WO2025069206A1 - Terminal, wireless communication method, and base station - Google Patents

Abstract

A terminal according to an aspect of the present disclosure comprises: a reception unit that receives information about at least one of transmission beam sweeping accompanied by repetition, reception beamforming for the transmission beam sweeping, and a virtual aperture for the transmission beam sweeping; and a control unit that controls, on the basis of said information, sensing which uses at least one of the transmission beam sweeping, the reception beamforming, and the virtual aperture.

Description

Terminal, wireless communication method and base station

This disclosure relates to terminals, wireless communication methods, and base stations in next-generation mobile communication systems.

Long Term Evolution (LTE) was specified for Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) networks with the aim of achieving higher data rates and lower latency (Non-Patent Document 1). In addition, LTE-Advanced (3GPP Rel. 10-14) was specified for the purpose of achieving higher capacity and greater sophistication over LTE (Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP (registered trademark)) Release (Rel.) 8, 9).

Successor systems to LTE (e.g., 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), 5G+ (plus), 6th generation mobile communication system (6G), New Radio (NR), 3GPP Rel. 15 and later, etc.) are also under consideration.

3GPP TS 36.300 V8.12.0 “Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) and Evolved Univers al　Terrestrial　Radio　Access　Network　(E-UTRAN);　Overall　description;　Stage 2　(Release　8)”, April 2010

Wireless sensing is being considered for future wireless communication systems (e.g., NR).

However, the details of wireless sensing have not been fully considered. If the details of wireless sensing are not clear, there is a risk that sensing quality/communication quality will decrease.

Therefore, one of the objectives of this disclosure is to provide a terminal, a wireless communication method, and a base station that improve the resolution/accuracy of wireless sensing.

A terminal according to one aspect of the present disclosure has a receiver that receives information on at least one of a transmit beam sweeping with repetition, a receive beam forming for the transmit beam sweeping, and a virtual aperture for the transmit beam sweeping, and a controller that controls sensing using at least one of the transmit beam sweeping, the receive beam forming, and the virtual aperture based on the information.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, it is possible to improve the resolution/accuracy of wireless sensing.

1A and 1B show an example of a monostatic sensing scenario at a BS or a UE. 2A and 2B show an example of a scenario of inter-BS or inter-UE bistatic sensing. 3A and 3B show an example of a bistatic sensing scenario between a BS and a UE. FIG. 4 shows an example of DMRS bundling. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a transmit antenna design for realizing VA. 6A and 6B are diagrams showing an example of the arrangement of transmitting and receiving antennas. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a ULA antenna. 8A and 8B are diagrams showing examples of antenna ports relating to Option 1-1-1 and Option 1-1-2. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of an antenna port according to option 1-1-3-1. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an antenna port according to option 1-1-3-2. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a sensing antenna port according to embodiment A1-2. 12A and 12B are diagrams showing an example of the use of antenna ports according to embodiment A2. 13A and 13B are diagrams showing another example of the use of antenna ports according to embodiment A2. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of resources for multiple sensing antenna ports according to embodiment A3-1. 15A and 15B are diagrams showing an example of resource allocation according to embodiment A3-2-1. 16A and 16B are diagrams showing an example of signal allocation to sensing antenna ports according to embodiment A3-2-2. FIG. 17 shows an example of time resources of a pair of sensing UL and sensing DL. FIG. 18 shows an example of a receiving window. FIG. 19 shows an example of multiple pairs of sensing DL and sensing UL time resources. FIG. 20 shows an example of case 1-1 of embodiment B1-1. FIG. 21 shows an example of case 1-2 of embodiment B1-1. FIG. 22 shows an example of case 2-1 of embodiment B1-1. FIG. 23 shows an example of case 2-2 of embodiment B1-1. FIG. 24 shows an example of case 3 of embodiment B1-1. FIG. 25 shows an example of case 1 of embodiment B1-2-1. FIG. 26 shows an example of case 2 of embodiment B1-2-1. 27A to 27D show an example of Type 1 of embodiment B1-3-1. 28A to 28D show an example of Type 3 of embodiment B1-3-1. FIG. 29 shows an example of option 1 of embodiment B1-3-2. 30A and 30B show an example of embodiment B1-3-3. 31A and 31B show an example of the propagation distance in option 1 of embodiment B2-1. FIG. 32 shows another example of the propagation distance in option 1 of embodiment B2-1. FIG. 33 shows an example of a slot format in option 1 of embodiment B2-1. FIG. 34 shows an example of a slot format in option 2 of embodiment B2-1. 35A and 35B show an example of a slot format in option 1 of embodiment B2-1. 36A and 36B show examples of slot formats in options 2 and 3 of embodiment B2-1. 37A and 37B show an example of a slot format in option 4 of embodiment B2-1. 38A and 38B show an example of beam sweeping. FIG. 39 shows an example of one beam sweeping within two sensing bursts. 40A and 40B show an example of a beam for sensing services. FIG. 41 shows an example of beam sweeping related parameters. FIG. 42 shows an example of MIMO method 1-1. FIG. 43 shows an example of MIMO method 1-2. FIG. 44 shows an example of MIMO method 2-1. FIG. 45 shows an example of MIMO method 2-2. Figure 46 shows an example of a Tx-Rx beam pair in a communication system or UE positioning based on PRS/SRS. FIG. 47 shows an example of multiple Tx-Rx beam pairs. FIG. 48 shows an example of a MIMO method using Rx sensing beam sweeping. FIG. 49 shows an example of a MIMO method without Rx sensing beam sweeping. FIG. 50 shows an example of sweeping four Tx-Rx beams in monostatic sensing using BF/VA. FIG. 51 shows an example of sweeping 16 Tx-Rx beams in bistatic sensing using BF. FIG. 52 shows an example of sweeping four Tx beams in bistatic sensing using VA. FIG. 53 shows an example of a location and tracking sensing service. FIG. 54 shows an example of monostatic sensing of one sensing station. 55A and 55B show an example of monostatic sensing of multiple cooperative sensing stations. 56A and 56B show an example of bistatic sensing from the BS to the UE or from the UE to the BS. 57A and 57B show an example of bistatic sensing from BS1 to BS2 or from UE1 to UE2. FIG. 58 shows an example of beam sweeping and beam management procedure 1. FIG. 59 shows an example of beam sweeping and beam management procedure 2. FIG. 60 shows an example of Tx sensing beam sweeping with beam level repetition. FIG. 61 shows an example of Tx sensing beam sweeping with burst level repetition. FIG. 62 shows an example of Tx sensing beam sweeping with multiple beam level repetition. FIG. 63 shows an example of Rx sensing beam sweeping with repetition in monostatic sensing. FIG. 64 shows an example of Rx sensing beam sweeping with repetition in bistatic sensing. FIG. 65 shows an example of a beam sweeping and beam management procedure with repetition. 66A to 66D show an example of Tx antenna placement and time/frequency domain resource placement in TDMed-VA. 67A to 67C show an example of Tx sensing beam sweeping in TDMed-VA. 68A and 68B show an example of beam level TDMed-VA with iteration. 69A and 69B show an example of burst level TDMed-VA with repetition. FIG. 70 shows an example of Method 1 using repetition/EA/pulse integration. FIG. 71 shows an example of method 2 using VA. FIG. 72 shows an example of a method for flexibly using EA and VA. FIG. 73 shows an example of a beam sweeping and beam management procedure with iterations. FIG. 74 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a wireless communication system according to one embodiment. FIG. 75 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a base station according to one embodiment. FIG. 76 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a user terminal according to an embodiment. FIG. 77 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a base station and a user terminal according to an embodiment. FIG. 78 is a diagram showing an example of a vehicle according to an embodiment.

(integrated sensing and communications: ISAC)
The motivation of ISAC is to achieve high sensing performance and new/extended services by using various frequencies and cellular network equipment, and optimize network parameters by analyzing real-time sensing data. Use cases and possible requirements for the extension of 5G systems to provide sensing services to address different target industries/applications are considered, and some use cases may also include non-3GPP type (non-wireless communication type) sensors (e.g., radar, camera).

For example, use case 1 is sensing for traffic management in tourist destinations. For example, use case 2 is intruder detection in a smart home environment.

ISAC is considering sensing-assisted communication and communication-assisted sensing. As sensing-assisted communication, sensing-assisted beam management and sensing-assisted resource allocation are considered. As communication-assisted sensing, network sensing and coordinated sensing are considered. To realize these, waveforms, beamforming, artificial intelligence (AI)/deep learning (DL) operation radio access technology (RAT), frame structure, and reference signals are considered. In addition, as shared spectrum, hardware, and algorithms for ISAC, higher frequency bands, larger antenna arrays, and similar signal processing algorithms for communication and sensing are considered.

In ISAC, the challenges are a unified waveform that simultaneously meets the requirements for communication (e.g., OFDM signal) and sensing (e.g., chirp signal), ISAC beamforming that simultaneously realizes communication (e.g., transmission signal, reception signal) and sensing (e.g., echo signal, transmission signal, reflection signal) by beamforming, and interference suppression between them, and CSI mining by AI that uses AI/DL networks to extract sensing information from channel information for communication (e.g., UL transmission signal) and radar (e.g., DL radar signal).

Three types of radar and communication systems are being considered based on whether the communication and radar (sensing) systems share hardware/bands. The three types are independent radar and communication systems (independent systems), joint radar and communication systems (joint systems), and integrated radar and communication systems (integrated systems). The following focuses on ISAC systems in which hardware and bands are shared between radar and communication systems.

(Wireless Sensing)
Wireless sensing based on communication radio waves is a key enabler for the prospect of 6G cyber physical systems (CPS). ISAC can be realized by 5G-advanced (A) and 6G with the development of higher frequencies and wider bandwidths. The design of ISAC waveforms and sensing reference signals (RS) are key technologies for the realization of wireless sensing.

Use cases for ISAC include the metaverse, high altitude platform station (HAPS) sensing, and crowd estimation. HAPS may be an aircraft with an altitude of about 20 km, and may be used in a non-terrestrial network (NTN).

HAPS sensing realizes ultra-remote distance sensing using echo signals with the support of communication functions. Considering that the sensing distance depends on the strength of the echo signal, a sensing form or sensing sequence with extremely low peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) is required to improve the SNR of the echo signal under a given transmission power.

(Sensing Method)
Conventional communication systems include communication between one BS (base station, gNB) and one UE, and joint transmission between multiple BSs and one UE. Conventional radar systems include monostatic radars in which one radar transmits a radar signal and the radar receives an echo from a sensing target, and bistatic/multistatic radars in which one radar transmits a radar signal and one or more radars receive an echo from a sensing target.

Independent systems use separate hardware and separate frequency bands for radar and communications. The separate hardware may be co-located or in separate locations.

A joint system uses the same hardware and separate frequency bands for radar and communications.

A unified system uses the same hardware and the same frequency bands for radar and communications.

Sensing in the ISAC system can be achieved by any of the following sensing methods:
- Monostatic sensing: Monostatic sensing using the idea of monostatic radar. This sensing method requires one BS or one UE and sensing is done by echo signals. In this sensing method, there is no BS-BS or UE-UE or BS-UE cooperation. The use case of this sensing method is for example imaging using terahertz.
- Bistatic/multistatic sensing: bistatic/multistatic sensing using bistatic/multistatic radar. This sensing method requires two or more BSs or two or more UEs and senses by reflected signals. The use case of this sensing method is, for example, positioning.
- UE-assisted sensing: Sensing aided by UE using the idea of NR positioning. This sensing method requires a BS and a UE, and sensing is performed by communication (UL/DL) signals. In this sensing method, the existing 5G NR framework works. In this sensing method, a UE is required, and both line of sight (LOS) and non line of sight (NLOS) sensing require high computational complexity. A use case of this sensing method is, for example, breath monitoring.

[Monostatic sensing]
The sensing method includes BS (gNB) monostatic sensing (FIG. 1A) and UE monostatic sensing (FIG. 1B).

A scenario suitable for monostatic sensing has the following characteristics:
- The sensing target is in the vicinity of the sensing BS/UE and high or medium SNR of the echo signal is required.
- The target does not have to have communication capabilities.

The capability requirements for monostatic sensing have the following characteristics:
- High capacity is required due to full duplex at the BS or UE.

The performance of monostatic sensing has the following characteristics:
- No quantization is used, resulting in high accuracy.
- The accuracy is related to the SNR of the echo signal.
- Latency is short.

[Bistatic sensing/multistatic sensing]
This sensing method includes bistatic sensing from BS to BS (BS-BS, BS1-BS2, gNB-to-gNB, gNB1-to-gNB2) (Figure 2A), bistatic sensing from UE to BS (UE-BS, UE-to-gNB) (Figure 2B), bistatic sensing from BS to UE (BS-UE, gNB-to-UE) (Figure 3A), and bistatic sensing from UE to UE (UE-UE, UE1-UE2, UE-to-UE, UE1-to-UE2) (Figure 3B).

A scenario suitable for BS-BS bistatic sensing has the following characteristics:
- Tight synchronization and coordination between BSs is required, and scheduling coordination among multiple BSs is necessary.
- The target does not have to have communication capabilities.

The capability requirements for BS-BS bistatic sensing have the following characteristics:
- Because it is half duplex, even lower capacity can be achieved.
- High capacity is required for synchronization between BSs.

The performance of BS-BS bistatic sensing has the following characteristics:
- No quantization is used, resulting in high accuracy.
- The accuracy is related to the SNR of the echo signal.
- The latency is medium.

Scenarios suitable for UE-BS bistatic sensing, BS-UE bistatic sensing, and UE-UE bistatic sensing have the following characteristics:
- It is required that there are communicating UEs around the target.

The capability requirements for UE-BS bistatic sensing have the following characteristics:
- Because it is half duplex, even lower capacity can be achieved.
- High UE positioning accuracy is required.

The capability requirements for BS-UE bistatic sensing and UE-UE bistatic sensing have the following characteristics:
- Because it is half duplex, even lower capacity can be achieved.
The UE needs sufficient computational resources and high accuracy of reflected signal detection.
- High UE positioning accuracy is required.

The performance of UE-BS bistatic sensing, BS-UE bistatic sensing, and UE-UE bistatic sensing has the following characteristics:
- Quantization of the feedback values results in medium accuracy.
- The accuracy is related to the deployed resources and the UE location.
- The latency is long.

In each of the embodiments described below, the following scenarios and assumptions may be used.
- In ISAC scenarios, communication and sensing capabilities are required.
- For low complexity and backward compatibility, TDD (half duplex) may be envisaged instead of full duplex at the BS and UE.

In a TDD-based ISAC system, it is preferable that the sensing signal and the reflected/echo signal are transmitted and received in different time resources. For example, in BS-based sensing, including monostatic BS sensing and bistatic BS1 to BS2 sensing, the sensing signal is preferably transmitted in DL time resources and the reflected/echo signal is preferably received in UL time resources. For example, in UE-based sensing, including monostatic UE sensing and bistatic UE1 to UE2 sensing, the sensing signal is preferably transmitted in UL time resources and the reflected/echo signal is preferably received in DL time resources. In bistatic BS to UE sensing, it is preferable that the DL time resource is used for sensing. In bistatic UE to DL sensing, it is preferable that the UL time resource is used for sensing.

(Key performance indicators (KPIs) for sensing (from a use case perspective))
ISAC's KPIs considered include area or range coverage of the sensing service, resolution (distance/speed), latency, refreshing rate, probability of non-detection or detection, confidence level, and false detection.

The KPIs considered for NR positioning were location accuracy, velocity accuracy, heading accuracy, timestamp accuracy, availability, latency, time to first decision, update rate, power consumption, energy per decision, and system scalability.

Different KPIs may apply for different use cases. Some KPIs for sensing and positioning may be the same. The same KPIs may apply for at least some of the use cases in sensing and positioning. Thus, the design for NR positioning may become the baseline for sensing.

(NR communication frame structure)
In NR, a radio frame is fixed at 10 ms, a subframe is fixed at 1 ms, and a slot is defined as 14 OFDM symbols.

Numerology and CP length define the time characteristics of the OFDM symbol and the frequency characteristics of the PRB. Numerology (Subcarrier Spacing (SCS) setting) can be one of μ = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (corresponding to SCS Δf = 2 ^μ 15 kHz = 15, 30, 60, 120, 240, 480, 960 [kHz] respectively). SCS and duration of symbols/slots change with numerology. CP length can be either normal CP or extended CP. When normal CP is used, the number of symbols per slot is 14. When extended CP is used, the number of symbols per slot is 12. Extended CP is supported only in 60 kHz SCS (μ = 2).

For _Tc =1/( _Δfmax · _Nf ), _Δfmax =480kHz, _Nf =4096, constant κ= _Ts / _Tc , _Ts =1/(Δfref· _{Nf ,ref} ), _Δfref =15kHz, and Nf _,ref =2018, the normal CP length is (144κ·2 ^-μ +16κ)· _Tc in symbols with symbol indexes 0 and 7, and 144κ·2-μ·Tc in the remaining symbols. The extended CP length is 512κ·2 ^-μ · _Tc . The OFDM symbol length is 2048κ·2 ^{- μ} · _Tc . In _FR1 , μ is 0 to 2. In FR2-1, μ is 2 to 4, and μ=4 is used for SS/PBCH blocks only. In FR2-2, μ is 3 to 6.

The slot format defines the UL/DL/flexible resource allocation within one slot (14 OFDM symbols). The slot format indicates how each of the multiple symbols within a single slot is used (which symbols are used for UL and which symbols are used for DL in a particular slot). Existing standards allow 61 predefined combinations of multiple symbols within a slot.

The Guard Period (GP) is the switching gap between UL and DL. The UL/DL transition times defined in the existing specifications are 13.02 μs for FR1 and 7.01 μs for FR2. A UE not capable of full-duplex communication is not expected to transmit an UL in the same cell sooner than N _Rx-Tx T _c after the end of the last received DL symbol, or to transmit an UL in the same cell sooner than N _Tx-Rx T _c after the end of the last transmitted UL symbol.

The duration of the guard period must provide four effects:
- the air propagation time ( _Tproc ).
- Sufficient transition time when the transmitter changes between defined ON/OFF power levels (T _off->on , T _on->off ).
- Sufficient time for changing between transmit and receive modes at the UE and BS (T _Tx->Rx , T _RX->Tx ).
Placement of a margin for cell phase synchronization error (T _sync ).

With respect to the lower layer perspective, there are some constraints (or considerations):
A guard period of a certain length (a certain number of guard symbols) is required when switching from DL to UL to avoid collisions between DL reception and UL transmission.
- No guard period is required when switching from UL to DL. Timing advance (TA) is used to align DL and UL. RF propagation delay is expected to be around 300ms to 1μs.

(DMRS bundling: Physical layer procedures for data/Physical uplink shared channel related procedure/UE procedure for transmitting the physical uplink shared channel/UE procedure for determining time domain windows for bundling DM-RS (Rel.17))
[Nominal TDW]
In the case where pusch-DMRS-Bundling is enabled for PUSCH transmission of PUSCH repetition type A scheduled by DCI format 0_1 or 0_2, PUSCH repetition type A with configured grant, PUSCH repetition type B, and TB processing over multiple (TBoMS), and in the case where PUCCH-DMRS-Bundling is enabled for PUCCH transmission of PUCCH repetition, the UE determines one or more nominal time domain windows (TDWs) as follows:

For PUSCH transmissions of PUSCH repetition type A, PUSCH repetition type B and TBoMS, the duration of each nominal TDW, except for the last nominal TDW, expressed in number of consecutive slots, shall be as follows:
-- If pusch-TimeDomainWindowLength is set, the duration is given by it.
-- If pusch-TimeDomainWindowLength is not set, its duration is calculated as min(maxDurationDMRS-Bundling,M), where maxDurationDMRS-Bundling is the maximum duration of the nominal TDW according to the UE capabilities, and M is the duration in consecutive slots of N·K PUSCH transmissions, where N and K are as follows:
---For PUSCH transmission of PUSCH repetition type A, N=1 and K is the number of repetitions.
---For PUSCH transmission of PUSCH repetition type B, N=1 and K is the nominal number of repetitions.
---For PUSCH transmission of TBoMS, N is the number of slots used for transport block size (TBS) determination, and K is the number of repetitions of the number of slots N used for TBS determination.

- For PUCCH transmissions of PUCCH repetitions, the duration of each nominal TDW, except the last one, expressed in number of consecutive slots, shall be as follows:
-- If pucch-TimeDomainWindowLength is set, the duration is given by it.
-- If pucch-TimeDomainWindowLength is not configured, its duration is calculated as min(maxDurationDMRS-Bundling,M), where maxDurationDMRS-Bundling is the maximum duration of the nominal TDW according to the UE capabilities, and M is the duration in consecutive slots from the first slot determined for PUCCH transmission of the PUCCH repetition to the last slot determined for PUCCH transmission of the PUCCH repetition.

- For PUSCH transmissions of PUSCH repetition type A scheduled by DCI format 0_1 or 0_2 and PUSCH repetition type A with configuration grant when AvailableSlotCounting is enabled, and for PUSCH transmissions of TBoMS, the nominal TDW shall be as follows:
-- The start of the first nominal TDW is the first slot determined for the first PUSCH transmission.
-- The end of the last nominal TDW is the last slot determined for the last PUSCH transmission.
--The start of any other nominal TDW is the first slot determined for PUSCH transmission after the last slot determined for PUSCH transmission of the previous nominal TDW.

- For PUSCH transmissions of PUSCH repetition type A scheduled by DCI format 0_1 or 0_2 and PUSCH repetition type A with configuration grant when the UE is not configured with AvailableSlotCounting or AvailableSlotCounting is disabled, and for PUSCH transmissions of PUSCH repetition type B, the nominal TDW shall be as follows:
-- The start of the first nominal TDW is the first slot of the first PUSCH transmission.
-- The end of the last nominal TDW is the last slot of the last PUSCH transmission.
-- The start of any other nominal TDW is the first slot after the last slot of the previous nominal TDW.

-For PUCCH transmission with PUCCH repetition, the nominal TDW shall comply with:
-- The start of the first nominal TDW is the first slot determined for the first PUCCH transmission.
-- The end of the last nominal TDW is the last slot determined for the last PUCCH transmission.
-- The start of any other nominal TDW is the first slot determined for PUCCH transmission after the last slot determined for PUCCH transmission of the previous nominal TDW.

pusch-TimeDomainWindowLength sets the nominal TDW length for PUSCH DMRS bundling in number of consecutive slots. Its value must not exceed the maximum duration for PUSCH DMRS bundling as specified in the UE radio access capability specification. In PUSCH repetition type A/B, if this field is not present, the UE applies a default value that is the minimum of the duration for all PUSCH repetitions transmissions and the maximum duration for PUSCH DMRS bundling in units of consecutive slots as specified in the UE radio access capability specification. In TBoMS, if this field is not present, the UE applies a default value that is the minimum of the duration of TBoMS transmissions and the maximum duration for PUSCH DMRS bundling in units of consecutive slots as specified in the UE radio access capability specification.

[Actual TDW]
For PUSCH transmissions of PUSCH repetition type A scheduled by DCI format 0_1 or 0_2, PUSCH repetition type A with configuration grant, PUSCH repetition type B, and TB processing spanning multiple slots, the nominal TDW consists of one or more actual TDWs. The UE determines the actual TDW as follows:

- The start of the first actual TDW is the first symbol of the first PUSCH transmission in a slot for any PUSCH transmission within the nominal TDW for PUSCH repetition type A scheduled by DCI format 0_1 or 0_2, PUSCH repetition type A with configuration grant, PUSCH repetition type B, or TB processing across multiple slots.

The end of the actual TDW is as follows:
-- When the actual TDW reaches the end of the last PUSH transmission within the nominal TDW, the end of the actual TDW is the last symbol of the last PUSH transmission in a slot for any of the following PUSH transmissions within the nominal TDW: PUSH repetition type A scheduled by DCI format 0_1 or 0_2, PUSH repetition type A with configuration grant, PUCH repetition type B, and TB processing spanning multiple slots.
-- If an event occurs within the nominal TDW that causes power consistency and phase continuity to be not maintained across any of the PUSCH transmissions, namely, PUSCH repetition type A scheduled by DCI format 0_1 or 0_2, PUSCH repetition type A with configuration grant, PUSCH repetition type B, and TB processing spanning multiple slots, and the PUSCH transmission is within a slot for any of the PUSCH transmissions, namely, PUSCH repetition type A scheduled by DCI format 0_1 or 0_2, PUSCH repetition type A with configuration grant, PUSCH repetition type B, and TB processing spanning multiple slots, then the end of the actual TDW is the last symbol of the PUSCH transmission prior to the event.

- If pusch-WindowRestart is enabled, the start of a new actual TDW is the first symbol of a PUSCH transmission within the nominal TDW after an event that causes power consistency and phase continuity to be not maintained across any of the PUSCH transmissions scheduled by DCI format 0_1 or 0_2, PUSCH repetition type A with configuration grant, PUSCH repetition type B, and TB processing over multiple slots, and that PUSCH transmission is within a slot for any of the PUSCH transmissions scheduled by DCI format 0_1 or 0_2, PUSCH repetition type A with configuration grant, PUSCH repetition type B, and TB processing over multiple slots.

[Joint Channel Estimation]
The BS estimates the DMRS of PUSCH/PUCCH across multiple slots for improved channel estimation accuracy. To enable joint channel estimation of DMRS across multiple slots at the BS, the UE transmits multiple DMRS (DMRS bundles) for multiple PUSCH/PUCCH transmissions while maintaining power consistency and phase continuity within the actual TDW (Figure 4).

The actual TDW is determined based on the nominal TDW and an event. The UE terminates the actual TDW before an event that causes power consistency and phase continuity to not be maintained. For example, events are frequency hopping (FH), timing advance (TA), downlink slots in unpaired spectrum, dropping of PUSCH/PUCCH, etc. Events can be classified as dynamic events and semi-static events. Dynamic events are events triggered by MAC CE or DCI other than FH and UL beam switching for multi-TRP operation (e.g., TA adjustment). Semi-static events are events triggered by RRC parameters (e.g., DL slots configured by tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon/Dedicated) other than events such as FH and UL beam switching for multi-TRP operation.

(TB processing over multiple (TBoMS))
For a PUSCH scheduled by DCI format 0_1 or DCI format 0_2, if numberOfSlotsTBoMS is present and is greater than 1, the UE shall apply the TBoMS procedure when determining time domain resource allocation.

For PUSCH repetition type A and TBoMS, the starting symbol S for the start of the slot and the number of consecutive symbols L placed in the PUSCH, counting from symbol S, are determined from the start and length indicator SLIV of the indexed row.

