WO2025000229A1

WO2025000229A1 - Devices and methods for integrated sensing and communication

Info

Publication number: WO2025000229A1
Application number: PCT/CN2023/102851
Authority: WO
Inventors: Minghui XU; Gang Wang
Original assignee: NEC Corp
Current assignee: NEC Corp
Priority date: 2023-06-27
Filing date: 2023-06-27
Publication date: 2025-01-02
Anticipated expiration: 2025-12-27

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to devices and methods for ISAC. A network device transmits, to a terminal device, at least one of first information of a numerology used for a sensing operation or second information of a waveform used for a sensing operation. The terminal device performs the sensing operation based on the at least one of the first information or the second information. In this way, sensing and communication performance may be ensured.

Description

DEVICES AND METHODS FOR INTEGRATED SENSING AND COMMUNICATION

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of telecommunication, and in particular, to methods, devices and computer storage media of for integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) .

BACKGROUND

Many new emerging businesses require sensing capability to provide accurate and timely services. However, traditional radar technology is high cost to deploy and not flexible enough to extent to current diverse services. ISAC has been proposed to provide high quality services. With the ISAC, a network or user equipment (UE) may have capability to sense their surroundings and exchange their observations through communication.

SUMMARY

In general, embodiments of the present disclosure provide methods, devices and computer storage media for ISAC.

In a first aspect, there is provided a terminal device. The terminal device comprises a processor. The processor is configured to cause the terminal device to: receive, from a network device, at least one of first information of a numerology used for a sensing operation or second information of a waveform used for a sensing operation; and perform the sensing operation based on the at least one of the first information or the second information.

In a second aspect, there is provided a network device. The network device comprises a processor. The processor is configured to cause the network device to: transmit, to a terminal device, at least one of first information of a numerology used for a sensing operation or second information of a waveform used for a sensing operation associated with the terminal device.

In a third aspect, there is provided a method of communication. The method comprises: receiving, at a terminal device and from a network device, at least one of first information of a numerology used for a sensing operation or second information of a waveform used for a sensing operation; and performing the sensing operation based on the at least one of the first information or the second information.

In a fourth aspect, there is provided a method of communication. The method comprises: transmitting, at a network device and to a terminal device, at least one of first information of a numerology used for a sensing operation or second information of a waveform used for a sensing operation associated with the terminal device.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon. The instructions, when executed on at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the method according to the third or fourth aspect of the present disclosure.

Other features of the present disclosure will become easily comprehensible through the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Through the more detailed description of some embodiments of the present disclosure in the accompanying drawings, the above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication network in which some embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented;

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram illustrating a process of communication according to embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates a diagram illustrating an example switching between a sensing operation and a communication operation in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example method of communication implemented at a terminal device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates an example method of communication implemented at a network device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 6 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device that is suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

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

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

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

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

As used herein, the term ‘terminal device’ refers to any device having wireless or wired communication capabilities. Examples of the terminal device include, but not limited to, user equipment (UE) , personal computers, desktops, mobile phones, cellular phones, smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) , portable computers, tablets, wearable devices, internet of things (IoT) devices, Ultra-reliable and Low Latency Communications (URLLC) devices, Internet of Everything (IoE) devices, machine type communication (MTC) devices, device on vehicle for V2X communication where X means pedestrian, vehicle, or infrastructure/network, devices for Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) , Space borne vehicles or Air borne vehicles in Non-terrestrial networks (NTN) including Satellites and High Altitude Platforms (HAPs) encompassing Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) , eXtended Reality (XR) devices including different types of realities such as Augmented Reality (AR) , Mixed Reality (MR) and Virtual Reality (VR) , the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) commonly known as a drone which is an aircraft without any human pilot, devices on high speed train (HST) , or image capture devices such as digital cameras, sensors, gaming devices, music storage and playback appliances, or Internet appliances enabling wireless or wired Internet access and browsing and the like. The ‘terminal device’ can further has ‘multicast/broadcast’ feature, to support public safety and mission critical, V2X applications, transparent IPv4/IPv6 multicast delivery, IPTV, smart TV, radio services, software delivery over wireless, group communications and IoT applications. It may also incorporated one or multiple Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) as known as Multi-SIM. The term “terminal device” can be used interchangeably with a UE, a mobile station, a subscriber station, a mobile terminal, a user terminal or a wireless device.

The term “core network element” refers to any device or entity that provides access and mobility management function (AMF) , network exposure function (NEF) , authentication server function (AUSF) , unified data management (UDM) , session management function (SMF) , user plane function (UPF) , a location management function (LMF) , sensing function (SF) , etc.. In other embodiments, the core network element may be any other suitable device or entity providing any other suitable functionality.

The term “network device” refers to a device which is capable of providing or hosting a cell or coverage where terminal devices can communicate. Examples of a network device include, but not limited to, a satellite, a unmanned aerial systems (UAS) platform, a Node B (NodeB or NB) , an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB) , a next generation NodeB (gNB) , a transmission reception point (TRP) , a remote radio unit (RRU) , a radio head (RH) , a remote radio head (RRH) , an IAB node, a low power node such as a femto node, a pico node, a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) , and the like.

The terminal device or the network device or the core network element may have Artificial intelligence (AI) or Machine learning capability. It generally includes a model which has been trained from numerous collected data for a specific function, and can be used to predict some information.

The terminal or the network device or the core network element may work on several frequency ranges, e.g. FR1 (410 MHz to 7125 MHz) , FR2 (24.25GHz to 71GHz) , frequency band larger than 100GHz as well as Tera Hertz (THz) . It can further work on licensed/unlicensed/shared spectrum. The terminal device may have more than one connections with the network devices or the core network elements under Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity (MR-DC) application scenario. The terminal device or the network device or the core network element can work on full duplex, flexible duplex and cross division duplex modes.

The embodiments of the present disclosure may be performed in test equipment, e.g. signal generator, signal analyzer, spectrum analyzer, network analyzer, test terminal device, test network device, channel emulator.

