WO2025007277A1

WO2025007277A1 - Devices and methods for communication

Info

Publication number: WO2025007277A1
Application number: PCT/CN2023/105757
Authority: WO
Inventors: Gang Wang
Original assignee: NEC Corp
Current assignee: NEC Corp
Priority date: 2023-07-04
Filing date: 2023-07-04
Publication date: 2025-01-09
Anticipated expiration: 2026-01-04

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for multi-measurements of a sensing signal. In a solution, a first communication device transmits, to at least one device involved in a sensing service, first identification information related to a resource configuration, the resource configuration being allocated for transmission of a sensing signal in the sensing service. The first communication device further transmits the sensing signal based on the resource configuration, wherein a plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal are to be combined based at least in part on the first identification information related to the resource configuration.

Description

DEVICES AND METHODS FOR COMMUNICATION

FIELDS

Example embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of communication techniques and in particular, to devices and methods for multi-measurements of a sensing signal.

BACKGROUND

Sensing technologies are adopted in various applications, and accurate sensing results are desired. For example, to support smart transportation and/or autonomous driving, more vehicles and devices are equipped with sensing technologies. In the transportation environment, the cameras, Radar, and Lidar systems are the most used sensors by the automotive industry to maintain the perception for autonomous vehicles at various levels of autonomy. Accurate sensing results are important to enable the safe and reliable control of the vehicles.

SUMMARY

In general, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for multi-measurements of a sensing signal.

In a first aspect, there is provided a first communication device comprising: a processor configured to cause the first communication device to: transmit, to at least one device involved in a sensing service, first identification information related to a resource configuration, the resource configuration being allocated for transmission of a sensing signal in the sensing service; and transmit the sensing signal based on the resource configuration, wherein a plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal are to be combined based at least in part on the first identification information related to the resource configuration.

In a second aspect, there is provided a sensing function device comprising: a processor configured to cause the sensing function device to: receive a plurality of measurement results of a sensing signal in a sensing service or a combined measurement report of the plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal; and in accordance with a determination that the plurality of measurement results are received, combine the plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal based on first identification information related to a resource configuration, the resource configuration being allocated for transmission of a sensing signal in the sensing service, wherein the combined measurement report is generated by combing the plurality of measurement results based at least in part on the first identification information.

In a third aspect, there is provided a target device comprising: a processor configured to cause the target device to: receive, from a first communication device, first identification information related to a resource configuration, the resource configuration being allocated for transmission of a sensing signal in the sensing service, and the target device to be sensed in the sensing device and having a measurement capability; receive, from the first communication device, the sensing signal based on the resource configuration, to obtain a first measurement result of the sensing signal; and transmit the first measurement result in association with the first identification information, wherein a plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal are to be combined based at least in part on the first identification information, the plurality of measurement results comprising the first measurement result.

In a fourth aspect, there is provided a first device comprising: a processor configured to cause the first device to: receive, from a sensing function device, updated configuration information related to a sensing service, the updated configuration information indicating at least one of the following: an updated transmission mode of the first device in the sensing service, an updated role of the first device in the sensing service, an active or inactive indication of a transmission function of the first device in the sensing service, or an active or inactive indication of a reception function of the first device in the sensing service; perform the sensing service based on the updated configuration information.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided a sensing function device comprising: a processor configured to cause the sensing function device to: determine whether configuration information for at least one device involved in a sensing service is to be updated; and in accordance with a determination that the configuration information is to be updated, transmit updated configuration information to the at least one device, the updated configuration information indicates at least one of the following: at least one transmission mode of the at least one device, at least one role of the at least one device in the sensing service, an active or inactive indication of a transmission function of the at least one device in the sensing service, or an active or inactive indication of a reception function of the at least one device in the sensing service.

In a sixth aspect, there is provided a communication method performed by a first communication device. The method comprises: transmitting, to at least one device involved in a sensing service, first identification information related to a resource configuration, the resource configuration being allocated for transmission of a sensing signal in the sensing service; and transmitting the sensing signal based on the resource configuration, wherein a plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal are to be combined based at least in part on the first identification information related to the resource configuration.