In TBoMS, when transmitting a PUSCH scheduled with DCI format 0_1 or 0_2 in a PDCCH with CRC scrambled with C-RNTI, MCS-C-RNTI, or CS-RNTI with NDI=1, the UE shall comply with the following.
- The number of slots N used for TBS determination is indicated by numberOfSlotsTBoMS.
The number of repetitions K of the number of slots N used for TBS determination is determined as follows:
-- If numberOfRepetitions exists in the resource allocation table, the number of repetitions K is equal to numberOfRepetitions.
--Otherwise, K=1.
If a UE supports TBoMS repetition, it does not expect N·K to be greater than 32.

TBoMS allows for coding gain through a lower coding rate, and bandwidth can be reduced by distributing TBs across multiple slots.

The PUSCH in each of the N slots is placed in the same symbol.

(Sensing performance)
Long-range sensing scenarios (e.g., High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) sensing) and high-resolution imaging scenarios require high angular resolution and estimation accuracy, and thus related techniques are needed to improve sensing performance.

Angular resolution is affected by the antenna aperture, which can be improved by a virtual aperture (VA) or multi-input multi-output (MIMO) radar. Estimation accuracy is affected by the resolution and SINR or SNR. SINR can be improved by low PAPR signals and energy accumulation (EA) or pulse integration (PI).

To improve sensing accuracy, it is preferable to use a higher SNR in the sensing channel/signal. Higher transmission power in the sensing channel/signal may cause increased interference to sensing/communication. Therefore, it is possible to transmit the sensing channel/signal using lower power multiple times.

To improve the resolution and accuracy of the sensing distance, it is preferable to use a wider bandwidth (BW). Transmitting a wider bandwidth in a single transmission is difficult, especially in the case where the UE transmits the sensing channel/signal. Therefore, it is possible to transmit a single channel/signal with a narrower bandwidth multiple times on different frequency resources.

Sweeping the narrow beam multiple times may be useful before obtaining information about the target's coarse location.

Possible sensing parameters include distance, angle, and speed. Possible KPIs include resolution (separable difference) and accuracy (error). The relationship between the sensing parameters, the KPIs, and the influencing factors for the KPIs is as follows:
- The range resolution is given by ΔR=c/2B, the influencing factor for it is the bandwidth B.
- The range accuracy is given by σ _R = ΔR/sqrt(2·SINR) = c/(2B·sqrt(2·SINR)), influenced by the following factors: bandwidth B, SINR, radar cross section (RCS) and algorithm.
- The angular resolution is given by θ _3dB =0.886λ/D, the influencing factors for which are the antenna aperture D, the frequency.
- The angular accuracy is given by σ _θ =θ _3dB /(1.6·sqrt(2·SINR)), with the following influencing factors: antenna aperture D, SINR, RCS, and algorithm.
The velocity resolution is given by Δv=(λ/2)·Δf _d =λ/(2T), with the influencing factors being the duration T (or overhead) of the signal for sensing, and the frequency.
The accuracy of the rate is given by σ _v =Δv/sqrt(2·SINR)=λ/(2MT·sqrt(2·SINR)), with the influencing factors being the duration T, the SINR, the RCS and the algorithm.
The factors affecting the sensing range of distance, angle, and speed (maximum measurable distance, maximum measurable angle (viewing angle), maximum measurable speed) are the transmission power, frequency, and RCS.

Thus, sensing resources (bandwidth, time, antenna aperture) affect the resolution, and SINR affects the sensing accuracy.

(Method of improving SNR)
Pulse integration in conventional radar: In pulsed radar, the required detection performance cannot typically be achieved using a single pulse. Pulse integration is used to improve the SNR by summing signal samples and averaging out noise and interference. Pulse integration may follow at least one of several methods:
- Coherent integration adds multiple samples in phase and increases the available SNR by the number of pulses integrated. Coherent integration is not always possible depending on the RCS fluctuation of the target, which may result in a coherent processing interval (CPI) that is too short to collect enough samples. _{X ij} is the (i,j)th entry of the M row and N column of pulse X. The coherent integration of multiple pulses in X is given by Y _i =Σ _j=1 ^N X _ij .

- Noncoherent integration discards the phase information of the signal and combines the squared magnitude of multiple samples of the signal. Noncoherent integration has a lower integral gain than coherent integration. X _ij is the (i,j)th entry of M row and N column of pulse X. The noncoherent (video) integral of multiple pulses in X is given by Y _i =sqrt(Σ _j=1 ^N |X _ij | ² ).

Application in ISAC system: Coherent integration is considered as ISAC EA. Low SNR due to increased sensing range is a major issue. EA can improve the SNR of echo signals. At longer sensing distances, more accumulations are required.

(Angular resolution improvement method)
In MIMO radar, the angular resolution is related to the number of Rx antennas, N, and is approximately 2/N. MIMO radar requires proper arrangement of Tx/Rx antennas and multiple orthogonal channels on multiple different Tx antennas. The multiple orthogonal channels are, for example, TDM/FDM/CDM. For example, NM Rx antennas (spacing d) are arranged for N Tx antennas (spacing Md, TDM).

Traditional MIMO radar: By designing the Tx/Rx antenna arrangement and orthogonal signals across multiple Tx antennas, a larger VA can be achieved for better angular resolution.

The application of MIMO radar in an ISAC system may follow at least one of the following approaches:

- ISAC Hybrid Duplex adds a new Tx antenna for sensing with a larger antenna spacing. The Tx antenna spacing is equal to the aperture of the multiple Rx antennas. VA is achieved using the new Tx antenna and multiple orthogonal signals that are TDMed. A new additional Tx antenna and associated hardware is required for the sensing signal, increasing cost and complexity.

For example, in the (x, y) _direction , if the Rx antenna spacing is ( _dx , _dy ), the Tx antenna spacing is ( _Lxdx , _Lydy ), and the number of Tx antennas is ( _ηx , _ηy ), then the virtual Rx antenna spacing in _the VA is ( _dx , _dy ), and the number _of virtual Rx antennas is ( _ηxLx , _ηyLy ) _.

- ISAC THz imaging designs a completely new Tx antenna and a new Rx antenna. The horizontal spacing of the Tx antennas is wavelength λ. The vertical spacing of the Rx antennas is wavelength λ. CA is realized using the new Tx/Rx antennas and multiple orthogonal signals that are TDM and CDM. New Tx/Rx antennas and hardware are required for sensing, which increases the cost and is unsuitable for communication.

For example, if the Tx antenna spacing in the x direction is λ and the number of Tx antennas is M, and the Rx antenna spacing in the y direction is λ and the number of Rx antennas is N, then the number of virtual Rx antennas in the (x, y) direction is (x, y).

(VA-based angular resolution improvement method)
In order to reduce costs, there are plans to repurpose digital antennas in current communication systems for sensing.

However, VA in conventional MIMO radar systems requires specific transmit/receive antenna spacing design and hardware configuration.

Below, we explain one example of a method for achieving VA.

The transmit antennas may be divided into multiple transmit groups. The transmit precoding for each transmit group and the virtual transmit antenna spacing after precoding may be designed to achieve VA.

Each transmission group may include one or more transmit antennas.

When a group contains multiple transmit antennas, it results in a higher SNR but a smaller VA.

To achieve higher sensing performance, it is necessary to design an optimal number of transmitting antennas and transmitting groups.

Note that each transmission group may be composed of one transmission antenna. In this case, transmission precoding does not need to be performed.

Also, for systems with the same transmit/receive antennas (e.g., dynamic TDD systems), antennas may be assigned semi-statically/dynamically for transmit and receive to achieve the expected VA.

The system model targeted by the VA may be a model that uses monostatic sensing of one or more targets. In monostatic sensing, the angle of arrival (Angle of Arrival (AoA)) and the angle of departure (Angle of Departure (AoD)) of the signal at the object performing the sensing (e.g., a sensing station (e.g., a base station/terminal)) are equal.

In addition, the system model targeted by the VA may be a model that uses sensing other than monostatic sensing of one or more targets.

Figure 5 shows an example of a transmit antenna design for realizing VA. In this example, first, the actual transmit antennas are grouped, and each transmit antenna is divided into transmit groups 1 to 4. These divided transmit groups are generated as Tx VAs (virtual Tx aperture, antennas).

Then, a receiving antenna corresponding to each transmission group is designed to realize an Rx VA (virtual Rx aperture). The placement of each receiving antenna may be based on the position of each transmission group. In this example, each receiving antenna is composed of 8 x 4 antenna elements.

Here, due to the presence of an inappropriate Tx VA, there may be non-expected/unnecessary antenna spacing (e.g., the central (horizontal) row of the aperture shown in this example (shown by the dashed line)) and virtual antenna overlap (e.g., the central (vertical) column of the aperture shown in this example (shown by the dashed line)).

Thus, this unexpected antenna spacing and virtual antenna overlap is corrected, and the expected Rx VA is achieved.

There are several possible configurations for the transmitting and receiving antennas.

For example, both the transmitting and receiving antennas may be located on one panel (antennas allocation case 1, see Figure 6A).

Also, for example, the transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna may be arranged separately on different panels (antenna arrangement case 2, see Figure 6B).

(Antenna Arrangement Case 1: VA with Tx/Rx Antenna Arrangement)
In antenna arrangement case 1, N antennas spaced at half wavelength (λ/2) intervals may be utilized/repurposed for transmission and reception. In other words, an antenna arrangement using a total of N antennas for transmission and reception may be required.

For example, in the case of N Uniform Linear Array (ULA) antennas, 2M antennas may be used for transmission and N-2M antennas may be used for reception.

In this case, for example, the 2M transmit antennas may be positioned at the two ends of the ULA antenna and defined as two transmit groups, each having M transmit antennas (see Figure 7).

In such an antenna arrangement, orthogonal signals may be transmitted from the two transmission groups to achieve VA. The orthogonal signals may be, for example, signals that are orthogonal in time/frequency/space/code resources.

Beamforming with beam sweeping may be performed on multiple antennas in one transmission group.

There may be a gap between the transmit antenna distance required by the VA and the virtual transmit antenna distance between transmit groups realized by transmit antenna selection and beamforming.

To correct this gap, a two-step estimation algorithm may be used.

In a two-step estimation algorithm, first, a coarse estimation may be performed based on the signal transmitted (beam-sweeping) by a certain transmitting group (e.g., transmitting group 1) (step 1).

Then, the angle estimated in step 1 may be used to fix/correct the received signal of another transmission group (e.g., transmission group 2), and the angle may be estimated using the fixed/corrected signal and the VA (step 2).

The two-step estimation algorithm achieves higher performance than existing methods by implementing VA, and achieves high SNR gains without hardware modifications.

Evaluation results show that in a single target scenario, the optimal M for minimum RMSE, two Tx groups, may follow at least one of the following observations.
Observation 1: The optimal number M of Tx antennas in each Tx group decreases with SNR and is 1 for high SNR. Low SNR leads to a large M due to beamforming gain. High SNR leads to a small M due to angular resolution.
Observation 2: The root mean square error (RMSE) performance of the VA scheme with optimal M is better than that of the existing VA scheme including true VA. The Tx/Rx antennas of the existing VA scheme are fixed. It cannot be dynamically changed based on the SNR condition.

(Antenna Arrangement Case 2: VA without Tx/Rx Antenna Arrangement)
In a dynamic TDD system without Tx/Rx allocation (e.g., HAPS sensing), all antennas can be used for transmission and reception. In the Tx period, Tx beamforming using beam sweeping is performed. In the Rx period, reception using omnidirectional and processing using a digital synthesizer are performed. The echo signal for beam sweeping at T1 and the echo signal for beam sweeping at T2 are combined.

In the evaluation results of the new VA method and the existing EA method for antenna arrangement case 2, with the required SNR for chirp (-22 dB) and the same overhead, the angular RMSE of the new VA method and the existing EA method are 0.02° and 0.4°, respectively. Regarding HAPS sensing performance, the new VA method supports wireless sensing of HAPS at an altitude of 20 km, a coverage radius of 15 km, an AoA of 37°, and an angular error of 0.02°. The position error is reduced from 176 m to 8.8 m.

(analysis)
Possible ISAC MIMO schemes include ISAC MIMO beamforming and ISAC VA.

In ISAC MIMO beamforming, sensing beams can be generated to cover a predefined sensing area.

The ISAC VA can particularly improve the angular resolution and accuracy of the signal.

ISAC MIMO beamforming and ISAC VA have in common the use of multiple antennas at both the transmitter and receiver.

On the other hand, in ISAC MIMO beamforming, all transmit antennas are used, while in ISAC VA, some transmit antennas may be used.

In addition, with ISAC MIMO beamforming, the same signal can correspond to different antennas, while with ISAC VA, different signals can correspond to different antennas.

In addition, ISAC MIMO beamforming uses directional beamforming, while ISAC VA does not use directional beamforming.

　To date, designs of spacing/positions of transmitting/receiving antennas for sensing that are different from the half-wavelength spacing in communication systems have been considered, but there has been insufficient consideration of the design of spacing/positions of transmitting/receiving antennas with half-wavelength spacing (e.g., for realizing/generating VA).

In addition, there has been insufficient consideration given to the configuration/definition of antenna ports (e.g., antenna ports for sensing) to support the ISAC MIMO system.

In addition, there has been insufficient consideration given to the configuration/definition of orthogonal signals for multiple antenna ports (e.g., for realizing/generating VA).

(Consider)
EA is being considered to improve SNR, and VA is being considered to improve angular resolution without increasing the physical antenna aperture.

EA/repetition is a time domain technique. Beamforming (BF) and VA are spatial domain MIMO techniques for improving the sensing angle resolution. EA/repetition and BF are used to improve the sensing SNR. BF and VA are used to improve the sensing angle resolution.

EA and VA are suitable for different requirements or scenarios, which may be combined with the ISAC system or dynamically set based on a specific scenario. For better SNR (beamforming gain), beamforming may be required in the ISAC system. Due to the narrow beam width caused by beamforming, beam sweeping is required for complete coverage of the sensing area.

However, there has been no sufficient consideration as to how beam sweeping for EA and VA is supported and how it is designed. Also, there has been no sufficient consideration as to how coupling and switching between EA and VA is supported and how it is designed.

The inventors therefore investigated beam management methods for sensing.

The following describes in detail the embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to the drawings. Each of the following embodiments (e.g., each case) may be used alone, or at least two of them may be combined and applied.

In this disclosure, "A/B" and "at least one of A and B" may be interpreted as interchangeable. Also, in this disclosure, "A/B/C" may mean "at least one of A, B, and C."

In this disclosure, terms such as notify, activate, deactivate, indicate, select, configure, update, and determine may be read as interchangeable terms. In this disclosure, terms such as support, control, capable of control, operate, and capable of operating may be read as interchangeable terms.

In this disclosure, Radio Resource Control (RRC), RRC parameters, RRC messages, higher layer parameters, fields, information elements (IEs), settings, etc. may be interchangeable. In this disclosure, Medium Access Control (MAC Control Element (CE)), update commands, activation/deactivation commands, etc. may be interchangeable.

In the present disclosure, the higher layer signaling may be, for example, any one of Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, Medium Access Control (MAC) signaling, broadcast information, other messages (e.g., messages from the core network such as positioning protocol (e.g., NR Positioning Protocol A (NRPPa)/LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP)) messages), or a combination of these.

In the present disclosure, the MAC signaling may use, for example, a MAC Control Element (MAC CE), a MAC Protocol Data Unit (PDU), etc. The broadcast information may be, for example, a Master Information Block (MIB), a System Information Block (SIB), Remaining Minimum System Information (RMSI), Other System Information (OSI), etc.

In the present disclosure, the physical layer signaling may be, for example, Downlink Control Information (DCI), Uplink Control Information (UCI), etc.

In this disclosure, "having the ability to..." may be read interchangeably as "supporting/reporting the ability to..."

In the present disclosure, a _b , a_b, and a with b added to the lower right of a may be read as interchangeable. In the present disclosure, a ^c , a^c, and a with c added to the upper right of a may be read as interchangeable. In the present disclosure, a _b ^c , a_b^c, and a with b added to the lower right of a and c added to the upper right may be read as interchangeable. In the present disclosure, ceil(x), ceiling function, and ceiling function may be read as interchangeable. In the present disclosure, floor(x), floor function, and floor function may be read as interchangeable. In the present disclosure, sqrt(x ⁾ , square root (root), and square root may be read as interchangeable. In the present disclosure, x 〜 may be expressed by adding 〜 above ^x , and may be called x tilde. In the present disclosure, x - may be expressed by adding - above x, and may be called x bar. In this disclosure, x mod y, mod(x, y), a mod function, and a modulo operation may be interpreted as being interchangeable.

The following abbreviations may be used in this disclosure:
- time division multiplexing: TDM
- time-division-multiplexed: TDM - frequency division multiplexing: FDM
- frequency-division-multiplexed: FDM - code division multiplexing: CDM
- code-division-multiplexed: CDM - Next Generation-Radio Access Network: NG-RAN
- Access and Mobility Management Function: AMF
- Secure User Plane Location: SUPL
- SUPL Location Platform: SLP
- Location Management Function: LMF
- Sensing function: SF
- LTE Positioning Protocol: LPP
- NR Positioning Protocol A: NRPPa
- terrestrial network: TN
- non-terrestrial network: NTN

The Xn interface is open. It supports the exchange of signaling information between two NG-RAN nodes and the transfer of PDUs to their respective tunnel endpoints. From a logical point of view, Xn is a point-to-point interface between two NG-RAN nodes. A point-to-point logical interface is possible even if there is no direct physical connection between the two NG-RAN nodes.

The F1 interface is open. It supports the exchange of signaling information between multiple endpoints and also supports data transmission to each endpoint. From a logical point of view, F1 is a point-to-point interface between two endpoints. A point-to-point logical interface is possible even when there is no direct physical connection between the two endpoints. The F1 interface supports separation of the control plane and the user plane. The F1 interface separates the radio network layer and the transport network layer. The F1 interface allows the effect of information associated with the UE and information not associated with the UE. The F1 interface is designed with a view to the future to meet various new requirements and to support new services and new functions. One gNB-CU and one set of multiple gNB-DUs are seen by other logical nodes as a gNB or an en-gNB. The gNB terminates the Xn interface and the NG interface. The en-gNB terminates the X2 interface and the S1-U interface. The gNB-CU may be separated into a control plane (CP) and a user plane (UP).

In this disclosure, sensing, wireless sensing, and measurement may be interchangeable. In this disclosure, measurement value, measurement result, and sensing information may be interchangeable. In this disclosure, location (positioning), positioning, position, position measurement, position estimation, measurement value, estimated value, measurement result, and sensing may be interchangeable.

In the present disclosure, sensing target, target, target, non-UE target, UE target, and sensing target may be interchangeable. In the present disclosure, a sensing target may or may not have communication capabilities. In the present disclosure, a sensing target may include a UE. In the present disclosure, a UE target, a target with communication capabilities, a target device, and a UE may be interchangeable. In the present disclosure, a non-UE target and a target without communication capabilities may be interchangeable.

In the present disclosure, the first signal, communication signal, RS, radar signal, hybrid communication and radar signal, integrated signal, ISAC signal, sensing signal, and signal transmitted by a transmitter may be interchangeable. In the present disclosure, the second signal, echo signal, signal impacted by an object, signal reflected by an object, signal refracted by an object, signal diffracted by an object, signal transmitted and received by a sensing transceiver, and signal received by a receiver may be interchangeable.

In the present disclosure, a UE, a base station (BS), a station, a node, a sensing station, a sensing transmitting station, a sensing receiving station, a sensing node, a sensing entity, a sensing device, a wireless communication device, an IAB, a repeater, a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver, and a target may be interchangeable. In the present disclosure, transmission, Tx, and a transmitter may be interchangeable. In the present disclosure, reception, Rx, and a receiver may be interchangeable. In the present disclosure, a transmitter, a sensing transmitting station, and a transmitting node may be interchangeable. In the present disclosure, a receiver, a sensing receiving station, and a receiving node may be interchangeable. In the present disclosure, a transmitter may be a BS/UE/wireless communication device/transmitter/receiver. In the present disclosure, a receiver may be a BS/UE/wireless communication device/transmitter/receiver. In the present disclosure, a transmitter and a receiver may be one BS/UE/wireless communication device/transmitter/transmitter/transmitter. In this disclosure, a transmitter and receiver in the same location, a transceiver, an integrated transceiver, a BS, a UE, and a sensing station may be interchangeable.

In this disclosure, server, sensing server, positioning server, 5GC, core network, LMF, AMF, SF, SLP, BS, network (NW), management function, and function may be interpreted as interchangeable.

In this disclosure, the terms base station (BS), NG-RAN node, gNB, ng-eNB, NG-RAN, RAN, network (NW), TRP, TP, and RP may be interchangeable.

In this disclosure, antenna port, sensing antenna port, sensing antenna port, ISAC antenna port, and ISAC antenna port may be interpreted as interchangeable.

In this disclosure, time domain resources, one or more symbols/subslots/slots/subframes/radio frames may be interpreted as interchangeable.

In this disclosure, frequency domain resources, one or more REs (subcarriers)/RBs/resource block groups (RBGs)/RB sets/subbands/BWPs/CCs/cells/carriers/bands may be interpreted as interchangeable.

In this disclosure, coherence, maintaining power consistency and phase continuity may be interchangeable. In this disclosure, coherent repetitive bundling, coherent bundling, joint channel estimation of bundles, joint measurement of bundles, TBoMS, coherent estimation may be interchangeable.

In this disclosure, sweeping, switching, and hopping may be interpreted as interchangeable.

In this disclosure, the repetition factor, aggregation factor, and number of repetitions may be interpreted as interchangeable.

In the present disclosure, information/settings/instructions for sensing channels/signals, measurement resource settings for sensing channels/signals, sensing measurement resource settings, measurement resource settings, transmission resource settings for sensing channels/signals, sensing transmission resource settings, transmission resource settings, and information/settings/instructions for multiple repetitions of signals for sensing may be interpreted as interchangeable.

In the present disclosure, Tx beam, sensing Tx beam, and spatial domain Tx filter may be interchangeable. In the present disclosure, Rx beam, sensing Rx beam, and spatial domain Rx filter may be interchangeable. In the present disclosure, Tx-Rx beam, Tx-Rx beam pair, sensing Tx-Rx beam, and sensing Tx-Rx beam pair may be interchangeable. In the present disclosure, beam, Tx beam, Rx beam, sensing beam, spatial domain filter, QCL type D RS, QCL type D source RS, and TCI state may be interchangeable.

In this disclosure, SNR and SINR may be interpreted as interchangeable.

In this disclosure, phase 1, beam sweeping, and position determination may be interchangeable. In this disclosure, phase 2, beam management, beam tracking, and tracking may be interchangeable.

(Wireless communication method)
<Embodiment A1>
(Analysis 1)
In existing communication systems with only communication functions (e.g., NR), antenna ports are defined in logic and there is no explicit relationship between antenna ports and actual antennas/hardware.

In terms of polarization in existing communication systems, cross-polarization is defined as two ports.

Furthermore, for panels in existing notification systems, in the case of a base station (BS)/UE having multiple panels (multi-panel), the panel/antenna port group is explicitly/implicitly defined for the transmitter/receiver.

In (existing/future) ISAC VA, transmit antennas/transmit groups/transmit antenna groups can be explicitly defined.

However, there has been insufficient consideration on how to define antennas (transmitting antennas)/antenna groups to support ISAC MIMO schemes (e.g., ISAC VA/ISAC MIMO transmission).

Therefore, in the following embodiment A1, the definition of the sensing antenna port will be explained.

An antenna port for sensing (hereinafter, sensing antenna port) may be defined.

The sensing antenna port may be associated with the antenna.

The association may be, for example, an explicit association or an implicit association.

<Embodiment A1-1>
A sensing antenna port may be associated with an antenna/antenna group.

The association may be, for example, an explicit association.

The association may be, for example, based on antenna hardware/antenna location.

The UE/BS may determine/decide on the association, for example, according to at least one of options 1-1-1 to 1-1-3 below.

[Option 1-1-1]
The sensing antenna ports may be defined by polarization.

For example, an antenna with a first value of polarization (e.g., polarization index=1) may be defined as a sensing antenna port with a first value/index (e.g., antenna port 0) and an antenna with a second value of polarization (e.g., polarization index=2) may be defined as a sensing antenna port with a second value/index (e.g., 1).

For example, linear polarization may be used for the polarization. The linear polarization may be, for example, X-polarization based on a first angle (e.g., +45°) and a second angle (e.g., -45°). In this case, the first angle may correspond to a first value of polarization and a sensing antenna port with a first value/index (e.g., 0), and the second angle may correspond to a second value of polarization and a sensing antenna port with a second value/index (e.g., 1).

Furthermore, the polarization may be, for example, circular polarization. In this case, right hand circular polarization (RHCP) may correspond to a sensing antenna port with a first value/index (e.g., 0) (or a sensing antenna port with a second value/index (e.g., 1)), and left hand circular polarization (LHCP) may correspond to a polarization with a second value and a sensing antenna port with a second value/index (e.g., 1) (or a sensing antenna port with a first value/index (e.g., 0)).

Linear polarization may be used, for example, in a terrestrial network (Terrestrial Network (TN)).

Circular polarization may be used, for example, in non-terrestrial networks (NTNs, e.g., networks that use satellites).

Furthermore, the polarization may be, for example, a combination of linear polarization and circular polarization. In this case, for example, a first angle (e.g., +45°) may correspond to a sensing antenna port with a first value/index (e.g., 0), a second angle (e.g., -45°) may correspond to a second value of polarization and a sensing antenna port with a second value/index (e.g., 1), a RHCP may correspond to a sensing antenna port with a third value/index (e.g., 2), and a LHCP may correspond to a fourth value of polarization and a sensing antenna port with a second value/index (e.g., 3).

With this method, there is no need to instruct the UE/BS on whether to use linear or circular polarization, reducing signaling overhead.

Note that the above responses are merely examples, and responses other than those above may be adopted.

FIG. 8A shows an example of antenna ports for option 1-1-1. In this example, on a single panel, an antenna with +45° polarization corresponds to sensing antenna port 0 (shown in solid lines) and an antenna with -45° polarization corresponds to sensing antenna port 1 (shown in dashed lines).

Option 1-1-1 allows for simple and clear definition of antenna ports, making implementation easier.

[Option 1-1-2]
The sensing antenna port may be defined by the panel.

The association of the sensing antenna port may be, for example, the same as the association for the communication antenna port.

One or more panel/antenna port groups may correspond to one sensing antenna port (sensing antenna port index).