In one embodiment, the terminal device may be connected with a first network device and a second network device. One of the first network device and the second network device may be a master node and the other one may be a secondary node. The first network device and the second network device may use different radio access technologies (RATs) . In one embodiment, the first network device may be a first RAT device and the second network device may be a second RAT device. In one embodiment, the first RAT device is eNB and the second RAT device is gNB. Information related with different RATs may be transmitted to the terminal device from at least one of the first network device or the second network device. In one embodiment, first information may be transmitted to the terminal device from the first network device and second information may be transmitted to the terminal device from the second network device directly or via the first network device. In one embodiment, information related with configuration for the terminal device configured by the second network device may be transmitted from the second network device via the first network device. Information related with reconfiguration for the terminal device configured by the second network device may be transmitted to the terminal device from the second network device directly or via the first network device.

As used herein, the singular forms ‘a’ , ‘an’ and ‘the’ are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The term ‘includes’ and its variants are to be read as open terms that mean ‘includes, but is not limited to. ’ The term ‘based on’ is to be read as ‘at least in part based on. ’ The term ‘one embodiment’ and ‘an embodiment’ are to be read as ‘at least one embodiment. ’ The term ‘another embodiment’ is to be read as ‘at least one other embodiment. ’ The terms ‘first, ’ ‘second, ’ and the like may refer to different or same objects. Other definitions, explicit and implicit, may be included below.

In some examples, values, procedures, or apparatus are referred to as ‘best, ’ ‘lowest, ’ ‘highest, ’ ‘minimum, ’ ‘maximum, ’ or the like. It will be appreciated that such descriptions are intended to indicate that a selection among many used functional alternatives can be made, and such selections need not be better, smaller, higher, or otherwise preferable to other selections.

In the context of the present disclosure, the term “sensing operation” may refer to a functionality to get information about characteristics of an environment and/or objects within the environment (e.g. shape, size, orientation, speed, location, distance or relative motion between objects, etc. ) using new radio (NR) radio frequency (RF) signal and, in some cases, previously defined information available in evolved packet core (EPC) and/or evolved universal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) . The term “sensing transmitter” may be an entity that sends out a sensing signal which a sensing service will use in its operation. The term “sensing receiver” may be an entity that receives a sensing signal which a sensing service will use in its operation. The sensing transmitter may be located in the same or different entity as the sensing receiver.

For a sensing transmitter, a sensing signal may be a wireless signal sent by the sensing transmitter, such as a synchronization signal block (SSB) , a positioning reference signal (PRS) , a sounding reference signal (SRS) , a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS) , a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) or any other suitable signals. For a sensing receiver, a sensing signal may be a directly received or impacted (e.g., reflected, refracted or diffracted) wireless signal received by the sensing receiver. For convenience, in the following description, the term “sensing signal” refers to an RF signal used for a sensing service, and the term “wireless signal” refers to an RF signal used for a communication service. The term “sensing operation” may include transmission and/or reception of a sensing signal, and the term “communication operation” may include transmission and/or reception of a wireless signal.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for a switching between a sensing operation and a communication operation. In the solution, a network device transmits, to a terminal device, at least one of first information of a numerology used for a sensing operation or second information of a waveform used for a sensing operation. The terminal device performs the sensing operation based on the at least one of the first information or the second information. In this way, sensing and communication performance may be ensured.

Principles and implementations of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the figures.

EXAMPLE OF COMMUNICATION NETWORK

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example communication network 100 in which some embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication network 100 may include a terminal device 110, a network device 120, a core network (CN) element 130 and an object 140.

In some embodiments, the network device 120 may provide one or more serving cells (not shown) to serve the terminal device 110. In the example of FIG. 1, the terminal device 110 may have sensing and communication functionalities (i.e., support ISAC) , and the network device 120 may have sensing and communication functionalities (i.e., support ISAC) . In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may transmit a wireless signal to the network device 120, and/or receive a wireless signal from the network device 120.

In the example of FIG. 1, the terminal device 110 may be a sensing transmitter or a sensing receiver or both. The network device 120 may also be a sensing transmitter or a sensing receiver or both. A sensing transmitter may transmit a sensing signal towards the object 140, and the object 140 may reflect or refract or diffract the sensing signal to a sensing receiver.

There may be various sensing modes. In some embodiments, the sensing transmitter may be the network device 120, and the sensing receiver may be the terminal device 110. In some embodiments, the sensing transmitter may be the terminal device 110, and the sensing receiver may be the network device 120. In some embodiments, the sensing transmitter may be the network device 120, and the sensing receiver may be another network device not shown. In some embodiments, the sensing receiver may be the network device 120, and the sensing transmitter may be another network device not shown. In some embodiments, the sensing transmitter may be the terminal device 110, and the sensing receiver may be another terminal device not shown. In some embodiments, the sensing receiver may be the terminal device 110, and the sensing transmitter may be another terminal device not shown. In some embodiments, the sensing receiver and the sensing transmitter may be the same network device 120. In some embodiments, the sensing receiver and the sensing transmitter may be the same terminal device 110.

The core network element 130 may have an SF. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may communicate with the core network element 130 via the network device 120.

The terminal device 110 may communicate with the network device 120 via a Uu interface. The network device 120 may communicate with the core network element 130 via an Ng interface. The communications in the communication network 100 may conform to any suitable standards including, but not limited to, global system for mobile communications (GSM) , long term evolution (LTE) , LTE-evolution, LTE-advanced (LTE-A) , NR, wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) , code division multiple access (CDMA) , GSM EDGE radio access network (GERAN) , machine type communication (MTC) and the like. The embodiments of the present disclosure may be performed according to any generation communication protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future. Examples of the communication protocols include, but not limited to, the first generation (1G) , the second generation (2G) , 2.5G, 2.75G, the third generation (3G) , the fourth generation (4G) , 4.5G, the fifth generation (5G) communication protocols, 5.5G, 5G-Advanced networks, or the sixth generation (6G) networks.

