WO2025065623A1

WO2025065623A1 - A communication method for uav

Info

Publication number: WO2025065623A1
Application number: PCT/CN2023/122909
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jianxun Ai; Mengjie ZHANG; Jing Liu
Original assignee: ZTE Corp
Current assignee: ZTE Corp
Priority date: 2023-09-28
Filing date: 2023-09-28
Publication date: 2025-04-03
Anticipated expiration: 2026-03-28

Abstract

The present disclosure describes techniques or providing a flight path of an aerial user equipment (UE) to a base station. A first RRC message is transmitted to the base station indicating the flight path is available. A second RRC message is received from the base station requesting the flight path. A third RRC message is transmitted to the base station reporting the flight path. The flight path comprises a plurality of waypoints. Each waypoint comprises a location of the UE.

Description

A COMMUNICATION METHOD FOR UAV

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present subject matter is directed generally to wireless communications. Particularly, the present subject matter relates to methods, devices, and systems for improving resource utilization and reducing interference during wireless communication of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) user equipment (UE) .

BACKGROUND

In recent years, the global interest for UAV-based services has dramatically increased. Multiple drone operations, personal flight entertainment experiences, cargo delivery, and the like are example use cases. These and other uses may depend on enhanced remote-control capability and data transmission, which are of interest for service providers/operators as well as drone manufacturers. The original New Radio (NR) design did not anticipate uses with UAVs and accordingly, suffers from a variety of drawbacks, limitations, and disadvantages. Accordingly, there is a need for inventive methods, devices, and systems described herein.

More specifically, in the original New Radio (NR) , Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurement may be performed in Radio Resource Control (RRC) CONNECTED mode for serving cell and neighbor cell measurement, in RRC IDLE and RRC INACTIVE modes for idle measurement, and in RRC IDLE and RRC INACTIVE mode for cell selection and reselection. The RRM measurement may be performed on the reference signaling (e.g., synchronization signal block (SSB) or Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) ) . The network may configure the RRM measurement via system information (SI) or a dedicated RRC message. The typical RRM measurement configuration may comprise frequency, SSB to measure, the number of reference signals used to derive radio quality of the cell, and SSB measurement timing configuration (SMTC) ; i.e., the UE may perform SSB measurement within the configured SMTC.

SUMMARY

The present subject matter is directed to a method, device, and system for improving wireless communication procedures and signaling between a UAV UE and a base station.

In some embodiments, a method for providing a flight path of an aerial user equipment (UE) to a base station, includes transmitting a first RRC message to the base station indicating the flight path is available; receiving a second RRC message from the base station requesting the flight path; and transmitting a third RRC message to the base station reporting the flight path, wherein the flight path comprises a plurality of waypoints, and each waypoint comprises a location of the UE.

In some embodiments, a method for triggering transmission of a first or second measurement report from an aerial user equipment (UE) to a base station, includes receiving a first and second measurement identifier (ID) from the base station, wherein each of the first and second measurement IDs are associated with a same measurement object and a respective first and second measurement report configuration, and the measurement report configuration specifies a signal quality condition and height condition for triggering transmission of the first or the second measurement report to the base station; and determining one or more of: whether the measurement report configuration associated with the first measurement ID should be applied, whether the first measurement report associated with the first measurement ID should be triggered and transmitted to the base station, or whether a measurement reporting entry for the first measurement ID should be included within a list.

In some embodiments, a method for triggering transmission of a first or second measurement report from an aerial user equipment (UE) to a base station, includes receiving a first and second measurement identifier (ID) from the base station, wherein each of the first and second measurement IDs are associated with a same measurement object and a respective first and second measurement report configuration, and the measurement report configuration specifies a signal quality condition and height condition for triggering transmission of the first or the second measurement report to the base station; and transmitting the second measurement report to the base station, wherein the second measurement report comprises a current height of the UE.

In some embodiments, a method for providing a flight path of an aerial user equipment (UE) to a base station, comprising: receiving a first RRC message from the UE indicating the flight path is available; transmitting a second RRC message to the UE requesting the flight path; and receiving a third RRC message from the UE reporting the flight path, wherein the flight path comprises a plurality of waypoints, and each waypoint comprises a location of the UE.

In some other embodiments, an apparatus for wireless communication may include a memory storing instructions and a processing circuitry in communication with the memory. When the processing circuitry executes the instructions, the processing circuitry is configured to carry out the above methods.

In some other embodiments, a device for wireless communication may include a memory storing instructions and a processing circuitry in communication with the memory. When the processing circuitry executes the instructions, the processing circuitry is configured to carry out the above methods.

In some other embodiments, a computer-readable medium comprising instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out the above methods.

The above and other aspects and their implementations are described in greater detail in the drawings, the descriptions, and the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an example of a wireless communication system include one wireless base stations and one or more user equipment.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a base station.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a user equipment.

FIG. 4 shows an example communication system including a base station and user equipment (UE) .

FIG. 5 shows an example of height thresholds of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) UE.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example flow diagram of the steps associated with configuring and transmitting a measurement report.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present subject matter will now be described in detail hereinafter with reference to the accompanied drawings, which form a part of the present subject matter, and which show, by way of illustration, specific examples of embodiments. Please note that the present subject matter may, however, be embodied in a variety of different forms and, therefore, the covered or claimed subject matter is intended to be construed as not being limited to any of the embodiments to be set forth below.

Throughout the specification and claims, terms may have nuanced meanings suggested or implied in context beyond an explicitly stated meaning. Likewise, the phrase “in one embodiment” or “in some embodiments” as used herein does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment and the phrase “in another embodiment” or “in other embodiments” as used herein does not necessarily refer to a different embodiment. The phrase “in one implementation” or “in some implementations” as used herein does not necessarily refer to the same implementation and the phrase “in another implementation” or “in other implementations” as used herein does not necessarily refer to a different implementation. It is intended, for example, that claimed subject matter includes combinations of exemplary embodiments or implementations in whole or in part.

In general, terminology may be understood at least in part from usage in context. For example, terms, such as “and” , “or” , or “and/or, ” as used herein may include a variety of meanings that may depend at least in part upon the context in which such terms are used. Typically, “or” if used to associate a list, such as A, B or C, is intended to mean A, B, and C, here used in the inclusive sense, as well as A, B or C, here used in the exclusive sense. In addition, the term “one or more” or “at least one” as used herein, depending at least in part upon context, may be used to describe any feature, structure, or characteristic in a singular sense or may be used to describe combinations of features, structures, or characteristics in a plural sense. Similarly, terms, such as “a” , “an” , or “the” , again, may be understood to convey a singular usage or to convey a plural usage, depending at least in part upon context. In addition, the term “based on” or “determined by” may be understood as not necessarily intended to convey an exclusive set of factors and may, instead, allow for existence of additional factors not necessarily expressly described, again, depending at least in part on context.