For example, a first panel/antenna port group (multiple panels/antenna port groups) may correspond to a sensing antenna port with a first value/index (e.g., 0). Also, for example, a second panel/antenna port group (multiple panels/antenna port groups) may correspond to a sensing antenna port with a second value/index (e.g., 1).

The number (maximum number) of panels implemented for sensing may be defined. The number (maximum number) of panels may be, for example, 4.

For example, a panel (panel antenna) with a first index (e.g., 0), a panel (panel antenna) with a second index (e.g., 1), a panel (panel antenna) with a third index (e.g., 2), and a panel (panel antenna) with a fourth index (e.g., 3) may correspond to a sensing antenna port with a first value/index (e.g., 0), a sensing antenna port with a second value/index (e.g., 1), a sensing antenna port with a third value/index (e.g., 2), and a sensing antenna port with a fourth value/index (e.g., 3), respectively.

For example, a panel (panel antenna) with a first index (e.g., 0) and a panel (panel antenna) with a second index (e.g., 1) may correspond to a sensing antenna port with a first value/index (e.g., 0), and a panel (panel antenna) with a third index (e.g., 2) and a panel (panel antenna) with a fourth index (e.g., 3) may correspond to a sensing antenna port with a second value/index (e.g., 1).

Figure 8B shows an example of antenna ports for option 1-1-2. This example shows a multi-panel (panel 1 and panel 2) case, with sensing antenna port 0 corresponding to panel 1 (panel 1 antenna) and sensing antenna port 1 corresponding to panel 2 (panel 2 antenna).

In addition, if the distance/spacing between the antennas in each panel is a and the distance/spacing between the antennas of adjacent panels is b, then if a=b, the multi-panel is defined as a uniform panel, and if a≠b, the multi-panel is defined as a non-uniform panel.

　Option 1-1-2 makes it easier to define sensing antenna ports by associating them with panels in the same way as communication antenna ports/antenna port groups.

[Option 1-1-3]
The sensing antenna ports may be defined by antennas/antenna groups (groupings).

[Option 1-1-3-1]
The antenna groups (antenna groupings) may be based on the antenna groups in ISAC VA.

One antenna group may correspond to one sensing antenna port.

Option 1-1-3-1 allows existing antennas with half-wavelength distances/spacing, including existing UE/BS, to be used for ISAC VA, resulting in cost reduction.

Figure 9 shows an example of antenna ports for option 1-1-3-1. In this example, multiple antennas in a single panel are grouped into antenna groups 1 to 4, each consisting of four antennas.

In this example, the antennas in antenna group 1 correspond to sensing antenna port 0, the antennas in antenna group 2 correspond to sensing antenna port 1, the antennas in antenna group 3 correspond to sensing antenna port 2, and the antennas in antenna group 4 correspond to sensing antenna port 3.

[Option 1-1-3-2]
One antenna may correspond to one sensing antenna port.

Option 1-1-3-2, for example, would enable cost reduction and easier implementation by defining it in a similar way to MIMO radar.

Figure 10 shows an example of antenna ports for option 1-1-3-2. In this example, one sensing antenna port (sensing antenna ports 0 to 3) corresponds to each different antenna.

Note that if the horizontal distance/spacing between antennas in one panel is A and the horizontal distance/spacing between antennas in one panel is B, A may be equal to B or A may not be equal to B.

In addition, at least two of the above options 1-1-1 to 1-1-3 may be combined.

The combination may be, for example, a combination of some polarizations/panels/antennas/antenna groups.

For example, for one polarization, the above options 1-1-2 and 1-1-3 may be combined. In this case, for example, the antenna of the first polarization on the first panel (panel 1) may correspond to a sensing antenna port with a first value/index (e.g., 0), and the antenna of the first polarization on the second panel (panel 2) may correspond to a sensing antenna port with a second value/index (e.g., 1).

Furthermore, for example, for one panel, the above options 1-1-1 and 1-1-3 may be combined. In this case, for example, the first polarized antenna in the first panel (panel 1) may correspond to a sensing antenna port with a first value/index (e.g., 0), and the second polarized antenna in the first panel (panel 1) may correspond to a sensing antenna port with a second value/index (e.g., 1). Furthermore, the first and second polarized antennas in the second panel (panel 2) may correspond to a sensing antenna port with a third value/index (e.g., 2).

Note that the above responses are merely examples, and responses other than those above may be adopted.

According to embodiment A1-1 described above, it is possible to appropriately specify an antenna that is suitable for any sensing method (e.g., ISAC MIMO beamforming in both monostatic and bistatic sensing) and that achieves better estimation performance of ISAC VA.

<Embodiment A1-2>
The sensing antenna ports may be defined in logic.

An explicit association between the sensing antenna port and real hardware (e.g., an antenna) does not need to be specified (see Figure 11).

The antennas for each sensing antenna port may depend on the implementation of the UE/BS performing the sensing.

Embodiment A1-2 is particularly suitable for monostatic sensing without multi-BS/UE cooperation in the case of ISAC VA.

According to embodiment A1-2, it is possible to reduce the impact on specifications and provide a configuration suitable for ISAC MIMO beamforming in both monostatic and bistatic sensing.

<<Embodiment A1-3>>
The sensing antenna port may not be defined.

The BS/UE may use (reuse) antenna ports used for communication for sensing.

According to embodiment A1-3, the impact on specifications can be reduced, making it easier to implement in UE/BS.

According to the above embodiment A1, the sensing antenna port can be appropriately defined/used.

<Embodiment A2>
(Analysis 2)
The sensing antenna ports defined in the above embodiment A1 can be used for MIMO transmission (including beamforming and VA generation).

The number of sensing antenna ports and the number of antennas on each port may vary based on the sensing service/requirements. For example, the number of sensing antenna ports and the number of antennas on each port may vary based on at least one of the sensing SNR, sensing range, angular resolution, and accuracy requirements.

In such cases, there has been insufficient consideration given to how to indicate/set the number of sensing antenna ports and the number of antennas per sensing antenna port.

Therefore, in the following embodiment A2, the indication/setting of the sensing antenna port will be explained.

Information related to the sensing antenna ports of the BS/UE may be predefined.

Information related to the sensing antenna ports of the BS/UE may be semi-statically/dynamically instructed/configured to the UE/BS.

The BS/UE may determine/decide the sensing antenna port based on information related to the sensing antenna port and perform sensing using that sensing antenna port.

Information related to the BS/UE sensing antenna ports may be reported by the UE.

The information related to the sensing antenna port may include, for example, at least one of the following information:
- Number of sensing antenna ports.
The index of the sensing antenna port of the sensing station (eg, BS/UE).
Definition/definition method of sensing antenna port/antenna for each sensing antenna port.

The method of defining the sensing antenna port/antenna may include, for example, the number/position of the sensing antenna port/antenna.

The number of sensing antenna ports may, for example, indicate the number of sensing antenna ports that are actually used, or may indicate the maximum number of sensing antenna ports that can be used, or may indicate both.

The index of the sensing antenna port may, for example, indicate the index of the sensing antenna port that is actually used, or may indicate a candidate index of a sensing antenna port that may be used, or may indicate both.

In this disclosure, information related to the sensing antenna port, settings/instructions related to the sensing antenna port, and settings/instructions for information related to the sensing antenna port may be interpreted interchangeably.

Information related to the sensing antenna port may be indicated using a specific interface/signaling.

For example, the UE may receive information related to the sensing antenna port from at least one of other UEs, a BS, and a specific network node (e.g., an LMF/SF (Sensing Function)) using the specific interface/signaling.

For example, the BS may receive information related to the sensing antenna port from at least one of other BSs, UEs, and specific network nodes (e.g., LMF/SF (Sensing Function)) using the specific interface/signaling.

The specific interface may be, for example, an Xn/X2 interface defined in an existing/future wireless communication system. The specific signaling may be, for example, specific signaling between BSs performing sensing. These interfaces/signaling may be used for, for example, at least one of monostatic BS sensing with BS cooperation, BS-BS bistatic sensing with BS cooperation, and BS-BS bistatic sensing without BS cooperation.

Furthermore, the specific interface may be, for example, a sidelink/PC5 interface. The specific signaling may be, for example, specific signaling between UEs performing sensing. These interfaces/signaling may be used, for example, for at least one of monostatic UE sensing with UE cooperation, UE-UE bistatic sensing with UE cooperation, and UE-UE bistatic sensing without UE cooperation.

Furthermore, the specific interface may be, for example, a Uu interface. The specific signaling may be, for example, specific signaling between a UE (for example, a sensing UE) and a BS (for example, a sensing BS). These interfaces/signaling may be used, for example, for bistatic sensing between a UE and a BS (for example, UE-BS or BS-UE).

The specific signaling between the UE (e.g., sensing UE) and the BS (e.g., sensing BS) may be, for example, higher layer signaling (e.g., SIB/RRC/MAC CE), physical layer signaling (e.g., DCI/UCI), or a combination of these.

The particular signaling may be, for example, F1-AP (Application Protocol) signaling from a DU (Distribution Unit)/CU (Central Unit). In this case, the IAB may be used for the signaling.

The particular signaling may be signaling related to the instruction/setting of the LMF/SF.

Predefined/indicated sensing antenna ports may be associated with sensing capabilities.

The settings/instructions related to the sensing antenna port may be reconfigured, for example, by the BS (e.g., sensing BS)/LMF/SF. The settings/instructions related to the sensing antenna port may be updated/reported, for example, by the UE (e.g., sensing UE).

The reconfiguration/update/reporting of settings/instructions related to the sensing antenna port may be based, for example, on the sensing service/requirements/coverage area/reception quality (e.g., SNR/SINR).

The number/index of sensing antenna ports for each sensing station (e.g., BS/UE) may be determined based on, for example, the service/requirements/coverage area/reception quality for sensing.

The number of antennas for each sensing antenna port may be determined based on, for example, the number of antenna ports (required number)/reception quality.

For example, different time-frequency resources/antenna ports may be used for multiple sensing services corresponding to different sensing requirements. The UE/BS may determine the time-frequency resources/antenna ports based on the sensing service corresponding to the sensing requirements.

For example, two antenna ports may be used for two sensing services.

For example, a first sensing antenna port may be used for a first service. The first service may be, for example, intruder detection. The first sensing antenna port may be, for example, an antenna port with a first value/index (e.g., 0) and may be used for beam sweeping.

For example, a second sensing antenna port may be used for a second service, which may be, for example, localization and tracking. The second sensing antenna port may be, for example, an antenna port with a second value/index (e.g., 1) and may be used for beamforming.

Also, for example, multiple sensing antenna ports may be used for multiple sensing areas. The UE/BS may determine the sensing antenna port based on the sensing area.

For example, two sensing antenna ports may be used for two separate sensing areas. For example, a first sensing antenna port (e.g., an antenna port with a first value/index (e.g., 0)) may be used for a first sensing area, and a second sensing antenna port (e.g., an antenna port with a second value/index (e.g., 1)) may be used for a second sensing area.

For example, one sensing antenna port may be used for one sensing area. In this case, for example, multiple (e.g., all) antennas of the sensing antenna port may be used.

FIG. 12A shows an example of antenna port usage in embodiment A2. In this example, sensing antenna port 0 is used for sensing area 1, and sensing antenna port 1 is used for sensing area 2.

FIG. 12B shows another example of antenna port usage in embodiment A2. In this example, one sensing antenna port 0 is used for one sensing area.

The number of antennas for a sensing antenna port may also be determined based on, for example, the reception quality related to sensing (e.g., SNR/SINR).

For example, if the reception quality (SNR/SINR) is higher than a certain threshold (e.g., for a relatively small sensing area), one sensing antenna port may include fewer antennas than the certain threshold. In this configuration, more antennas can produce better angular resolution.

For example, when the reception quality (SNR/SINR) is lower than a certain threshold (e.g., in the case of a relatively large sensing area (larger than a certain threshold)), one sensing antenna port may include more antennas than the certain threshold. By configuring in this way, sensing with high beamforming gain can be performed.

As another example of the use of antenna ports in embodiment A2, in the example shown in FIG. 13A, 12 antennas in one antenna port are used for sensing targets with a relatively low SNR. On the other hand, in the example shown in FIG. 13B, 4 antennas in one antenna port are used for sensing targets with a relatively high SNR.

Information regarding sensing services/requirements/sensing areas may be sent from a specific server/network node (e.g., LMF/SF).

Information regarding reception quality (e.g., SNR/SINR) for sensing may be measured via a specific reference signal or may be determined based on the sensing area (e.g., area radius and/or whether sensing is indoor/outdoor).

Reconfiguration (e.g., reconfiguration by the BS/network node (e.g., LMF/SF))/update/reporting (e.g., reporting by the UE) of settings/instructions related to the sensing antenna port may be performed using specific signaling described in this embodiment.

The UE may report updated sensing antenna port related configurations based on certain conditions.

The UE may also send a request to update the settings related to the sensing antenna port based on certain conditions.

The specific condition (trigger condition) may be, for example, predefined in a specification, or may be set/instructed to the UE using higher layer signaling (SIB/RRC/MAC CE)/physical layer signaling (DCI). The setting/instruction may be performed, for example, when the UE supports a report/request based on the trigger condition (or when the UE reports support for the report).

The specific conditions may be defined/set/indicated, for example, based on sensing-related services/requirements/coverage area/reception quality (e.g., SNR/SINR).

Regarding the reconfiguration/update/reporting of information related to sensing antenna ports, reconfiguration/update/reporting of information related to some (partial) sensing antenna ports may be permitted.

The UE/BS may assume that the remaining information that is not reconfigured/updated/reported will not change. The UE/BS may maintain the settings/indications from the information before the reconfiguration/update/report for the remaining information that is not reconfigured/updated/reported.

According to embodiment A2 described above, it is possible to appropriately configure/instruct the sensing antenna port.

<Embodiment A3>
(Analysis 3)
For the implementation of ISAC VA, orthogonal signals are required for multiple sensing antenna ports.

Also, to achieve ISAC MIMO beamforming, orthogonal signals are not required for multiple sensing antenna ports (using the same signal is sufficient).

As such, there has been insufficient consideration of how to allocate resources and generate signals for multiple sensing antenna ports in different ISAC MIMO schemes.

Therefore, in the following embodiment A3, resources/signals for the sensing antenna port are explained.

The allocated resources (which may simply be referred to as resources)/sensing signals (which may simply be referred to as signals) for multiple sensing antenna ports in an ISAC system may be determined based on an ISAC MIMO scheme.

In addition, in this disclosure, ISAC MIMO scheme, sensing scheme, ISAC scheme, scheme related to ISAC MIMO, scheme related to sensing, and scheme related to ISAC may be read as interchangeable.

Information regarding the sensing scheme may be set/instructed to the UE/BS using the specific interface/signaling described in embodiment A2 above. The UE/BS may determine the sensing scheme to use based on the setting/instruction by the information regarding the sensing scheme.

The UE/BS may determine the resources/signals/sequences corresponding to multiple sensing antenna ports based on information about the sensing scheme.

The UE/BS may also determine the sensing scheme to be used based on certain conditions. The certain conditions may be predefined in the specifications, or may be set/instructed to the UE/BS using a certain interface/signaling described in embodiment A2 above.

<<Embodiment A3-1>>
For example, when the sensing scheme is a first scheme (eg, ISAC MIMO beam-homing scheme), the same resources and/or signals/sequences may be assigned to multiple sensing antenna ports.

These resources may include, for example, time/frequency resources for sensing.

The signal/sequence may include, for example, at least one of a specific reference signal (e.g., PRS/SRS/CSI-RS/SSB) and a new signal/sequence (e.g., a specific chirp sequence/waveform).

FIG. 14 shows an example of resources for multiple sensing antenna ports in embodiment A3-1. In this example, sensing antenna port 0 and sensing antenna port 1 are assigned to the same time/frequency resource.

In this example, sensing beam/precoder 0 is used for the signal corresponding to sensing antenna port 0, and sensing beam/precoder 1 is used for the signal corresponding to sensing antenna port 1.

<<Embodiment A3-2>>
For example, when the sensing scheme is the second scheme (eg, the ISAC VA scheme), orthogonal (different) resources and/or signals/sequences may be assigned to multiple sensing antenna ports.

These resources may include, for example, time/frequency resources for sensing.

The signal/sequence may include, for example, at least one of a specific reference signal (e.g., PRS/SRS/CSI-RS/SSB) and a new signal/sequence (e.g., a specific chirp sequence/waveform).

[Embodiment A3-2-1]
Different sensing antenna ports may be assigned orthogonal (different) time/frequency resources.

For example, resources for the first sensing antenna port (port 0) and resources for the second sensing antenna port (port 1) may be frequency division multiplexed (FDM) (see FIG. 15A).

For example, resources for the first sensing antenna port (port 0) and resources for the second sensing antenna port (port 1) may be time division multiplexed (TDM) (see FIG. 15B).

Note that in the above two examples, the cases where each resource is FDM and TDM are shown, but each resource may be both FDM and TDM.

According to embodiment A3-2-1, resource allocation for sensing estimation can be simplified.

[Embodiment A3-2-2]
Orthogonal (different) signals/sequences (sequences of signals) may be assigned to different sensing antenna ports.

In other words, the signals for different sensing antenna ports may be signals with code division orthogonality.

For example, different RS ports of a particular RS (e.g., PRS/SRS/CSI-RS) may be assigned to different sensing antenna ports. The different RS ports may be orthogonal to each other.

FIG. 16A shows an example of signal allocation to sensing antenna ports according to embodiment A3-2-2. In this example, VAs are generated for different RS ports (RS ports 0 and 1), with RS port 0 corresponding to sensing antenna port 0 and RS port 1 corresponding to sensing antenna port 1.

Also, orthogonal chirp sequences may be assigned to different sensing antenna ports.

FIG. 16B shows another example of signal assignment to sensing antenna ports in embodiment A3-2-2. In this example, VA is generated for different chirp waveforms (chirps 0 and 1), with chirp 0 corresponding to sensing antenna port 0 and chirp 1 corresponding to sensing antenna port 1.

Also, specific codes (e.g., orthogonal cover codes/cyclic shifts) may be assigned to different sensing antenna ports.

Note that the resources/signals/sequences for each sensing antenna port in embodiment A3-2 may be configured/instructed to the UE/BS using the specific interface/signaling described in embodiment A2 above.

These settings/instructions may be set/instructed in common with the settings/instructions regarding the sensing antenna port described in embodiment A2 above, or may be set/instructed separately from the settings/instructions regarding the sensing antenna port described in embodiment A2 above.

In addition, the setting/instruction may be set/instructed together with the setting/instruction of the sensing resources (e.g., the time resources (e.g., symbols/slots)/frequency resources (e.g., subcarriers/resource blocks/resource block groups) for sensing), or may be set/instructed separately from the setting/instruction of the sensing resources.

According to the above embodiment A3, it is possible to appropriately allocate sensing antenna port resources/signals/sequences to multiple sensing antenna ports.

<Embodiment A4>
In the ISAC system, it is being considered that communication resources and sensing resources will be multiplexed in the time domain, frequency domain, space domain, power domain, and code domain.

However, there has been insufficient consideration of the details of multiplexing methods in the spatial domain, particularly between communication resources and sensing resources.

Therefore, in the following embodiment A4, the allocation of antenna ports for communication and antenna ports for sensing will be explained.

Antenna ports for communication/sensing may be predefined.

Antenna ports for communication/sensing may be assigned semi-statically/dynamically (explicitly/implicitly).

<<Embodiment A4-1>>
Antenna ports for communication and sensing (general antenna ports) may be defined.

The communication and sensing antenna ports may be antenna ports that can be used for both communication and sensing.

The communication and sensing antenna ports may be used for sensing and communication, for example, without explicitly defining a sensing antenna port.

The communication and sensing antenna ports may be configured/instructed to the UE/BS using, for example, a specific interface/signaling as described in embodiment A2 above.

The UE/BS may determine whether to use multiple communication and sensing antenna ports for communication and sensing based on the communication traffic load/sensing requirements.

For example, when the communication traffic load is higher than a certain threshold, multiple specific antenna ports (e.g., antenna ports 0 to 11) may be used for communication, and multiple other antenna ports (e.g., antenna ports 12 to 15) may be used for sensing.

For example, when sensing demand is higher than a certain threshold, multiple specific antenna ports (e.g., antenna ports 0 to 3) may be used for communication and multiple other antenna ports (e.g., antenna ports 4 to 15) may be used for sensing.

Embodiment A4-1 is particularly suitable when the same antenna design is used for sensing and communication.

According to embodiment A4-1, it is possible to design antenna ports simply and flexibly.

<<Embodiment A4-2>>
The sensing antenna port and the communication antenna port may be defined separately.

The UE/BS does not need to assume dynamic allocation/switching/adjustment of antenna ports for sensing and antenna ports for communication.

When a sensing antenna is designed/configured, the UE/BS may assume that the antenna port corresponding to that antenna will not be used for communication.

According to embodiment A4-2, antenna ports can be appropriately used in ISAC scenarios where different antenna designs are used for sensing and communication.

<Embodiment B1>
This embodiment relates to a slot format design for TDD-based monostatic sensing. A sensing station (a wireless communication device, for example, a BS or a UE) performs monostatic sensing.

<<Embodiment B1-1>>
A paired sensing DL and sensing UL time resource (time resource pair) may be designed. The length of the sensing DL and sensing UL time resource (period) may be related to the minimum and maximum echo/propagation delays.

FIG. 17 shows an example of paired sensing UL and sensing DL time resources related to a sensing area. T _D is the sensing DL time length (duration of the sensing DL time resource). T _GP is the guard period length. The guard period length may be reported as capability information or may be set by an RRC IE. T _U is the sensing UL time length (duration of the sensing UL time resource). _{T D,start} is the start time of the sensing DL time resource (sensing DL start time). _{T U,start} is the start time of the sensing UL time resource (sensing UL start time). _{T U,end} is the end time of the sensing UL time resource (sensing UL end time).

Figure 18 shows an example of a receive window (sensing UL time resource). τ _min is the minimum echo delay of the reflected sensing DL signal. τ _max is the maximum echo delay of the reflected sensing DL signal. The receive window covers all possible echo signals.

- Sensing DL time resource design: {T _D,start , T _D }
--For any value of sensing DL start time T _D,start , to ensure that echo/reflection signals from a minimum sensing distance can be received in the sensing UL time resource, the sensing DL time length T _D may be T _D +T _GP ≦τ _min , i.e., T _D ≦τ _min -T _GP . τ _min may be the minimum echo/propagation delay. T _GP may be the length of the guard period for DL-UL switching.

Design of sensing UL time resource: {T _U,start , T _U }
--To ensure that the receiver can receive echo/reflection signals from the minimum sensing distance, the sensing UL start time T _U,start may be less than τ _min , i.e., T _U,start ≦T _D,start +τ _min .
--To ensure that the receiver can receive echo/reflection signals from the minimum sensing distance, the sensing UL end time T _U,end may be greater than τ _max +T _D,start +T _D , i.e., T _U,end ≧τ _max +T _D,start +T _D.
The sensing UL time length T _U may be T _U =T _U,end -T _U,start ≧T _D +τ _max -τ _min .

If the guard period can be covered by the CP, _TGP can be set to 0. Otherwise, _TGP may be >0.

If the sensing DL time length T _D does not satisfy the sensing performance due to the above constraints, multiple pairs of sensing DL and sensing UL time resources can be used jointly for the required performance. Figure 19 shows an example of multiple pairs of sensing DL and sensing UL time resources. The receiver can improve the sensing performance by combining the received signals of multiple pairs.

- The DL sensing signal may include at least one of a specific sensing RS, an ISAC signal, and communication data for sensing. The sensing DL time length may correspond to at least one of the duration of the sensing RS, the duration of one or more DL symbols for the ISAC, and the duration of one or more DL symbols for the ISAC and communication (a system using communication data for sensing).

The following cases are possible for the time resources of a pair of sensing DL and sensing UL:

- Case 1: The guard period is covered by the CP and _TGP = 0.

-- Case 1-1: The case where the sensing DL time length T _D = τ _min and the sensing UL time length T _U ≧ τ _max . In this case, the time resources of the sensing DL and the sensing UL are adjusted. The maximum time resource for the transmitted sensing signal without the blind sensing area can achieve better sensing performance. The length of the required time resource of the paired sensing DL and sensing UL is τ _min + τ _max . It can reduce the communication resource.

As in the example of FIG. 20, T _U =τ _max is the case with maximum resource utilization.

-- Case 1-2: The case where the sensing DL time length T _D < τ _min and the sensing UL time length T _U ≥ τ _max +T _D -τ _min . In this case, the sensing DL and sensing UL time resources are not adjusted. The time resource with length τ _min -T _D between the sensing DL and sensing UL time resources can be used for sensing, communication, null (invalid), or any other function in the future. The time resource may be defined as a sensing flexible time resource or an ISAC flexible time resource. If a guard period is required, the guard period can be included in the sensing or ISAC flexible time resource. The length of the required time resource of the paired sensing DL and sensing UL may be T _D +T _U < τ _min +τ _max . The length is smaller than that in case 1-1. The smaller time resource for transmitting sensing signals may reduce the sensing performance.

As shown in the example of Fig. 21, T _U = τ _max + T _D - τ _min < τ _max is the case with maximum resource utilization. In this case, the sensing UL start time T _U,start = τ _min . The sensing UL end time T _U,end = τ _max + T _D. The ISAC/sensing flexible time resource length is τ _min - T _D.

In a sensing flexible time resource or ISAC flexible time resource, the sensing station may receive an echo signal.

- Case 2: The guard period is not covered by the CP and _TGP >0.

--Case 2-1: A case in which the sensing DL time length T _D = τ _min - T _GP and the sensing UL time length T _U ≧ τ _max - T _GP In this case, the sensing pattern is DL-GP-UL.

As shown in FIG. 22, T _U =τ _max -T _GP is the case with maximum resource utilization.

--Case 2-2: A case in which the sensing DL time length T _D < τ _min -T _GP and the sensing UL time length T _U ≧ τ _max -T _GP In this case, the sensing pattern is DL-GP-flexible-UL or DL-flexible-GP-UL.
--- DL-GP-Flexible-UL: A time resource with length τ _min -T _D between the sensing DL, GP, and sensing UL time resources can be used for sensing UL, communication UL, null, or any other function for UL in the future. The time resource may be defined as sensing flexible (or sensing UL) or ISAC flexible (or sensing UL). In the sensing flexible time resource or ISAC flexible time resource, the sensing station may receive an echo signal.
--- DL-Flexible-GP-UL: A time resource with length τ _min -T _D between the sensing DL, GP, and sensing UL time resources can be used for another sensing DL, communication DL, null, or any other function for DL in the future. The time resource may be defined as sensing flexible (or sensing DL) or ISAC flexible (or sensing DL). In the sensing flexible time resource or ISAC flexible time resource, the sensing station may transmit a sensing signal.
--- Variation: If τ _min -T _D -T _GP is greater than T _GP , the sensing flexible or ISAC flexible time resources are not limited to UL and DL.