It is to be understood that the number of devices and/or objects in FIG. 1 is given for the purpose of illustration without suggesting any limitations to the present disclosure. The communication network 100 may include any suitable number of network devices and/or terminal devices and/or core network elements and/or objects adapted for implementing implementations of the present disclosure.

So far, it is still unclear how to define a unified mechanism for waveform or numerology determination and indication of integrated sensing and communication system.

In view of the above, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution of for ISAC so as to overcome the above and other potential issues. The detailed description will be made with reference to FIGs. 2 and 3 below.

EXAMPLE IMPLEMENTATION OF WAVEFORM OR NUMEROLOGY SWITCHING

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram illustrating a process 200 of communication according to embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the process 200 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. The process 200 may involve the terminal device 110 and the network device 120 as illustrated in FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, the terminal device 110 may transmit 210, to the network device 120, capability of the terminal device 110. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may transmit the capability of the terminal device 110 via an RRC signaling, e.g., UECapabilityInformation message or any other suitable messages.

In some embodiments, the capability of the terminal device 110 may comprise a sub-carrier spacing (SCS) supported for a sensing operation. In some embodiments, the capability of the terminal device 110 may comprise a cyclic prefix (CP) supported for the sensing operation. In some embodiments, the supported cyclic prefix may be reported per supported SCS. In some embodiments, the capability of the terminal device 110 may comprise a bandwidth supported for the sensing operation. In some embodiments, the capability of the terminal device 110 may comprise a waveform supported for the sensing operation.

In some embodiments, the capability of the terminal device 110 may comprise a bandwidth part (BWP) switching delay supported for the sensing operation. In some embodiments, the capability of the terminal device 110 may comprise a numerology switching delay supported for the sensing operation. In some embodiments, the capability of the terminal device 110 may comprise a waveform switching delay supported for the sensing operation.

In some embodiments, a dedicated switching delay may be applied for BWP switching for a switching between a sensing operation and a communication operation. In some embodiments, the sensing operation may have lower complexity than the communication operation, and thus a shorter BWP switching time may be expected for switching between BWPs of communication and sensing. In some embodiments, the dedicated switching delay may be applied for switching from a BWP configuration for the communication operation to a BWP configuration for the sensing operation, and/or switching from the BWP configuration for the sensing operation to the BWP configuration for the communication operation.

An example BWP switching delay may be described as shown in Table 1.

Table 1

In this example, Type 1 or Type 2 may depend on capability of the terminal device 110 for BWP switching during communication. If a BWP switching involves changing of SCS, the BWP switch delay may be determined by the smaller SCS among a SCS before the BWP switching and a SCS after the BWP switching. In this example, Type 3 is applied when BWP switching from a BWP of communication to a BWP of sensing, and/or BWP switching from a BWP of sensing to a BWP of communication. It is to be understood that Table 1 is merely an example, and any other suitable forms may also be feasible. For example, there may be two types for BWP switching delay when sensing is introduced in the switching, instead of only Type 3. In this case, the terminal device 110 may report the supported type for BWP switching when sensing is introduced, and applying which type to the BWP switching when introducing sensing is determined by the related capability reported by terminal device 110.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 2, the network device 120 may transmit 220, to the terminal device 110, information (for convenience, also referred to as first information herein) of a numerology and/or information (for convenience, also referred to as second information herein) of a waveform used for a sensing operation.

In some embodiments, the first information may indicate an SCS for the sensing operation. In some embodiments, the first information may indicate a CP for the sensing operation. In some embodiments, the first information may indicate a bandwidth for the sensing operation. It is to be understood that any combination of the above information is also feasible.

With reference to FIG. 2, the network device 120 may determine 221 the first information and/or the second information. In some embodiments, the network device 120 may determine the first information based on sensing scenarios and/or sensing requirements. In some embodiments where a range is to be sensed with a higher resolution, the network device 120 may determine a larger SCS (i.e., a shorter time duration) or larger bandwidth for the sensing operation. In some embodiments where a range is to be sensed with a lower resolution, the network device 120 may determine a smaller SCS (i.e., a longer time duration) or smaller bandwidth for the sensing operation. In some embodiments where a larger range is to be sensed, a larger path loss may be caused and thus a longer sequence may be set for a sensing signal. In this case, the network device 120 may determine a larger bandwidth or more resource elements (REs) or longer time duration for sensing energy aggregation. In some embodiments where a smaller range is to be sensed, a smaller path loss may be caused and thus a shorter sequence may be set for a sensing signal. In this case, the network device 120 may determine a smaller bandwidth or less REs or shorter time duration for sensing energy aggregation.

In some embodiments where a velocity is to be sensed with a higher resolution, the network device 120 may determine a smaller SCS for the sensing operation. In some embodiments where a velocity is to be sensed with a lower resolution, the network device 120 may determine a larger SCS for the sensing operation.

In some embodiments where centralized multiple targets is to be sensed, a smaller delay range of the sensing channel between the network device 120 and the terminal device 110 via the multiple targets may be caused, and thus the network device 120 may determine a shorter CP length for the sensing operation. In some embodiments where distributed multiple targets is to be sensed, a larger delay range of the sensing channel between the network device 120 and the terminal device 110 via the multiple targets may be caused, and thus the network device 120 may determine a longer CP length for the sensing operation.

In some embodiments, the network device 120 may determine the first information based on channel condition or quality. In some embodiments for higher channel quality, a shorter sequence may be set for a sensing signal, and thus the network device 120 may determine a smaller bandwidth for the sensing operation. In some embodiments for lower channel quality, a longer sequence may be set for a sensing signal, and thus the network device 120 may determine a larger bandwidth for the sensing operation.

In some embodiments, the network device 120 may determine the first information based on a sensing mode and/or capability of simultaneous transmission and reception of a sensing signal. In some embodiments where the terminal device 110 serves as a sensing receiver and a sensing transmitter and the terminal device 110 cannot transmit a sensing signal and receive an echo signal simultaneously, a symbol length may be determined as being smaller than a time delay of the nearest target or the nearest monitoring area.