FIG. 1 shows a diagram of an example wireless communication system 100 including a plurality of communication nodes (or just nodes) that are configured to wirelessly communicate with each other. In general, the communication nodes include at least one user device 102 and at least one wireless access node 104. The example wireless communication system 100 in Fig. 1 is shown as including two user devices 102, including a first user device 102 (1) and a second user device 102 (2) , and one wireless access nodes 104. However, various other examples of the wireless communication system 100 that include any of various combinations of one or more user devices 102 and/or one or more wireless access nodes 104 may be possible.

In general, a user device as described herein, such as the user device 102, may include a single electronic device or apparatus, or multiple (e.g., a network of) electronic devices or apparatuses, capable of communicating wirelessly over a network. A user device may comprise or otherwise be referred to as a user terminal, a user terminal device, or a user equipment (UE) . Additionally, a user device may be or include, but not limited to, a mobile device (such as a mobile phone, a smart phone, a smart watch, a tablet, a laptop computer, vehicle or other vessel (human, motor, or engine-powered, such as an automobile, a plane, a train, a ship, or a bicycle as non-limiting examples) or a fixed or stationary device, (such as a desktop computer or other computing device that is not ordinarily moved for long periods of time, such as appliances, other relatively heavy devices including Internet of things (IoT) , or computing devices used in commercial or industrial environments, as non-limiting examples) . In various embodiments, a user device 102 may include transceiver circuitry 106 coupled to an antenna 108 to effect wireless communication with the wireless access node 104. The transceiver circuitry 106 may also be coupled to a processor 110, which may also be coupled to a memory 112 or other storage device. The memory 112 may store therein instructions or code that, when read and executed by the processor 110, cause the processor 110 to implement various ones of the methods described herein.

Additionally, in general, a wireless access node as described herein, such as the wireless access node 104, may include a single electronic device or apparatus, or multiple (e.g., a network of) electronic devices or apparatuses, and may comprise one or more base stations or other wireless network access points capable of communicating wirelessly over a network with one or more user devices and/or with one or more other wireless access nodes 104. For example, the wireless access node 104 may comprise a 4G LTE base station, a 5G NR base station, a 5G central-unit base station, a 5G distributed-unit base station, a next generation Node B (gNB) , an enhanced Node B (eNB) , or other similar or next-generation (e.g., 6G) base stations, in various embodiments. A wireless access node 104 may include transceiver circuitry 114 coupled to an antenna 116, which may include an antenna tower 118 in various approaches, to effect wireless communication with the user device 102 or another wireless access node 104. The transceiver circuitry 114 may also be coupled to one or more processors 120, which may also be coupled to a memory 122 or other storage device. The memory 122 may store therein instructions or code that, when read and executed by the processor 120, cause the processor 120 to implement one or more of the methods described herein.

In various embodiments, two communication nodes in the wireless system 100-such as a user device 102 and a wireless access node 104, two user devices 102 without a wireless access node 104, or two wireless access nodes 104 without a user device 102-may be configured to wirelessly communicate with each other in or over a mobile network and/or a wireless access network according to one or more standards and/or specifications. In general, the standards and/or specifications may define the rules or procedures under which the communication nodes can wirelessly communicate, which, in various embodiments, may include those for communicating in millimeter (mm) -Wave bands, and/or with multi-antenna schemes and beamforming functions. In addition, or alternatively, the standards and/or specifications are those that define a radio access technology and/or a cellular technology, such as Fourth Generation (4G) Long Term Evolution (LTE) , Fifth Generation (5G) New Radio (NR) , or New Radio Unlicensed (NR-U) , as non-limiting examples.

Additionally, in the wireless system 100, the communication nodes are configured to wirelessly communicate signals between each other. In general, a communication in the wireless system 100 between two communication nodes can be or include a transmission or a reception, and is generally both simultaneously, depending on the perspective of a particular node in the communication. For example, for a given communication between a first node and a second node where the first node is transmitting a signal to the second node and the second node is receiving the signal from the first node, the first node may be referred to as a source or transmitting node or device, the second node may be referred to as a destination or receiving node or device, and the communication may be considered a transmission for the first node and a reception for the second node. Of course, since communication nodes in a wireless system 100 can both send and receive signals, a single communication node may be both a transmitting/source node and a receiving/destination node simultaneously or switch between being a source/transmitting node and a destination/receiving node.

Also, particular signals may be characterized or defined as either an uplink (UL) signal, a downlink (DL) signal, or a sidelink (SL) signal. An uplink signal is a signal transmitted from a user device 102 to a wireless access node 104. A downlink signal is a signal transmitted from a wireless access node 104 to a user device 102. A sidelink signal is a signal transmitted from a one user device 102 to another user device 102, or a signal transmitted from one wireless access node 104 to another wireless access node 104. Also, for sidelink transmissions, a first/source user device 102 directly transmits a sidelink signal to a second/destination user device 102 without any forwarding of the sidelink signal to a wireless access node 104.

Additionally, signals communicated between communication nodes in the system 100 may be characterized or defined as a data signal or a control signal. In general, a data signal is a signal that includes or carries data, such multimedia data (e.g., voice and/or image data) , and a control signal is a signal that carries control information that configures the communication nodes in certain ways to communicate with each other, or otherwise controls how the communication nodes communicate data signals with each other. Also, certain signals may be defined or characterized by combinations of data/control and uplink/downlink/sidelink, including uplink control signals, uplink data signals, downlink control signals, downlink data signals, sidelink control signals, and sidelink data signals.

For at least some specifications, such as 5G NR, data and control signals are transmitted and/or carried on physical channels. Generally, a physical channel corresponds to a set of time-frequency resources used for transmission of a signal. Different types of physical channels may be used to transmit different types of signals. For example, physical data channels (or just data channels) are used to transmit data signals, and physical control channels (or just control channels) are used to transmit control signals. Example types of physical data channels include, but are not limited to, a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) used to communicate downlink data signals, a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) used to communicate uplink data signals, and a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) used to communicate sidelink data signals. In addition, example types of physical control channels include, but are not limited to, a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) used to communicate downlink control signals, a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) used to communicate uplink control signals, and a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) used to communicate sidelink control signals. As used herein for simplicity, unless specified otherwise, a particular type of physical channel is also used to refer to a signal that is transmitted on that particular type of physical channel, and/or a transmission on that particular type of transmission. As an example illustration, a PDSCH refers to the physical downlink shared channel itself, a downlink data signal transmitted on the PDSCH, or a downlink data transmission. Accordingly, a communication node transmitting or receiving a PDSCH means that the communication node is transmitting or receiving a signal on a PDSCH.