In a seventh aspect, there is provided a communication method performed by a sensing function device. The method comprises: receiving a plurality of measurement results of a sensing signal in a sensing service or a combined measurement report of the plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal; and in accordance with a determination that the plurality of measurement results are received, combining the plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal based on first identification information related to a resource configuration, the resource configuration being allocated for transmission of a sensing signal in the sensing service, wherein the combined measurement report is generated by combing the plurality of measurement results based at least in part on the first identification information.

In an eighth aspect, there is provided a communication method performed by a target device. The method comprises: receiving, from a first communication device, first identification information related to a resource configuration, the resource configuration being allocated for transmission of a sensing signal in the sensing service, and the target device to be sensed in the sensing device and having a measurement capability; receiving, from the first communication device, the sensing signal based on the resource configuration, to obtain a first measurement result of the sensing signal; and transmitting the first measurement result in association with the first identification information, wherein a plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal are to be combined based at least in part on the first identification information, the plurality of measurement results comprising the first measurement result.

In a ninth aspect, there is provided a communication method performed by a first device. The method comprises: receiving, from a sensing function device, updated configuration information related to a sensing service, the updated configuration information indicating at least one of the following: an updated transmission mode of the first device in the sensing service, an updated role of the first device in the sensing service, an active or inactive indication of a transmission function of the first device in the sensing service, or an active or inactive indication of a reception function of the first device in the sensing service; performing the sensing service based on the updated configuration information.

In a tenth aspect, there is provided a communication method performed by a sensing function device. The method comprises: determining whether configuration information for at least one device involved in a sensing service is to be updated; and in accordance with a determination that the configuration information is to be updated, transmitting updated configuration information to the at least one device, the updated configuration information indicates at least one of the following: at least one transmission mode of the at least one device, at least one role of the at least one device in the sensing service, an active or inactive indication of a transmission function of the at least one device in the sensing service, or an active or inactive indication of a reception function of the at least one device in the sensing service.

In an eleventh aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when executed on at least one processor, causing the at least one processor to carry out the method according to the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, or tenth aspect.

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 example 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. 1A illustrates an example communication environment in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented;

FIG. 1B illustrates a general communication environment in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented;

FIG. 2 illustrates a signaling flow of measurement of a sensing signal in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 3A-3B illustrate schematic diagrams of example sensing modes in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 4A-4B illustrate schematic diagrams for example interaction scenarios between devices in a sensing service in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrate schematic diagrams of example sensing modes according to the interaction scenarios in FIGS. 4A-4B in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 6A-6B illustrate schematic diagrams for example interaction scenarios between devices in a sensing service in accordance with some further example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 7A-7K illustrate schematic diagrams of example sensing modes according to the interaction scenarios in FIGS. 6A-6B in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8A illustrates a signaling flow of sensing configuration changing in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 8B-8D illustrates schematic diagrams of example sensing architectures in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a first communication device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a sensing function device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a target device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a first device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a sensing function device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 14 illustrates a simplified block diagram of an apparatus that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure.

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

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Principle of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It is to be understood that these embodiments are described only for the purpose of illustration and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitation as to the scope of the disclosure. Embodiments 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, devices 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 incorporate 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 “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 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 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 may work on several frequency ranges, e.g., FR1 (e.g., 450 MHz to 6000 MHz) , FR2 (e.g., 24.25GHz to 52.6GHz) , frequency band larger than 100 GHz as well as Tera Hertz (THz) . It can further work on licensed/unlicensed/shared spectrum. The terminal device may have more than one connection with the network devices under Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity (MR-DC) application scenario. The terminal device or the network device 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 some embodiments, 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 some embodiments, the first network device may be a first RAT device and the second network device may be a second RAT device. In some embodiments, 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 some embodiments, 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 some embodiments, 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.

As used herein, the term “resource, ” “transmission resource, ” “uplink resource, ” or “downlink resource” may refer to any resource for performing a communication, such as a resource in time domain, a resource in frequency domain, a resource in space domain, a resource in code domain, or any other resource enabling a communication, and the like. In the following, unless explicitly stated, a resource in both frequency domain and time domain will be used as an example of a transmission resource for describing some example embodiments of the present disclosure. It is noted that example embodiments of the present disclosure are equally applicable to other resources in other domains.