In some embodiments, the second information may indicate a discrete Fourier transform-spread-orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (DFT-s-OFDM) waveform for the sensing operation. In some embodiments, the second information may indicate a unique word (UW) -DFT-s-OFDM waveform for the sensing operation. In some embodiments, the second information may indicate a zero tail (ZT) -DFT-s-OFDM waveform for the sensing operation. In some embodiments, the second information may indicate a filter bank multi-carrier (FBMC) waveform for the sensing operation. In some embodiments, the second information may indicate an orthogonal time frequency space (OTFS) waveform for the sensing operation. It is to be understood that these are merely examples, and any other suitable waveforms are also feasible.

In some embodiments, the waveform may be a predetermined waveform. In some embodiments, the waveform may be one of a set of waveforms supported by the terminal device 110.

Upon determination of the first information and/or the second information, the network device 120 may transmit, to the terminal device 110, at least one of the first information of the numerology or the second information of the waveform.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 2, in some embodiments, the network device 120 may transmit 222 a list of numerologies via an RRC signaling. In some embodiments, the list of numerologies may be included in a set of BWP configurations.

In some embodiments, the network device 120 may transmit the set of BWP configurations associated with a BWP identity set (for convenience, also referred to as a first BWP identity set herein) for the sensing operation. The first BWP identity set is different from a BWP identity set (for convenience, also referred to as a second BWP identity set herein) for a communication operation.

For example, an example BWP configuration may be described as below.

In this example, the parameter “maxNrofBWPs” refers to maximum number of BWPs for the communication operation, and the parameter “maxNrofBWPsforSensing” refers to maximum number of BWPs for the sensing operation. In this way, maximum number of BWPs for sensing and communication may be defined separately. It is to be understood that this example is merely for illustration, and does not limit the present disclosure. In this example, the IE “downlinkBWPforSesning-ToAddMopList” and “downlinkBWPforSesning-ToReleaseList” are used for BWP configuration of sensing operation. And for communication operation and sensing operation, same BWP configuration IE “BWP-Downlink” is shared with different ID set, while “0～maxNrofBWPs” are used for BWP configuration of communication operation, and “M, , , , M+maxNrofBWPsforSensing-1” are used for BWP configuration of sensing operation. M is an integer larger than “maxNrofBWPs” and may be predefined.

In this example, the other configuration of BWP with BWP-Id configured to “M, , , , M+maxNrofBWPsforSensing-1” may be different from that of BWP with BWP-Id configured to “0～ maxNrofBWPs” .

In some embodiments, the network device 120 may transmit an information element (IE) (for convenience, also referred to as a first IE herein) comprising a BWP configuration for the sensing operation. The first IE is different from an IE of a BWP configuration for a communication operation. In other words, a dedicated IE is defined for BWP of sensing.

For example, an example BWP configuration may be described as below.

In this example, the IE “BWP-DownlinSense” refers to a dedicated BWP configuration for a sensing operation. It is to be understood that this example is merely for illustration, and does not limit the present disclosure.

In some embodiments, the network device 120 may transmit the set of BWP configurations including a type of a BWP indicating the sensing operation. Maximum number of BWP configurations including the type is redefined and is larger than a threshold number. In this case, the detail configuration of BWP for sensing may be different from that of BWP for communication.

For example, an example BWP configuration may be described as below.

In this example, the IE “bwp-Type” refers to a type of a BWP. Type 1 indicates the BWP is used for a communication operation, and Type 2 indicates the BWP is used for a sensing operation. The IE “maxNrofBWPs-r19” refers to maximum number of BWPs defined for both a communication operation and a sensing operation. The IE “maxNrofBWPs” refers to maximum number of BWPs defined for a communication operation separately. The number of BWPs with Type 1 configured in the BWP list “downlinkBWP-ToAddModList-r19” is no higher than maxNrofBWPs defined for the communication operation separately. If the IE “bwp-Type” is absent, Type 1 is a default configuration.

In this example, the other configuration of BWP with type configured to “Type2” may be different from that of BWP with type configured to “Type1” .

Alternatively, an example BWP configuration may be described as below.

In this example, the IE “bwp-Type” refers to a type of a BWP. Type 1 indicates the BWP is used for a communication operation, and Type 2 indicates the BWP is used for a sensing operation. If the IE “bwp-Type” is absent, Type 1 is a default configuration.

In some alternative embodiments, the list of numerologies may be predefined for sensing.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 2, in some embodiments, the network device 120 may further transmit 223, to the terminal device 110, DCI for BWP switching from a communication operation to a sensing operation. The DCI may comprise an indication of the numerology in the list of numerologies.

In some embodiments, the DCI may comprise an indication of a BWP configuration for the sensing operation. In some embodiments, the DCI may comprise an indication of a BWP configuration for the communication operation. For example, a bit of communication BWP activation may be reused with increased payload introduced by sensing BWPs.

In the DCI, to indicate the numerology for sensing, bandwidth part indicator is reused when the numerology list is configured via RRC. The bandwidth part indicator also means a sensing numerology indicator when the numerology list is predefined, and payload of the bandwidth part indicator is determined by the number of numerologies in the list. In some embodiments, a bit field is defined in the DCI to indicate whether the bandwidth part indicator is used to indicate the numerology of sensing or BWP of communication.

For example, when the numerology list of sensing is indicated based on BWP configuration via RRC, and the bit length of bandwidth part indicator/sensing numerology indicator-0, 1, 2 or 3 bits as determined by the number of DL BWPs n_BWP, RRC configured by higher layers for both communication and sensing, excluding the initial DL bandwidth part. The bitwidth for this field is determined aswhere

n_BWP=n_BWP, RRC+1 if n_{BWP-com, RRC}≤3 in which case the bandwidth part indicator is equivalent to the ascending order of the higher layer parameter BWP-Id if same IE with different ID set or different type are used for communication and sensing, or equivalent to the ascending order of higher layer parameter BWP-Id for communication first, and the ascending order of higher layer parameter BWP-Id for sensing second if different IEs are applied for communication and sensing, and n_{BWP-com, RRC} is the number of DL BWPs configured for communication;

Otherwise n_BWP=n_BWP, RRC.