Additionally, for at least some specifications, such as 5G NR, and/or for at least some types of control signals, a control signal that a communication node transmits may include control information comprising the information necessary to enable transmission of one or more data signals between communication nodes, and/or to schedule one or more data channels (or one or more transmissions on data channels) . For example, such control information may include the information necessary for proper reception, decoding, and demodulation of a data signals received on physical data channels during a data transmission, and/or for uplink scheduling grants that inform the user device about the resources and transport format to use for uplink data transmissions. In some embodiments, the control information includes downlink control information (DCI) that is transmitted in the downlink direction from a wireless access node 104 to a user device 102. In other embodiments, the control information includes uplink control information (UCI) that is transmitted in the uplink direction from a user device 102 to a wireless access node 104, or sidelink control information (SCI) that is transmitted in the sidelink direction from one user device 102 (1) to another user device 102 (2) .

Additionally, in the wireless communication system 100, a slot format for a plurality of slots or frames may be configured by the wireless access node 104 or specified by a protocol. In some examples, a slot may be indicated or specified as a downlink slot, a flexible slot, or an uplink slot. Also, an orthogonal frequency divisional multiplexing (OFDM) symbol may be indicated or specified as a downlink symbol, a flexible symbol, or an uplink symbol, in various embodiments.

FIG. 2 shows an example of base station 200. The example base station 200 may include radio transmitting/receiving (Tx/Rx) circuitry 208 to transmit/receive communication with UEs and/or other base stations. The base station 200 may also include network interface circuitry 209 to communicate the base station with other base stations and/or a core network, e.g., optical or wireline interconnects, Ethernet, and/or other data transmission mediums/protocols. The base station 200 may optionally include an input/output (I/O) interface 206 to communicate with an operator or the like.

The base station 200 may also include system circuitry 204. System circuitry 204 may include processor (s) 221 and/or memory 222. Memory 222 may include an operating system 224, instructions 226, and parameters 228. Instructions 226 may be configured for the one or more of the processors 124 to perform the functions of the base station. The parameters 228 may include parameters to support execution of the instructions 226. For example, parameters may include network protocol settings, bandwidth parameters, radio frequency mapping assignments, and/or other parameters.

As used herein, the term “network, ” referenced using reference numeral 200, interchangeably corresponds to a gNB in NR, an eNB in LTE, a base station, a core network, or a radio access node of a radio network.

FIG. 3 shows an example of an electronic device to implement a terminal device 300 (for example, user equipment (UE) ) . The UE 300 may be a mobile device, for example, a smart phone or a mobile communication module disposed in a vehicle. The UE 300 may include communication interfaces 302, a system circuitry 304, an input/output interfaces (I/O) 306, a display circuitry 308, and a storage 309. The display circuitry may include a user interface 310. The system circuitry 304 may include any combination of hardware, software, firmware, or other logic/circuitry. The system circuitry 304 may be implemented, for example, with one or more systems on a chip (SoC) , application specific integrated circuits (ASIC) , discrete analog and digital circuits, and other circuitry. The system circuitry 304 may be a part of the implementation of any desired functionality in the UE 300. In that regard, the system circuitry 304 may include logic that facilitates, as examples, decoding and playing music and video, e.g., MP3, MP4, MPEG, AVI, FLAC, AC3, or WAV decoding and playback; running applications; accepting user inputs; saving and retrieving application data; establishing, maintaining, and terminating cellular phone calls or data connections for, as one example, internet connectivity; establishing, maintaining, and terminating wireless network connections, Bluetooth connections, or other connections; and displaying relevant information on the user interface 310. The user interface 310 and the inputs/output (I/O) interfaces 306 may include a graphical user interface, touch sensitive display, haptic feedback or other haptic output, voice or facial recognition inputs, buttons, switches, speakers, and other user interface elements. Additional examples of the I/O interfaces 306 may include microphones, video and still image cameras, temperature sensors, vibration sensors, rotation and orientation sensors, headset and microphone input /output jacks, Universal Serial Bus (USB) connectors, memory card slots, radiation sensors (e.g., IR sensors) , and other types of inputs.

Referring to FIG. 3, the communication interfaces 302 may include a Radio Frequency (RF) transmit (Tx) and receive (Rx) circuitry 316 which handles transmission and reception of signals through one or more antennas 314. The communication interface 302 may include one or more transceivers. The transceivers may be wireless transceivers that include modulation /demodulation circuitry, digital to analog converters (DACs) , shaping tables, analog to digital converters (ADCs) , filters, waveform shapers, filters, pre-amplifiers, power amplifiers and/or other logic for transmitting and receiving through one or more antennas, or (for some devices) through a physical (e.g., wireline) medium. The transmitted and received signals may adhere to any of a diverse array of formats, protocols, modulations (e.g., QPSK, 16-QAM, 64-QAM, or 256-QAM) , frequency channels, bit rates, and encodings. As one specific example, the communication interfaces 302 may include transceivers that support transmission and reception under the 2G, 3G, BT, WiFi, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) , High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) +, 4G /Long Term Evolution (LTE) , and 5G standards. The techniques described below, however, are applicable to other wireless communications technologies whether arising from the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) , GSM Association, 3GPP2, IEEE, or other partnerships or standards bodies.

Referring to FIG. 3, the system circuitry 304 may include one or more processors 321 and memories 322. The memory 322 stores, for example, an operating system 324, instructions 326, and parameters 328. The processor 321 is configured to execute the instructions 326 to carry out desired functionality for the UE 300. The parameters 328 may provide and specify configuration and operating options for the instructions 326. The memory 322 may also store any BT, WiFi, 3G, 4G, 5G or other data that the UE 300 will send, or has received, through the communication interfaces 302. In various implementations, a system power for the UE 300 may be supplied by a power storage device, such as a battery or a transformer.

Update of Flight Path Information

In the LTE Specification (3GPP TS 36.331) and related 3GPP discussion documents, a UAV UE 300 may report a planned flight path to the network or base station. The flight path may include a list of waypoints. A waypoint may include location information and/or timestamp information. The location information may describe the planned locations for the UAV UE 300 along the planned flight path. The timestamp information may describe the time in which the UAV UE 300 is expected or estimated to reach the planned location.