FIG. 1A illustrates a schematic diagram of an example communication environment 100 in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. The communication environment 100 shows a transportation scenario where sensing technologies are needed. As illustrated, to support smart transportation and/or autonomous driving, one or more of network devices 102-1, 102-2, terminal devices 103-1, 103-2, and vehicles 104-1, 104-2 are equipped with sensing technologies, to sense the traffic conditions. Accurate sensing results are important to enable the safe and reliable control of the vehicles and to avoid accidents in the environment. One or more of the network devices 102-1, 102-2, terminal devices 103-1, 103-2, and vehicles 104-1, 104-2 may transmit signals for sensing certain objects in the environment. One or more of the network devices 102-1, 102-2, terminal devices 103-1, 103-2, and vehicles 104-1, 104-2 may collect measurement results of the sensing signals for use in the smart transportation and/or autonomous driving.

In some example embodiments, the network devices 102-1, 102-2 and the terminal devices 103-1, 103-2 are in a radio access network (RAN) . The terminal devices 103-1, 103-2 may communicate with the network device (s) 102-1 and/or the network device 102-2. The network devices 102-1, 102-2 may communicatively connect with a core network (CN) 106, which may further connect with one or more third-party applications 108. The third-party applications 108 may include one or more applications which support the smart transportation and/or autonomous driving, such as the map service provider, the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) management platform, and the like. In some example embodiments, the vehicles 104-1, 104-2 may comprise communication devices which communicatively connect to the network devices 102-1, 102-2 or directly communicate with the third-party applications 108.

The various ways of transportation objects (e.g., vehicles, walking people, motor vehicles, non-motor vehicles, and the like) and the dense buildings make the traffic condition complicated. Typically, traffic accidents often happen at the crossroads for example the pedestrians suddenly rush to the road from the invisible place (e.g., behind the high buildings, behind the tall trees) , which cause an urgent need to monitor the real-time road status for all days. Thus, accurate sensing results are needed in order to provide driving warning or assistant driving information timely to the vehicles.

In the sensing scenario of smart transportation, the purposes of the sensing may include, but are not limited to, dynamic map (large area) for automatic driving, assisted driving, and road management based on the dynamic map; vehicle trajectory tracking; illegal driving (e.g. occupying the emergency lane, speeding) ;

In addition to the smart transportation, there are many other sensing scenarios, such as unmanned aerial vehicle and indoor health. In the sensing scenario of unmanned aerial vehicle, the purposes of the sensing may include, but are not limited to, dynamic map (large area) such as automatic driving, assisted driving, route management based on a dynamic map; UAV trajectory tracking; space intrusion, route correction (such as UAV driving out of the air route, speeding, entering the no-fly zone) ; dynamic map (UE centred) : autonomous flying, assisted flying, and the like. In the sensing scenario of indoor health, the purposes of the sensing may include, but are not limited to, abnormal behavior detection (e.g., fall, sedentary, abnormal posture) ; detection of body indicators (e.g. respiration, heartbeat) ; smart control (control of the home based on human position and behaviour, such as turning on lights) .

Without loss of generality, FIG. 1B illustrates a schematic diagram of a general communication environment 105 in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. The communication environment 105 illustrates integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) , which aims to integrate sensing functions into the communication system. The sensing functions are expected to enable the network to “see” the world through the wireless signals and other inputs to connect the physical world with the digital world.

The communication environment 105 includes one or more communication devices 110-1, 110-2, …, 110-N which may communicate with a sensing function device 130. As illustrated, one or more communication devices 110-1, 110-2, …, 110-N are configured to transmit one or more signals to sense a target 120. For the purpose of discussion, the communication devices 110-1, 110-2, …, 110-N may be collectively or individually referred to as communication devices 110. Measurement result (s) of the transmitted signal (s) may be collected and provided to the sensing function device 130. In some example embodiments, the target 120 may have a communication capability, and may communicate with one or more communication devices 110 and/or the sensing function device 130. In some example embodiments, the target 120 may collect the measurement result (s) of the transmitted signal (s) and provide it to the sensing function device 130.

The sensing function device 130 may determine a sensing result based on the received measurement result (s) . The sensing result may be used for various purposes depending on the actual use cases. For example, in the use cases of smart transportation and/or autonomous driving, the sensing result may be used to provide driving warning or assistant driving information to the vehicles.