In another example, when the numerology list of sensing is indicated based on BWP configuration via RRC, and the bit length of bandwidth part indicator/sensing numerology indicator-0, 1 or 2 bits as determined by the number of DL BWPs n_BWP, RRC configured by higher layers for both communication or sensing, excluding the initial DL bandwidth part. The bitwidth for this field is determined aswhere

n_BWP=n_{BWP-com, RRC,} +1 if the new bit field indicate the BWP or the numerology is used for communication and n_{BWP-com, RRC,} ≤3 in which case the bandwidth part indicator is equivalent to the ascending order of the higher layer parameter BWP-Id for communication, and n_{BWP-com, RRC} is the number of DL BWPs configured for communication;

n_BWP=n_{BWP-com, RRC} if the new bit field indicate the BWP or the numerology is used for communication and n_{BWP-com, RRC,} >3;

Otherwise n_BWP=n_{BWP-sense, RRC}, in which case the bandwidth part indicator/sensing numerology indicator is equivalent to the ascending order of the higher layer parameter BWP-Id for sensing, and n_{BWP-sense, RRC} is the number of DL BWPs configured for sensing.

In another example, when the numerology list of sensing is predefined, the bit length of bandwidth part indicator/sensing numerology indicator –0, 1 or 2 bits is determined asand n_BWP is determined by the number of DL BWPs n_BWP, RRC configured by higher layers, excluding the initial DL bandwidth part if the new bit field indicate the BWP or the numerology is used for communication, and n_BWP is determined by the number of numerologies predefined in the list if the new bit field indicate the BWP or numerology is used for sensing, for example, n_BWP=n_BWP-sense, and n_BWP-sense is the number of numerologies predefined in the list.

In another example, by considering indicating the BWP for communication and BWP/numerology for sensing simultaneously, the maximum length of bandwidth part indicator is extended with two parts, where the first part is used to indicate the BWP for communication, and the second part is used to indicate the BWP/numerology for sensing. Then the total bitwidth of this field is determined aswhere

n_BWP=n_BWP, RRC+1 if n_BWP, RRC≤3 in which case the bandwidth part indicator is equivalent to the ascending order of the higher layer parameter BWP-Id for communication, and n_{BWP-com, RRC} is the number of DL BWPs configured for communication;

Otherwise n_BWP=n_BWP, RRC.

In this example, the firstbits are used for BWP indication of communication, and the last bits are used for BWP/numerology indication of sensing.

In this way, the terminal device 110 may determine the first information of the numerology from the list of numerologies based on the DCI.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 2, in some embodiments, the network device 120 may transmit 224 the second information to the terminal device 110. In some embodiments, the network device 120 may transmit an RRC signaling indicating the waveform for the sensing operation and a set of time domain resources associated with the waveform. In some embodiments, the set of time domain resources may be periodic. In some embodiments, the set of time domain resources may be semi-persistent. In this case, a periodicity/period, a duration, a reference SCS, a starting slot and/or starting symbol within the starting slot may be configured for the set of time domain resources. In some embodiments, the set of time domain resources may be aperiodic. In this case, a table of time domain resources with indexes may be configured by an RRC signaling, and one of them may be indicated by DCI.

In some embodiments, the network device 120 may transmit, to the terminal device 110, DCI indicating a switching to the waveform for the sensing operation. For example, one or more bits are used for indicating the waveform and/or the usage of the related waveform.

In some embodiments, a length of a time window for a sensing operation may be indicated by DCI with a dedicated field. In some embodiments, the length of the time window for the sensing operation may be predefined. In some embodiments, the length of the time window may be absolute length. In some embodiments, the length of the time window may be number of slots with respect to reference SCS. In some embodiments, the reference SCS may be predefined. In some embodiments, the reference SCS may be a SCS used for a communication operation (e.g., a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) , a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) , a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) or a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) , for example, the nearest SCS of communication to the sensing operation.

In some embodiments, a time gap or delay before or after the time window for the sensing operation may be predefined, e.g., as T_gap1 and T_gap2 respectively. FIG. 3 illustrates a diagram 300 illustrating an example switching between a sensing operation and a communication operation in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, DCI 310 may indicate a switching from a communication operation to a sensing operation. A time window 320 for a sensing operation may have a length L. A time gap 330 (i.e., T_gap1) is between a communication slot (i.e., a slot for a communication operation) in which the DCI 310 is received and a starting position of a sensing slot (i.e., a slot for a sensing operation) of the time window. A time gap 340 (i.e., T_gap2) is between an ending position of a sensing slot of the time window and a communication slot.

In some embodiments, T_gap1 and T_gap2 may be the same value. In some embodiments, T_gap1 and T_gap2 may be different values. In some embodiments, T_gap1 and T_gap2 may be represented by number of slots with respect to reference SCS.

In some embodiments, T_gap1 and T_gap2 may be associated with a sensing mode and capability of the terminal device 110. The terminal device 110 may report the waveform for sensing activation capability, including whether to support dynamic choosing of different waveforms from a waveform for a communication operation and the time delay before and after a sensing operation. The time delay before and after a sensing operation may be associated with the time delay of switching waveform and/or numerology between sensing and communication. In some embodiments, during the time window 320 and the time gaps 330 and 340, transmission and reception of a wireless signal for communication is unexpected.

In some embodiments, if the numerology and waveform for the sensing operation is same as that for the communication operation, the switch delay is assumed to be 0. In some embodiments, the duration of a sensing window may be fixed. In some embodiments, the duration of the sensing window may be indicated by DCI directly. In some embodiments, a duration of a time window for the sensing operation may be number of slots with a reference SCS. In some embodiments the duration of the time window for the sensing operation may be absolute time duration. In some embodiments, the reference SCS may be predefined. In some embodiments, the reference SCS may be the one used for the communication operation. In some embodiments, a central frequency for the sensing operation and the communication operation may be the same. In this case, only bandwidth, SCS and CP length may be indicated for sensing BWP or sensing numerology.

