposed solution may be related to joint communication and sensing working group, the present disclosure does not limit this aspect.

FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of a method 500 performed by a SeMF in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 500 will be described from the perspective of the SeMF deployed or hosted on the apparatus 210 shown in FIG. 2.

At block 510, the SeMF receives, from a sensing receiver for a sensing system of the communication system, information about a sensing coverage area of the sensing system, the information at least comprises a sensing specific signal to noise ratio or an indication of the sensing coverage area. At block 520, the SeMF determines, based on the information about the sensing coverage area of the sensing system, whether the sensing coverage area of the sensing system is to be adjusted (e.g., enhanced) to sense a moving target. At block 530, if the sensing coverage area of the sensing system is to be adjusted, the apparatus transmits, to a sensing transition device, a sensing static power adjustment indication, where the sensing static power adjustment indication indicates to the sensing transition device to adjust static power of signals reflected from one or more stationary objects in the sensing coverage area to adjust the sensing coverage area of the sensing system.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus 210 determines that the moving target is outside of the sensing coverage area based on the information about the sensing coverage area of the sensing system; and based on determining that the moving target is outside of the sensing coverage area, the apparatus 210 determines that the sensing coverage area for the sensing system is to be adjusted (or enhanced) .

In some example embodiments, the apparatus 210 transmits, to a sensing transmitter for the sensing system, a sensing session request to establish a sensing session for a sensing service, the sensing session request comprises at least one of: an identifier of the sensing session, a sensing configuration for the sensing session, sensing assistance information for the sensing session, or a QoS requirement for the sensing session.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus 210 receives, from an application or a client, a request for the sensing service which senses the moving target, the request comprises at least one of: an indication of a sensing service type for the sensing service, the sensing assistance information, or the QoS requirement.

In some example embodiments, the sensing assistance information comprises at least one of: location information of the moving target, an initial moving speed of the moving target, an initial direction of movement of the moving target, ephemeris information for the moving target, an interesting area for sensing the moving target, or information about a scenario or environment for sensing the moving target.

In some example embodiments, the QoS requirement comprises at least one of: a first accuracy for the sensing coverage area, a first resolution for the sensing coverage area, a second accuracy for a velocity of the moving target, a second resolution for the velocity of the moving target, a third accuracy for a movement direction of the moving target, a third resolution for the movement direction of the moving target, a false alarm rate detection probability for the moving target, a maximum sensing latency for the moving target, an energy efficiency for the sensing service, or a maximum number of targets being sensed simultaneously.

In some example embodiments, the information about the sensing coverage area of the sensing system comprises at least one of: first information about sensing results for one or more sensing targets comprising the moving target, wherein the sensing results at least comprises the sensing specific signal to noise ratio, second information about one or more methods used for determining the sensing results for the one or more sensing targets, one or more metrics for determining the sensing coverage area, or third information about at least one evaluation process for evaluating the sensing results.

In some example embodiments, the first information indicates at least one of: one or more identifiers of the one or more sensing targets, the sensing results for the one or more sensing targets, one or more accuracies for the one or more sensing targets, one or more precisions for the one or more sensing targets, one or more reliabilities for the one or more sensing targets, or at least one calibration operation for fulfilling the one or more accuracies.

In some example embodiments, the sensing results are determined based on at least one of: a SINR, a RSRP, a RSSI, a path loss value, a processing gain, or a beamforming gain.

In some example embodiments, the second information indicates at least one of: a data collection method for collecting sensing data, a data processing method for processing the sensing data to determine the sensing results, or a data synchronization method for maintaining a synchronization and fulfilling a QoS requirement.

In some example embodiments, the one or more metrics comprise an indication of one or more algorithms for determining the sensing coverage area, and where the one or more algorithms are constructed based on the sensing results indicated by the first information.

In some example embodiments, the third information indicates the at least one evaluation process which may comprise at least one of: assessing and quantifying uncertainties for the sensing results, identifying one or more sources of errors of the sensing results, applying one or more statistical methods to the sensing results, comparing the sensing results with reference results, or validating an accuracy and a reliability of the sensing results.