As in the example of Fig. 23, T _U = τ _max + T _D - τ _min is the case with maximum resource utilization. In this case, the ISAC/sensing flexible time resource length is τ _min - _{T D} - T _GP . The sensing UL start time T _U,start = τ _min + T _D,start , and the sensing UL end time T _U,end = T _D,start + T _D + τ _max .

- Case 3: The guard period is covered by the ISAC/sensing flexible time resource. The length of the ISAC/sensing flexible time resource is τ _min -T _D , which is equal to or greater than the required T _GP . The guard period may be located at any position of the flexible time resource. For example, the guard period may be located at the beginning/middle/end of the flexible time resource.

As shown in the example of Fig. 24, the sensing pattern may be DL-flexible-UL. In this case, the sensing DL length T _D < τ _min -T _GP . The ISAC/sensing flexible time resource length is τ _min -T _D ≧T _GP . The sensing UL time resource length is T _U < τ _max -T _GP .

<<Embodiment B1-2>>
The configuration granularity of the sensing DL and sensing UL time resources can be designed based on both the sensing area (or echo/propagation delay) and numerology. The configuration granularity may follow at least one of the following embodiments B1-2-X.

- Implementation B1-2-1: The setting granularity of the sensing DL and sensing UL time resources may be at least one of slot level, OFDM symbol level, and other time granularity based on the minimum and maximum echo/propagation delay and numerology.

-- Case 1 (slot level): If the minimum echo/propagation delay τ _min is longer than one slot for the minimum μ (e.g. μ=0 and SCS=15kHz in NR) and the guard period is covered by the CP or the guard period length is comparable to the slot duration, then for all numerologies, the configuration granularity of the sensing DL and sensing UL time resources may be slots. _{T slot} ^μ is the slot duration for μ. As shown in FIG. 25, the number of slots N _S,D ^μ,slot for the sensing DL time resource and the number of slots N _S,U ^μ,slot for the sensing UL time resource may be defined.
－－－ N _S,D ^μ,slot ≦floor((τ _min -T _GP )/T _slot ^μ )
－－－ N _S,U ^μ,slot ≧ceil((τ _max -τ _min )/T _slot ^μ )+N _S,D ^μ,slot
---Since τ _max ≧ τ _min , N _S,U ^μ,slot ≧ N _S,D ^μ,slot .

-- Case 2 (OFDM symbol level): If the maximum echo/propagation delay τ _max is shorter than one OFDM symbol for the maximum μ (e.g. μ=6 and SCS=960kHz at NR), and the guard period is not covered by the CP, and the guard period length is comparable to the OFDM symbol duration, then for all numerologies, the configuration granularity of the sensing DL and sensing UL time resources may be an OFDM symbol. T _symbol ^μ is the OFDM symbol duration for μ. As shown in FIG. 26, the number of symbols N _S,D ^μ,symbol for the sensing DL time resource and the number of symbols N _S,U ^μsymbol for the sensing UL time resource may be defined.
－－－ N _S,D ^μ,symbol ≦floor((τ _min -T _GP )/T _symbol ^μ )
－－－ N _S,U ^μ,symbol ≧ceil((τ _max -τ _min )/T _symbol ^μ )+N _S,D ^μ,symbol
---Since τ _max ≧ τ _min , N _S,U ^μ,symbol ≧ N _S,D ^μ,symbol .

-- Case 3 (slot level and OFDM symbol level depending on numerology): The configuration granularity of the sensing DL and sensing UL time resources may be based on slot when μ≧μ ₀ , or based on OFDM symbol when μ<μ ₀ , where μ ₀ is the threshold value of μ. The first echo/propagation delay τ _min may satisfy T _slot ^μ=μ_0 ≦τ _min -T _GP <T _slot ^μ=μ_0-1 .
---For μ≧μ ₀ , the number of slots N _S,D ^μ,slot for the sensing DL time resource and the number of slots N _S,U ^μ,slot for the sensing UL time resource may be defined as in Case 1 above.
－－－－ N _S,D ^μ,slot ≦floor((τ _min -T _GP )/T _slot ^μ )
－－－－ N _S,U ^μ,slot ≧ceil((τ _max -τ _min )/T _slot ^μ )+N _S,D ^μ,slot
---Since τ _max ≧ τ _min , N _S,U ^μ,slot ≧ N _S,D ^μ,slot .
---For μ<μ ₀ , the number of symbols N _S,D ^μ,symbol for the sensing DL time resource and the number of symbols N _S,U ^μ,symbol for the sensing UL time resource may be defined as in case 2 above.
－－－－ N _S,D ^μ,symbol ≦floor((τ _min -T _GP )/T _symbol ^μ )
－－－－ N _S,U ^μ,symbol ≧ceil((τ _max -τ _min )/T _symbol ^μ )+N _S,D ^μ,symbol
---Since τ _max ≧τ _min , N _S,U ^μ,symbol ≧N _S,D ^μ,symbol .

-- Case 4 (other time granularity): The configuration granularity of the sensing DL and sensing UL time resources may be shorter than an OFDM symbol. When μ is smaller than a threshold μ ₁ , the configuration granularity may be shorter than an OFDM symbol. The configuration granularity may be 2 ^−N times the time of an OFDM symbol (N≧1).

-Embodiment B1-2-2: The configuration granularity of the sensing DL and sensing UL time resources may always be based on OFDM symbols for all numerologies. As in case 2 above, the number of slots N _S,D ^μ,slot for the sensing DL time resource and the number of slots N _S,U ^μ,slot for the sensing UL time resource may be defined.
－－－－ N _S,D ^μ,symbol ≦floor((τ _min -T _GP )/T _symbol ^μ )
－－－－ N _S,U ^μ,symbol ≧ceil((τ _max -τ _min )/T _symbol ^μ )+N _S,D ^μ,symbol
---Since τ _max ≧τ _min , N _S,U ^μ,symbol ≧N _S,D ^μ,symbol .

- Implementation B1-2-3: At least one of the settings of the slot level and the OFDM symbol level may be set/indicated by at least one of the SIB, the RRC IE, the MAC CE, and the DCI. At least one of the settings of the slot level and the OFDM symbol level may be set semi-statically or dynamically indicated.

<<Embodiment B1-3>>
The slot format and the setting method for paired time resources of the sensing DL and sensing UL may be according to at least one of the following embodiments B1-3-X.

-　Embodiment B1-3-1: In the OFDM symbol level setting granularity of embodiment B1-2, the slot format within one slot may be designed for multiple symbols that form a pair of sensing DL and sensing UL.

At least one of "sensing DL", "sensing UL", "sensing flexible", and "ISAC flexible" may be defined as the type of OFDM symbol for sensing.
---Sensing DL: Can be used to transmit sensing signals.
--- Sensing UL: can be used to receive echo/reflection sensing signals.
---Sensing flexible: can be sensing DL or sensing UL or null. Sensing flexible can be used in both sensing slots and ISAC slots.
ISAC Flexible: Can be sensing DL or sensing UL or null or existing defined for communication, "DL(D)" or "UL(U)" or "Flexible(F)". ISAC Flexible can be used in ISAC slots.

In both the sensing slot and the ISAC slot, the slot format may be designed with at least one of the following types: A type may be defined as one or more symbol pairs of sensing DL and sensing UL.
--- Type 1 (DU): Adjacent sensing DL "D (sD)" and sensing UL "U (sU)" symbols. As in the example of Fig. 27A, there may be one pair of D and U (DDUUU) in one slot. As in the example of Fig. 27B, there may be two pairs of D and U (DDUUU) in one slot. As in the example of Fig. 27C, there may be three pairs of D and U (DDDDUUUUU) in two slots. As in the example of Fig. 27D, there may be one pair of D and U (DDDDDDDDDUUUUUUUUUU) in two slots.
--- Type 2 (D-GP-U): non-adjacent sensing DL and sensing UL symbols with a guard period "GP" between the sensing DL and sensing UL symbols.
--- Type 3 (D-F-U): non-adjacent sensing DL and sensing UL symbols with at least one "F (sF)" of sensing flexible and ISAC flexible between the sensing DL and sensing UL symbols. As in the example of FIG. 28A, there may be one pair of D and U (DDFUU) in one slot. As in the example of FIG. 28B, there may be two pairs of D and U (DDFUU) in one slot. As in the example of FIG. 28C, there may be three pairs of D and U (DDFFUUUUU) in two slots. As in the example of FIG. 28D, there may be one pair of D and U (DDDDDFFFFUUUUUUUUUUU).
--- Type 4 (D-GP-FU or DF-GP-U): non-adjacent sensing DL and sensing UL symbols having at least one sensing flexible and ISAC flexible "F" and a guard period "GP" between the sensing DL and sensing UL symbols.

In both the sensing slots and the ISAC slots, the number of sensing DL and sensing UL symbol pairs in one or more slots may follow at least one of the following examples.
--- Example 1: Only one pair of sensing DL and sensing UL is supported in one slot.
--- Example 2: Multiple pairs of sensing DL and sensing UL are supported within one slot.
--- Example 3: One or more pairs of sensing DL and sensing UL are supported in multiple slots. For example, three pairs of sensing DL and sensing UL may be supported in two slots. For example, one pair of sensing DL and sensing UL may be supported in two slots.

-- In one or more ISAC slots, at least two combinations of "sensing DL", "sensing UL", "sensing flexible", "ISAC flexible", "DL", "UL", "flexible" and "GP" may be designed.

-- At least one of T _D , T _D,start , T _GP , T _U , T _U,end , T _U,start , τ _min , τ _max may be configured/indicated by the NW. The UE may calculate/identify the number of symbols for at least one of "Sensing DL", "Sensing UL", "Sensing Flexible", "ISAC Flexible", "DL", "UL", "Flexible" and "GP".
At least one of T _D , T _D,start , T _GP , T _U , T _U,end , T _U,start , τ _min , and τ _max may be set/indicated by at least one of SIB, RRC IE, MAC CE, and DCI. At least one of T _D , T _D,start , T _GP , T _U , T _U,end , T _U,start , τ _min , and τ _max may be set/indicated using units of μs, ms, or symbols. At least one candidate value of T _D,start , T _GP , T _U , T _U,end , T _U,start , τ _min , and τ _max may be set/specified using a table (association) defined in the specification, or a row index within the table may be set/indicated.

-　Embodiment B1-3-2: In the slot-level setting granularity of embodiment B1-2, the slot format within one slot may be designed as a joint slot format (slot format combination) setting for multiple slots that form a pair of sensing DL and sensing UL. The joint slot format setting may follow at least one of the following options:

-- Option 1: In the joint slot format setting, a slot pattern for sensing may be defined. As in the example of FIG. 29, the slot format may be divided into three categories: slots that are all sensing DL symbols (category 1), slots that are all sensing UL symbols (category 2), and the remaining slot formats excluding these slots (category 3). Category 3 may include both sensing DL symbols and sensing UL symbols, may include sensing flexible symbols, or may include slot formats for communication in existing specifications. The number of slots for the joint slot format setting may follow at least one of the following several options.
--- Option 1-1: The number of slots for joint slot format configuration is fixed. A new table (association) for slot patterns for sensing may be defined in the specification. The slot pattern may be implicitly indicated by an index indication in the table. The slot pattern may be determined by an explicit indication of all slots.
--- Option 1-2: The number of slots for a joint slot format configuration is dynamically determined/changed/indicated. The slot pattern may be determined by explicit indication of all slots.

-Embodiment B1-3-3: The slot format (including the number of pairs) may be set/indicated by the NW via SIB/RRC IE/MAC CE/DCI. The sensing slot format to be used (as well as the number of pairs) may be exchanged between multiple base stations (e.g., on Xn signaling). The setting/indication of the slot format may follow at least one of the following options:
Option 1: A periodic/semi-persistent sensing DL and a time resource configuration pattern of the sensing DL may be determined by at least one of a setting/instruction by a base station (SIB/RRC IE/MAC CE/DCI) and a definition in a specification. As in the example of Fig. 30A, a sensing DL and a periodic time resource configuration pattern of the sensing DL may be set/instructed at a slot level. As in the example of Fig. 30B, a sensing DL and a periodic time resource configuration pattern of the sensing DL may be set/instructed at an OFDM symbol level.
-- Option 2: The aperiodic sensing DL and the time resource configuration pattern of the sensing DL may be determined by at least one of the following: configuration/instruction by the base station (SIB/RRC IE/MAC CE/DCI) and specification definition.
"Periodic" in option 1 may mean that the same resource allocation pattern is applied periodically. "Aperiodic" in option 2 may mean that the resource allocation pattern is applied only once after instruction by the base station.

In this embodiment, DL and UL may be swapped. In base station monostatic sensing, DL time resources may be used for transmission and UL time resources may be used for reception. In UE monostatic sensing, UL time resources may be used for transmission and DL time resources may be used for reception.

The type of slot format in embodiment B1-3-1 may include at least one of the following types.
--- Type 5 (UD): Adjacent sensing DL "D" and sensing UL "U" symbols.
---Type 6 (U-GP-D): Non-adjacent sensing DL and sensing UL symbols with a guard period "GP" between the sensing DL and sensing UL symbols.
--- Type 7 (UFD): Non-adjacent sensing DL and sensing UL symbols with at least one "F" of sensing flexible and ISAC flexible between the sensing DL and sensing UL symbols.
--- Type 8 (U-GP-F-D or U-F-GP-D): non-adjacent sensing DL and sensing UL symbols having at least one "F" of sensing flexible and ISAC flexible and a guard period "GP" between the sensing DL and sensing UL symbols.

At least one of types 1 to 4 may be applied to monostatic sensing of the base station. At least one of types 5 to 7 may be applied to monostatic sensing of the UE.

According to this embodiment, the UE/base station can use an appropriate slot format/frame structure for monostatic sensing.

<Embodiment B2>
This embodiment relates to slot format coordination for TDD-based bistatic/multistatic sensing, where two or more sensing stations (one or more sensing transmitting stations and one or more sensing receiving stations, e.g., two or more BSs or two or more UEs) perform bistatic/multistatic.

<<Embodiment B2-1>>
The slot formats of two or more sensing stations (sensing transmitting station and sensing receiving station) for sensing may be jointly designed or coordinated. Here, it is assumed that synchronization error is not considered in designing the slot format. Two or more sensing stations (two or more BSs or two or more UEs) are assumed to be synchronized. The slot format may follow at least one of the following options:

- Option 1 (determining the receiving station slot format based on the transmitting station slot format): For a sensing DL time length T _D at the transmitting sensing station, a sensing UL time length T _U at the receiving sensing station may be designed according to at least one of the following relationships:
-- As in the example of Figure 31A, the distance from the sensing transmitting station (BS1 or UE1) to the target may be R _T , and the distance from the target to the sensing receiving station (BS2 or UE2) may be R _R. When the target is on a straight line from the sensing transmitting station to the sensing receiving station, the distance R _T +R _R between the sensing transmitting station, target, and sensing receiving station is a minimum value of 2R _min . To ensure that the sensing receiving station can receive a reflected signal from the minimum sensing distance R _min , as in the example of Figure 33, the start time T _U,start of the sensing UL time resource may be τ _min =2R _min /c or less from the start time of the sensing DL time resource. That is, T _U,start ≦τ _min +T _D,start may be satisfied.
-- As in the example of Figure 31B, when the target is located on an ellipse with the sensing transmitting station and the sensing receiving station as foci, the distance R _T +R _R is a maximum value of 2R _max . To ensure that the sensing receiving station can receive a reflected signal from the maximum sensing distance R _max , the end time T _U,end of the sensing UL time resource may be τ _max +T _D =2R _max /c+T _D or more from the start time of the sensing DL time resource. That is, T _U,end ≥ τ _max +T _D +T _D,start may be satisfied.
--As in the example of FIG. 32, when the target is within an ellipse, the distance R _T +R _R is 2R _min <R _T +R _R <2R _max .
The sensing UL time length T _U may be T _U =T _U,end -T _U,start ≥ τ _max +T _D - τ _min ≥ _TD . The number of UL symbols at the receiving sensing station (BS or UE) may be greater than or equal to the number of DL symbols at the transmitting sensing station (BS or UE). The duration of the sensing UL time resource may be a reception window at the sensing receiving station. The reception window may take into account a range of propagation delay values.
The sensing DL time length T _D may be related to the requirements of the sensing performance (eg, speed estimation error, etc.).

- Option 2 (Determining the Transmitting Station Slot Format Based on the Receiving Station Slot Format): For a sensing UL time length T _U at the receiving sensing station, a sensing DL time length T _D at the transmitting sensing station may be designed according to at least one of the following relationships:
--To ensure that the sensing receiving station can receive a reflected signal from the minimum sensing distance R _min , the start time T _{D,start of the sensing DL time resource may be equal to or greater than T U,start -} τ _min = T _U,start - 2R _min /c, i.e., T _D,start ≧ T _U,start - τ _min , as in the example of Fig. 34.
--To ensure that the sensing receiver station can receive the reflected signal from the maximum sensing distance R _max , the end time T _D, end of the sensing DL time resource may be less than or equal to T _U,end - τ _max = T _U -2R _max /c, i.e., T _D,end ≦ T _U,end - τ _max .
The sensing DL time resource T _D may be T _D =T _D,end -T _D,start ≦T _U +τ _min -τ _max ≦T _U. The number of DL symbols at the transmitting sensing station (BS or UE) may be less than or equal to the number of UL symbols at the receiving sensing station (BS or UE). The duration of the sensing DL time resource may be a transmission window at the sensing transmitting station. The transmission window may take into account a range of propagation delay values.
The sensing UL time length T _U may be related to the requirements of the sensing performance (eg, speed estimation error, etc.).

By using a slot format with multiple stations, limitations or restrictions on the slot format in some stations may affect the slot format of the cooperating multiple sensing stations. The limitations may be subject to at least one of several options:
- Option 1: There is no restriction on the slot format of the cooperating multiple sensing stations. The slot format of the cooperating multiple sensing stations can be flexibly set/instructed. Applying the above option 1, as in the example of Fig. 35A, the UL symbol at the receiving sensing station may be based on the DL symbol at the transmitting sensing station. Applying the above option 2, as in the example of Fig. 35B, the UL symbol at the sensing receiving station may be based on the DL symbol at the sensing transmitting station.
Option 2: There is a restriction on the slot format of the transmitting sensing station As in the example of Fig. 36A, the slot format of the receiving sensing station may be designed based on the DL symbol at the transmitting sensing station as in option 1 above.
- Option 3: There is a restriction on the slot format of the receiving sensing station As in the example of Fig. 36B, the slot format of the transmitting sensing station may be designed based on the UL symbol at the receiving sensing station as in option 2 above.
Option 4: There are restrictions on slot formats of both the transmitting and receiving sensing stations. The UL symbol at the receiving sensing station and the DL symbol at the transmitting sensing station may be jointly determined, taking into account the restrictions and propagation delays. As in the example of Fig. 37A, the transmission window 1 may be determined based on the UL symbol and the propagation delay (minimum and maximum), as in the example of Fig. 37B, the DL symbol (transmission window 2) may be determined based on the transmission window 1, the receiving window may be determined based on the DL symbol and the propagation delay (minimum and maximum), and the UL symbol may be adjusted based on the receiving window.
- It may be specified/configured which of the above several options may be applied. If multiple options are configured by multiple cooperating sensing stations, a rule of which of the multiple options is applied (e.g. a priority rule for the multiple options) may be specified.

<<Embodiment B2-2>>
The method of indicating/setting the slot format between two or more sensing stations for sensing may follow at least one of several options below.

- Option 1: The slot format of the sensing receiver station may be determined by the sensing transmitter station. Relevant information (e.g., restrictions and/or determined slot format) may be exchanged between BSs via the X2/Xn interface, between UEs via the sidelink, or through a server via a higher layer interface. The restrictions on DL symbols or the slot format at the sensing receiver station may be reported to the server via the higher layer interface or to the sensing transmitter station via the X2/Xn interface/sidelink. The slot format determined for the sensing receiver station may be reported to the server and notified to the sensing receiver station via the higher layer interface or to the sensing receiver station via the X2/Xn interface/sidelink.

- Option 2: The slot format of the sensing transmitter may be determined by the sensing receiver. Relevant information (e.g., restrictions and/or determined slot format) may be exchanged between BSs via the X2/Xn interface, between UEs via the sidelink, or through a server via a higher layer interface. Restrictions on UL symbols or slot format at the sensing transmitter may be reported to a server via the higher layer interface or to the sensing receiver via the X2/Xn interface/sidelink. The slot format determined for the sensing transmitter may be reported to a server and notified to the sensing transmitter via the higher layer interface or to the sensing transmitter via the X2/Xn interface/sidelink.

- Option 3: The slot format of the sensing transmitter and the sensing receiver may be determined by the server. Relevant information (e.g., at least one of the constraints and the determined slot format) may be exchanged through the server via a higher layer interface.

- Option 4: The slot format of the sensing transmitting station and the sensing receiving station may be determined by the stations themselves. Relevant information (e.g., restrictions and/or determined slot format) may be exchanged between BSs via the X2/Xn interface, between UEs via sidelink, or through a server via a higher layer interface.

The limitations or restrictions may be at least one of the following examples:
--Example 1: In an ISAC system, there may be some unavailable sensing DL/sensing UL time resources. If some DL time resources are used for PBCH, the DL time resources may not be available for sensing. If some UL time resources are used for PRACH/PUCCH, etc., the UL time resources may not be available for sensing.
--Example 2: The maximum allowed number of sensing DL/sensing UL time resources depends on the restriction of the resource ratio for sensing.
--Example 3: The minimum required number of sensing DL/sensing UL time resources depends on the sensing performance and the sensing coverage radius.
--Example 4: At least one of T _D , T _D,start , T _GP , T _U , T _U,end , T _U,start , τ _min , τ _max for a cell is reported. Based on that information, limitations or restrictions may be identified.

In this embodiment, DL and UL may be swapped. In base station-to-base station bistatic sensing, DL time resources may be used for transmission and UL time resources may be used for reception. In UE-to-UE bistatic sensing, UL time resources may be used for transmission and DL time resources may be used for reception.

In this embodiment, multiple sensing receiving stations may receive reflected signals of the sensing signals. The multiple sensing receiving stations may share/report a slot format, and may share/report reception results. In this embodiment, multiple sensing transmitting stations may transmit multiple sensing signals, respectively. The multiple sensing transmitting stations may share/report a slot format. A minimum propagation delay/maximum propagation delay may be determined based on the arrangement of one or more sensing transmitting stations and one or more sensing receiving stations.

According to this embodiment, the UE/base station can use an appropriate slot format/frame structure for bistatic sensing/multistatic sensing.

<Variation> BS Operation The BS may support the reception/measurement of channels/signals for sensing using iterations, the details of which may follow embodiment B1 with some modifications as follows.
- "UE" is replaced with "BS".
- "UL" is replaced with "DL".

The BS may support the transmission of sensing channels/signals using repetition, the details of which may follow embodiment B2 with some modifications as follows.
- "UE" is replaced with "BS".
- "DL" is replaced with "UL".

<Variation> Setting/instruction of parameters related to embodiment B1 In BS-UE bistatic sensing and UE monostatic sensing, related parameters may be set/instructed to the UE by the BS via SIB/DCI/RRC IE/MAC CE, or by the LMF/SF via LPP, for each measurement resource setting of the sensing channel/signal.

In UE1-UE2 bistatic sensing, the relevant parameters may be set/instructed to UE2 from the BS via SIB/DCI/RRC IE/MAC CE, or from the LMF/SF via LPP, or from UE1 via sidelink, for each measurement resource setting of the sensing channel/signal.

In BS1-BS2 bistatic sensing, relevant parameters may be set/instructed to BS2 from BS1 via Xn or from LMF/SF via NRPPa for each measurement resource setting of the sensing channel/signal.

In UE-BS bistatic sensing, relevant parameters may be set/instructed to the BS from the LMF/SF via NRPPa for each measurement resource setting of the sensing channel/signal.

<Variation> Setting/instruction of parameters related to embodiment B2 In UE-BS bistatic sensing, related parameters may be set/instructed to the UE from the LMF/SF via the LPP for each transmission resource setting of the sensing channel/signal.

In UE1-UE2 bistatic sensing, the relevant parameters may be set/instructed to UE1 from the BS via SIB/DCI/RRC IE/MAC CE, or from the LMF/SF via LPP, or from UE2 via sidelink, for each sensing channel/signal transmission resource setting.

In BS1-BS2 bistatic sensing, relevant parameters may be set/instructed to BS1 from BS2 via Xn or from LMF/SF via NRPPa for each sensing channel/signal transmission resource setting.

In BS-UE bistatic sensing and UE monostatic sensing, the relevant parameters may be set/instructed to the BS by the LMF/SF via the NRPPa for each sensing channel/signal transmission resource setting.

<Embodiment C1>
This embodiment relates to beam sweeping for sensing.

In ISAC systems, beamforming may be used for better SNR (beamforming gain). Due to limited beam width, beam sweeping may be used for sensing coverage.

<<Embodiment C1-1>>
Beam sweeping may be used for sensing coverage.

The operation (time domain behavior) of the beam sweeping procedure may be periodic, aperiodic (or dynamically triggered), semi-persistent, or event-triggered. The operation may be configured by the LMF/SF to the BS, or may be determined by the BS, or may be configured by the LMF/SF/BS to the UE, or may be determined by the UE. For example, in a periodic sensing service, e.g., intruder detection, the period of beam sweeping may be defined in the specification, or may be configured/instructed semi-statically/dynamically. For example, in an event-triggered sensing service, e.g., localization, tracking, beam sweeping may be performed after an event.

A sensing burst may be defined for a sensing beam sweeping. The period of the sensing burst may be defined in the specification or may be semi-statically/dynamically set/instructed. A beam sweeping may be performed within a sensing burst or multiple sensing bursts. For example, a sensing burst may be defined for a beam sweeping. A sensing time domain resource (e.g. multiple slots/symbols) may be related to the number of sensing beams. A sensing beam may be associated with one or more time domain resources. If the sensing time domain resource is constrained by other factors, the available sensing time domain resource is not sufficient for one sensing beam sweeping. The constraint may be that the sensing time domain resource is used for communication within the same slot/symbol. A sensing beam sweeping may be performed within two or more sensing bursts.