In some embodiments, the network device 120 may transmit, to the terminal device 110, a BWP configuration for the sensing operation, the BWP configuration comprising the waveform.

For illustration, an example BWP configuration may be described as below.

In this example, absence of the IE “waveform” may indicate a default waveform for the sensing operation, e.g., CP-OFDM.

In this example, the IE “waveform” indicates the waveform for the sensing operation.

For illustration, another example BWP configuration may be described as below.

In some embodiments, the network device 120 may transmit, to the terminal device 110, a configuration comprising an extended CP for the sensing operation. In some embodiments, the extended CP for the sensing operation may be applied to any one of SCSs supported by the terminal device 110 for the sensing operation.

An example configuration of an extended CP may be described as below.

In this example, the IE “cyclicPrefix” indicates whether to use the extended CP for this BWP. If not set, the UE uses a normal CP. Normal CP is supported for all SCSs and slot formats. Extended CP is supported only for 60 kHz SCS when the BWP is used for communication, and supported for all the SCSs or for all the SCSs supported for sensing when the BWP is used for sensing. Except for supplementary uplink (SUL) , the network ensures the same CP length is used in active DL BWP and active UL BWP within a serving cell.

It is to be understood that although the above examples are described in connection with numerology of DL sensing, the present disclosure may be also applied to numerology of UL sensing. Other details are omitted here for conciseness.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 2, the terminal device 110 may perform 230 a sensing operation based on the at least one of the first information or the second information.

In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may determine 231 a length of a time window for the sensing operation based on a reference SCS or a SCS used for the communication operation.

The terminal device 110 may determine 232 a first time gap (i.e., T_gap1) before the time window based on a switching delay between the communication operation and the sensing operation. The switching delay is associated with at least one of the numerology or the waveform for the sensing operation. Then the terminal device 110 may perform 233 the sensing operation within the time window.

The terminal device 110 may determine 234 a second time gap (i.e., T_gap2) after the time window based on the switching delay between the communication operation and the sensing operation. The switching delay is associated with at least one of the numerology or the waveform for the sensing operation. Then the terminal device 110 may switch 235 from the sensing operation to the communication operation at end of the second time gap. In this way, after the sensing operation, the terminal device 110 may switch to communication BWP without additional indication.

In some embodiments for timing advance (TA) adjustment for a sensing BWP, a larger TA value range than a communication BWP may be set. For example, time length of sensing targets may be longer than that for communication terminals. In another example, detecting signal strength for a sensing operation may have lower requirement than that for a communication operation.

With the process 200, a numerology or waveform switching between sensing and communication may be carried out and sensing and communication performance may be ensured. It is to be understood that operations in the process 200 may be carried out in any suitable combination or order and are not limited to the above examples. It is also to be understood that the process 200 may include one or more additional operations or omit one or more of the operations shown.

EXAMPLE IMPLEMENTATION OF METHODS

Accordingly, embodiments of the present disclosure provide methods of communication implemented at a terminal device and a network device. These methods will be described below with reference to FIGs. 4 and 5.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example method 400 of communication implemented at a terminal device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the method 400 may be performed at the terminal device 110 as shown in FIG. 1. For the purpose of discussion, in the following, the method 400 will be described with reference to the terminal device 110 in FIG. 1. It is to be understood that the method 400 may include additional blocks not shown and/or may omit some blocks as shown, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

At block 410, the terminal device 110 receives, from the network device 120, at least one of first information of a numerology used for a sensing operation or second information of a waveform used for a sensing operation.

In some embodiments, the first information may indicate at least one of the following: an SCS for the sensing operation; a CP for the sensing operation; or a bandwidth for the sensing operation.

In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may receive a set of BWP configurations associated with a first BWP identity set for the sensing operation, the first BWP identity set being different from a second BWP identity set for a communication operation. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may receive a first information element comprising a BWP configuration for the sensing operation, the first information element being different from a second information element of a BWP configuration for a communication operation. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may receive a set of BWP configurations including a type of a BWP indicating the sensing operation, maximum number of BWP configurations including the type being larger than a threshold number.

In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may receive, from the network device 120, DCI comprising at least one of the following: an indication of a BWP configuration for the sensing operation; an indication of a BWP configuration for a communication operation; or an indication of whether the BWP configuration is used for the sensing operation or a communication operation.

In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may receive DCI comprising an indication of the numerology in a list of numerologies.

In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may receive an RRC signaling indicating the waveform for the sensing operation and a set of time domain resources associated with the waveform. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may receive DCI indicating a switching to the waveform for the sensing operation. In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may receive a BWP configuration for the sensing operation, the BWP configuration comprising the waveform.

In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may receive, from the network device 120, a configuration comprising an extended CP for the sensing operation, the extended CP for the sensing operation being applied to any one of SCSs supported by the terminal device 110 for the sensing operation.

At block 420, the terminal device 110 performs the sensing operation based on the at least one of the first information or the second information.

In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may transmit, to the network device 120, capability of the terminal device 110. The capability may comprise at least one of the following: an SCS supported for the sensing operation; a CP supported for the sensing operation; a bandwidth supported for the sensing operation; a waveform supported for the sensing operation; a BWP switching delay supported for the sensing operation; a numerology switching delay supported for the sensing operation; or a waveform switching delay supported for the sensing operation.

In some embodiments, if an indication of switching from a communication operation to the sensing operation is received, the terminal device 110 may determine a length of a time window for the sensing operation based on a reference SCS or a SCS used for the communication operation, and determine a first time gap before the time window based on a switching delay between the communication operation and the sensing operation. The switching delay is associated with at least one of the numerology or the waveform. The terminal device 110 may perform the sensing operation within the time window.

In some embodiments, the terminal device 110 may further determine a second time gap after the time window based on the switching delay between the communication operation and the sensing operation, and switch from the sensing operation to the communication operation at end of the second time gap.