In some example embodiments, the sensing static power adjustment indication comprises an adjustment value for adjusting the static power of signals reflected from the one or more stationary objects.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus 210 transmits, to the sensing receiver, a coverage re-evaluation request for determining a further sensing coverage area of the sensing system; and the apparatus 210 receives, from the sensing receiver, further information about the further sensing coverage area.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus 210 receives, from the sensing transition device, a feedback indicating that the static power has been adjusted.

In some example embodiments, the sensing transition device is one of: an access point, a repeater, a reconfigurable intelligent surface, or a sensing specific power tuning device.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of a method 600 performed by a sensing transition device in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 600 will be described from the perspective of the STD 220 with reference to FIG. 2.

At block 610, the STD 220 receives, from an apparatus comprising a sensing management function, a sensing static power adjustment indication to adjust static power of signals reflected from one or more stationary objects. At block 620, the STD 220 performs a static power adjustment to adjust the static power of signals reflected from one or more stationary objects in a sensing coverage area of a sensing system based on the sensing static power adjustment indication.

In some example embodiments, the STD 220 transmits, to the apparatus, a signal (or an indication) which indicates that the static power of signals reflected from one or more stationary objects has been adjusted.

In some example embodiments, the STD 220 performs at least one of: increasing the static power by the adjustment value, decreasing the static power by an opposite value of the adjustment value, stabilizing the static power, modulating the static power hierarchically, periodically, or in a specific pattern, disconnecting a power supply of the sensing transition device from a load, redistributing a power load among a plurality of sources associated with the static power, imposing a maximum limit on the static power, or applying a power ramping for the static power within a specific time period.

In some example embodiments, the STD 220 is one of: an access point, a repeater, a reconfigurable intelligent surface, or a sensing specific power tuning device.

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of a method 700 performed by a sensing receiver 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 sensing receiver 240 with reference to FIG. 2.

At block 710, the sensing receiver 240 receives, from a sensing transmitter, a DFRC waveform. At block 720, the sensing receiver 240 processes the DFRC waveform for sensing for one or more sensing targets to generate information about a sensing coverage area of the sensing system. At block 730, the sensing receiver 240 transmits, to an apparatus comprising a sensing management function, the information about the sensing coverage area of the sensing system, the information at least comprising a sensing specific signal to noise ratio or an indication of the sensing coverage area.

In some example embodiments, the sensing receiver 240 determines one or more parameters or variables for the one or more sensing targets by processing the DFRC waveform; the sensing receiver 240 calculates (e.g. computes) , based on the one or more parameters or variables, a first channel state information (CSI) associated with an NR communication, a second CSI associated with a sensing channel, and a third CSI associated with one or more interferences to sensing a moving target; and the sensing receiver 240 determines sensing results based on the first CSI, the second CSI, and the third CSI, where the sensing results comprise the sensing specific signal to noise ratio.

In some example embodiments, the sensing receiver 240 determines the sensing coverage area of the sensing system based on the sensing results by using one or more metrics.

In some example embodiments, the information about a sensing coverage area of the sensing system comprises at least one of: first information about sensing results for the one or more sensing targets comprising a moving target, where the sensing results at least comprises the sensing specific signal to noise ratio, second information about one or more methods used for determining the sensing results for the one or more sensing targets, one or more metrics for determining the sensing coverage area, or third information about at least one evaluation process for evaluating the sensing results.

In some example embodiments, the first information indicates at least one of: one or more identifiers of the one or more sensing targets, the sensing results for one or more sensing targets, one or more accuracies for the one or more sensing targets, one or more precisions for the one or more sensing targets, one or more reliabilities for the one or more sensing targets, or at least one calibration operation for fulfilling the one or more accuracies.