FIG. 38A shows an example of periodic beam sweeping. The periodic beam sweeping may be set or may be triggered by an event. In this example, sensing bursts occur periodically, and one beam sweep is performed within one sensing burst. This periodic execution of the beam sweeping may be triggered by an instruction or may be triggered by an event. This periodic execution of the beam sweeping may be released by an instruction or may be released by an event.

FIG. 38B shows an example of non-periodic beam sweeping. Non-periodic beam sweeping may be triggered by an instruction or may be triggered by an event. In this example, one beam sweeping is executed within one sensing burst. The execution of this beam sweeping may be triggered by an instruction or may be triggered by an event. The execution of this beam sweeping may be released (released) by an instruction or may be released by an event.

FIG. 39 shows an example of one beam sweep within two sensing bursts. In this example, one beam sweep is performed within two sensing bursts. The period of the sensing bursts may be defined/set/indicated.

In a beam sweeping procedure determined by the BS or UE, at least one of the determined procedure and the beam sweeping settings/parameters may be notified to the LMF/SF by the BS or notified to the BS/LMF/SF by the UE.

The number of beams/angle range in beam sweeping of Tx/Rx may differ depending on the positional relationship between the sensing station and the target. For example, beam sweeping at the BS may use at least one of many beams and a wide angular range. For example, beam sweeping at the UE may use at least one of few beams and a narrow angular range. For example, the number of beams in beam sweeping at the BS may be greater than the number of beams in beam sweeping at the UE. For example, the angular range of beam sweeping at the BS may be greater than the angular range of beam sweeping at the UE.

<<Embodiment C1-2>>
For sensing beam sweeping, parameters related to at least one of resource configuration and transmission/reception MIMO method may be defined.

The parameters for beam sweeping resource settings may include at least one of the following parameters:

- At least one of the number of sensing beams (or sensing RS ports) and the index (or angle) of the sensing beam in the sensing burst. All or some of the sensing beams in the sensing burst (beam sweeping) may be used. In a sensing service, the sensing coverage area may be defined in the specification or may be limited. For example, the sensing coverage in intruder detection may be a house. The sensing beam may be a subset of all sensing beams. If no setting is made, all sensing beams (sensing RS ports) may be used as a default. In one beam sweeping in multiple sensing bursts, or in a partial sensing beam for sweeping, the index (or angle) of the beam may be included in the resource setting. Figure 40A shows an example of localization and tracking. In this example, all of the set of sensing beams may be used. Figure 40B shows an example of intruder detection. In this example, some of the set of sensing beams may be used.

- Time domain resources for beam sweeping: at least one of the following: start time T0 (slot/symbol index), period T (number of slots/symbols or absolute time (ms, μs)), duration T1 of one sensing burst (which is related to the number of sensing beams or sensing RS ports), and gap between beams within a sensing burst.

- Number of sensing bursts K. The practical number of sensing bursts N may be less than or equal to the set number of sensing bursts K. For example, the sensing procedure may be released early (terminated early) if the sensing requirements are met.

- Frequency domain resource of the sensing burst. The same frequency domain resource may be used for multiple sensing bursts, or different frequency domain resources may be used.

FIG. 41 shows an example of beam sweeping related parameters. In one sensing procedure of this example, N sensing bursts are transmitted/received. In this example, N is less than or equal to the set number K of sensing bursts. The period of the sensing burst is T. The start time of the sensing burst is T0. The duration of one sensing burst is T1.

The parameters for the MIMO method may include at least one of the following parameters:

- One of multiple MIMO methods for sensing beam sweeping (or sensing burst) may be set/exchanged/indicated/reported. The multiple MIMO methods may include at least one of BF and VA. In the absence of configuration/indication regarding the MIMO method, BF or VA may be used as default. The MIMO method may be related to the sensing method. For example, in monostatic sensing, the MIMO method may be BF or VA. For example, in bistatic sensing, only BF may be supported.

- Variations: The transmit and receive MIMO methods may be set/exchanged/instructed/reported jointly, or may be set/exchanged/instructed/reported separately. For example, the MIMO method for both Tx and Rx may be BF (Method 1). For example, the Tx MIMO method may be BF and the Rx MIMO method may be VA (Method 2-1). For example, the MIMO method for both Tx and Rx may be VA (Method 2-2).

- Either explicit configuration/indication/definition or implicit configuration/indication/definition of configuration parameters related to resources and MIMO method may be supported. For example, the duration of one sensing burst may be implicitly or explicitly indicated (via the number of sensing beams or the number of repetitions). For example, in monostatic sensing, the MIMO method may be determined by the sensing station itself. Information regarding the MIMO method (MIMO method related information) may be exchanged to assist in interference management.

The parameters of beam sweeping (or sensing burst) may be defined in the specification, may be semi-statically/dynamically set/instructed to the BS by the LMF/SF, may be determined by the BS itself, may be instructed/set/exchanged between multiple cooperating BSs via the X2/Xn/F1-AP interface, may be semi-statically/dynamically set/instructed to the UE by the LMF/SF, may be set/instructed to the UE by the BS via higher layer signaling (SIB/MAC CE/RRC IE, etc.) or physical layer signaling (DCI/UCI, etc.), may be instructed/set/exchanged between multiple cooperating UEs via the sidelink interface, or may be determined by the UE itself.

The multiple MIMO methods may include MIMO method 1 and MIMO method 2. MIMO method 1 may be BF in monostatic sensing and bistatic sensing. MIMO method 2 may be VA in monostatic sensing. MIMO method 1 may include at least one of MIMO methods 1-1 and 1-2. MIMO method 1-1 is BF in monostatic sensing. In the example of MIMO method 1-1 shown in FIG. 42, the sensing station (UE or BS) performs BF for both Tx and Rx. Sensing station 1 and sensing station 2 may cooperate to perform monostatic sensing. MIMO method 1-2 is BF in bistatic sensing. In the example of MIMO method 1-2 shown in FIG. 43, the sensing transmitter (UE or BS) performs Tx BF, and the sensing receiver (UE or BS) performs Rx BF. MIMO method 2 may include at least one of MIMO methods 2-1 and 2-2. MIMO method 2-1 is VA (antenna arrangement case 2) without Tx/Rx antenna arrangement. In the example of MIMO method 2-1 shown in FIG. 44, the sensing station (UE or BS) performs multiple Tx BFs (beam sweeping) using a Tx antenna group, and receives and combines the echo signals using an Rx antenna group. The transmitting station performs Tx BF, and the receiving station performs Rx BF. Sensing station 1 and sensing station 2 may cooperate to perform monostatic sensing. MIMO method 2-2 is VA (antenna arrangement case 1) with Tx/Rx antenna arrangement. A wider beam may be used due to the smaller number of Tx antennas. In the example of MIMO method 2-2 shown in FIG. 45, the sensing station (UE or BS) performs multiple Tx BFs (beam sweeping) using multiple Tx antenna groups among multiple antennas (Tx/Rx antennas), and receives and combines the echo signals using the remaining Rx antenna group. Sensing station 1 and sensing station 2 may cooperate to perform monostatic sensing.

<<Embodiment C1-3>>
For different sensing methods and different MIMO methods, Tx sensing beam sweeping and Rx sensing beam sweeping may be defined.

In existing communication systems or PRS/SRS-based UE positioning, pairing of Tx and Rx beams is necessary to achieve good performance (Fig. 46). In sensing systems, Tx sensing beam sweeping is related to the angle of departure (AoD) to the target, and Rx sensing beam sweeping is related to the angle of arrival (AoA) from the target. In communication systems, one Tx-Rx beam pair is used for one UE. In PRS/SRS-based UE positioning, a beam (Tx or Rx) selected at the BS is used for UE location. In sensing systems, one Tx-Rx beam pair may be used for one target (not the receiver or UE). In sensing systems with multiple targets, there may be multiple Tx-Rx beam pairs (Fig. 47). A beam selected at the transmitter (BS or UE) and a beam selected by the receiver (BS or UE) may be used for target location.

Rx sensing beam sweeping may be related to the MIMO method at the transmitter. For BF, Rx sensing beam sweeping may be required (Figure 48). For VA, Rx sensing beam sweeping may not be required (Figure 49). Not requiring Rx sensing beam sweeping may be equivalent to using one Rx sensing beam and may be included in option 1 below. The same or different Rx antenna settings may be used for different Tx beams or different Tx beam sweeping. The association between Tx sensing beam and Rx antenna parameters may be explicitly or implicitly set/indicated by DCI/UCI/RRC IE/MAC CE or may be implementation dependent.

Rx sensing beam sweeping may also be associated with the sensing method.

In monostatic sensing, the AoA may be equal to the AoD. The Tx and Rx beams may be identical. In monostatic sensing using M Tx beams and M Rx beams, sweeping of the M Tx-Rx beams may be performed.

In bistatic sensing, the AoA and AoD may be different. The Tx and Rx beams may be different. In monostatic sensing using M Tx beams and N Rx beams, sweeping of up to MN Tx-Rx beams may be performed.

The Tx-Rx beam sweeping procedure defined in the NR communication system or future communication systems may be converted to sensing Tx-Rx beam sweeping. First, Tx beam sweeping may be performed on one Rx beam, and then Tx beam sweeping may be performed on another Rx beam. The Tx beam sweeping may be a sweep of all or a portion of the sensing RS antenna ports.

At least one of whether Rx sensing beam sweeping is applied or not and which Rx sensing beam method is used may be set in the BS by the LMF/SF, may be determined by the BS itself, may be set in the UE by the LMF/SF/BS, or may be determined by the UE itself.

Tx-Rx beam sweeping may follow at least one of several options:

- Option 1: For bistatic sensing using BF, Tx-Rx beam sweeping may be defined. For monostatic sensing using BF and VA, only Tx beam sweeping may be defined. Only information related to the Tx beam (beam related information) may be exchanged between cooperating BSs via the X2/Xn/F1-AP interface, between cooperating UEs via the sidelink interface, or reported from the BS/UE to the server/SMF/SF.

- Option 2: Tx-Rx beam sweeping may be defined for any sensing method and any MIMO method. In a unified design, Tx-Rx beam sweeping may be defined for monostatic sensing. The number of Rx beams may be equal to 1. One or more Tx beams/resources for sensing may be associated with one or more Rx beams/resources. Information related to Tx-Rx beams (beam related information) may be exchanged between cooperating BSs via X2/Xn/F1-AP interface, between cooperating UEs via sidelink interface, or reported from BS/UE to server/SMF/SF.

Figure 50 shows an example of sweeping four Tx-Rx beams in monostatic sensing using BF/VA. The BS or UE performing sensing Tx and Rx in monostatic sensing may report information related to the Tx-Rx beams to the server/SMF/SF.

Figure 51 shows an example of sweeping 16 Tx-Rx beams in bistatic sensing using BF. The BS or UE performing the Tx of sensing may report information related to the Tx beam to the server/SMF/SF. The BS or UE performing the Rx of sensing may report information related to the Rx beam to the server/SMF/SF. The BS or UE performing the Tx of sensing and the BS or UE performing the Rx of sensing may exchange information related to the Tx-Rx beam.

Figure 52 shows an example of sweeping four Tx beams in bistatic sensing using VA. The BS or UE performing the Tx of sensing may report information related to the Tx beam to the server/SMF/SF. The BS or UE performing the Rx of sensing may report information related to the Tx beam to the server/SMF/SF. The BS or UE performing the Tx of sensing and the BS or UE performing the Rx of sensing may exchange information related to the Tx beam.

According to this embodiment, the UE/BS can properly perform beam sweeping for sensing.

<Embodiment C2>
This embodiment relates to beam management for sensing.

Beam sweeping can significantly increase sensing coverage at the cost of higher overhead. After beam sweeping, or if prior information about the target location is available, one or more beams may be selected for further sensing. For example, in a localization and tracking sensing use case, beam sweeping may be required during the localization phase. Once the target location is available, one beam may be selected for tracking the target.

Sensing beam management procedures, parameters, and MIMO methods may be designed/defined.

In the example of FIG. 53, when the sensing service (sensing procedure) of location and tracking is started/triggered/activated, the sensing station (UE or BS) performs beam sweeping for each sensing burst as the target location phase. The target is not found in the first sensing burst, and is successfully found in the second sensing burst. When the sensing station obtains the target's location based on the second sensing burst, it stops beam sweeping and determines an initial beam for tracking the target. In the tracking phase, the sensing station tracks the target using the initial beam and adjusts the beam based on the target's location. The sensing service (sensing procedure) is released when, for example, the service requirements are not met, the target goes out of the sensing coverage of the sensing station, etc.

After beam sweeping for sensing, some specific Tx-Rx beams may be selected and used for further target sensing. In bistatic sensing, both Tx sensing beams and Rx sensing beams may be used for target sensing. Tx-Rx sensing beams may be further defined.

<<Embodiment C2-1>>
One or more Tx-Rx sensing beams or one or more sensing RS antenna ports may be selected and reported. The number of Tx-Rx sensing beam pairs to be reported may be configured. The selected Tx-Rx sensing beam may be configured/instructed to the BS by the LMF/SF, may be determined by the BS itself, may be indicated/configured/exchanged between multiple cooperating BSs via the X2/Xn/F1-AP interface, may be configured/instructed to the UE by the LMF/SF, may be configured/instructed to the UE by the BS via higher layer signaling (SIB/MAC CE/RRC IE, etc.), may be configured/instructed to the UE by the BS via physical layer signaling (DCI/UCI, etc.), may be indicated/configured/exchanged between multiple cooperating UEs via the sidelink interface, or may be determined by the UE itself.

The Tx-Rx sensing beam may follow at least one of several options:

- Option 1: In monostatic sensing without multiple BS/UE coordination, the sensing transmitter and receiver are at the same location. The selected Tx-Rx sensing beam may be determined by the sensing station itself (BS or UE). Feedback/instruction/reporting of the Tx-Rx sensing beam may not be required.

- Option 2: In monostatic/bistatic sensing with multiple BS/UE cooperation, to avoid interference and improve sensing performance using cooperation, the indication/configuration of sensing Tx-Rx beam information (beam related information) between the cooperating BSs/UEs may be supported. The information may be indicated/configured/exchanged between the sensing BSs via X2/Xn/F1-AP interface and signaling, indicated/configured/exchanged from the BS to the UE via Uu interface of SIB/MAC CE/RRC IE/DCI signaling, indicated/configured/exchanged from the UE to the BS via Uu interface of MAC CE/RRC IE/UCI signaling, reported from the sensing BS/US to the LMF/SF, or configured/indicated from the LMF/SF to the BS/UE. For example, BS1 using monostatic sensing and BS2 using monostatic sensing may track one target cooperatively. The sensing beams of BS1 and BS2 may be determined jointly or separately. Information related to the beams (beam-related information) may be reported from BS1/BS2 to the LMF/SF, or may be exchanged between BS1 and BS2 via the interface and signaling of X2/Xn/F1-AP.

- Option 3: In bistatic sensing, the sensing receiver and the sensing transmitter are different. Bistatic sensing can be from BS to UE, from UE to BS, from BS1 to BS2, from UE1 to UE2. Feedback/reporting/instruction/configuration of Tx beam and Rx beam may be required. The feedback/report/indication/configuration of the Tx beam and the Rx beam may be notified from the BS to the UE via higher layer signaling/physical layer signaling (SIB/MAC CE/RRC IE/DCI) on the Uu interface, from the UE to the BS via higher layer signaling/physical layer signaling (MAC CE/RRC IE/UCI) on the Uu interface, between multiple UEs via the sidelink interface, between multiple BSs via the X2/Xn/F1-AP interface, reported/exchanged from the BS/UE to the LMF/SF, or indicated/configured from the LMF/SF to the BS/UE. One or more Tx-Rx sensing beams may be selected based on metrics defined in the specification. The metric may be, for example, at least one of an estimated angle of the target, a sensing SINR threshold, a sensing RSRP threshold, a false alarm probability threshold, and an estimation accuracy threshold. The sensing Tx beam may be explicitly or implicitly indicated/configured by the spatial domain filter/QCL type D RS/TCI state. The sensing Rx beam may be explicitly or implicitly indicated/configured by the spatial domain filter/QCL type D RS/TCI state. The QCL type D RS/TCI state may be used to implicitly indicate the sensing Rx beam. The definition of the QCL type D RS/TCI state of the Rx beam may be different from the definition of the QCL type D RS/TCI state of the Tx beam. Whether Tx beams, Rx beams, or Tx-Rx beam pairs are reported may be defined in the specification, may be configured by an RRC IE, or may depend on the UE capability report.

<<Embodiment C2-2>>
Parameters related to transmission and reception resource configuration and MIMO methods for sensing beam management may be defined.

Parameters related to beam management resource configuration may include at least one of the following parameters:
- Time domain resources for beam management, which may include at least one of a start time T0 and a duration. The start time may be represented by a slot/symbol index. The duration may be represented by a number of slots/symbols.
Frequency domain resources for beam management, which may include at least one of a starting frequency location and a bandwidth. The starting frequency location may be represented by an index of RB/RE. The bandwidth may be represented by the number of RB/RE.

One of multiple MIMO methods for sensing beam management may be set/exchanged/indicated/reported. The multiple MIMO methods may include at least one of BF and VA. If there is no setting/indication regarding the MIMO method, BF or VA may be used as a default. The MIMO method may be related to the sensing method. For example, in monostatic sensing, the MIMO method may be BF or VA. For example, in bistatic sensing, only BF may be supported.

Beam management parameters may be defined in the specification, may be semi-statically/dynamically set/instructed to the BS by the LMF/SF, may be determined by the BS itself, may be instructed/set/exchanged between multiple cooperating BSs via the X2/Xn/F1-AP interface, may be semi-statically/dynamically set/instructed to the UE by the LMF/SF, may be set/instructed to the UE by the BS via higher layer signaling (SIB/MAC CE/RRC IE, etc.) or physical layer signaling (DCI/UCI, etc.), may be instructed/set/exchanged between multiple cooperating UEs via the sidelink interface, or may be determined by the UE itself.

The configuration parameters and signaling during beam management may be different from the configuration parameters and signaling during beam sweeping. For example, in periodic beam sweeping, broadcast or periodic signaling (e.g., SIB/RRC IE/MAC CE) may be used. In aperiodic beam management, target/service specific/dynamic/aperiodic signaling (e.g., DCI/UCI) may be used.

Beam-related information in embodiment C2-1, together with the time/frequency domain resources and MIMO methods configured for beam management, may be continuously updated/exchanged between sensing stations.

<<Embodiment C2-3>>
Beam sweeping and beam management may be switched or may coexist based on some rules, which may follow at least one of the following options:

- Option 1: Based on the sensing service/requirements, beam sweeping and beam management are switched (not coexistent). For example, in target location and tracking service, beam sweeping may be stopped after the target is located and then beam management may be started for tracking the target position.

- Option 2: For some sensing services/targets, beam sweeping and beam management can coexist. For example, in an intruder detection service, the sensing beam may be constantly swept, whether a target (intruder) is detected or not. Beam management may be initiated to track the location of each detected intruder.

- Option 3: There is no relationship between beam sweeping and beam management. For example, beam sweeping may be used in the service of intruder detection and beam management may be used in the service of tracking. Different sensing targets/services may require different procedures.

The sensing method and associated signaling for the sensing beam between the sensing transmitter and the sensing receiver may follow at least one of the following examples:

- Example 1: Monostatic sensing of one sensing station (BS/UE). In the example of Figure 54, there may be a link between the sensing station and the server/LMF/SF for signaling of reports/settings/instructions. Settings/instructions may be notified from the server/LMF/SF to the sensing station. Reports may be notified from the sensing station to the server/LMF/SF.

- Example 2: Monostatic sensing of multiple cooperating sensing stations (BS/UE). Figure 55A shows an example of monostatic sensing of multiple cooperating BSs. Figure 55B shows an example of monostatic sensing of multiple cooperating UEs. There may be a link between the multiple sensing stations for signaling report/configuration/instruction. There may be a link between at least one of the multiple sensing stations and the server/LMF/SF/BS for signaling report/configuration/instruction. Configuration/instruction may be notified from the server/LMF/SF/BS to at least one of the multiple sensing stations. A report may be notified from at least one of the multiple sensing stations to the server/LMF/SF/BS. Configuration/instruction may be notified from the first sensing station to the second sensing station. A report may be notified from the first sensing station to the second sensing station. There may be an interface link of Xn/X2/F1-AP between the multiple cooperating BSs. There may be a sidelink interface link between the cooperating UEs. There may be a Uu interface link between the cooperating UEs and the BS.

Example 3: Bistatic sensing (sensing transmitter to sensing receiver, e.g., BS to UE, UE to BS, BS1 to BS2, UE1 to UE2). In the BS to UE bistatic sensing example of FIG. 56A, there may be a link between the BS and the server/LMF/SF for signaling of report/configuration/instruction, and there may be a link between the UE and the server/LMF/SF for signaling of report/configuration/instruction. Reports may be notified from the UE to the BS via MAC CE/RRC IE/UCI on the Uu interface. In the UE to BS bistatic sensing example of FIG. 56B, there may be a link between the BS and the server/LMF/SF for signaling of report/configuration/instruction, and there may be a link between the UE and the server/LMF/SF for signaling of report/configuration/instruction. The BS may notify the UE of the configuration/instruction via the SIB/MAC CE/RRC IE/DCI on the Uu interface. In the example of bistatic sensing from BS1 to BS2 in FIG. 57A, there may be a link between BS1 and the server/LMF/SF for signaling the report/configuration/instruction, there may be a link between BS2 and the server/LMF/SF for signaling the report/configuration/instruction, and there may be a link between BS1 and BS2 for signaling the report/configuration/instruction. The report/configuration/instruction may be notified/exchanged between BS1 and BS2 via the Xn/X2/F1-AP interface. In the example of bistatic sensing from UE1 to UE2 in FIG. 57B, there may be a link for signaling of report/configuration/instruction between UE1 and the server/LMF/SF/BS, there may be a link for signaling of report/configuration/instruction between UE2 and the server/LMF/SF/BS, or there may be a link for signaling of report/configuration/instruction between UE1 and UE2. Report/configuration/instruction may be notified/exchanged between UE1 and UE2 via a sidelink interface. Report/configuration/instruction may be notified/exchanged between at least one of UE1 and UE2 and the BS via a Uu interface.

The beam sweeping and beam management procedure for sensing may be at least one of the following procedures:

- Step 1: Tx MIMO method is BF and Rx MIMO method is VA. The MIMO method set for phase 2 may be the same as the MIMO method set for phase 1 or may be different. For example, phase 1 may be sweeping and phase 2 may be tracking. If no MIMO method is set, the MIMO method in phase 2 may be the same as the MIMO method in phase 1 by default. The example beam sweeping and beam management procedure in FIG. 58 includes the following phases 0 to 2.

-- In phase 0, at least one of time domain resources, frequency domain resources, RS, and MIMO method (BF/VA) may be configured/instructed to the sensing transmitter/sensing receiver. The configuration/instruction may be notified from the LMF/SF to the sensing transmitter/sensing receiver, or may be notified/exchanged between the sensing transmitter and the sensing receiver. Phase 0/1 may start in response to a trigger.

-- In the subsequent phase 1, Tx and Rx sensing beam sweeping may be performed. Phase 1 may be performed periodically, semi-persistently, aperiodically, or may be triggered by an event. The event may be the acquisition of prior information about the sensing target. In phase 1, the sensing transmitter may perform Tx beam sweeping. If the Rx MIMO method in phase 1 is BF, the sensing receiver may perform Rx beam sweeping. If the Rx MIMO method in phase 1 is VA, the sensing receiver may perform reception without Rx beamforming.

-- In the subsequent phase 2, beam tracking of Tx and Rx may be performed. Beam tracking may select one or more beams from the multiple beams used in beam sweeping, and continue sensing using the selected beam. If the sensing is bistatic sensing, feedback/exchange/instruction may be performed between the sensing transmitter and the sensing receiver in phase 2. If the sensing stations are coordinated, exchange/instruction may be performed between multiple sensing transmitters/sensing receivers in phase 2. In phase 2, the sensing transmitter may transmit using the selected Tx beam. If the Rx MIMO method in phase 2 is BF, the sensing receiver may receive using the selected Rx beam. If the Rx MIMO method in phase 2 is VA, the sensing receiver may receive without Rx beamforming. Phase 2 may include phases 2-1 and 2-2. In phase 2-1, at least one of time domain resources, frequency domain resources, RS, and MIMO method (BF/VA) may be configured/instructed to the sensing transmitter/sensing receiver. In phase 2-2, continuous update/feedback/exchange/instruction/setting of Tx/Rx beams may be performed to the sensing transmitter/sensing receiver. Phase 2 may end depending on the release.

- Step 2: The Tx MIMO method (method) and the Rx MIMO method (method) are VA. The example of the beam sweeping and beam management procedure in Figure 59 includes the following phases 0 to 2.

-- In phase 0, at least one of time domain resources, frequency domain resources, RS, and MIMO method (VA) may be configured/instructed to the sensing transmitter/sensing receiver. The configuration/instruction may be notified from the LMF/SF to the sensing transmitter/sensing receiver, or may be notified/exchanged between the sensing transmitter and the sensing receiver. Phase 0/1 may start in response to a trigger.

--　Subsequently, in phase 1, Tx sensing beam sweeping for VA may be performed. Phase 1 may be performed periodically, semi-persistently, aperiodically, or may be triggered by an event. The event may be the acquisition of prior information about the sensing target. In phase 1, the sensing transmitter may perform Tx beam sweeping using TDM signals for different antenna groups. This beamforming may be in accordance with embodiment C4 described below. In phase 1, the sensing transmitter may perform Tx beam sweeping using FDM/CDM signals for different antenna groups. In phase 1, the sensing receiver may achieve Rx VA by performing reception without Rx beamforming for VA.

-- In the subsequent phase 2, beam tracking of Tx and Rx may be performed. Beam tracking may select one or more beams from the multiple beams used in beam sweeping, and continue sensing using the selected beam. If the sensing is bistatic sensing, feedback/exchange/instruction may be performed between the sensing transmitter and the sensing receiver in phase 2. If the sensing stations cooperate, exchange/instruction may be performed between multiple sensing transmitters/sensing receivers in phase 2. In phase 2, the sensing transmitter may transmit for VA using the selected Tx beam. In phase 2, the sensing receiver may realize Rx VA by receiving without Rx beamforming for VA. Phase 2 may include phases 2-1 and 2-2. In phase 2-1, at least one of time domain resources, frequency domain resources, RS, and MIMO method (VA) may be set/instructed to the sensing transmitter/sensing receiver. In phase 2-2, continuous updating/feedback/exchange/instruction/setting of Tx/Rx beams may be performed for the sensing transmitter/sensing receiver. Phase 2 may end upon release.

According to this embodiment, the UE/BS can perform the sensing procedure appropriately.