With the method 400, a numerology or waveform switching between sensing and communication may be carried out and sensing and communication performance may be ensured.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example method 500 of communication implemented at a network device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the method 500 may be performed at the network device 120 as shown in FIG. 1. For the purpose of discussion, in the following, the method 500 will be described with reference to the network device 120 in FIG. 1. It is to be understood that the method 500 may include additional blocks not shown and/or may omit some blocks as shown, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

As shown in FIG. 5, at block 510, the network device 120 transmits, to the terminal device 110, at least one of first information of a numerology used for a sensing operation or second information of a waveform used for a sensing operation associated with the terminal device 110.

In some embodiments, the network device 120 may receive, from the terminal device 110, capability of the terminal device 110. The capability may comprise at least one of the following: an SCS supported for the sensing operation; a CP supported for the sensing operation; a bandwidth supported for the sensing operation; a waveform supported for the sensing operation; a BWP switching delay supported for the sensing operation; a numerology switching delay supported for the sensing operation; or a waveform switching delay supported for the sensing operation.

In some embodiments, the network device 120 may transmit a set of BWP configurations associated with a first BWP identity set for the sensing operation. The first BWP identity set is different from a second BWP identity set for a communication operation.

In some embodiments, the network device 120 may transmit a first IE comprising a BWP configuration for the sensing operation. The first IE is different from a second IE of a BWP configuration for a communication operation.

In some embodiments, the network device 120 may transmit a set of BWP configurations including a type of a BWP indicating the sensing operation. Maximum number of BWP configurations including the type is larger than a threshold number.

In some embodiments, the network device 120 may transmit, to the terminal device 110, DCI comprising at least one of the following: an indication of a BWP configuration for the sensing operation; an indication of a BWP configuration for a communication operation; or an indication of whether the BWP configuration is used for the sensing operation or a communication operation.

In some embodiments, the network device 120 may transmit, to the terminal device 110, a configuration comprising an extended CP for the sensing operation. The extended CP for the sensing operation is applied to any one of SCSs supported by the terminal device 110 for the sensing operation.

In some embodiments, the network device 120 may transmit DCI comprising an indication of the numerology in a list of numerologies.

In some embodiments, the network device 120 may transmit an RRC signaling indicating the waveform for the sensing operation and a set of time domain resources associated with the waveform. In some embodiments, the network device 120 may transmit DCI indicating a switching to the waveform for the sensing operation. In some embodiments, the network device 120 may transmit a BWP configuration for the sensing operation, the BWP configuration comprising the waveform.

With the method 500, a numerology or waveform switching between sensing and communication may be facilitated and sensing and communication performance may be ensured.

It is to be understood that operations of the methods 400 and 500 correspond to the process described in connection with FIG. 2, and thus other details are omitted here for conciseness.

EXAMPLE IMPLEMENTATION OF DEVICES

FIG. 6 is a simplified block diagram of a device 600 that is suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 600 can be considered as a further example implementation of the terminal device 110 or the network device 120 as shown in FIG. 1. Accordingly, the device 600 can be implemented at or as at least a part of the terminal device 110 or the network device 120 or the core network element 130.

As shown, the device 600 includes a processor 610, a memory 620 coupled to the processor 610, a suitable transceiver 640 coupled to the processor 610, and a communication interface coupled to the transceiver 640. The memory 610 stores at least a part of a program 630. The transceiver 640 may be for bidirectional communications or a unidirectional communication based on requirements. The transceiver 640 may include at least one of a transmitter 642 or a receiver 644. The transmitter 642 and the receiver 644 may be functional modules or physical entities. The transceiver 640 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication, though in practice an Access Node mentioned in this application may have several ones. The communication interface may represent any interface that is necessary for communication with other network elements, such as X2/Xn interface for bidirectional communications between eNBs/gNBs, S1/NG interface for communication between a Mobility Management Entity (MME) /Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) /SGW/UPF and the eNB/gNB, Un interface for communication between the eNB/gNB and a relay node (RN) , or Uu interface for communication between the eNB/gNB and a terminal device.

The program 630 is assumed to include program instructions that, when executed by the associated processor 610, enable the device 600 to operate in accordance with the embodiments of the present disclosure, as discussed herein with reference to FIGs. 1 to 5. The embodiments herein may be implemented by computer software executable by the processor 610 of the device 600, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. The processor 610 may be configured to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure. Furthermore, a combination of the processor 610 and memory 620 may form processing means 650 adapted to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure.

The memory 620 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, semiconductor based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory, as non-limiting examples. While only one memory 620 is shown in the device 600, there may be several physically distinct memory modules in the device 600. The processor 610 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network, and may include one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The device 600 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock which synchronizes the main processor.

In some embodiments, a terminal device comprises a circuitry configured to: receive, from a network device, at least one of first information of a numerology used for a sensing operation or second information of a waveform used for a sensing operation; and perform the sensing operation based on the at least one of the first information or the second information.

In some embodiments, a network device comprises a circuitry configured to: transmit, to a terminal device, at least one of first information of a numerology used for a sensing operation or second information of a waveform used for a sensing operation associated with the terminal device.

The term “circuitry” used herein may refer to hardware circuits and/or combinations of hardware circuits and software. For example, the circuitry may be a combination of analog and/or digital hardware circuits with software/firmware. As a further example, the circuitry may be any portions of hardware processors with software including digital signal processor (s) , software, and memory (ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a terminal device or a network device, to perform various functions. In a still further example, the circuitry may be hardware circuits and or processors, such as a microprocessor or a portion of a microprocessor, that requires software/firmware for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation. As used herein, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (s) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor (s) and its (or their) accompanying software and/or firmware.

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

The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, being executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor, to carry out the process or method as described above with reference to FIGs. 1 to 5. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, or the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired in various embodiments. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

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

The above program code may be embodied on a machine readable medium, which may be any tangible medium that may contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The machine readable medium may be a machine readable signal medium or a machine readable storage medium. A machine readable medium may include but not limited to an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of the machine readable storage medium would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM) , a read-only memory (ROM) , an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory) , an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) , an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

Further, while operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Likewise, while several specific implementation details are contained in the above discussions, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination.