In some example embodiments, the third information indicates the at least one evaluation process comprising at least one of: assessing and quantifying uncertainties for the sensing results, identifying one or more sources of errors of the sensing results, applying one or more statistical methods to the sensing results, comparing the sensing results with reference results, or validating an accuracy and a reliability of the sensing results.

In some example embodiments, the sensing receiver 240 receives, from the apparatus, a coverage re-evaluation request for determining a further sensing coverage area of the sensing system; the sensing receiver 240 performs, based on the coverage re-evaluation request, re-sensing for at least one sensing target to determine further information about the further sensing coverage area; and the sensing receiver 240 transmits, to the apparatus, the further information about the further sensing coverage area.

In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing the method 500 (for example, the apparatus 210) may comprise means for performing the respective steps of the method 500. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for receiving, from a sensing receiver for a sensing system of the communication system, information about a sensing coverage area of the sensing system, the information at least comprising a sensing specific signal to noise ratio or an indication of the sensing coverage area; means for determining, based on the information about the sensing coverage area of the sensing system, whether the sensing coverage area of the sensing system is to be adjusted to sense a moving target; and means for based on determining that the sensing coverage area of the sensing system is to be adjusted, transmitting, to a sensing transition device, a sensing static power adjustment indication, wherein the sensing static power adjustment indication indicates to the sensing transition device to adjust static power of signals reflected from one or more stationary objects in the sensing coverage area to adjust the sensing coverage area of the sensing system.

In some example embodiments, the means for determining that the sensing coverage area for the sensing system is to be adjusted comprises: means for determining that the moving target is outside of the sensing coverage area based on the information about the sensing coverage area of the sensing system; and means for based on determining that the moving target is outside of the sensing coverage area, determining that the sensing coverage area for the sensing system is to be adjusted or enhanced.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for transmitting, to a sensing transmitter for the sensing system, a sensing session request to establish a sensing session for a sensing service, the sensing session request comprises at least one of: an identifier of the sensing session, a sensing configuration for the sensing session, sensing assistance information for the sensing session, or a QoS requirement for the sensing session.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus further comprises: means for receiving, from an application or a client, a request for the sensing service which senses the moving target, the request comprises at least one of: an indication of a sensing service type for the sensing service, the sensing assistance information for the sensing session, or the QoS requirement for the sensing session.

In some example embodiments, the sensing assistance information for the sensing session comprises at least one of: location information of the moving target, an initial moving speed of the moving target, an initial direction of movement of the moving target, ephemeris information of the moving target, an area for sensing the moving target, or information about a scenario or environment for sensing the moving target.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for transmitting, to the sensing receiver, a coverage re-evaluation request for determining a further sensing coverage area of the sensing system; and means for receiving, from the sensing receiver, further information about the further sensing coverage area.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises means for receiving, from the sensing transition device, a feedback indicating that the static power has been adjusted.

In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing the method 600 (for example, the STD 220) may comprise means for performing the respective steps of the method 600. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for receiving, from a further apparatus comprising a sensing management function, a sensing static power adjustment indication, wherein the sensing static power adjustment indication indicates to the sensing transition device to adjust static power of signals reflected from one or more stationary objects; and means for performing a static power adjustment to adjust the static power of signals reflected from one or more stationary objects in a sensing coverage area of a sensing system based on the sensing static power adjustment indication.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for transmitting, to the further apparatus, a feedback (or a message, or an indication) indicating that the static power of signals reflected from one or more stationary objects in the sensing coverage area has been adjusted.

In some example embodiments, the means for performing a static power adjustment comprises at least one of: means for increasing the static power by the adjustment value, means for decreasing the static power by an opposite value of the adjustment value, means for stabilizing the static power, means for modulating the static power hierarchically, periodically, or in a specific pattern, means for reducing or disconnecting a power supply of the sensing transition device to a certain load, means for redistributing a power load among a plurality of sources associated with the static power, means for imposing a maximum limit on the static power, or means for applying a power ramping for the static power within a specific time period.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus is one of: an access point, a repeater, a reconfigurable intelligent surface, or a sensing specific power tuning device.