<Embodiment C3>
This embodiment relates to beam sweeping and beam management using EA. EA may be realized by repeated transmission. Repetition can improve sensing performance.

　Repetitive beam sweeping and beam management may be defined/designed/supported.

<<Embodiment C3-1>>
Tx sensing beam sweeping with iteration may be defined/designed/supported. Beam level/burst level/multi-beam level iteration may be supported. The iteration may follow at least one of several options:

- Option 1: Beam level repetition. The same beam may be repeated in multiple slots/symbols of sensing during beam sweeping. The sensing burst in embodiment C1 may be improved as a sensing burst with repetition. For improved performance, the repetition may be performed within one coherent processing interval (CPI). In the example of FIG. 60, the sensing transmitter sweeps beams #0 to #3 within one sensing burst and transmits N repetitions within the transmission period of each beam. In this example, N=3. The length of the transmission period of each beam may be the CPI required for the repetition gain. The minimum latency to cover the sensing area is the time to use all beams.

- Option 2: Burst level repetition. A sensing burst may be repeated in multiple sensing slots/symbols. The definition of sensing burst in embodiment C1 may be used. A sensing area can be covered within a short time or beam sweeping can be performed reliably. In the example of FIG. 61, the sensing transmitter sweeps beams #0 to #3 within one sensing burst and transmits N sensing bursts repeatedly. In this example, N=3. The length of the transmission period of the N sensing bursts may be the CPI required for the repetition gain. The minimum latency to cover the sensing area is the time to use all beams.

- Option 3: Multi-beam (beam group) level repetition. Multiple beams are divided into multiple beam groups. Repetition may be done within a beam group. A good trade-off can be obtained between repetition gain (related to CPI length) and latency for sensing coverage area. In the example of Figure 62, beams #0 to #3 are divided into beam group #0 with beams #0 and #1 and beam group #1 with beams #2 and #3, and the sensing transmitter transmits N repetitions within the transmission period of each beam group. In this example, N=3. The sensing transmitter performs beam sweeping within the beam group within one repetition. The length of the transmission period of each beam group may be the CPI required for the repetition gain. The minimum latency to cover the sensing area is the time to use all beams.

At least one of the repetition number and the repetition type (beam level repetition, or burst level repetition, or multi-beam level repetition) may be set/instructed to the BS by the LMF/SF, may be determined by the BS itself, may be instructed/set/exchanged between multiple cooperating BSs via the X2/Xn/F1-AP interface, may be set/instructed to the UE by the LMF/SF, may be set/instructed to the UE by the BS via higher layer signaling (SIB/MAC CE/RRC IE, etc.) or physical layer signaling (DCI/UCI, etc.), may be instructed/set/exchanged between multiple cooperating UEs via the sidelink interface, or may be determined by the UE itself.

The number of iterations may be defined in the specification or may be semi-statically/dynamically set/instructed based on sensing SNR or sensing coverage or sensing requirements. The iterations may be stopped early once the sensing requirements are met.

<<Embodiment C3-2>>
Rx sensing beam sweeping with repetition may be defined/designed/supported based on the sensing method.

In monostatic sensing, the Rx sensing beam may always be the same as the Tx sensing beam regardless of the number of repetitions and the repetition type. In the example of FIG. 63, the sensing station (BS or UE) performs Tx sensing beam sweeping and sweeps the Rx sensing beam to match the Tx sensing beam.

In bistatic sensing, the Rx sensing beam/spatial domain filter/QCL type D RS/TCI state may not be expected to change in one Tx sensing beam sweeping with repetition to obtain repetition gain at the expense of higher overhead and longer latency. In the example of FIG. 64, the sensing transmitter (BS or UE) performs Tx sensing beam sweeping, and the sensing receiver (BS or UE) may not change the Rx sensing beam (do not sweep the Rx sensing beam) during one Tx sensing beam sweeping, and may change the Rx sensing beam (sweep the Rx sensing beam) between multiple Tx sensing beam sweepings.

<<Embodiment C3-3>>
The sensing beam during the beam management phase may be set with iterations.

The parameters of number of iterations and type of iterations may be set for a better trade-off between performance and latency. The optimal values of the parameters may be different for different scenarios. Therefore, the parameters may be dynamically changed.

At least one of the number of repetitions and the repetition type during the beam management phase may be set/instructed to the BS by the LMF/SF, may be determined by the BS itself, may be instructed/set/exchanged between multiple cooperating BSs via the X2/Xn/F1-AP interface, may be set/instructed to the UE by the LMF/SF, may be set/instructed to the UE by the BS via higher layer signaling (SIB/MAC CE/RRC IE, etc.) or physical layer signaling (DCI/UCI, etc.), may be instructed/set/exchanged between multiple cooperating UEs via the sidelink interface, or may be determined by the UE itself.

The number of repetitions and the repetition type may be related to at least one of the sensing SNR, the sensing coverage, the sensing requirements regarding performance and latency, and the beam.

Beam sweeping and beam management with repetition may follow the procedure below.

- An example of a beam sweeping and beam management procedure with repetition in Figure 65 includes phases 0 to 2 below.

-- In phase 0, at least one of the following may be set/instructed to the sensing transmitter/sensing receiver: time domain resource, frequency domain resource, RS, MIMO method (BF/VA), number of repetitions, and repetition type. The setting/instruction may be notified from the LMF/SF to the sensing transmitter/sensing receiver, or may be notified/exchanged between the sensing transmitter and the sensing receiver. Phase 0/1 may start in response to a trigger.

-- In the subsequent phase 1, repeated Tx and Rx sensing beam sweeping may be performed. Phase 1 may be performed periodically, semi-persistently, aperiodically, or may be triggered by an event. The event may be the acquisition of prior information about the sensing target. In phase 1, the sensing transmitter may perform Tx beam sweeping. If the Rx MIMO method in phase 1 is BF, the sensing receiver may perform Rx beam sweeping. If the Rx MIMO method in phase 1 is VA, the sensing receiver may perform reception without Rx beamforming.

-- In the subsequent phase 2, beam tracking of Tx and Rx with repetition may be performed. Beam tracking may select one or more beams from the multiple beams used in beam sweeping, and continue sensing using the selected beam. If the sensing is bistatic sensing, feedback/exchange/instruction may be performed between the sensing transmitter and the sensing receiver in phase 2. If the sensing stations are coordinated, exchange/instruction may be performed between multiple sensing transmitters/sensing receivers in phase 2. In phase 2, the sensing transmitter may transmit using the selected Tx beam. If the Rx MIMO method in phase 2 is BF, the sensing receiver may receive using the selected Rx beam. If the Rx MIMO method in phase 2 is VA, the sensing receiver may receive without Rx beamforming. Phase 2 may include phases 2-1 and 2-2. In phase 2-1, at least one of the time domain resource, frequency domain resource, RS, MIMO method (BF/VA), number of repetitions, and repetition type may be configured/instructed to the sensing transmitter/sensing receiver. In phase 2-2, continuous update/feedback/exchange/instruction/setting of Tx/Rx beams may be performed to the sensing transmitter/sensing receiver. Phase 2 may end depending on the release.

According to this embodiment, the repetition can improve the sensing SNR/coverage.

<Embodiment C4>
This embodiment relates to beam sweeping and beam management using a VA.

VA can improve sensing angle resolution and accuracy using multiple orthogonal signals on different Tx antennas (groups). One method of generating multiple orthogonal signals is TDM. Multiple orthogonal signals may be transmitted on different time domain resources using different Tx antennas (groups). In TDMed-VA, multiple signals of multiple Tx antennas on different time domain resources may be defined/designed/supported along with beam sweeping.

In the example of Tx antenna arrangement in TDMed-VA in FIG. 66A, some of the multiple Tx antennas are used as Tx antenna groups (ports) #0 to #3 for generating the VA. Tx antenna groups (ports) #0 to #3 use time/frequency domain resources #0 to #3, respectively. This TDMed-VA may follow at least one of the following options:

- Option 1: Resources #0 to #3 are allocated and resources #0 to #3 are TDMed (Figure 66B).

- Option 2: Resources #0 to #3 are hybrid TDM-FDM. For example, resources #0 and #1 are FDM, resources #2 and #3 are FDM, resources #0 and #2 are TDM, and resources #1 and #3 are TDM (Figure 66C).

- Option 3: Resources #0 to #3 are hybrid TDM-CDM. For example, resources #0 and #1 are CDM, resources #2 and #3 are CDM, and resources #0 and #1 and resources #2 and #3 are TDM (Figure 66D).

Sensing beam sweeping with TDMed-VA may be defined/designed/supported.

<<Embodiment C4-1>>
Tx sensing beam sweeping of multiple Tx antennas (groups) of the TDMed-VA may be defined/designed/supported, in which at least one of the following options may be supported:

- Option 1: Beam-level TDMed-VA. A TDMed-VA may be generated for each beam on multiple adjacent time domain resources. In the example of FIG. 67A, a portion of multiple Tx antennas may be defined/configured/selected as antenna port group (port) #0, #1. The sensing transmitter may sweep beams #0 to #3 for each antenna port group (port). In the example of FIG. 67B, the time domain resources for beams #0 to #3 may be TDMed, and within the time domain resources for each beam, the time domain resources for antenna port group (port) #0, #1 may be TDMed. The sensing receiver may generate a VA by receiving multiple time domain resources for antenna port group (port) #0 and generate a VA by receiving multiple time domain resources for antenna port group (port) #1.

- Option 2: Burst-level TDMed-VA. Beam sweeping may be performed for each antenna group (port) individually. TDMed-VA may be generated for multiple sensing bursts. In the example of FIG. 67C, the time domain resources for antenna port groups (ports) #0 and #1 may be TDMed, and within the time domain resources for each antenna port group (port), the time domain resources for beams #0 to #3 may be TDMed. The sensing receiver may generate a VA by receiving multiple time domain resources for antenna port group (port) #0 and generate a VA by receiving multiple time domain resources for antenna port group (port) #1.

The beam sweeping settings of the TDMed-VA may include at least one of the following several parameters:
- Time/frequency domain resources for all Tx antenna groups (ports).
- Orthogonal partitioning method of the antenna ports, which may be any of TDM, FDM, CDM or a hybrid of at least two of them, which may be explicitly indicated by the time/frequency resource allocation for the different Tx antenna groups (ports).
- Option of TDMed-VA with beam sweeping, which can be beam-level or burst-level TDMed-VA.
- Parameters related to Tx/Rx antenna configuration, which may include at least one of Tx/Rx configuration, Tx beam number, and Rx port number. The Tx/Rx configuration may be expressed by a relative ratio or an absolute value.

Dynamic Tx/Rx antenna placement may follow at least one of several principles:
For high SNR, by using a small number of Tx antennas and a large number of Rx antennas, wide Tx bandwidth, zero or short sweeping duration, and/or omnidirectional reception can be achieved.
For low SNR, by using a large number of Tx antennas and a small number of Rx antennas, narrow Tx bandwidth, long sweeping duration, and/or directional reception using the same beam direction as the Tx beam direction (due to AoA=AoD in monostatic sensing) can be achieved.

The parameters of TDMed-VA during beam sweeping may be set/instructed to the BS by the LMF/SF, may be determined by the BS itself, may be instructed/set/exchanged between multiple cooperating BSs via the X2/Xn/F1-AP interface, may be set/instructed to the UE by the LMF/SF, may be set/instructed to the UE by the BS via higher layer signaling (SIB/MAC CE/RRC IE, etc.) or physical layer signaling (DCI/UCI, etc.), may be instructed/set/exchanged between multiple cooperating UEs via the sidelink interface, or may be determined by the UE itself.

The number of Tx/Rx antennas may be explicitly indicated by the Tx/Rx arrangement, etc., or may be implicitly indicated by the number of beams (or the number of CSI-RS ports), etc. For example, the explicit instruction may be a defined set of Tx/Rx arrangements including a set of Tx/Rx antenna ratios or Tx and Rx antenna values (locations/numbers). For example, if one beam number (or CSI-RS port number) is set as an implicit instruction, one antenna may be arranged for each Tx antenna group (port). For example, if X beam numbers (or CSI-RS port numbers) are set as an implicit instruction, X antennas may be arranged for each Tx antenna group (port).

<<Embodiment C4-2>>
Parameters in beam management for TDMed-VA may be defined in a specification or may be set/indicated/exchanged semi-statically/dynamically, and may include at least one of the following parameters:

- Beam management parameters, e.g. Tx beam/spatial domain filter/QCL type D RS/TCI state etc.

- TDMed-VA parameters. For example, at least one of the following: multiple ports/groups of Tx antennas, resource allocation for each port/group of Tx antennas, orthogonal partitioning method, number of Tx antennas, antenna arrangement/position for each port/group of Tx antennas, number of Rx antennas, and Tx-Rx antenna ratio.

<<Variations>>
For higher SNR, TDMed-VA may be combined with an iteration of embodiment C3.

Some of the multiple Tx antennas may be defined/configured/selected as antenna port groups (ports) #0, #1. The sensing transmitter may sweep beams #0 to #3 for each antenna port group (port).

In the example of beam-level TDMed-VA with repetition of FIG. 68A, the time domain resources for beams #0 through #3 may be TDMed. Within the time domain resources for each beam, the time domain resources for antenna port groups (ports) #0, #1 may be TDMed. Within the N time domain resources for each antenna port group (port), N repetitive transmissions may each be performed. In this example, the number of repetitions N=2.

In the example of beam-level TDMed-VA with repetition of FIG. 68B, the time domain resources for beams #0 through #3 may be TDMed. Within the N time domain resources for each beam, N repeat transmissions may each be performed. In this example, the number of repetitions N=2. Within the time domain resources for each repeat transmission, the time domain resources for antenna port groups (ports) #0 and #1 may be TDMed.

In the example of burst-level TDMed-VA with repetition of FIG. 69A, N repeat transmissions may each occur within N time domain resources. In this example, the number of repetitions N=2. Within the time domain resources for each repeat transmission, the time domain resources for antenna port groups (ports) #0 and #1 may be TDMed. Within the N time domain resources for each antenna port group (port), the time domain resources for beams #0 through #3 may be TDMed.

In the burst level TDMed-VA example with repetition of FIG. 69B, the time domain resources for antenna port groups (ports) #0 and #1 may be TDMed. Within the N time domain resources for each antenna port group (port), N repeat transmissions may each be performed. In this example, the number of repetitions N=2. Within the time domain resources for each repeat transmission, the time domain resources for beams #0 through #3 may be TDMed.

According to this embodiment, the repetition can improve the sensing SNR/coverage.

<Embodiment C5>
This embodiment relates to beam sweeping and beam management using iterations/EA and VA.

With repetition/EA/pulse integration for sensing, multi-slot EA for sensing and coherent estimation can be considered for higher SNR, but the angular resolution is limited by the physical aperture size.

VA for sensing allows splitting multiple Tx antennas into multiple antenna groups to create a VA for better angular resolution/precision, but results in lower SNR due to fewer Tx antennas in each antenna group with smaller array gain.

Issues include how to flexibly use multiple antennas and multiple time domain resources for sensing, and how to flexibly combine the advantages of EA and VA in various scenarios.

Flexible switching between EA and VA can be achieved by dynamic change of sensing signal and receiving strategy across multiple time domain resources. The sensing signal may be at least one of transmitting signal and Tx beamforming. The receiving strategy may be at least one of Rx beamforming and estimation algorithm.

The sensing signal and receiving strategy may follow at least one of the following schemes:
- Scheme 1: Repetition/EA/Pulse Integration: Tx may do repetition of signal and same beam with all Tx antennas/ports in multiple slots. Rx may do summation of received signals in multiple slots.
may also be used.
- Scheme 2: VA. Tx may do signal and same beam repetition in multiple slots using different Tx antennas/ports. Rx may do received signal combining without beamforming.

The sensing methods supported in monostatic sensing may be repetition and VA. The sensing method supported in bistatic sensing may be repetition only.

In the example of scheme 1 in FIG. 70, the frame structure of time domain resources T1, T2 is the same, and the frame structure of time domain resources T3, T4 is the same. The sensing transmitter uses the same arrangement/group of Tx antennas in time domain resources T1 to T4. The sensing transmitter transmits repeatedly using beam #0 in T1, T2, and the sensing transmitter transmits repeatedly using beam #1 in T3, T4. The sensing receiver performs coherent estimation using beam #0 in T1, T2, and coherent estimation using beam #1 in T3, T4. The SNR is high due to all Tx antennas and coherent estimation. The angular resolution is limited by being limited by the Rx physical aperture.

In the example of method 2 in FIG. 71, the frame structures of time domain resources T1 and T2 are equal, and the frame structures of time domain resources T3 and T4 are equal. The sensing transmitter uses beam #0 in time domain resources T1 and T2, and beam #1 in time domain resources T3 and T4. The sensing transmitter uses Tx antenna arrangement/group #0 in T1 and T3, and Tx antenna arrangement/group #1 in T2 and T4. The sensing receiver receives using Rx antennas (arrangements) without beamforming in T1 to T4. The sensing receiver combines the received signals of T1 and T2 to generate Rx VA, and combines the received signals of T3 and T4 to generate Rx VA. Fewer Tx antennas results in lower SNR. Larger Rx VA improves angular resolution.

The radio modes of repetition and TDMed-VA may be supported in a pattern defined in the specification, may be set/instructed to the BS by the LMF/SF, may be determined by the BS itself, may be instructed/set/exchanged between multiple cooperating BSs via the X2/Xn/F1-AP interface, may be set/instructed to the UE by the LMF/SF, may be set/instructed to the UE by the BS via higher layer signaling (SIB/MAC CE/RRC IE, etc.) or physical layer signaling (DCI/UCI, etc.), may be instructed/set/exchanged between multiple cooperating UEs via the sidelink interface, or may be determined by the UE itself.

First, iterations may be performed to improve sensing coverage, and then VA may be performed to improve sensing (angle) performance.

The iterative/TDMed-VA may follow at least one of several options:

- Option 1: A pattern of repetition and TDMed-VA is defined in the specification. For example, the pattern may indicate M slots/symbols for repetition and N slots/symbols for TDMed-VA. A set of (M,N) values may be defined in the specification. Based on the pattern, repetition and TDMed-VA may be semi-statically/dynamically configured/instructed. The set of (M,N) values may be related to at least one of the number of Tx/Rx antennas and the number of Tx antenna groups/ports. Signaling overhead is reduced, but flexibility of time domain resources for repetition and TDMed-VA is limited.

--In the example of FIG. 72, sensing is performed in the following time domain resources T1 to T8.
--- In T1, T2, all Tx antennas are used and the same narrow Tx-Rx beam is used for repetition/EA, which can achieve sensing for low SNR scenarios.
--- In T3 and T4, wider Tx beams are used and different Tx antenna ports are used to perform TDMed-VA, which can achieve sensing for high angular resolution requirement scenarios.
--- At T5 and T6, the same Tx beam is used and the same Tx antenna port #0 is used, thereby performing repetition/EA. At T7 and T8, the same Tx beam is used and the same Tx antenna port #1 is used, thereby performing repetition/EA. At T5 to T8, TDMed-VA is performed. This allows sensing for scenarios with low SNR and high angular resolution requirements to be achieved.

- Option 2: The repetition and TDMed-VA settings are explicitly indicated/configured by parameters in the beam sweeping and beam management procedures in embodiment C1/embodiment C2/embodiment C3/embodiment C4. For example, at least one value of the number of repetitions and the number of time slots for TDMed-VA may be defined by a set, may be limited by a range of values, or may be determined to a specific value based on the configuration. The set may be, for example, {N1, N2, ...}. The range may be, for example, {Nmin, Nmax}. The value may be determined based on the SNR and antenna configuration. This increases the flexibility of repetition and TDMed-VA, but at the expense of higher signaling overhead.

Beam sweeping and beam management with repetition may follow the procedure below.

- An example of a repeating beam sweeping and beam management procedure in Figure 73 includes phases 0 to 2 below.

-- In phase 0, at least one of the following may be set/instructed to the sensing transmitter/sensing receiver: time domain resource, frequency domain resource, RS, MIMO method (BF/VA), number of repetitions, and repetition type. The setting/instruction may be notified from the LMF/SF to the sensing transmitter/sensing receiver, or may be notified/exchanged between the sensing transmitter and the sensing receiver. Phase 0/1 may start in response to a trigger.

-- In the subsequent phase 1, repeated Tx and Rx sensing beam sweeping may be performed. Phase 1 may be performed periodically, semi-persistently, aperiodically, or may be triggered by an event. The event may be the acquisition of prior information about the sensing target. In phase 1, the sensing transmitter may perform Tx beam sweeping. If the Rx MIMO method in phase 1 is BF, the sensing receiver may perform Rx beam sweeping. If the Rx MIMO method in phase 1 is VA, the sensing receiver may perform reception without Rx beamforming.

-- In the subsequent phase 2, beam tracking of Tx and Rx with repetition may be performed. Beam tracking may select one or more beams from the multiple beams used in beam sweeping, and continue sensing using the selected beam. If the sensing is bistatic sensing, feedback/exchange/instruction may be performed between the sensing transmitter and the sensing receiver in phase 2. If the sensing stations are coordinated, exchange/instruction may be performed between multiple sensing transmitters/sensing receivers in phase 2. In phase 2, the sensing transmitter may transmit using the selected Tx beam. If the Rx MIMO method in phase 2 is BF, the sensing receiver may receive using the selected Rx beam. If the Rx MIMO method in phase 2 is VA, the sensing receiver may receive without Rx beamforming. Phase 2 may include phases 2-1 and 2-2. In phase 2-1, at least one of the time domain resource, frequency domain resource, RS, MIMO method (BF/VA), number of repetitions, and repetition type may be configured/instructed to the sensing transmitter/sensing receiver. In phase 2-2, continuous update/feedback/exchange/instruction/setting of Tx/Rx beams may be performed to the sensing transmitter/sensing receiver. Phase 2 may end depending on the release.

The multiple time slots for repetition and TDMed-VA may include both DL time slots and UL time slots in half duplex. The frame structure for the DL time slots and UL time slots may follow embodiment B1/embodiment B2.

According to this embodiment, repetition/EA and VA can improve sensing SNR/coverage/angular resolution.

<Additional Information>
[Notification of information to UE]
In the above-described embodiment, any information may be notified to the UE (from a network (NW) (e.g., a base station (BS))) (in other words, any information is received from the BS by the UE) using physical layer signaling (e.g., DCI), higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC signaling, MAC CE), a specific signal/channel (e.g., PDCCH, PDSCH, reference signal), or a combination thereof.

When the above notification is performed by a MAC CE, the MAC CE may be identified by including in the MAC subheader a new Logical Channel ID (LCID) that is not specified in existing standards.

When the notification is made by a DCI, the notification may be made by a specific field of the DCI, a Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) used to scramble Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) bits assigned to the DCI, the format of the DCI, etc.

Furthermore, notification of any information to the UE in the above-mentioned embodiments may be performed periodically, semi-persistently, or aperiodically.

[Information notification from UE]
In the above-described embodiments, notification of any information from the UE (to the NW) (in other words, transmission/report of any information from the UE to the BS) may be performed using physical layer signaling (e.g., UCI), higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC signaling, MAC CE), a specific signal/channel (e.g., PUCCH, PUSCH, PRACH, reference signal), or a combination thereof.

If the notification is made by a MAC CE, the MAC CE may be identified by including a new LCID in the MAC subheader that is not specified in existing standards.

If the notification is made by UCI, the notification may be transmitted using PUCCH or PUSCH.

Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiments, notification of any information from the UE may be performed periodically, semi-persistently, or aperiodically.

[Application of each embodiment]
At least one of the above-mentioned embodiments may be applied when a specific condition is satisfied, which may be specified in a standard or may be notified to a UE/BS using higher layer signaling/physical layer signaling (RRC IE/MAC CE/UCI).

The particular condition may indicate at least one of the following:
- being configured to enable at least one of the above mentioned embodiments;

At least one of the above-described embodiments may be applied only to UEs that have reported or support a particular UE capability.

The specific UE capabilities may indicate at least one of the following:
The UE supports specific processing/operations/control/information for at least one of the above embodiments.
- UE/BS capabilities regarding sensing.
- UE/BS capabilities regarding sweeping/management of sensing beams.
- UE/BS capabilities regarding sensing MIMO transmission (BF/VA).
The UE supports the association between multiple antennas and multiple sensing antenna ports.
The UE supports signal generation for multiple sensing antenna ports.
- UE capability regarding support for repetition and dynamic switching between VAs.

UE capabilities may be read as BS capabilities. UE capabilities may be reported to a server/LMF/SF/BS/another UE. BS capabilities may be reported to a server/LMF/SF/UE/another BS.

Furthermore, the above-mentioned specific UE capabilities may be capabilities that are applied across all frequencies (commonly regardless of frequency), capabilities per frequency (e.g., one or a combination of a cell, band, band combination, BWP, component carrier, etc.), capabilities per frequency range (e.g., Frequency Range 1 (FR1), FR2, FR3, FR4, FR5, FR2-1, FR2-2), capabilities per subcarrier spacing (SubCarrier Spacing (SCS)), or capabilities per Feature Set (FS) or Feature Set Per Component-carrier (FSPC).

The above-mentioned specific UE capabilities may be capabilities that are applied across all duplexing methods (commonly regardless of the duplexing method), or may be capabilities for each duplexing method (e.g., Time Division Duplex (TDD) and Frequency Division Duplex (FDD)).

Also, at least one of the above-mentioned embodiments may be applied when the UE is configured/activated/triggered by higher layer signaling/physical layer signaling to have specific information related to the above-mentioned embodiment (or to perform the operation of the above-mentioned embodiment), where the specific information may indicate at least one of the following:
- Information indicating whether to enable/disable the operation of the above embodiment.
RRC parameters for a specific release (e.g., Rel. 18/19). In Rel. YY (e.g., YY is 18 or greater), the RRC parameters that enable operation XXX may be represented as XXX_rYY (XXX-rYY).

If the UE does not support at least one of the above specific UE capabilities or the above specific information is not configured, the UE may, for example, apply Rel. 15/16 operations.

(Additional Note)
With respect to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the following invention is noted.
[Appendix 1]
A receiver that receives at least one piece of information of a transmission beam sweeping using all or a part of a plurality of antennas, a reception beam forming for the transmission beam sweeping, and a virtual aperture for the transmission beam sweeping;
A terminal having a control unit that controls sensing using at least one of the transmit beam sweeping, the receive beam forming, and the virtual aperture based on the information.
[Appendix 2]
The terminal described in Supplementary Note 1, wherein after the transmit beam sweeping, the control unit selects one or more beams from the multiple beams in the transmit beam sweeping and controls transmission of the one or more beams.
[Appendix 3]
The terminal of claim 1 or 2, wherein after the transmit beam sweeping, the control unit controls a second receive beamforming or sensing using a second virtual aperture for one or more beams of the multiple beams in the transmit beam sweeping.
[Appendix 4]
A terminal described in any one of Supplementary Note 1 to Supplementary Note 3, wherein after the transmit beam sweeping, the control unit continues sensing using one or more beams of the multiple beams in the transmit beam sweeping.