Referring to FIG. 4, a communication 400 is illustrated between the UAV UE 300 and the base station (gNB) 200. As shown in FIG. 4, a UAV UE 300 may generate or otherwise obtain an initial or updated flight path 401. An indication that this flight path 401 is available may be sent to the network 200 via a first RRC message in step S405. The first RRC message may be, for example, an RRC setup complete message, an RRC reconfiguration complete message, an RRC resume complete message, or a UEAssistanceInformation message.

The network 200 may subsequently request the flight path information by sending a second RRC message in S410. The second RRC message may be a UEInformationRequest message.

The UAV UE 300 may respond to the second RRC message by sending a third RRC message that includes the flight path 401 in S415. The third RRC message may be a UEInformationResponse message.

According to conventional techniques, the UAV UE 300 will send a flight path availability indication to the network 200 using a first RRC message in any of the following cases: (1) when the UAV UE 300 has an initial flight path 401, the UAV UE 300 triggers a flight path indication procedure by including an indicator to indicate that the flight path 401 is available; and (2) if the UAV UE 300 has an updated flight path, the UAV UE 300 triggers a flight path update indication procedure by including an indicator to indicate that the updated flight path 401 is available. The network 200 configures a delta time threshold and/or a delta distance threshold. If the location of a waypoint is changed by more than the configured delta distance threshold, the UAV UE 300 triggers the flight path update indication. If the timestamp of the waypoint is changed by more than the configured delta time threshold, the UAV UE 300 triggers the flight path update indication procedure.

Continuing the description of the conventional techniques, when the UAV UE 300 passes a waypoint of a reported flight path, the UAV UE 300 regards the passed waypoint as outdated and remove it from the flight path 401 stored within the UAV UE 300. The UAV UE 300 then triggers a flight path update notification procedure by sending the first RRC message to the network 200. The first RRC message indicates that the flight path 401 has been updated or otherwise that an updated flight path 401 is available to the network 200. However, the network 200 cannot distinguish between the reasons that the flight path update notification is triggered and requests the updated flight path 401 by sending the second RRC message to the UAV UE 300. If the flight path 401 is updated only because the UAV UE 300 passes a waypoint, this update may be useless for the network 200, especially when the passed waypoint includes a timestamp. Unnecessarily updating the flight path 401 and the associated acquisition procedure wastes radio resources and creates unnecessary interference both to the aerial UEs flying in the air as well as to other base stations 200 on the ground.

Accordingly, the present subject matter techniques will now be described to address these problems with the conventional techniques. Specifically, a waypoint may be considered outdated if the UAV UE 300 has flown past the waypoint or if the associated timestamp of the waypoint has elapsed. The flight path update notification procedure in accordance with the present subject matter may include sending a first RRC message to the network 200 to indicate that a flight path 401 is available or an update to the flight path 401 is available.

The UAV UE 300 may internally determine whether a waypoint is outdated and may determine whether the flight path notification procedure may be triggered based on a rule when the waypoint is outdated. In an example, the rule may specify that the flight path update notification procedure is prohibited or not because of one or more of the following reasons: (1) one or more waypoints are outdated, (2) one or more waypoints that include a timestamp are outdated, or (3) one or more waypoints that do not include a timestamp are outdated.

Alternatively, or in addition, in another example, the network 200 may be configured to allow or not allow triggering of the flight path update/availability notification for an outdated waypoint. Triggering of the flight path update/availability notification may be allowed or not allowed for one or more of the following reasons: (1) one or more waypoints are outdated, (2) one or more waypoints that include a timestamp are outdated, or (3) one or more waypoints that do not include a timestamp are outdated.

The network 200 may configure whether triggering of the flight path update/availability notification is allowed or not allowed by including a first indicator in a system information (SI) of a serving cell or in an RRC message sent from the network 200 to the UAV UE 300. The absence of the first indicator may mean that the triggering of the flight path update/availability notification, based on the aforementioned reasons, is allowed or not.

The UAV UE 300 may determine whether to initiate the flight path update/availability notification procedure based on the presence of the first indicator or a value of the first indicator.

According to this example, the network 200 may configure whether the flight path update/availability notification may be triggered because one or more waypoints are outdated. This technique may provide flexibility for the network 200 in that the network 200 may determine whether the flight path update/availability notification is allowed according to its own implementation.

Alternatively, or in addition, in another example, the UAV UE 300 may indicate to the network 200 that the flight path 401 has been updated or available because of an outdated waypoint, and the network 200 may decide whether to request the flight path 401 based on the indication. The UAV UE 300 may indicate to the network 200 at least one of the following reasons for triggering the flight path update/availability notification: (1) one or more waypoints are outdated, (2) one or more waypoints that include a timestamp are outdated, or (3) one or more waypoints that do not include a timestamp are outdated. The UAV UE 300 may indicate these reasons by including a second indicator in the first RRC message of S405. The first RRC message may be a UEAssistanceInformation message, RRC resume complete message, or RRC reconfiguration complete message. The network 200 may determine whether to request the flight path based on the presence of the second indicator or a value of the second indicator.

According to this example, the UAV UE 300 may indicate the reason (s) for updating the flight path 401 to the network 200. The network 200 may then determine whether to request the updated flight path 401 based on the indicated reason (s) , which may provide an opportunity for the network 200 to avoid requesting the updated flight path if it would not be useful to the network 200.

Each of the descriptions of the previous examples may be combined or used independently as desired without departing from the scope of the present subject matter. For instance, a rule may be defined that specifies the flight path update/availability notification procedure is prohibited because one or more waypoints that include a timestamp are outdated. In system information (SI) , the network 200 may indicate that the flight path update/availability notification is allowed because one or more waypoints that do not include a timestamp are outdated. The UAV UE 300 may trigger the flight path update/availability notification by sending a first RRC message to the network 200. The first RRC message may include an indicator to indicate that the flight path update/availability notification is triggered because waypoints that do not include a timestamp are outdated. The network 200 may determine whether to request the updated flight path 401 based on the indicator included within the first RRC message from the UAV UE 300. Using these techniques, radio resources may be more efficiently utilized while reducing radio interference during the acquisition of the updated flight path 401 by the network 200.

Height-Dependent Measurement Report Configuration

FIG. 6 illustrates a general overview 600of the steps associated with configuring and transmitting a measurement report. As previously described, a plurality of measurement IDs may be provided from the network 200 to the UAV UE 300 in S601. The UAV UE 300 may determine whether transmission of the measurement report to the network 200 has been triggered based on satisfying predetermined criteria in S602. In S603, the UAV UE 300 may transmit the measurement report based on the determination to the network 200.