In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing the method 700 (for example, the sensing receiver 240) may comprise means for performing the respective steps 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.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for receiving, from a sensing transmitter, a DFRC waveform; means for processing the DFRC waveform for sensing for one or more sensing targets to generate information about a sensing coverage area of the sensing system; and means for transmitting, to an apparatus comprising a sensing management function, the information about the sensing coverage area of the sensing system, the information at least comprising a sensing specific signal to noise ratio or an indication of the sensing coverage area.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for determining one or more parameters or variables for the one or more sensing targets sensing specific; means for calculating (or computing) , based on the one or more parameters or variables, a first CSI associated with an NR communication, a second CSI associated with a sensing channel, and a third CSI associated with one or more interferences; and means for determining sensing results based on the first CSI, the second CSI, and the third CSI, where the sensing results comprise the sensing specific signal to noise ratio.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for determining the sensing coverage area of the sensing system based on the sensing results by using one or more metrics.

In some example embodiments, the one or more metrics comprise an indication of one or more algorithms used for determining the sensing coverage area, and where the one or more algorithms are constructed based on the sensing results indicated by the first information.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises: means for receiving, from the apparatus, a coverage re-evaluation request for determining a further sensing coverage area of the sensing system; means for performing, based on the coverage re-evaluation request, re-sensing for at least one sensing target to determine further information about the further sensing coverage area; and means for transmitting, to the apparatus, the further information about the further sensing coverage area.

FIG. 8 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device 800 that is suitable for implementing some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 800 may be provided to implement the STD 220, the sensing transmitter 230, and/or the sensing receiver 240 (e.g., UE or STA) as shown in FIG. 2. As shown, the device 800 includes one or more processors 810, one or more memories 820 coupled to the processor 810, and one or more communication modules 840 coupled to the processor 810.

The communication module 840 is for bidirectional communications. The communication module 840 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication. The communication interface may represent any interface that is necessary for communication with other network elements.

FIG. 9 illustrates a simplified block diagram of an apparatus 900 that is suitable for implementing some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The apparatus 900 may be provided to implement the apparatus 210 (comprising the SeMF) as shown in FIG. 2. As shown, the apparatus 900 includes one or more processors 910, and one or more memories 920 coupled to the processor 910. For example, the apparatus 900 may be a computing system, which may be a standalone, distributed, or cloud computing system. For example, the one or more memories 920 may store software code of the SeMF (and possibly other NFs of the core network of the ISAC system) .

The processor 810/910 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 800/apparatus 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 820/920 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) 824/924, an electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM) , a flash memory, a hard disk, a compact disc (CD) , a digital video disk (DVD) , and other magnetic storage and/or optical storage. Examples of the volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a random access memory (RAM) 822/922 and other volatile memories that will not last in the power-down duration.

A computer program 830/930 includes computer executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 810/910. The program 830/930 may be stored in the ROM 824/924. The processor 810/910 may perform any suitable actions and processing by loading the program 830/930 into the RAM 822/922.

The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by means of the program 830/930 so that the device 800/apparatus 900 may perform any process of the disclosure as discussed with reference to FIGS. 3-7. The 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 830/930 may be tangibly contained in a computer readable medium which may be included in the device 800/apparatus 900 (such as in the memory 820/920) or other storage devices that are accessible by the device 800/apparatus 900. The device 800/apparatus 900 may load the program 830/930 from the computer readable medium to the RAM 822/922 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 illustrates a block diagram of an example of a computer readable medium 1000 in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The computer readable medium 1000 has the program 830/930 stored thereon. It is noted that although the computer readable medium 1000 is depicted in form of CD or DVD in FIG. 10, the computer readable medium 1000 may be in any other form suitable for carry or hold the program 830/930.

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 real or virtual processor, to carry out the method as described above with reference to any of FIGS. 3-7. 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 the 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 performed. 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 codes 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. The term “non-transitory, ” as used herein, is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (e.g., RAM vs.ROM) .