(Additional Note)
With respect to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the following invention is noted.
[Appendix 1]
a receiver that receives at least one of information on a transmit beam sweeping with repetition, a receive beam forming for the transmit beam sweeping, and a virtual aperture for the transmit beam sweeping;
A terminal having a control unit that controls sensing using at least one of the transmit beam sweeping, the receive beam forming, and the virtual aperture based on the information.
[Appendix 2]
The terminal of claim 1, wherein the transmit beam sweeping repeats the same beam across multiple time domain resources, or repeats sweeping of multiple beams, or repeats sweeping of a group of beams within the multiple beams.
[Appendix 3]
A terminal as described in Supplementary Note 1 or Supplementary Note 2, wherein after the transmit beam sweeping, the control unit controls sensing using one or more beams of the multiple beams in the transmit beam sweeping.
[Appendix 4]
A terminal described in any one of Supplementary Note 1 to Supplementary Note 3, wherein the control unit controls sensing using at least one of a second transmit beam sweeping using a portion of the multiple antennas used for the transmit beam sweeping and a second virtual aperture for the second transmit beam sweeping.

(Additional Note)
With respect to one embodiment of the present disclosure, the following invention is noted.
[Appendix 1]
A receiver that receives at least one of information on transmit beam sweeping using a portion of a plurality of antennas and information on a virtual aperture for the transmit beam sweeping;
A terminal having a control unit that controls sensing using at least one of the transmit beam sweeping, the receive beam forming, and the virtual aperture based on the information.
[Appendix 2]
A terminal as described in Appendix 1, wherein resources corresponding to each of the multiple beams used for the transmission beam sweeping are time division multiplexed, or time division multiplexed and frequency division multiplexed, or time division multiplexed and code division multiplexed.
[Appendix 3]
The terminal of claim 1 or 2, wherein the transmit beam sweeping includes transmitting using a first portion of the multiple antennas and a first beam, followed by transmitting using a second portion of the multiple antennas and the first beam, or transmitting using the first portion and the first beam, followed by transmitting using the first portion and the first beam.
[Appendix 4]
A terminal described in any one of Supplementary Note 1 to Supplementary Note 3, wherein the control unit controls sensing using at least one of a second transmit beam sweeping using all of the multiple antennas, a second receive beamforming for the second transmit beam sweeping, and a second virtual aperture for the second transmit beam sweeping.

(Wireless communication system)
A configuration of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below. In this wireless communication system, communication is performed using any one of the wireless communication methods according to the above embodiments of the present disclosure or a combination of these methods.

FIG. 74 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment. The wireless communication system 1 (which may simply be referred to as system 1) may be a system that realizes communication using Long Term Evolution (LTE) specified by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), 5th generation mobile communication system New Radio (5G NR), or the like.

The wireless communication system 1 may also support dual connectivity between multiple Radio Access Technologies (RATs) (Multi-RAT Dual Connectivity (MR-DC)). MR-DC may include dual connectivity between LTE (Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA)) and NR (E-UTRA-NR Dual Connectivity (EN-DC)), dual connectivity between NR and LTE (NR-E-UTRA Dual Connectivity (NE-DC)), etc.

In EN-DC, the LTE (E-UTRA) base station (eNB) is the master node (MN), and the NR base station (gNB) is the secondary node (SN). In NE-DC, the NR base station (gNB) is the MN, and the LTE (E-UTRA) base station (eNB) is the SN.

The wireless communication system 1 may support dual connectivity between multiple base stations within the same RAT (e.g., dual connectivity in which both the MN and SN are NR base stations (gNBs) (NR-NR Dual Connectivity (NN-DC))).

The wireless communication system 1 may include a base station 11 that forms a macrocell C1 with a relatively wide coverage, and base stations 12 (12a-12c) that are arranged within the macrocell C1 and form a small cell C2 that is narrower than the macrocell C1. A user terminal 20 may be located within at least one of the cells. The arrangement and number of each cell and user terminal 20 are not limited to the embodiment shown in the figure. Hereinafter, when there is no need to distinguish between the base stations 11 and 12, they will be collectively referred to as base station 10.

The user terminal 20 may be connected to at least one of the multiple base stations 10. The user terminal 20 may utilize at least one of carrier aggregation (CA) using multiple component carriers (CC) and dual connectivity (DC).

Each CC may be included in at least one of a first frequency band (Frequency Range 1 (FR1)) and a second frequency band (Frequency Range 2 (FR2)). Macro cell C1 may be included in FR1, and small cell C2 may be included in FR2. For example, FR1 may be a frequency band below 6 GHz (sub-6 GHz), and FR2 may be a frequency band above 24 GHz (above-24 GHz). Note that the frequency bands and definitions of FR1 and FR2 are not limited to these, and for example, FR1 may correspond to a higher frequency band than FR2.

In addition, the user terminal 20 may communicate using at least one of Time Division Duplex (TDD) and Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) in each CC.

The multiple base stations 10 may be connected by wire (e.g., optical fiber conforming to the Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI), X2 interface, etc.) or wirelessly (e.g., NR communication). For example, when NR communication is used as a backhaul between base stations 11 and 12, base station 11, which corresponds to the upper station, may be called an Integrated Access Backhaul (IAB) donor, and base station 12, which corresponds to a relay station, may be called an IAB node.

The base station 10 may be connected to the core network 30 via another base station 10 or directly. The core network 30 may include, for example, at least one of an Evolved Packet Core (EPC), a 5G Core Network (5GCN), a Next Generation Core (NGC), etc.

The core network 30 may include network functions (Network Functions (NF)) such as, for example, a User Plane Function (UPF), an Access and Mobility management Function (AMF), a Session Management Function (SMF), a Unified Data Management (UDM), an Application Function (AF), a Data Network (DN), a Location Management Function (LMF), and Operation, Administration and Maintenance (Management) (OAM). Note that multiple functions may be provided by one network node. In addition, communication with an external network (e.g., the Internet) may be performed via the DN.

The user terminal 20 may be a terminal that supports at least one of the communication methods such as LTE, LTE-A, and 5G.

In the wireless communication system 1, a wireless access method based on Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) may be used. For example, in at least one of the downlink (DL) and uplink (UL), Cyclic Prefix OFDM (CP-OFDM), Discrete Fourier Transform Spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA), etc. may be used.

The radio access method may also be called a waveform. Note that in the wireless communication system 1, other radio access methods (e.g., other single-carrier transmission methods, other multi-carrier transmission methods) may be used for the UL and DL radio access methods.

In the wireless communication system 1, a downlink shared channel (Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH)) shared by each user terminal 20, a broadcast channel (Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH)), a downlink control channel (Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH)), etc. may be used as the downlink channel.

In addition, in the wireless communication system 1, an uplink shared channel (Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH)) shared by each user terminal 20, an uplink control channel (Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH)), a random access channel (Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH)), etc. may be used as an uplink channel.

User data, upper layer control information, System Information Block (SIB), etc. are transmitted via PDSCH. User data, upper layer control information, etc. may also be transmitted via PUSCH. Furthermore, Master Information Block (MIB) may also be transmitted via PBCH.

Lower layer control information may be transmitted by the PDCCH. The lower layer control information may include, for example, downlink control information (Downlink Control Information (DCI)) including scheduling information for at least one of the PDSCH and the PUSCH.

Note that the DCI for scheduling the PDSCH may be called a DL assignment or DL DCI, and the DCI for scheduling the PUSCH may be called a UL grant or UL DCI. Note that the PDSCH may be interpreted as DL data, and the PUSCH may be interpreted as UL data.

A control resource set (COntrol REsource SET (CORESET)) and a search space may be used to detect the PDCCH. The CORESET corresponds to the resources to search for DCI. The search space corresponds to the search region and search method of PDCCH candidates. One CORESET may be associated with one or multiple search spaces. The UE may monitor the CORESET associated with a search space based on the search space configuration.

A search space may correspond to PDCCH candidates corresponding to one or more aggregation levels. One or more search spaces may be referred to as a search space set. Note that the terms "search space," "search space set," "search space setting," "search space set setting," "CORESET," "CORESET setting," etc. in this disclosure may be read as interchangeable.

The PUCCH may transmit uplink control information (UCI) including at least one of channel state information (CSI), delivery confirmation information (which may be called, for example, Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest ACKnowledgement (HARQ-ACK), ACK/NACK, etc.), and a scheduling request (SR). The PRACH may transmit a random access preamble for establishing a connection with a cell.

Note that in this disclosure, downlink, uplink, etc. may be expressed without adding "link." Also, various channels may be expressed without adding "Physical" to the beginning.

In the wireless communication system 1, a synchronization signal (SS), a downlink reference signal (DL-RS), etc. may be transmitted. In the wireless communication system 1, as the DL-RS, a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), a positioning reference signal (PRS), a phase tracking reference signal (PTRS), etc. may be transmitted.

The synchronization signal may be, for example, at least one of a Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS) and a Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS). A signal block including an SS (PSS, SSS) and a PBCH (and a DMRS for PBCH) may be called an SS/PBCH block, an SS Block (SSB), etc. In addition, the SS, SSB, etc. may also be called a reference signal.

In addition, in the wireless communication system 1, a measurement reference signal (Sounding Reference Signal (SRS)), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), etc. may be transmitted as an uplink reference signal (UL-RS). Note that the DMRS may also be called a user equipment-specific reference signal (UE-specific Reference Signal).

The core network 20 (a server in the core network 20) may transmit a request or assistance data regarding sensing. The base station 10 may control at least one of the following based on the request: reporting the result of the sensing, activating or deactivating the transmission of a reference signal for the sensing, setting or updating the reference signal, activating or deactivating the measurement of the sensing, and updating the method of the sensing. The user terminal 20 may transfer either the capability for the sensing or the result of the sensing based on the request or assistance data.

(Base station)
75 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a base station according to an embodiment. The base station 10 includes a control unit 110, a transceiver unit 120, a transceiver antenna 130, and a transmission line interface 140. Note that one or more of each of the control unit 110, the transceiver unit 120, the transceiver antenna 130, and the transmission line interface 140 may be provided.

Note that this example mainly shows the functional blocks of the characteristic parts of this embodiment, and the base station 10 may also be assumed to have other functional blocks necessary for wireless communication. Some of the processing of each part described below may be omitted.

The control unit 110 controls the entire base station 10. The control unit 110 can be configured from a controller, a control circuit, etc., which are described based on a common understanding in the technical field to which this disclosure pertains.

The control unit 110 may control signal generation, scheduling (e.g., resource allocation, mapping), etc. The control unit 110 may control transmission and reception using the transceiver unit 120, the transceiver antenna 130, and the transmission path interface 140, measurement, etc. The control unit 110 may generate data, control information, sequences, etc. to be transmitted as signals, and transfer them to the transceiver unit 120. The control unit 110 may perform call processing of communication channels (setting, release, etc.), status management of the base station 10, management of radio resources, etc.

The transceiver unit 120 may include a baseband unit 121, a radio frequency (RF) unit 122, and a measurement unit 123. The baseband unit 121 may include a transmission processing unit 1211 and a reception processing unit 1212. The transceiver unit 120 may be composed of a transmitter/receiver, an RF circuit, a baseband circuit, a filter, a phase shifter, a measurement circuit, a transceiver circuit, etc., which are described based on a common understanding in the technical field to which the present disclosure relates.

The transceiver 120 may be configured as an integrated transceiver, or may be composed of a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter may be composed of a transmission processing unit 1211 and an RF unit 122. The receiver may be composed of a reception processing unit 1212, an RF unit 122, and a measurement unit 123.

The transmitting/receiving antenna 130 can be configured as an antenna described based on common understanding in the technical field to which this disclosure pertains, such as an array antenna.

The transceiver 120 may transmit the above-mentioned downlink channel, synchronization signal, downlink reference signal, etc. The transceiver 120 may receive the above-mentioned uplink channel, uplink reference signal, etc.

The transceiver 120 may form at least one of the transmit beam and receive beam using digital beamforming (e.g., precoding), analog beamforming (e.g., phase rotation), etc.

The transceiver 120 (transmission processing unit 1211) may perform Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer processing, Radio Link Control (RLC) layer processing (e.g., RLC retransmission control), Medium Access Control (MAC) layer processing (e.g., HARQ retransmission control), etc. on data and control information obtained from the control unit 110 to generate a bit string to be transmitted.

The transceiver 120 (transmission processor 1211) may perform transmission processing such as channel coding (which may include error correction coding), modulation, mapping, filtering, Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) processing (if necessary), Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) processing, precoding, and digital-to-analog conversion on the bit string to be transmitted, and output a baseband signal.

The transceiver unit 120 (RF unit 122) may perform modulation, filtering, amplification, etc., on the baseband signal to a radio frequency band, and transmit the radio frequency band signal via the transceiver antenna 130.

On the other hand, the transceiver unit 120 (RF unit 122) may perform amplification, filtering, demodulation to a baseband signal, etc. on the radio frequency band signal received by the transceiver antenna 130.

The transceiver 120 (reception processing unit 1212) may apply reception processing such as analog-to-digital conversion, Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) processing, Inverse Discrete Fourier Transform (IDFT) processing (if necessary), filtering, demapping, demodulation, decoding (which may include error correction decoding), MAC layer processing, RLC layer processing, and PDCP layer processing to the acquired baseband signal, and acquire user data, etc.

The transceiver 120 (measurement unit 123) may perform measurements on the received signal. For example, the measurement unit 123 may perform Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurements, Channel State Information (CSI) measurements, etc. based on the received signal. The measurement unit 123 may measure received power (e.g., Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP)), received quality (e.g., Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR), Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR)), signal strength (e.g., Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI)), propagation path information (e.g., CSI), etc. The measurement results may be output to the control unit 110.

The transmission path interface 140 may transmit and receive signals (backhaul signaling) between devices included in the core network 30 (e.g., network nodes providing NF), other base stations 10, etc., and may acquire and transmit user data (user plane data), control plane data, etc. for the user terminal 20.

Note that the transmitting section and receiving section of the base station 10 in this disclosure may be configured with at least one of the transmitting/receiving section 120, the transmitting/receiving antenna 130, and the transmission path interface 140.

The transceiver 120 may transmit at least one of information on transmit beam sweeping using all or part of multiple antennas, receive beam forming for the transmit beam sweeping, and a virtual aperture for the transmit beam sweeping. The control unit 110 may control sensing using at least one of the transmit beam sweeping, the receive beam forming, and the virtual aperture based on the information.

The transceiver 120 may transmit at least one of information on a transmit beam sweeping with repetition, a receive beam forming for the transmit beam sweeping, and a virtual aperture for the transmit beam sweeping. The control unit 110 may control sensing using at least one of the transmit beam sweeping, the receive beam forming, and the virtual aperture based on the information.

The transceiver 120 may transmit at least one of information on transmit beam sweeping using some of the multiple antennas and a virtual aperture for the transmit beam sweeping. The control unit 110 may control sensing using at least one of the transmit beam sweeping, the receive beam forming, and the virtual aperture based on the information.

(User terminal)
76 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a user terminal according to an embodiment. The user terminal 20 includes a control unit 210, a transmitting/receiving unit 220, and a transmitting/receiving antenna 230. Note that one or more of each of the control unit 210, the transmitting/receiving unit 220, and the transmitting/receiving antenna 230 may be provided.

Note that this example mainly shows the functional blocks of the characteristic parts of this embodiment, and the user terminal 20 may also be assumed to have other functional blocks necessary for wireless communication. Some of the processing of each part described below may be omitted.

The control unit 210 controls the entire user terminal 20. The control unit 210 can be configured from a controller, a control circuit, etc., which are described based on a common understanding in the technical field to which this disclosure pertains.

The control unit 210 may control signal generation, mapping, etc. The control unit 210 may control transmission and reception using the transceiver unit 220 and the transceiver antenna 230, measurement, etc. The control unit 210 may generate data, control information, sequences, etc. to be transmitted as signals, and transfer them to the transceiver unit 220.

The transceiver unit 220 may include a baseband unit 221, an RF unit 222, and a measurement unit 223. The baseband unit 221 may include a transmission processing unit 2211 and a reception processing unit 2212. The transceiver unit 220 may be composed of a transmitter/receiver, an RF circuit, a baseband circuit, a filter, a phase shifter, a measurement circuit, a transceiver circuit, etc., which are described based on a common understanding in the technical field to which the present disclosure relates.

The transceiver unit 220 may be configured as an integrated transceiver unit, or may be composed of a transmission unit and a reception unit. The transmission unit may be composed of a transmission processing unit 2211 and an RF unit 222. The reception unit may be composed of a reception processing unit 2212, an RF unit 222, and a measurement unit 223.

The transmitting/receiving antenna 230 can be configured as an antenna described based on common understanding in the technical field to which this disclosure pertains, such as an array antenna.

The transceiver 220 may receive the above-mentioned downlink channel, synchronization signal, downlink reference signal, etc. The transceiver 220 may transmit the above-mentioned uplink channel, uplink reference signal, etc.

The transceiver unit 220 may form at least one of the transmit beam and receive beam using digital beamforming (e.g., precoding), analog beamforming (e.g., phase rotation), etc.

The transceiver 220 (transmission processor 2211) may perform PDCP layer processing, RLC layer processing (e.g., RLC retransmission control), MAC layer processing (e.g., HARQ retransmission control), etc. on the data and control information acquired from the controller 210, and generate a bit string to be transmitted.

The transceiver 220 (transmission processor 2211) may perform transmission processing such as channel coding (which may include error correction coding), modulation, mapping, filtering, DFT processing (if necessary), IFFT processing, precoding, and digital-to-analog conversion on the bit string to be transmitted, and output a baseband signal.

Whether or not to apply DFT processing may be based on the settings of transform precoding. When transform precoding is enabled for a certain channel (e.g., PUSCH), the transceiver unit 220 (transmission processing unit 2211) may perform DFT processing as the above-mentioned transmission processing in order to transmit the channel using a DFT-s-OFDM waveform, and when transform precoding is not enabled, it is not necessary to perform DFT processing as the above-mentioned transmission processing.

The transceiver unit 220 (RF unit 222) may perform modulation, filtering, amplification, etc., on the baseband signal to a radio frequency band, and transmit the radio frequency band signal via the transceiver antenna 230.

On the other hand, the transceiver unit 220 (RF unit 222) may perform amplification, filtering, demodulation to a baseband signal, etc. on the radio frequency band signal received by the transceiver antenna 230.

The transceiver 220 (reception processor 2212) may apply reception processing such as analog-to-digital conversion, FFT processing, IDFT processing (if necessary), filtering, demapping, demodulation, decoding (which may include error correction decoding), MAC layer processing, RLC layer processing, and PDCP layer processing to the acquired baseband signal to acquire user data, etc.

The transceiver 220 (measurement unit 223) may perform measurements on the received signal. For example, the measurement unit 223 may perform RRM measurements, CSI measurements, etc. based on the received signal. The measurement unit 223 may measure received power (e.g., RSRP), received quality (e.g., RSRQ, SINR, SNR), signal strength (e.g., RSSI), propagation path information (e.g., CSI), etc. The measurement results may be output to the control unit 210.

The measurement unit 223 may derive channel measurements for CSI calculation based on channel measurement resources. The channel measurement resources may be, for example, non-zero power (NZP) CSI-RS resources. The measurement unit 223 may derive interference measurements for CSI calculation based on interference measurement resources. The interference measurement resources may be at least one of NZP CSI-RS resources for interference measurement, CSI-Interference Measurement (IM) resources, etc. CSI-IM may be called CSI-Interference Management (IM) or may be interchangeably read as Zero Power (ZP) CSI-RS. In this disclosure, CSI-RS, NZP CSI-RS, ZP CSI-RS, CSI-IM, CSI-SSB, etc. may be read as interchangeable.

In addition, the transmitting unit and receiving unit of the user terminal 20 in this disclosure may be configured by at least one of the transmitting/receiving unit 220 and the transmitting/receiving antenna 230.

The transceiver 220 may receive at least one of information on transmit beam sweeping using all or part of multiple antennas, receive beam forming for the transmit beam sweeping, and a virtual aperture for the transmit beam sweeping. The control unit 210 may control sensing using at least one of the transmit beam sweeping, the receive beam forming, and the virtual aperture based on the information.

After the transmit beam sweeping, the control unit 210 may select one or more beams from the multiple beams in the transmit beam sweeping and control the transmission of the one or more beams.

After the transmit beam sweeping, the control unit 210 may control a second receive beamforming or sensing using a second virtual aperture for one or more beams of the multiple beams in the transmit beam sweeping.

After the transmit beam sweeping, the control unit 210 may continue sensing using one or more of the multiple beams in the transmit beam sweeping.

The transceiver 220 may receive at least one of information on a transmit beam sweeping with repetition, a receive beam forming for the transmit beam sweeping, and a virtual aperture for the transmit beam sweeping. The control unit 210 may control sensing using at least one of the transmit beam sweeping, the receive beam forming, and the virtual aperture based on the information.

The transmit beam sweeping may include repeating the same beam across multiple time domain resources, or repeating sweeping of multiple beams, or repeating sweeping of groups of beams within the multiple beams.

After the transmit beam sweeping, the control unit 210 may control sensing using one or more of the multiple beams in the transmit beam sweeping.

The control unit 210 may control sensing using at least one of a second transmit beam sweeping using some of the multiple antennas used for the transmit beam sweeping and a second virtual aperture for the second transmit beam sweeping.

The transceiver 220 may receive at least one of information on transmit beam sweeping using some of the multiple antennas and a virtual aperture for the transmit beam sweeping. The control unit 210 may control sensing using at least one of the transmit beam sweeping, the receive beam forming, and the virtual aperture based on the information.

The resources corresponding to the multiple beams used in the transmit beam sweeping may be time division multiplexed, or time division multiplexed and frequency division multiplexed, or time division multiplexed and code division multiplexed.

The transmission beam sweeping may involve transmission using a first portion of the multiple antennas and a first beam followed by transmission using a second portion of the multiple antennas and the first beam, or transmission using the first portion and the first beam followed by transmission using the first portion and the second beam.

The control unit 210 may control sensing using at least one of a second transmit beam sweeping using all of the multiple antennas, a second receive beamforming for the second transmit beam sweeping, and a second virtual aperture for the second transmit beam sweeping.

(Hardware configuration)
The block diagrams used in the description of the above embodiments show functional blocks. These functional blocks (components) are realized by any combination of at least one of hardware and software. The method of realizing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be realized using one device that is physically or logically coupled, or may be realized using two or more devices that are physically or logically separated and directly or indirectly connected (for example, using wires, wirelessly, etc.). The functional blocks may be realized by combining the one device or the multiple devices with software.

Here, the functions include, but are not limited to, judgement, determination, judgment, calculation, computation, processing, derivation, investigation, search, confirmation, reception, transmission, output, access, resolution, selection, selection, establishment, comparison, assumption, expectation, deeming, broadcasting, notifying, communicating, forwarding, configuring, reconfiguring, allocating, mapping, and assignment. For example, a functional block (component) that performs the transmission function may be called a transmitting unit, a transmitter, and the like. In either case, as mentioned above, there are no particular limitations on the method of realization.

For example, a base station, a user terminal, etc. in one embodiment of the present disclosure may function as a computer that performs processing of the wireless communication method of the present disclosure. FIG. 77 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a base station and a user terminal according to one embodiment. The above-mentioned base station 10 and user terminal 20 may be physically configured as a computer device including a processor 1001, a memory 1002, a storage 1003, a communication device 1004, an input device 1005, an output device 1006, a bus 1007, etc.

In addition, in this disclosure, terms such as apparatus, circuit, device, section, and unit may be interpreted as interchangeable. The hardware configurations of the base station 10 and the user terminal 20 may be configured to include one or more of the devices shown in the figures, or may be configured to exclude some of the devices.

For example, although only one processor 1001 is shown, there may be multiple processors. Furthermore, processing may be performed by one processor, or processing may be performed by two or more processors simultaneously, sequentially, or using other techniques. Furthermore, the processor 1001 may be implemented by one or more chips.

The functions of the base station 10 and the user terminal 20 are realized, for example, by loading specific software (programs) onto hardware such as the processor 1001 and memory 1002, causing the processor 1001 to perform calculations, control communications via the communication device 1004, and control at least one of the reading and writing of data in the memory 1002 and storage 1003.

The processor 1001, for example, operates an operating system to control the entire computer. The processor 1001 may be configured as a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with peripheral devices, a control device, an arithmetic unit, registers, etc. For example, at least a portion of the above-mentioned control unit 110 (210), transmission/reception unit 120 (220), etc. may be realized by the processor 1001.

The processor 1001 also reads out programs (program codes), software modules, data, etc. from at least one of the storage 1003 and the communication device 1004 into the memory 1002, and executes various processes according to these. The programs used are those that cause a computer to execute at least some of the operations described in the above embodiments. For example, the control unit 110 (210) may be realized by a control program stored in the memory 1002 and running on the processor 1001, and similar implementations may be made for other functional blocks.

Memory 1002 is a computer-readable recording medium and may be composed of at least one of, for example, Read Only Memory (ROM), Erasable Programmable ROM (EPROM), Electrically EPROM (EEPROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), and other suitable storage media. Memory 1002 may also be called a register, cache, main memory, etc. Memory 1002 can store executable programs (program codes), software modules, etc. for implementing a wireless communication method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

Storage 1003 is a computer-readable recording medium and may be composed of at least one of a flexible disk, a floppy disk, a magneto-optical disk (e.g., a compact disk (Compact Disc ROM (CD-ROM)), a digital versatile disk, a Blu-ray disk), a removable disk, a hard disk drive, a smart card, a flash memory device (e.g., a card, a stick, a key drive), a magnetic stripe, a database, a server, or other suitable storage medium. Storage 1003 may also be referred to as an auxiliary storage device.

The communication device 1004 is hardware (transmitting/receiving device) for communicating between computers via at least one of a wired network and a wireless network, and is also called, for example, a network device, a network controller, a network card, a communication module, etc. The communication device 1004 may be configured to include a high-frequency switch, a duplexer, a filter, a frequency synthesizer, etc. to realize at least one of, for example, Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD). For example, the above-mentioned transmitting/receiving unit 120 (220), transmitting/receiving antenna 130 (230), etc. may be realized by the communication device 1004. The transmitting/receiving unit 120 (220) may be implemented as a transmitting unit 120a (220a) and a receiving unit 120b (220b) that are physically or logically separated.