In the conventional NR specification, a UE 300 in RRC_CONNECTED state may be configured with a list of measurement IDs (measID) . Each measID is associated with a measurement object and a measurement report configuration. The measurement object configuration includes the information for SSB intra/inter-frequency measurement and/or CSI-RS intra/inter-frequency measurements. The measurement report configuration specifies criteria for triggering a measurement reporting event. Measurement reporting events are based on cell measurement results, which may either be derived based on SS/PBCH block or CSI-RS. A measurement report configuration may be configured as event-triggered or periodic.

Further according to the conventional NR specification, the measurement report configuration, when event-triggered, is configured with an event type. The following describes some events and associated descriptions:

Event A3: Neighbor improves in radio signal quality by amount of offset better than the PCell/PSCell.

Event A4: Neighbor improves in radio signal quality better than absolute threshold.

Event A5: The PCell/PSCell declines in radio signal quality worse than absolute threshold1 and the neighbor/SCell improves in radio signal quality better than another absolute threshold2.

Event H1: The aerial UE height is higher than an absolute threshold.

Event H2: The aerial UE height is lower than an absolute threshold.

Each event (e.g., events A3-A5, H1, H2) is configured with an entering condition and a leaving condition. If a measurement report configuration is event-triggered for a measID, and the entering condition of the associated event is fulfilled for one or more applicable cells for all measurements during a predefined timer (i.e., time to trigger (TTT) ) configured for the event, the event may be triggered; i.e., the UE 300 starts to perform measurement reporting for this measID. For example, the entering condition of event A4 is a neighbor cell improving in signal quality better than an absolute threshold. In another example, the entering condition of event H1 is the UE’s height is higher than an absolute threshold.

Further according to the latest 3GPP progress, new measurement types have been introduced to implement height-dependent measurement report configurations and combinations of measurement report events. The new event types include a legacy event A3, A4, or A5 threshold, and one of event H1 or event H2 thresholds. A single TTT for the event is also introduced.

Further according to the latest 3GPP progress, the newly introduced measurement report event types are defined as:

Event A3H1: Neighbor cell improves in radio signal quality by amount of offset better than SpCell and the aerial UE height is above a threshold.

Event A3H2: Neighbor cell improves in radio signal quality by amount of offset better than SpCell and the aerial UE height is below a threshold.

Event A4H1: Neighbor cell improves in radio signal quality better than threshold1 and the aerial UE height is above a threshold2.

Event A4H2: Neighbor cell improves in radio signal quality better than threshold1 and the aerial UE height is below a threshold2.

Event A5H1: SpCell declines in radio signal quality worse than threshold1 and neighbor cell becomes better than threshold2 and the aerial UE height is above a threshold3.

Event A5H2: SpCell declines in radio signal quality worse than threshold1 and neighbor cell improves in radio signal quality better than threshold2 and the aerial UE height is below a threshold3.

The following code shows how a new event type eventA4H1 is defined. In the new eventA4H1, an event A4 threshold (a4-Threshold-r18) and an event H1 thresohld (h1-Threshold-r18) is included.

The entering condition of eventA4H1 is where the neighbor cell improves in signal quality better than threshold-1, which is based on the configured event A4 threshold (a4-Threshold-r18) , and at the same time, the UE’s height is higher than threshold-2, which is associated with the configured event H1 threshold (h1-Threshold-r18) .

The purpose of this kind of new event type is to implement a height-dependent measurement report configuration. According to this technique, the network configures different report configurations for different aerial UE heights. The legacy Ax event threshold is associated with a height-based threshold. This is beneficial for the UAV UE use case where the radio environment varies greatly according to the height (i.e., altitude) .

The problems with the aforementioned approach according to the conventional NR specification are now described. Assuming that the network 200 configures two measIDs, each associated with a same measurement object (e.g., MO-1) , and each measID having different measurement report configurations (e.g., MR-1 and MR-2 respectively) . Thus, it can be said:

MeasID-1 {MO-1, MR-1}

MeasID-2 {MO-1, MR-2}

MR-1 and MR-2 are of the event-triggered type and configured with event type eventA4H1.

MR-1 is configured with event-1 with A4-threshold-1 and H1-threshold-1.

MR-2 is configured with event-2 with A4-threshold-2 and H1-threshold-2.

FIG. 5 illustrates the UAV UE 300 disposed at a height position (i.e., altitude) 501 with respect to H1-threshold-2 505 and H1-threshold-1 510, where H1-threshold-2 505 is larger than H1-threshold-1 510. Therefore, when the UAV UE 300 flies above a height 501 that fulfills the entering condition of both H1-threshold-1 510 and H1-threshold-2 505, one of the following cases may occur:

Case 1: only the entering condition of event-1 is fulfilled.

Case 2: only the entering condition of event-2 is fulfilled.

Case 3: the entering conditions of both event-1 and event-1 are simultaneously fulfilled.

In Case 1, only the entering condition of event-1 is fulfilled, which must mean that the A4-threshold-1 is fulfilled and A4-threshold-2 is not fulfilled. The question is then whether the UAV UE 300 should report the measurement results for measID-1. If these measurement results are transmitted, the network 200 may interpret this to mean that the UAV UE 300 is flying above H1-threshold-1 510 and below H1-threshold-2 505. Since the network 200 configures measID-2, which is applied when the UAV UE 300 flies above H1-threshold-2 505, it may be confusing as to whether the UAV UE 300 should report for measID-1 in this situation. This is problematic.

In Case 3, the UAV UE 300 will trigger a measurement report for both measID-1 and measID-2. In the conventional NR specification, when a measurement event is triggered, the UAV UE 300 will transmit an RRC message to report the measurement results for measID associated with the measurement event. This means that in Case 3, the UAV UE 300 may transmit two RRC messages for measID-1 and measID-2, respectively. This is problematic first because it is unnecessary to transmit the measurement report for measID-1 in this situation. This also problematic because when the measurement report for measID-1 is received by the network 200, the network 200 will respond accordingly based on the measurement report. However, this may be incorrect behavior since the network 200 also configures another measID (i.e., measID-2) that is applied when the UAV UE 300 is flying above H1-threshold-2 505.

Accordingly, the present subject matter techniques will now be described to address the problems with the techniques of the conventional NR specification.

In this embodiment, each of the first and second measurement IDs are associated with a same measurement object and a respective first and second measurement report configuration, and the measurement report configuration specifies a signal quality condition and height condition for triggering transmission of the first or the second measurement report to the base station.