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 apparatus for a communication system, the apparatus comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory storing instructions of a sensing management function, wherein the instructions when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to perform:

receiving, from a sensing receiver for a sensing system of the communication system, information about a sensing coverage area of the sensing system, the information at least comprising a sensing specific signal to noise ratio or an indication of the sensing coverage area;

determining, based on the information about the sensing coverage area of the sensing system, whether the sensing coverage area of the sensing system is to be adjusted to sense a moving target; and

based on determining that the sensing coverage area of the sensing system is to be adjusted, transmitting, to a sensing transition device, a sensing static power adjustment indication, wherein the sensing static power adjustment indication indicates to the sensing transition device to adjust static power of signals reflected from one or more stationary objects in the sensing coverage area to adjust the sensing coverage area of the sensing system.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the determining that the sensing coverage area for the sensing system is to be adjusted comprises:

determining that the moving target is outside of the sensing coverage area based on the information about the sensing coverage area of the sensing system; and

based on determining that the moving target is outside of the sensing coverage area, determining that the sensing coverage area for the sensing system is to be enhanced.
The apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the instructions when executed by the at least one processor further cause the apparatus to perform:

transmitting, to a sensing transmitter for the sensing system, a sensing session request to establish a sensing session for a sensing service, the sensing session request comprising at least one of:

an identifier of the sensing session,

a sensing configuration for the sensing session,

sensing assistance information for the sensing session, or

a quality of service (QoS) requirement for the sensing session.
The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the instructions when executed by the at least one processor further cause the apparatus to perform:

receiving, from an application or a client, a request for the sensing service which senses the moving target, the request comprising at least one of:

an indication of a sensing service type for the sensing service,

the sensing assistance information, or

the QoS requirement.
The apparatus of claim 3 or 4, wherein the sensing assistance information comprises at least one of:

a location of the moving target,

an initial moving speed of the moving target,

an initial direction of movement of the moving target,

ephemeris information for the moving target,

an interesting area for sensing the moving target, or

information about a scenario or environment for sensing the moving target.
The apparatus of claim 3 or 4, wherein the QoS requirement for the sensing session comprises at least one of:

a first accuracy for the sensing coverage area,

a first resolution for the sensing coverage area,

a second accuracy for a velocity of the moving target,

a second resolution for the velocity of the moving target,

a third accuracy for a movement direction of the moving target,

a third resolution for the movement direction of the moving target,

a false alarm rate detection probability for the moving target,

a maximum sensing latency for the moving target,

an energy efficiency for the sensing service, or

a maximum number of targets being sensed simultaneously.
The apparatus of any of claims 1-6, wherein the information about the sensing coverage area of the sensing system comprises at least one of:

first information about sensing results for one or more sensing targets comprising the moving target, wherein the sensing results at least comprises the sensing specific signal to noise ratio,

second information about one or more methods used for determining the sensing results for the one or more sensing targets,

one or more metrics for determining the sensing coverage area, or

third information about at least one evaluation process for evaluating the sensing results.
The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the first information indicates at least one of:

one or more identifiers of the one or more sensing targets,

the sensing results for the one or more sensing targets,

one or more accuracies for the one or more sensing targets,

one or more precisions for the one or more sensing targets,

one or more reliabilities for the one or more sensing targets, or

at least one calibration operation for fulfilling the one or more accuracies.
The apparatus of claim 7 or 8, wherein the sensing results are determined based on at least one of: a signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) , reference signal received power (RSRP) , a received signal strength indication (RSSI) , a path loss value, a processing gain, or a beamforming gain.
The apparatus of any of claims 7-9, wherein the second information indicates at least one of:

a data collection method for collecting sensing data,

a data processing method for processing the sensing data to determine the sensing results, or