The communication devices 110 may include various types of devices in different use cases for sensing. In some example embodiments, the communication devices 110 may include but are not limited to network devices (e.g., ng-eNB or gNB or a distributed unit (DU) of an ng-eNB/gNB) , terminal devices, and/or any other devices which are equipped with sensing technologies and have communication capabilities. A communication device 110 may transmit a sensing signal, and/or receive a sensing signal. In some embodiments, a communication devices 110 may be referred to as a sensing node.

The target 120 may be any object or device to be sensed. In some examples, the target 120 may be a human body, car, building, animal, Machine-Type Communication (eMTC) device, Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) device, Redcap device, Ambient IoT Device A, Ambient IoT Device B, or Ambient IoT Device C. In some examples, the target 120 may have or may have no measurement capability to obtain a measurement result of a sensing signal, for example, a terminal device or other device specific for sensing measurement. A target 120 with the measurement capability may sometimes referred to as a “target device” with a measurement capability. The definitions of Ambient IoT Device A/B/C are as follows. Ambient IoT Device A has no energy storage, no independent signal generation, i.e. backscattering transmission. Ambient IoT Device B has energy storage, no independent signal generation, i.e. backscattering transmission. The use of stored energy can include amplification for reflected signals. Ambient IoT Device C has energy storage has independent signal generation, i.e. active RF component for transmission.

The sensing function device 130 may be any suitable types of devices which can receive measurement results of the signals and provide the sensing result. In some examples, the sensing function device 130 may include or be implemented as a CN function or entity in the CN or a network device in the RAN. Although the term “sensing function device” is used herein, it may be interchangeably used with any other terms.

The signal transmitted for sensing (sometimes referred to as “sensing signal” ) may include any suitable types of signal, including but not limited to, Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) , Channel-State-Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) , Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) , DeModulation Reference Signal (DMRS) , Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) , communication signal such as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) signal, specific sensing signal (s) , or any other signal.

A measurement result of a sensing signal for sensing may include the final sensing result such as the target distance, speed, dynamic maps, Reference Signal Received Power (RSPR) , Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) , channel information etc., intermediate results such as point cloud information based on the sensing measurement, preliminary results such as delay spread spectrum, Doppler spectrum and other information, and/or raw measurements of the signal such as the in-phase/quadrature (I/Q) stream, or the like. The type of the measurement result may be flexibly configured for different use cases.

A sensing result may include any desired information that can be derived from the measurement result (s) of the sensing signal (s) . As some examples, the sensing result may include a target distance of the target, a size of the target, a velocity of the target, a position of the target, a moving direction of the target, a surrounding environment of the target, real-time map, or the like.

In some embodiments, the communication devices 110 (e.g., the network devices and/or the terminal devices) may report their sensing capability so that the sensing function device 130 can know the sensing capability of the communication devices 110 and select appropriate communication devices 110 for a sensing service based-for example, the supported sensing modes, TX/RX functions. A supported sensing mode may indicate which communication device (s) transmits a sensing signal, which communication device (s) receives the sensing signal, and how measurements of the sensing signal are reported to the sensing function device 130. The sensing capability may indicate a supported sensing mode (s) of a communication device 110, a role of the communication device 110 in the supported sensing mode (s) (e.g., a role of transmitter, or a role of receiver) , sensing precise levels (e.g., the sensing distance, range resolution, or sensing speed, velocity resolution) .

The sensing function device 130 may perform sensing measurement configuration, to select the appropriate communication devices 110 for sensing and sends the sensing measurement configuration to a network device to control the sensing process. The sensing measurement configuration may indicate a transmission mode, (e.g., a network device for sensing signal transmission, a terminal device for sensing signal reception) ; a role in the supported sensing mode (e.g., a role of transmitter, or a role of receiver) ; quality of service requirement, e.g. position accuracy, velocity accuracy, distance resolution; measurement reporting mode (e.g. period, or event trigger condition) ; and/or other assistant information (e.g. target size/moving trace) . The communication devices 110 involved in a sensing service may report perception measurement results to the sensing function device 130. The measurements may include the final result, for example, target distance, speed, dynamic maps, RSPR/RSRQ, channel information etc.; intermediate results, for example, point cloud information based on the sensing measurement; preliminary results, for example, delay spread spectrum, Doppler spectrum and other information; original result, for example, the I/Q stream of the original signal.