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

Claims

A terminal device, comprising:

a processor configured to cause the terminal device to:

receive, from a network device, at least one of first information of a numerology used for a sensing operation or second information of a waveform used for a sensing operation; and

perform the sensing operation based on the at least one of the first information or the second information.
The terminal device of claim 1, wherein the first information indicates at least one of the following:

a sub-carrier spacing for the sensing operation;

a cyclic prefix for the sensing operation; or

a bandwidth for the sensing operation.
The terminal device of claim 1, wherein the terminal device is further caused to:

transmit, to the network device, capability of the terminal device comprising at least one of the following:

a sub-carrier spacing supported for the sensing operation;

a cyclic prefix supported for the sensing operation;

a bandwidth supported for the sensing operation;

a waveform supported for the sensing operation;

a bandwidth part switching delay supported for the sensing operation;

a numerology switching delay supported for the sensing operation; or

a waveform switching delay supported for the sensing operation.
The terminal device of claim 1, wherein the terminal device is caused to receive the first information by at least one of the following:

receiving a set of bandwidth part configurations associated with a first bandwidth part identity set for the sensing operation, the first bandwidth part identity set being different from a second bandwidth part identity set for a communication operation;

receiving a first information element comprising a bandwidth part configuration for the sensing operation, the first information element being different from a second information element of a bandwidth part configuration for a communication operation; or

receiving a set of bandwidth part configurations including a type of a bandwidth part indicating the sensing operation, maximum number of bandwidth part configurations including the type being larger than a threshold number.
The terminal device of claim 4, wherein the terminal device is caused to receive the first information by:

receiving, from the network device, downlink control information comprising at least one of the following:

an indication of a bandwidth part configuration for the sensing operation;

an indication of a bandwidth part configuration for a communication operation; or

an indication of whether the bandwidth part configuration is used for the sensing operation or a communication operation.
The terminal device of claim 1, wherein the terminal device is further caused to:

receive, from the network device, a configuration comprising an extended cyclic prefix for the sensing operation, the extended cyclic prefix for the sensing operation being applied to any one of sub-carrier spacings supported by the terminal device for the sensing operation.
The terminal device of claim 1, wherein the terminal device is caused to receive the first information by:

receiving downlink control information comprising an indication of the numerology in a list of numerologies.
The terminal device of claim 1, wherein the terminal device is caused to receive the second information by at least one of the following:

receiving a radio resource control signaling indicating the waveform for the sensing operation and a set of time domain resources associated with the waveform;

receiving downlink control information indicating a switching to the waveform for the sensing operation; or

receiving a bandwidth part configuration for the sensing operation, the bandwidth part configuration comprising the waveform.
The terminal device of claim 8, wherein the waveform is a predetermined waveform, or

wherein the waveform is one of a set of waveforms supported by the terminal device.
The terminal device of claim 1, wherein the terminal device is caused to perform the sensing operation by:

in accordance with a determination that an indication of switching from a communication operation to the sensing operation is received, determining a length of a time window for the sensing operation based on a reference sub-carrier spacing or a sub-carrier spacing used for the communication operation;

determining a first time gap before the time window based on a switching delay between the communication operation and the sensing operation, the switching delay being associated with at least one of the numerology or the waveform; and

performing the sensing operation within the time window.
The terminal device of claim 10, wherein the terminal device is further caused to:

determine a second time gap after the time window based on the switching delay between the communication operation and the sensing operation; and

switch from the sensing operation to the communication operation at end of the second time gap.
A network device, comprising:

a processor configured to cause the network device to:

transmit, to a terminal device, at least one of first information of a numerology used for a sensing operation or second information of a waveform used for a sensing operation associated with the terminal device.
The network device of claim 12, wherein the first information indicates at least one of the following:

a sub-carrier spacing for the sensing operation;

a cyclic prefix for the sensing operation; or

a bandwidth for the sensing operation.
The network device of claim 12, wherein the network device is further caused to:

receive, from the terminal device, capability of the terminal device comprising at least one of the following:

a sub-carrier spacing supported for the sensing operation;

a cyclic prefix supported for the sensing operation;

a bandwidth supported for the sensing operation;

a waveform supported for the sensing operation;

a bandwidth part switching delay supported for the sensing operation;

a numerology switching delay supported for the sensing operation; or

a waveform switching delay supported for the sensing operation.
The network device of claim 12, wherein the network device is caused to transmit the first information by at least one of the following:

transmitting a set of bandwidth part configurations associated with a first bandwidth part identity set for the sensing operation, the first bandwidth part identity set being different from a second bandwidth part identity set for a communication operation;

transmitting a first information element comprising a bandwidth part configuration for the sensing operation, the first information element being different from a second information element of a bandwidth part configuration for a communication operation; or

transmitting a set of bandwidth part configurations including a type of a bandwidth part indicating the sensing operation, maximum number of bandwidth part configurations including the type being larger than a threshold number.
The network device of claim 15, wherein the network device is caused to transmit the first information by:

transmitting, to the terminal device, downlink control information comprising at least one of the following:

an indication of a bandwidth part configuration for the sensing operation;

an indication of a bandwidth part configuration for a communication operation; or

an indication of whether the bandwidth part configuration is used for the sensing operation or a communication operation.
The network device of claim 12, wherein the network device is further caused to:

transmit, to the terminal device, a configuration comprising an extended cyclic prefix for the sensing operation, the extended cyclic prefix for the sensing operation being applied to any one of sub-carrier spacings supported by the terminal device for the sensing operation.
The network device of claim 12, wherein the network device is caused to transmit the first information by:

transmitting downlink control information comprising an indication of the numerology in a list of numerologies.
The network device of claim 12, wherein the network device is caused to transmit the second information by at least one of the following:

transmitting a radio resource control signaling indicating the waveform for the sensing operation and a set of time domain resources associated with the waveform;

transmitting downlink control information indicating a switching to the waveform for the sensing operation; or

transmitting a bandwidth part configuration for the sensing operation, the bandwidth part configuration comprising the waveform.
The network device of claim 19, wherein the waveform is a predetermined waveform, or

wherein the waveform is one of a set of waveforms supported by the terminal device.