Specifically, when the first event is configured with a first H1 threshold, and the second event is configured with a second H1 threshold, the UAV UE 300 may make a first determination based on one or more of the following conditions: (1) the relationship between the first H1 threshold and the second H1 threshold; (2) whether the entering condition for the second event is fulfilled or applicable; and/or (3) the UAV UE’s 300 height.

If the first event is configured with a first H2 threshold, and the second event is configured with a second H2 threshold, the UAV UE 300 may make the first determination based on one or more of the following conditions: (1) the relationship between the first H2 threshold and the second H2 threshold; (2) whether the entry condition for the second event is fulfilled or applicable; and/or (3) the UAV UE’s 300 height.

The first determination may be that one or more of the following is allowed: (1) the configuration associated with the first measID may be applied; (2) the measurement report for the first measID may be transmitted; (3) the first event may be triggered; and/or (4) a measurement reporting entry may be included within the VarMeasReportList for the first measID when the entering condition is applicable for the first event.

Optionally:

if the first H1 threshold is larger than the second H1 threshold, and the UAV UE’s 300 height is higher than a value based on the second H1 threshold, or

if the first H1 threshold is smaller than the second H1 threshold, and the entering condition of second event is not fulfilled, or

if the first H1 threshold is smaller than the second H1 threshold, and the UAV UE’s 300 height is larger than a value based on the first H1 threshold and smaller than a value based on the second H1 threshold, or

if the first H2 threshold is smaller than the second H2 threshold, and the UAV UE’s 300 height is lower than a value based on the second H2 threshold, or

if the first H2 threshold is larger than the second H2 threshold, and the entering condition of second event is not fulfilled, or

if the first H2 threshold is larger than the second H2 threshold, and the UAV UE’s 300 height is smaller than a value based on the first H2 threshold and larger than a value based on the second H2 threshold,

then the UE determines one or more of the following is allowed: (1) the configuration associated with the first measID may be applied; (2) the measurement report for the first measID may be transmitted to the network 200; (3) the first event may be triggered; (4) a measurement reporting entry may be included within the VarMeasReportList for the first measID when the entering condition is applicable for the first event.

Optionally, in one or more of the following conditions:

the first H1 threshold is smaller than the second H1 threshold;

the first H1 threshold is smaller than the second H1 threshold, and the entering condition of the second event is fulfilled or applicable;

the first H1 threshold is smaller than the second H1 threshold, and the UAV UE’s 300 height is higher than a value based on the second H1 threshold;

the first H1 threshold is smaller than the second H1 threshold, and the UAV UE’s 300 height is higher than a value based on the second H1 threshold, and the entering condition of the second event is fulfilled or applicable;

the first H2 threshold is larger than the second H2 threshold;

the first H2 threshold is larger than the second H2 threshold, and the entering condition of the second event is fulfilled or applicable;

the first H2 threshold is larger than the second H2 threshold, and the UAV UE’s 300 height is below a value based on the second H2 threshold; or

the first H2 threshold is larger than the second H2 threshold, and the entering condition of the second event is fulfilled or applicable, and the UAV UE’s 300 height is below a value based on the second H2 threshold;

then the UAV UE 300 determines one or more of the following: (1) the configuration associated with the first measID may not be applied; (2) the measurement report for the first measID may not be transmitted to the network 200; (3) the first event may not be triggered; (4) a measurement reporting entry may not be included within the VarMeasReportList for the first measID when the entering condition is applicable for the first event.

Using these techniques, the UAV UE 300 may determine whether a measID is applicable, whether to report measurement results based on its current height, and/or whether there is another configured measID that is associated with the same measurement object and shares the same event type with a different H1/H2 threshold. Accordingly, if two measIDs are fulfilled, only one measurement report may be transmitted, which avoids the confusion and possibly incorrect response by the network 200.

Alternatively, or in addition, the UAV UE 300 may always include height information 501 in the measurement report message for the event that is configured with both an Ax threshold and an H1/H2 threshold. In a case where the UAV UE 300 is configured with a first measID: (1) the first measID may be associated with a first report configuration; (2) the first report configuration is set to event triggered; (3) the first event is configured with an Ax threshold and an H1 or H2 threshold; and (4) the Ax threshold may be an A3, A4, or A5 threshold.

In the RRC message that is used to report the measurement results for the first measID, the UAV UE 300 may include the height information 501 (i.e., in S603) . By default, the height information is always included in the measurement results for the first measID regardless whether the network 200 configures the UAV UE 300 to include the height information in the measurement report message. The height information is the current height (i.e., altitude) of the UAV UE 300, or the height where the first event is triggered.

Using the techniques disclosed in according to the present subject matter, the network 200 may always know the height of the UAV UE 300 and can make the correct response based on the height 501 and the H1/H2 threshold (s) associated with the reported measID and other measIDs. For instance, if the current UAV UE 300 height is larger than the H1 threshold associated with the reported measID and another H1 threshold is configured for another measurement event, the network 200 may determine that the measurement report is not necessary.

The description and accompanying drawings above provide specific example embodiments and implementations. The described subject matter may, however, be embodied in a variety of different forms and, therefore, covered or claimed subject matter is intended to be construed as not being limited to any example embodiments set forth herein. A reasonably broad scope for claimed or covered subject matter is intended. Among other things, for example, subject matter may be embodied as methods, devices, components, systems, or non-transitory computer-readable media for storing computer codes. Accordingly, embodiments may, for example, take the form of hardware, software, firmware, storage media or any combination thereof. For example, the method embodiments described above may be implemented by components, devices, or systems including memory and processors by executing computer codes stored in the memory.

Throughout the specification and claims, terms may have nuanced meanings suggested or implied in context beyond an explicitly stated meaning. Likewise, the phrase “in one embodiment/implementation” as used herein does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment and the phrase “in another embodiment/implementation” as used herein does not necessarily refer to a different embodiment. It is intended, for example, that claimed subject matter includes combinations of example embodiments in whole or in part.

In general, terminology may be understood at least in part from usage in context. For example, terms, such as “and” , “or” , or “and/or, ” as used herein may include a variety of meanings that may depend at least in part on the context in which such terms are used. Typically, “or” if used to associate a list, such as A, B or C, is intended to mean A, B, and C, here used in the inclusive sense, as well as A, B or C, here used in the exclusive sense. In addition, the term “one or more” as used herein, depending at least in part upon context, may be used to describe any feature, structure, or characteristic in a singular sense or may be used to describe combinations of features, structures, or characteristics in a plural sense. Similarly, terms, such as “a, ” “an, ” or “the, ” may be understood to convey a singular usage or to convey a plural usage, depending at least in part upon context. In addition, the term “based on” may be understood as not necessarily intended to convey an exclusive set of factors and may, instead, allow for the existence of additional factors not necessarily expressly described, again, depending at least in part on context.