In some embodiments, sensing measurements may come from a single device, and the sensing function device 130 may process the measurements from this device. In some embodiments, different sensing measurements may come from multiple devices, but the sensing function device 130 may process the different sensing measurements independently. In some embodiments, different sensing measurements come from multiple sensing nodes, and the sensing function device 130 may process the different sensing measurements together.

The communications in the communication environments 100 and 105 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) , New Radio (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 their connections shown in FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B are only for the purpose of illustration without suggesting any limitation. The communication environments 100 and 105 may include any suitable number of devices configured to implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure. Although not shown, it would be appreciated that one or more additional devices may be located in the cell, and one or more additional cells may be deployed in the communication environment. It is noted that although illustrated as a network device, the network device may be another device than a network device. Although illustrated as a terminal device, the terminal device may be other device than a terminal device, such as a positioning reference unit (PRU) .

Example embodiments of the present disclosure provide some improved solution for sensing. In some sensing cases, a sensing signal may be measured many times by different devices, resulting in many measurement results for the sensing signal. Therefore, one problem arises how the sensing function device to determine that these measurement results are only for one sensing signal. In a solution proposed in the embodiments of the present disclosure, a first communication device transmits, to at least one device involved in a sensing service, first identification information related to a resource configuration that is allocated for transmission of a sensing signal in the sensing service. The sensing signal is then transmitted based on the resource configuration. In this case, a plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal can be combined based at least in part on the first identification information related to the resource configuration. The combination of the plurality of measurement results may be performed at a sensing function device, or at a network device and then transmitted to the sensing function device. According to this solution, through the identification information of the resource configuration, different measurement results of the same sensing signal can be combined together to derive the sensing result.

In some sensing cases, in a sensing service, the transmission mode among the devices may change with time. For example, at a time point of T1, the transmission mode is a first node transmitting and receiving. When the target moves away from the first node and close to a second node, the transmission may need to change to the first node transmitting and the second node receiving. It is desired to support such sensing change notification. In a solution proposed in the embodiments of the present disclosure, a sensing function device determines whether configuration information for at least one device involved in a sensing service is to be updated. In the case that the configuration information is to be updated, the sensing function device transmits updated configuration information to the at least one device. The at least one device involved in the sensing service can thus continue to perform the sensing service according to the updated configuration information. According to this solution, through the configuration update procedure, the sensing service can be performed in a better way as the sensing context changes, for example, due to the movements of the devices or the target.

Some embodiments related to the measurements of the sensing signal will be first described, and then some embodiments related to the sensing change notification will be further described.

Reference is made to FIG. 2, which illustrates a signaling flow 200 of measurement of a sensing signal in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The signaling flow 200 involves a first communication device 201, a target device 203, a sensing function device 204, and may further involve one or more second communication devices 202-1, 202-2…, 202-M (collectively or individually referred to as second communication devices 202) and a network device 206.

Any of the first communication device 201 and the second communication devices 202 may be a communication device 110 in FIG. 1B. In some embodiments, any of the first communication device 201 and the second communication devices 202 may be the network devices (e.g., ng-eNB or gNB or a distributed unit (DU) of an ng-eNB/gNB) , terminal devices, and/or any other devices which are equipped with sensing technologies and have communication capabilities.

In the signaling flow 200, it is assumed that the first communication device 201 is a device that transmits a sensing signal in a sensing service, and the second communication devices 202 are devices that measure the sensing signal. In some embodiments, the first communication device 201 may be considered as a second communication device 202 which measures the sensing signal.

In the signaling flow, the target device 203 is an object to be sensed in the sensing service. In some embodiments, the target device 203 may have a measurement capability and thus can measure the sensing signal.

In the signaling flow 200, the first communication device 201 transmits (205) to at least one device involved in a sensing service, first identification information related to a resource configuration. The resource configuration is allocated for transmission of a sensing signal in the sensing service.