a data synchronization method for maintaining a synchronization and fulfilling a QoS requirement for the sensing session.
The apparatus of any of claims 7-10, wherein the one or more metrics comprise an indication of one or more algorithms for determining the sensing coverage area, and wherein the one or more algorithms are constructed based on sensing results indicated by the first information.
The apparatus of any of claims 7-11, wherein the third information indicates the at least one evaluation process comprising at least one of:

assessing and quantifying uncertainties for the sensing results,

identifying one or more sources of errors of the sensing results,

applying one or more statistical methods to the sensing results,

comparing the sensing results with reference results, or

validating an accuracy and a reliability of the sensing results.
The apparatus of any of claims 1-12, wherein the sensing static power adjustment indication comprises an adjustment value for adjusting the static power of signals reflected from the one or more stationary objects.
The apparatus of any of claims 1-13, wherein the instructions when executed by the at least one processor further cause the apparatus to perform:

transmitting, to the sensing receiver, a coverage re-evaluation request for determining a further sensing coverage area of the sensing system; and

receiving, from the sensing receiver, further information about the further sensing coverage area.
The apparatus of any of claims 1-14, wherein the instructions when executed by the at least one processor further cause the apparatus to perform:

receiving, from the sensing transition device, a feedback indicating that the static power has been adjusted.
The apparatus of any of claims 1-15, wherein the sensing transition device is one of: an access point, a repeater, a reconfigurable intelligent surface, or a sensing specific power tuning device.
A sensing transition device comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the sensing transition device at least to perform:

receiving, from an apparatus comprising a sensing management function, a sensing static power adjustment indication, wherein the sensing static power adjustment indication indicates to the sensing transition device to adjust static power of signals reflected from one or more stationary objects; and

in response to the sensing static power adjustment indication, adjusting the static power of signals reflected from the one or more stationary objects in a sensing coverage area of a sensing system to adjust the sensing coverage area of the sensing system.
The sensing transition device of claim 17, wherein the instructions when executed by the at least one processor further cause the sensing transition device to perform:

transmitting, to the apparatus, an indication that the static power of signals reflected from one or more stationary objects in the sensing coverage area has been adjusted.
The sensing transition device of claim 17 or 18, wherein the instructions when executed by the at least one processor further cause the sensing transition device to perform receiving an adjustment value for adjusting the static power of signals reflected from the one or more stationary objects.
The sensing transition device of claim 19, wherein the adjusting comprises at least one of:

increasing the static power by the adjustment value,

decreasing the static power by an opposite value of the adjustment value,

stabilizing the static power,

modulating the static power hierarchically, periodically, or in a specific pattern,

reducing or disconnecting a power supply of the sensing transition device to a certain load,

redistributing a power load among a plurality of sources associated with the static power,

imposing a maximum limit on the static power, or

applying a power ramping for the static power within a specific time period.
The sensing transition device of any of claims 17-20, wherein the sensing transition device is one of: an access point, a repeater, a reconfigurable intelligent surface, or a sensing specific power tuning device.
A sensing receiver for a sensing system for a communication system, the sensing receiver comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the sensing receiver at least to perform:

receiving, from a sensing transmitter, a dual function radar-communication (DFRC) waveform;

processing the DFRC waveform for sensing for one or more sensing targets to generate information about a sensing coverage area of the sensing system; and

transmitting, to an apparatus comprising a sensing management function, the information about the sensing coverage area of the sensing system, the information at least comprising a sensing specific signal to noise ratio or an indication of the sensing coverage area.
The sensing receiver of claim 22, wherein performing sensing comprises:

determining one or more parameters or variables for the one or more sensing targets by processing the DFRC waveform;

computing, based on the one or more parameters or variables, first channel state information (CSI) associated with a new radio (NR) communication, a second CSI associated with a sensing channel, and a third CSI associated with one or more interferences to sensing a moving target; and

determining sensing results based on the first CSI, the second CSI, and the third CSI, wherein the sensing results comprise the sensing specific signal to noise ratio.
The sensing receiver of claim 23, wherein performing sensing further comprises:

determining the sensing coverage area of the sensing system based on the sensing results by using one or more metrics.
The sensing receiver of any of claims 22-24, wherein the information about a sensing coverage area of the sensing system comprises at least one of:

first information about sensing results for the one or more sensing targets comprising a moving target, wherein the sensing results at least comprises the sensing specific signal to noise ratio,

second information about one or more methods used for determining the sensing results for the one or more sensing targets,

one or more metrics for determining the sensing coverage area, or

third information about at least one evaluation process for evaluating the sensing results.
The sensing receiver of claim 25, wherein the first information indicates at least one of:

one or more identifiers of the one or more sensing targets,

the sensing results for one or more sensing targets,

one or more accuracies for the one or more sensing targets,

one or more precisions for the one or more sensing targets,

one or more reliabilities for the one or more sensing targets, or

at least one calibration operation for fulfilling the one or more accuracies.
The sensing receiver of claim 25 or 26, wherein the sensing results are determined based on at least one of: a signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) , reference signal received power (RSRP) , a received signal strength indication (RSSI) , a path loss value, a processing gain, or a beamforming gain.
The sensing receiver of any of claims 25-27, wherein the second information indicates at least one of:

a data collection method for collecting sensing data,

a data processing method for processing the sensing data to determine the sensing results, or

a data synchronization method for maintaining a synchronization and fulfilling a QoS requirement.
The sensing receiver of any of claims 25-28, wherein the one or more metrics comprise an indication of one or more algorithms for determining the sensing coverage area, and wherein the one or more algorithms are constructed based on the sensing results indicated by the first information.
The sensing receiver of any of claims 25-29, wherein the third information indicates the at least one evaluation process comprising at least one of:

assessing and quantifying uncertainties for the sensing results,

identifying one or more sources of errors of the sensing results,

applying one or more statistical methods to the sensing results,

comparing the sensing results with reference results, or

validating an accuracy and a reliability of the sensing results.
The sensing receiver of any of claims 22-30, wherein the instructions when executed by the at least one processor further cause the sensing receiver to perform:

receiving, from the apparatus, a coverage re-evaluation request for determining a further sensing coverage area of the sensing system;

performing, based on the coverage re-evaluation request, re-sensing for at least one sensing target to determine further information about the further sensing coverage area; and

transmitting, to the apparatus, the further information about the further sensing coverage area.
A method comprising:

receiving, at an apparatus comprising a sensing management function and from a sensing receiver for a sensing system for a communication system, information about a sensing coverage area of the sensing system, the information at least comprising a sensing specific signal to noise ratio or an indication of the sensing coverage area;

determining, based on the information about the sensing coverage area of the sensing system, whether the sensing coverage area of the sensing system is to be adjusted to sense a moving target; and

based on determining that the sensing coverage area of the sensing system is to be adjusted, transmitting, to a sensing transition device, a sensing static power adjustment indication, wherein the sensing static power adjustment indication indicates to the sensing transition device to adjust static power of signals reflected from one or more stationary objects in the sensing coverage area to adjust the sensing coverage area of the sensing system.
A method comprising:

receiving, at a sensing transition device from an apparatus comprising a sensing management function, a sensing static power adjustment indication, wherein the sensing static power adjustment indication indicates to the sensing transition device to adjust static power of signals reflected from one or more stationary objects; and

in response to the sensing static power adjustment indication, adjusting the static power of signals reflected from the one or more stationary objects in a sensing coverage area of a sensing system to adjust the sensing coverage area of the sensing system.
A method comprising:

receiving, at a sensing receiver from a sensing transmitter, a dual function radar-communication (DFRC) waveform;

processing the DFRC waveform for sensing for one or more sensing targets to generate information about a sensing coverage area of the sensing system; and

transmitting, to an apparatus comprising a sensing management function, the information about the sensing coverage area of the sensing system, the information at least comprising a sensing specific signal to noise ratio or an indication of the sensing coverage area.