The input device 1005 is an input device (e.g., a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a switch, a button, a sensor, etc.) that accepts input from the outside. The output device 1006 is an output device (e.g., a display, a speaker, a Light Emitting Diode (LED) lamp, etc.) that performs output to the outside. Note that the input device 1005 and the output device 1006 may be integrated into one structure (e.g., a touch panel).

Furthermore, each device such as the processor 1001 and memory 1002 is connected by a bus 1007 for communicating information. The bus 1007 may be configured using a single bus, or may be configured using different buses between each device.

Furthermore, the base station 10 and the user terminal 20 may be configured to include hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), or a field programmable gate array (FPGA), and some or all of the functional blocks may be realized using the hardware. For example, the processor 1001 may be implemented using at least one of these pieces of hardware.

(Modification)
In addition, the terms described in this disclosure and the terms necessary for understanding this disclosure may be replaced with terms having the same or similar meanings. For example, a channel, a symbol, and a signal (signal or signaling) may be read as mutually interchangeable. A signal may also be a message. A reference signal may be abbreviated as RS, and may be called a pilot, a pilot signal, or the like depending on the applied standard. A component carrier (CC) may also be called a cell, a frequency carrier, a carrier frequency, or the like.

A radio frame may be composed of one or more periods (frames) in the time domain. Each of the one or more periods (frames) constituting a radio frame may be called a subframe. Furthermore, a subframe may be composed of one or more slots in the time domain. A subframe may have a fixed time length (e.g., 1 ms) that is independent of numerology.

Here, the numerology may be a communication parameter that is applied to at least one of the transmission and reception of a signal or channel. The numerology may indicate, for example, at least one of the following: SubCarrier Spacing (SCS), bandwidth, symbol length, cyclic prefix length, Transmission Time Interval (TTI), number of symbols per TTI, radio frame configuration, a specific filtering process performed by the transceiver in the frequency domain, a specific windowing process performed by the transceiver in the time domain, etc.

A slot may consist of one or more symbols in the time domain (such as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols, Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) symbols, etc.). A slot may also be a time unit based on numerology.

A slot may include multiple minislots. Each minislot may consist of one or multiple symbols in the time domain. A minislot may also be called a subslot. A minislot may consist of fewer symbols than a slot. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted in a time unit larger than a minislot may be called PDSCH (PUSCH) mapping type A. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted using a minislot may be called PDSCH (PUSCH) mapping type B.

A radio frame, subframe, slot, minislot, and symbol all represent time units when transmitting a signal. A different name may be used for radio frame, subframe, slot, minislot, and symbol. Note that the time units such as frame, subframe, slot, minislot, and symbol in this disclosure may be read as interchangeable.

For example, one subframe may be called a TTI, multiple consecutive subframes may be called a TTI, or one slot or one minislot may be called a TTI. In other words, at least one of the subframe and the TTI may be a subframe (1 ms) in existing LTE, a period shorter than 1 ms (e.g., 1-13 symbols), or a period longer than 1 ms. Note that the unit representing the TTI may be called a slot, minislot, etc., instead of a subframe.

Here, TTI refers to, for example, the smallest time unit for scheduling in wireless communication. For example, in an LTE system, a base station schedules each user terminal by allocating radio resources (such as frequency bandwidth and transmission power that can be used by each user terminal) in TTI units. Note that the definition of TTI is not limited to this.

The TTI may be a transmission time unit for a channel-coded data packet (transport block), a code block, a code word, etc., or may be a processing unit for scheduling, link adaptation, etc. When a TTI is given, the time interval (e.g., the number of symbols) in which a transport block, a code block, a code word, etc. is actually mapped may be shorter than the TTI.

Note that when one slot or one minislot is called a TTI, one or more TTIs (i.e., one or more slots or one or more minislots) may be the minimum time unit of scheduling. In addition, the number of slots (minislots) that constitute the minimum time unit of scheduling may be controlled.

A TTI having a time length of 1 ms may be called a normal TTI (TTI in 3GPP Rel. 8-12), normal TTI, long TTI, normal subframe, normal subframe, long subframe, slot, etc. A TTI shorter than a normal TTI may be called a shortened TTI, short TTI, partial or fractional TTI, shortened subframe, short subframe, minislot, subslot, slot, etc.

Note that a long TTI (e.g., a normal TTI, a subframe, etc.) may be interpreted as a TTI having a time length of more than 1 ms, and a short TTI (e.g., a shortened TTI, etc.) may be interpreted as a TTI having a TTI length shorter than the TTI length of a long TTI and equal to or greater than 1 ms.

A resource block (RB) is a resource allocation unit in the time domain and frequency domain, and may include one or more consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain. The number of subcarriers included in an RB may be the same regardless of numerology, and may be, for example, 12. The number of subcarriers included in an RB may be determined based on numerology.

Furthermore, an RB may include one or more symbols in the time domain and may be one slot, one minislot, one subframe, or one TTI in length. One TTI, one subframe, etc. may each be composed of one or more resource blocks.

In addition, one or more RBs may be referred to as a physical resource block (PRB), a sub-carrier group (SCG), a resource element group (REG), a PRB pair, an RB pair, etc.

Furthermore, a resource block may be composed of one or more resource elements (REs). For example, one RE may be a radio resource area of one subcarrier and one symbol.

A Bandwidth Part (BWP), which may also be referred to as a partial bandwidth, may represent a subset of contiguous common resource blocks (RBs) for a given numerology on a given carrier, where the common RBs may be identified by an index of the RB relative to a common reference point of the carrier. PRBs may be defined in a BWP and numbered within the BWP.

The BWP may include a UL BWP (BWP for UL) and a DL BWP (BWP for DL). One or more BWPs may be configured for a UE within one carrier.

At least one of the configured BWPs may be active, and the UE may not expect to transmit or receive a given signal/channel outside the active BWP. Note that "cell," "carrier," etc. in this disclosure may be read as "BWP."

Note that the above-mentioned structures of radio frames, subframes, slots, minislots, and symbols are merely examples. For example, the number of subframes included in a radio frame, the number of slots per subframe or radio frame, the number of minislots included in a slot, the number of symbols and RBs included in a slot or minislot, the number of subcarriers included in an RB, as well as the number of symbols in a TTI, the symbol length, and the cyclic prefix (CP) length can be changed in various ways.

In addition, the information, parameters, etc. described in this disclosure may be represented using absolute values, may be represented using relative values from a predetermined value, or may be represented using other corresponding information. For example, a radio resource may be indicated by a predetermined index.

The names used for parameters and the like in this disclosure are not limiting in any respect. Furthermore, the formulas and the like using these parameters may differ from those explicitly disclosed in this disclosure. The various channels (PUCCH, PDCCH, etc.) and information elements may be identified by any suitable names, and the various names assigned to these various channels and information elements are not limiting in any respect.

The information, signals, etc. described in this disclosure may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or photons, or any combination thereof.

In addition, information, signals, etc. may be output from a higher layer to a lower layer and/or from a lower layer to a higher layer. Information, signals, etc. may be input/output via multiple network nodes.

Input/output information, signals, etc. may be stored in a specific location (e.g., memory) or may be managed using a management table. Input/output information, signals, etc. may be overwritten, updated, or added to. Output information, signals, etc. may be deleted. Input information, signals, etc. may be transmitted to another device.

The notification of information is not limited to the aspects/embodiments described in this disclosure, and may be performed using other methods. For example, the notification of information in this disclosure may be performed by physical layer signaling (e.g., Downlink Control Information (DCI), Uplink Control Information (UCI)), higher layer signaling (e.g., Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, broadcast information (Master Information Block (MIB), System Information Block (SIB)), etc.), Medium Access Control (MAC) signaling), other signals, or a combination of these.

The physical layer signaling may be called Layer 1/Layer 2 (L1/L2) control information (L1/L2 control signal), L1 control information (L1 control signal), etc. The RRC signaling may be called an RRC message, for example, an RRC Connection Setup message, an RRC Connection Reconfiguration message, etc. The MAC signaling may be notified, for example, using a MAC Control Element (CE).

Furthermore, notification of specified information (e.g., notification that "X is the case") is not limited to explicit notification, but may be implicit (e.g., by not notifying the specified information or by notifying other information).

The determination may be based on a value represented by a single bit (0 or 1), a Boolean value represented by true or false, or a comparison of numerical values (e.g., with a predetermined value).

Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise.

Software, instructions, information, etc. may also be transmitted and received via a transmission medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using at least one of wired technologies (such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)), and/or wireless technologies (such as infrared, microwave, etc.), then at least one of these wired and wireless technologies is included within the definition of a transmission medium.

As used in this disclosure, the terms "system" and "network" may be used interchangeably. "Network" may refer to the devices included in the network (e.g., base stations).

In this disclosure, terms such as "precoding", "precoder", "weight (precoding weight)", "Quasi-Co-Location (QCL)", "Transmission Configuration Indication state (TCI state)", "spatial relation", "spatial domain filter", "transmit power", "phase rotation", "antenna port", "layer", "number of layers", "rank", "resource", "resource set", "beam", "beam width", "beam angle", "antenna", "antenna element", "panel", "UE panel", "transmitting entity", "receiving entity", etc. may be used interchangeably.

In the present disclosure, the antenna port may be interchangeably read as an antenna port for any signal/channel (e.g., a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) port). In the present disclosure, the resource may be interchangeably read as a resource for any signal/channel (e.g., a reference signal resource, an SRS resource, etc.). The resource may include time/frequency/code/space/power resources. The spatial domain transmission filter may include at least one of a spatial domain transmission filter and a spatial domain reception filter.

The above groups may include, for example, at least one of a spatial relationship group, a Code Division Multiplexing (CDM) group, a Reference Signal (RS) group, a Control Resource Set (CORESET) group, a PUCCH group, an antenna port group (e.g., a DMRS port group), a layer group, a resource group, a beam group, an antenna group, a panel group, etc.

Furthermore, in this disclosure, beam, SRS Resource Indicator (SRI), CORESET, CORESET pool, PDSCH, PUSCH, codeword (CW), transport block (TB), RS, etc. may be read as interchangeable.

Furthermore, in this disclosure, the terms TCI state, downlink TCI state (DL TCI state), uplink TCI state (UL TCI state), unified TCI state, common TCI state, joint TCI state, etc. may be interpreted as interchangeable.

Furthermore, in this disclosure, "QCL", "QCL assumptions", "QCL relationship", "QCL type information", "QCL property/properties", "specific QCL type (e.g., Type A, Type D) characteristics", "specific QCL type (e.g., Type A, Type D)", etc. may be read as interchangeable.

In this disclosure, the terms index, identifier (ID), indicator, indication, resource ID, etc. may be interchangeable. In this disclosure, the terms sequence, list, set, group, cluster, subset, etc. may be interchangeable.

Furthermore, the spatial relationship information identifier (ID) (TCI state ID) and the spatial relationship information (TCI state) may be interchangeable. "Spatial relationship information (TCI state)" may be interchangeable as "set of spatial relationship information (TCI state)", "one or more pieces of spatial relationship information", etc. TCI state and TCI may be interchangeable. Spatial relationship information and spatial relationship may be interchangeable.

In this disclosure, terms such as "Base Station (BS)", "Radio base station", "Fixed station", "NodeB", "eNB (eNodeB)", "gNB (gNodeB)", "Access point", "Transmission Point (TP)", "Reception Point (RP)", "Transmission/Reception Point (TRP)", "Panel", "Cell", "Sector", "Cell group", "Carrier", "Component carrier", etc. may be used interchangeably. Base stations may also be referred to by terms such as macrocell, small cell, femtocell, picocell, etc.

A base station can accommodate one or more (e.g., three) cells. When a base station accommodates multiple cells, the entire coverage area of the base station can be divided into multiple smaller areas, and each smaller area can also provide communication services by a base station subsystem (e.g., a small base station for indoor use (Remote Radio Head (RRH))). The term "cell" or "sector" refers to a part or the entire coverage area of at least one of the base station and base station subsystems that provide communication services in this coverage.

In this disclosure, a base station transmitting information to a terminal may be interpreted as the base station instructing the terminal to control/operate based on the information.

In this disclosure, the terms "Mobile Station (MS)", "user terminal", "User Equipment (UE)", "terminal", etc. may be used interchangeably.

A mobile station may also be referred to as a subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client, or some other suitable terminology.

At least one of the base station and the mobile station may be called a transmitting device, a receiving device, a wireless communication device, etc. In addition, at least one of the base station and the mobile station may be a device mounted on a moving object, the moving object itself, etc.

The moving body in question refers to an object that can move, and the moving speed is arbitrary, and of course includes the case where the moving body is stationary. The moving body in question includes, but is not limited to, vehicles, transport vehicles, automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, connected cars, excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders, dump trucks, forklifts, trains, buses, handcarts, rickshaws, ships and other watercraft, airplanes, rockets, artificial satellites, drones, multicopters, quadcopters, balloons, and objects mounted on these. The moving body in question may also be a moving body that moves autonomously based on an operating command.

The moving object may be a vehicle (e.g., a car, an airplane, etc.), an unmanned moving object (e.g., a drone, an autonomous vehicle, etc.), or a robot (manned or unmanned). Note that at least one of the base station and the mobile station may also include devices that do not necessarily move during communication operations. For example, at least one of the base station and the mobile station may be an Internet of Things (IoT) device such as a sensor.

FIG. 78 is a diagram showing an example of a vehicle according to one embodiment. The vehicle 40 includes a drive unit 41, a steering unit 42, an accelerator pedal 43, a brake pedal 44, a shift lever 45, left and right front wheels 46, left and right rear wheels 47, an axle 48, an electronic control unit 49, various sensors (including a current sensor 50, a rotation speed sensor 51, an air pressure sensor 52, a vehicle speed sensor 53, an acceleration sensor 54, an accelerator pedal sensor 55, a brake pedal sensor 56, a shift lever sensor 57, and an object detection sensor 58), an information service unit 59, and a communication module 60.

The drive unit 41 is composed of at least one of an engine, a motor, and a hybrid of an engine and a motor, for example. The steering unit 42 includes at least a steering wheel (also called a handlebar), and is configured to steer at least one of the front wheels 46 and the rear wheels 47 based on the operation of the steering wheel operated by the user.

The electronic control unit 49 is composed of a microprocessor 61, memory (ROM, RAM) 62, and a communication port (e.g., an Input/Output (IO) port) 63. Signals are input to the electronic control unit 49 from various sensors 50-58 provided in the vehicle. The electronic control unit 49 may also be called an Electronic Control Unit (ECU).

Signals from the various sensors 50-58 include a current signal from a current sensor 50 that senses the motor current, a rotation speed signal of the front wheels 46/rear wheels 47 acquired by a rotation speed sensor 51, an air pressure signal of the front wheels 46/rear wheels 47 acquired by an air pressure sensor 52, a vehicle speed signal acquired by a vehicle speed sensor 53, an acceleration signal acquired by an acceleration sensor 54, a depression amount signal of the accelerator pedal 43 acquired by an accelerator pedal sensor 55, a depression amount signal of the brake pedal 44 acquired by a brake pedal sensor 56, an operation signal of the shift lever 45 acquired by a shift lever sensor 57, and a detection signal for detecting obstacles, vehicles, pedestrians, etc. acquired by an object detection sensor 58.

The information service unit 59 is composed of various devices, such as a car navigation system, audio system, speakers, displays, televisions, and radios, for providing (outputting) various information such as driving information, traffic information, and entertainment information, and one or more ECUs that control these devices. The information service unit 59 uses information acquired from external devices via the communication module 60, etc., to provide various information/services (e.g., multimedia information/multimedia services) to the occupants of the vehicle 40.

The information service unit 59 may include input devices (e.g., a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a switch, a button, a sensor, a touch panel, etc.) that accept input from the outside, and may also include output devices (e.g., a display, a speaker, an LED lamp, a touch panel, etc.) that perform output to the outside.

The driving assistance system unit 64 is composed of various devices that provide functions for preventing accidents and reducing the driver's driving load, such as a millimeter wave radar, a Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), a camera, a positioning locator (e.g., a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)), map information (e.g., a High Definition (HD) map, an Autonomous Vehicle (AV) map, etc.), a gyro system (e.g., an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), an Inertial Navigation System (INS), etc.), an Artificial Intelligence (AI) chip, and an AI processor, and one or more ECUs that control these devices. The driving assistance system unit 64 also transmits and receives various information via the communication module 60 to realize a driving assistance function or an autonomous driving function.

The communication module 60 can communicate with the microprocessor 61 and components of the vehicle 40 via the communication port 63. For example, the communication module 60 transmits and receives data (information) via the communication port 63 between the drive unit 41, steering unit 42, accelerator pedal 43, brake pedal 44, shift lever 45, left and right front wheels 46, left and right rear wheels 47, axles 48, the microprocessor 61 and memory (ROM, RAM) 62 in the electronic control unit 49, and the various sensors 50-58 that are provided on the vehicle 40.

The communication module 60 is a communication device that can be controlled by the microprocessor 61 of the electronic control unit 49 and can communicate with an external device. For example, it transmits and receives various information to and from the external device via wireless communication. The communication module 60 may be located either inside or outside the electronic control unit 49. The external device may be, for example, the above-mentioned base station 10 or user terminal 20. The communication module 60 may also be, for example, at least one of the above-mentioned base station 10 and user terminal 20 (it may function as at least one of the base station 10 and user terminal 20).

The communication module 60 may transmit at least one of the signals from the various sensors 50-58 described above input to the electronic control unit 49, information obtained based on the signals, and information based on input from the outside (user) obtained via the information service unit 59 to an external device via wireless communication. The electronic control unit 49, the various sensors 50-58, the information service unit 59, etc. may be referred to as input units that accept input. For example, the PUSCH transmitted by the communication module 60 may include information based on the above input.

The communication module 60 receives various information (traffic information, signal information, vehicle distance information, etc.) transmitted from an external device and displays it on an information service unit 59 provided in the vehicle. The information service unit 59 may also be called an output unit that outputs information (for example, outputs information to a device such as a display or speaker based on the PDSCH (or data/information decoded from the PDSCH) received by the communication module 60).

The communication module 60 also stores various information received from external devices in memory 62 that can be used by the microprocessor 61. Based on the information stored in memory 62, the microprocessor 61 may control the drive unit 41, steering unit 42, accelerator pedal 43, brake pedal 44, shift lever 45, left and right front wheels 46, left and right rear wheels 47, axles 48, various sensors 50-58, and the like provided on the vehicle 40.

Furthermore, the base station in the present disclosure may be read as a user terminal. For example, each aspect/embodiment of the present disclosure may be applied to a configuration in which communication between a base station and a user terminal is replaced with communication between multiple user terminals (which may be called, for example, Device-to-Device (D2D), Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X), etc.). In this case, the user terminal 20 may be configured to have the functions of the base station 10 described above. Furthermore, terms such as "uplink" and "downlink" may be read as terms corresponding to terminal-to-terminal communication (for example, "sidelink"). For example, the uplink channel, downlink channel, etc. may be read as the sidelink channel.

Similarly, the user terminal in this disclosure may be interpreted as a base station. In this case, the base station 10 may be configured to have the functions of the user terminal 20 described above.

In this disclosure, operations that are described as being performed by a base station may in some cases be performed by its upper node. In a network that includes one or more network nodes having base stations, it is clear that various operations performed for communication with terminals may be performed by the base station, one or more network nodes other than the base station (such as, but not limited to, a Mobility Management Entity (MME) or a Serving-Gateway (S-GW)), or a combination of these.

Each aspect/embodiment described in this disclosure may be used alone, in combination, or switched between depending on the implementation. In addition, the processing procedures, sequences, flow charts, etc. of each aspect/embodiment described in this disclosure may be rearranged as long as there is no inconsistency. For example, the methods described in this disclosure present elements of various steps in an exemplary order, and are not limited to the particular order presented.

Each aspect/embodiment described in this disclosure includes Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LTE-Beyond (LTE-B), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4th generation mobile communication system (4G), 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), 6th generation mobile communication system (6G), xth generation mobile communication system (xG (x is, for example, an integer or decimal)), Future Radio Access (FRA), New-Radio The present invention may be applied to systems that use Access Technology (RAT), New Radio (NR), New radio access (NX), Future generation radio access (FX), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM (registered trademark)), CDMA2000, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.20, Ultra-Wide Band (UWB), Bluetooth (registered trademark), and other appropriate wireless communication methods, as well as next-generation systems that are expanded, modified, created, or defined based on these. In addition, multiple systems may be combined (for example, a combination of LTE or LTE-A and 5G, etc.).

As used in this disclosure, the phrase "based on" does not mean "based only on," unless expressly stated otherwise. In other words, the phrase "based on" means both "based only on" and "based at least on."

Any reference to an element using a designation such as "first," "second," etc., used in this disclosure does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. These designations may be used in this disclosure as a convenient method of distinguishing between two or more elements. Thus, a reference to a first and second element does not imply that only two elements may be employed or that the first element must precede the second element in some way.

The term "determining" as used in this disclosure may encompass a wide variety of actions. For example, "determining" may be considered to be judging, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up, search, inquiry (e.g., looking in a table, database, or other data structure), ascertaining, etc.

"Determining" may also be considered to mean "determining" receiving (e.g., receiving information), transmitting (e.g., sending information), input, output, accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory), etc.

Furthermore, "judgment (decision)" may be considered to mean "judging (deciding)" resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, comparing, etc. In other words, "judgment (decision)" may be considered to mean "judging (deciding)" some kind of action. In this disclosure, "judgment (decision)" may be read as interchangeably with the actions described above.

Furthermore, in this disclosure, "determine/determining" may be interpreted interchangeably as "assume/assuming," "expect/expecting," "consider/considering," etc. Furthermore, in this disclosure, "does not expect to do..." may be interpreted interchangeably as "assumes not to do...."

In the present disclosure, "expect" may be read as "be expected". For example, "expect(s) ..." ("..." may be expressed, for example, as a that clause, a to infinitive, etc.) may be read as "be expected ...". "does not expect ..." may be read as "be not expected ...". Also, "An apparatus A is not expected ..." may be read as "An apparatus B other than apparatus A does not expect ..." (for example, if apparatus A is a UE, apparatus B may be a base station).

The "maximum transmit power" referred to in this disclosure may mean the maximum value of transmit power, may mean the nominal UE maximum transmit power, or may mean the rated UE maximum transmit power.

As used in this disclosure, the terms "connected" and "coupled," or any variation thereof, refer to any direct or indirect connection or coupling between two or more elements, and may include the presence of one or more intermediate elements between two elements that are "connected" or "coupled" to each other. The coupling or connection between the elements may be physical, logical, or a combination thereof. For example, "connected" may be read as "access."

In this disclosure, when two elements are connected, they may be considered to be "connected" or "coupled" to one another using one or more wires, cables, printed electrical connections, and the like, as well as using electromagnetic energy having wavelengths in the radio frequency range, microwave range, light (both visible and invisible) range, and the like, as some non-limiting and non-exhaustive examples.

In this disclosure, the term "A and B are different" may mean "A and B are different from each other." The term may also mean "A and B are each different from C." Terms such as "separate" and "combined" may also be interpreted in the same way as "different."

When the terms "include," "including," and variations thereof are used in this disclosure, these terms are intended to be inclusive, similar to the term "comprising." Additionally, the term "or," as used in this disclosure, is not intended to be an exclusive or.

In this disclosure, where articles have been added through translation, such as a, an, and the in English, this disclosure may include that the nouns following these articles are plural.

In this disclosure, terms such as "less than", "less than", "greater than", "more than", "equal to", etc. may be read as interchangeable. In addition, in this disclosure, terms meaning "good", "bad", "big", "small", "high", "low", "fast", "slow", "wide", "narrow", etc. may be read as interchangeable, not limited to positive, comparative and superlative. In addition, in this disclosure, terms meaning "good", "bad", "big", "small", "high", "low", "fast", "slow", "wide", "narrow", etc. may be read as interchangeable, not limited to positive, comparative and superlative, as expressions with "ith" (i is any integer) (for example, "best" may be read as "ith best").

In this disclosure, the terms "of," "for," "regarding," "related to," "associated with," etc. may be read interchangeably.

In the present disclosure, "when A, B", "if A, (then) B", "B upon A", "B in response to A", "B based on A", "B during/while A", "B before A", "B at (the same time as)/on A", "B after A", "B since A", "B until A" and the like may be read as interchangeable. Note that A, B, etc. here may be replaced with appropriate expressions such as nouns, gerunds, and normal sentences depending on the context. Note that the time difference between A and B may be almost 0 (immediately after or immediately before). Also, a time offset may be applied to the time when A occurs. For example, "A" may be read interchangeably as "before/after the time offset at which A occurs." The time offset (e.g., one or more symbols/slots) may be predefined or may be identified by the UE based on signaled information.

In this disclosure, timing, time, duration, time instance, any time unit (e.g., slot, subslot, symbol, subframe), period, occasion, resource, etc. may be interpreted as interchangeable.

The invention disclosed herein has been described in detail above, but it is clear to those skilled in the art that the invention disclosed herein is not limited to the embodiments described herein. The description of the present disclosure is intended for illustrative purposes only and does not imply any limitations on the invention disclosed herein.

Claims (6)

a receiver that receives at least one of information on a transmit beam sweeping with repetition, a receive beam forming for the transmit beam sweeping, and a virtual aperture for the transmit beam sweeping;
A terminal having a control unit that controls sensing using at least one of the transmit beam sweeping, the receive beam forming, and the virtual aperture based on the information. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the transmit beam sweeping repeats the same beam across multiple time domain resources, or repeats sweeping of multiple beams, or repeats sweeping of beam groups within the multiple beams. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein after the transmit beam sweeping, the control unit controls sensing using one or more beams of the multiple beams in the transmit beam sweeping. The terminal according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls sensing using at least one of a second transmit beam sweeping using a portion of the multiple antennas used for the transmit beam sweeping and a second virtual aperture for the second transmit beam sweeping. receiving at least one of a transmit beam sweeping with repetition, a receive beamforming for the transmit beam sweeping, and a virtual aperture for the transmit beam sweeping;
A wireless communication method for a terminal, comprising: a step of controlling at least one of the transmit beam sweeping, the receive beam forming, and the virtual aperture based on the information. A transmitter that transmits at least one piece of information of a transmit beam sweeping with repetition, a receive beam forming for the transmit beam sweeping, and a virtual aperture for the transmit beam sweeping;
A base station having a control unit that controls sensing using at least one of the transmit beam sweeping, the receive beam forming, and the virtual aperture based on the information.

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