Reference throughout this specification to features, advantages, or similar language does not imply that all of the features and advantages that may be realized with the present solution should be or are included in any single implementation thereof. Rather, language referring to the features and advantages is understood to mean that a specific feature, advantage, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present solution. Thus, discussions of the features and advantages, and similar language, throughout the specification may, but do not necessarily, refer to the same embodiment.

Furthermore, the described features, advantages and characteristics of the present solution may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. One of ordinary skill in the relevant art will recognize, in light of the description herein, that the present solution may be practiced without one or more of the specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other instances, additional features and advantages may be recognized in certain embodiments that may not be present in all embodiments of the present solution.

The subject matter of the disclosure may also relate to or include, among others, the following aspects:

A first aspect includes a method for providing a flight path of an aerial user equipment (UE) to a base station, comprising: transmitting a first RRC message to the base station indicating the flight path is available; receiving a second RRC message from the base station requesting the flight path; and transmitting a third RRC message to the base station reporting the flight path, wherein the flight path comprises a plurality of waypoints, and each waypoint comprises a location of the UE.

A second aspect includes the method of the first aspect further comprising: determining one or more waypoint (s) are outdated; and based on a rule, determining whether to notify the base station that the flight path is available.

A third aspect includes the method of aspects 1 or 2, further comprising: receiving an indicator from the base station; determining one or more waypoint (s) are outdated; and based on the indicator, determining whether to notify the base station that the flight path is available.

A fourth aspect includes the method of any preceding aspect, further comprising: determining one or more waypoint (s) are outdated; and notifying the base station that the flight path has been updated due to an outdated waypoint.

A fifth aspect includes the method of any preceding aspect, wherein the notifying occurs via an indicator in the first RRC message.

A sixth aspect includes the method of any preceding aspect, wherein each waypoint further comprises: timestamp information describing when the UE will reach the location.

A seventh aspect includes a method for triggering transmission of a first or second measurement report from an aerial user equipment (UE) to a base station, comprising: receiving a first and second measurement identifier (ID) from the base station, wherein each of the first and second measurement IDs are associated with a same measurement object and a respective first and second measurement report configuration, and the measurement report configuration specifies a signal quality condition and height condition for triggering transmission of the first or the second measurement report to the base station; and determining one or more of: whether the measurement report configuration associated with the first measurement ID should be applied, whether the first measurement report associated with the first measurement ID should be triggered and transmitted to the base station, or whether a measurement reporting entry for the first measurement ID should be included within a list.

An eighth aspect includes the method of aspect 7, wherein the height condition of the first measurement report configuration is configured with a first height threshold; the height condition of the second measurement report configuration is configured with a second height threshold; and the determining further comprises one or more of: determining a relationship between the first height threshold and the second height threshold, determining whether the signal quality condition and the height condition of the second measurement report configuration is met, or determining a current height of the UE.

A ninth aspect includes the method of aspects 7 or 8, wherein the height condition of the first measurement report configuration is configured with a third height threshold; the height condition of the second measurement report configuration is configured with a fourth height threshold; and the determining further comprises: determining a relationship between the third height threshold and the fourth height threshold, determining whether the signal quality condition and the height condition of the second measurement report configuration is met, or determining a current height of the UE.

A tenth aspect includes the method of aspects 7-9, wherein if the first height threshold is larger than the second height threshold, and the current height of the UE is higher than a value based on the second height threshold, or if the first height threshold is smaller than the second height threshold, and the signal quality and height conditions of second measurement report configuration are not fulfilled, or if the first height threshold is smaller than the second height threshold, and the current height of the UE is higher than a value based on the first height threshold and below than a value based on the second height threshold, or if the third height threshold is smaller than the fourth height threshold, and the current height of the UE is lower than a value based on the fourth height threshold, or if the third height threshold is larger than the fourth height threshold, and signal quality and height conditions of the second measurement report configuration is not fulfilled, or if the third height threshold is larger than the fourth height threshold, and the current height of the UE is lower than a value based on the third height threshold and higher than a value based on the fourth height threshold then one or more of: applying the first measurement report configuration; triggering transmission of the first measurement reports to the base station; or including the measurement reporting entry in a measurement report list for the first measurement ID.

An eleventh aspect includes the method of aspects 7-10, wherein if the first height threshold is smaller than the second height threshold, or if the first height threshold is smaller than the second height threshold, and the signal quality and height conditions of second measurement report configuration are fulfilled, or if the first height threshold is smaller than the second height threshold and the current height of the UE is higher than a value based on the second height threshold, if the first height threshold is smaller than the second height threshold and the current height of the UE is higher than a value based on the second height threshold and the signal quality and height conditions of the second measurement report configuration are fulfilled, or the third height threshold is larger than the fourth height threshold, or the third height threshold is larger than the fourth height threshold and the signal quality and height conditions of the second measurement report configuration are fulfilled, or the third height threshold is larger than the fourth height threshold and the current height of the UE is less than a value based on the fourth height threshold, or the third height threshold is larger than the fourth height threshold and the signal quality and height conditions of the second measurement report configuration are fulfilled and the current height of the UE is less than a value based on the fourth height threshold, then one or more of: not applying the first measurement report configuration; not triggering transmission of the first measurement reports to the base station; and not including the measurement reporting entry in the list for the first measurement ID.

A twelfth aspect includes the method of aspects 7-11, wherein the first or the second measurement report is transmitted in an RRC message.

A thirteenth aspect includes a method for triggering transmission of a first or second measurement report from an aerial user equipment (UE) to a base station, comprising: receiving a first and second measurement identifier (ID) from the base station, wherein each of the first and second measurement IDs are associated with a same measurement object and a respective first and second measurement report configuration, and the measurement report configuration specifies a signal quality condition and height condition for triggering transmission of the first or the second measurement report to the base station; and transmitting the second measurement report to the base station, wherein the second measurement report comprises a current height of the UE.

A fourteenth aspect includes the method of aspect 13, wherein the second measurement report is transmitted in an RRC message.

A fifteenth aspect includes a method for providing a flight path of an aerial user equipment (UE) to a base station, comprising: receiving a first RRC message from the UE indicating the flight path is available; transmitting a second RRC message to the UE requesting the flight path; and receiving a third RRC message from the UE reporting the flight path, wherein the flight path comprises a plurality of waypoints, and each waypoint comprises a location of the UE.

A sixteenth aspect includes the method of aspect 15, further comprising: transmitting an indicator to the UE that configures whether flight path update notification is allowed based on one or more waypoint (s) are outdated.

A seventeenth aspect includes the method of aspects 15 or 16, further comprising: receiving a notification from the UE that the flight path has been updated due to an outdated waypoint; and determining whether to request the updated flight path based on the notification.

An eighteenth aspect includes a device for wireless communication comprising: a processor; and a memory in communication with the processor, the memory storing a plurality of instructions executable by the processor to cause the device to: implement the method of any preceding aspect.

A nineteenth aspect includes a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions operable, when executed by one or more processors, to: implement the method of any preceding aspect.

Claims

A method for providing a flight path of an aerial user equipment (UE) to a base station, comprising:

transmitting a first RRC message to the base station indicating the flight path is available;

receiving a second RRC message from the base station requesting the flight path; and

transmitting a third RRC message to the base station reporting the flight path; wherein

the flight path comprises a plurality of waypoints; and

each waypoint comprises a location of the UE.
The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining one or more waypoint (s) are outdated; and

based on a rule, determining whether to notify the base station that the flight path is available.
The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an indicator from the base station;

determining one or more waypoint (s) are outdated; and

based on the indicator, determining whether to notify the base station that the flight path is available.
The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining one or more waypoint (s) are outdated; and

notifying the base station that the flight path has been updated due to an outdated waypoint.
The method of claim 4, wherein,

the notifying occurs via an indicator in the first RRC message.
The method of any one of claims 2, 3, or 4, wherein each waypoint further comprises:

timestamp information describing when the UE will reach the location.
A method for triggering transmission of a first or second measurement report from an aerial user equipment (UE) to a base station, comprising:

receiving a first and second measurement identifier (ID) from the base station; wherein

each of the first and second measurement IDs are associated with a same measurement object and a respective first and second measurement report configuration; and

the measurement report configuration specifies a signal quality condition and height condition for triggering transmission of the first or the second measurement report to the base station; and

determining one or more of:

whether the measurement report configuration associated with the first measurement ID should be applied;

whether the first measurement report associated with the first measurement ID should be triggered and transmitted to the base station; or

whether a measurement reporting entry for the first measurement ID should be included within a list.
The method of claim 7, wherein,

the height condition of the first measurement report configuration is configured with a first height threshold;

the height condition of the second measurement report configuration is configured with a second height threshold; and

the determining further comprises one or more of:

determining a relationship between the first height threshold and the second height threshold;

determining whether the signal quality condition and the height condition of the second measurement report configuration is met; or

determining a current height of the UE.
The method of claim 7, wherein,

the height condition of the first measurement report configuration is configured with a third height threshold;

the height condition of the second measurement report configuration is configured with a fourth height threshold; and

the determining further comprises:

determining a relationship between the third height threshold and the fourth height threshold;

determining whether the signal quality condition and the height condition of the second measurement report configuration is met; or

determining a current height of the UE.
The method of one of claims 8 or 9, wherein,

if the first height threshold is larger than the second height threshold, and the current height of the UE is higher than a value based on the second height threshold; or

if the first height threshold is smaller than the second height threshold, and the signal quality and height conditions of second measurement report configuration are not fulfilled; or

if the first height threshold is smaller than the second height threshold, and the current height of the UE is higher than a value based on the first height threshold and below than a value based on the second height threshold; or

if the third height threshold is smaller than the fourth height threshold, and the current height of the UE is lower than a value based on the fourth height threshold; or

if the third height threshold is larger than the fourth height threshold, and signal quality and height conditions of the second measurement report configuration is not fulfilled; or

if the third height threshold is larger than the fourth height threshold, and the current height of the UE is lower than a value based on the third height threshold and higher than a value based on the fourth height threshold;

then one or more of:

applying the first measurement report configuration;

triggering transmission of the first measurement reports to the base station; or

including the measurement reporting entry in a measurement report list for the first measurement ID.
The method of one of claims 8 or 9, wherein,

if the first height threshold is smaller than the second height threshold; or

if the first height threshold is smaller than the second height threshold, and the signal quality and height conditions of second measurement report configuration are fulfilled; or

if the first height threshold is smaller than the second height threshold and the current height of the UE is higher than a value based on the second height threshold;

if the first height threshold is smaller than the second height threshold and the current height of the UE is higher than a value based on the second height threshold and the signal quality and height conditions of the second measurement report configuration are fulfilled; or

the third height threshold is larger than the fourth height threshold; or

the third height threshold is larger than the fourth height threshold and the signal quality and height conditions of the second measurement report configuration are fulfilled; or

the third height threshold is larger than the fourth height threshold and the current height of the UE is less than a value based on the fourth height threshold; or

the third height threshold is larger than the fourth height threshold and the signal quality and height conditions of the second measurement report configuration are fulfilled and the current height of the UE is less than a value based on the fourth height threshold;

then one or more of:

not applying the first measurement report configuration;

not triggering transmission of the first measurement reports to the base station; and

not including the measurement reporting entry in the list for the first measurement ID.
The method of claim 7, wherein,

the first or the second measurement report is transmitted in an RRC message.
A method for triggering transmission of a first or second measurement report from an aerial user equipment (UE) to a base station, comprising:

receiving a first and second measurement identifier (ID) from the base station; wherein,

each of the first and second measurement IDs are associated with a same measurement object and a respective first and second measurement report configuration; and

the measurement report configuration specifies a signal quality condition and height condition for triggering transmission of the first or the second measurement report to the base station; and

transmitting the second measurement report to the base station, wherein the second measurement report comprises a current height of the UE.
The method of claim 13, wherein,

the second measurement report is transmitted in an RRC message.
A method for providing a flight path of an aerial user equipment (UE) to a base station, comprising:

receiving a first RRC message from the UE indicating the flight path is available;

transmitting a second RRC message to the UE requesting the flight path; and

receiving a third RRC message from the UE reporting the flight path; wherein

the flight path comprises a plurality of waypoints; and

each waypoint comprises a location of the UE.
The method of claim 15, further comprising:

transmitting an indicator to the UE that configures whether flight path update notification is allowed based on one or more waypoint (s) are outdated.
The method of claim 15, further comprising:

receiving a notification from the UE that the flight path has been updated due to an outdated waypoint; and

determining whether to request the updated flight path based on the notification.
A device for wireless communication comprising:

a processor; and

a memory in communication with the processor, the memory storing a plurality of instructions executable by the processor to cause the device to:

implement the method of one of claims 1, 7, 13, or 15.
A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions operable, when executed by one or more processors; to:

implement the method of one of claims 1, 7, 13, or 15.