In some embodiments, the first communication device 201 may prepare the resource configuration of a sensing signal to be transmitted for a sensing service. In some embodiments, the resource configuration may include one or more of a frequency-domain configuration, a time-domain configuration, a spatial-domain configuration, a sequence generation, a resource mapping, a measurement-related configuration, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the frequency-domain configuration of the sensing signal may include, but is not limited to, sub-carrier spacing, and/or resource bandwidth, and/or Cyclic Prefix, and/or start physical resource block (PRB) , etc. In some embodiments, the time-domain configuration of the sensing signal may include, but is not limited to, a slot offset, the number of RB used, RE offset, the number of resource element (RE) , symbol offset, the number of symbols, etc. In some embodiments, the spatial-domain configuration of the sensing signal may include, but is not limited to, one or more beam indices for the sensing signal. In some embodiments, the sequence generation and/or the resource mapping configuration of the sensing signal may include, but is not limited to, the sequence identifier (ID) , RE offset, symbol offset, Quasi-Colocation (QCL) , or the like. In some embodiments, the measurement-related configuration of the sensing signal may include, but is not limited to, the period of measurement report, the measurement time gap, the measurement criteria etc. It is noted that the different configurations may be in the same or different configuration message.

In some embodiments, the first communication device 201 may determine a resource identifier for the resource configuration of the sensing signal as the first identification information. The resource identifier for the resource configuration may be referred to as Configuration ID. In some embodiments, the first communication device 201 may directly assign the resource identifier for the resource configuration of the sensing signal. In some embodiments, the resource identifier for the resource configuration of the sensing signal may be assigned by the sensing function device 204. For example, the first communication device 201 may deliver the configuration (s) included in the resource configuration to the sensing function device 204, to request the sensing function device 204 to assign a resource identifier for the resource configuration. In some embodiments, the target device 203 may assign the resource identifier for the resource configuration.

In some example embodiments, the different aspects (e.g., the frequency-domain configuration, the time-domain configuration, the spatial-domain configuration, the sequence generation, the resource mapping, and/or the measurement-related configuration) of the resource configuration may be assigned with respective identifiers, respectively. In some embodiments, a corresponding combination identifier of a combination of two or more of the frequency-domain configuration, the time-domain configuration, the spatial-domain configuration, the sequence generation, the resource mapping, or the measurement-related configuration. The resource identifier for the resource configuration of the sensing signal may be determined based on a combination of at least one of the following: an identifiers of a frequency-domain configuration in the resource configuration, an identifier of a time-domain configuration in the resource configuration, an identifier of a spatial-domain configuration in the resource configuration, an identifier of a sequence generation in the resource configuration, an identifier of a resource mapping in the resource configuration, an identifier of a measurement-related configuration in the resource configuration, or at least one combination identifier of a combination of two or more of the frequency-domain configuration, the time-domain configuration, the spatial-domain configuration, the sequence generation, the resource mapping, or the measurement-related configuration.

For example, the resource identifier for the resource configuration (e.g., the configuration ID) may comprise one or more of an identifier in the frequency domain (x) , an identifier in the time domain (y) , an identifier in the spatial domain (z) , an identifier for the sequence generation and/or resource mapping (j) . In another example, the resource identifier for the resource configuration (e.g., the configuration ID) may comprise one or more of a combination identifier in the frequency and time domain (x) , an identifier in the spatial domain (y) , an identifier for the sequence generation and/or resource mapping (z) . In a further example, the resource identifier for the resource configuration (e.g., the configuration ID) may comprise one or more of a combination identifier in the frequency and time domain (x) , and an identifier for the sequence generation and/or resource mapping (y) . In a yet other example, the resource identifier for the resource configuration (e.g., the configuration ID) may comprise a combination identifier (x) for the frequency and time and spatial configurations and the sequence generation and/or resource mapping domain. In a yet other example, the resource identifier for the resource configuration (e.g., the configuration ID) may comprise an identifier for the sequence generation and/or resource mapping (x) , with no identifiers for other configurations. In a yet other example, the resource identifier for the resource configuration (e.g., the configuration ID) may comprise a measurement identifier that relates to the frequency, time and/or spatial configurations.

In some embodiments, the preparation of the resource configuration for the sensing signal and the assignments of the resource identifier for the resource configuration may have no sequential order. For example, the resource configuration may be first determined and then the resource identifier may be assigned based on the specific aspects of configuration include in the resource configuration. In another example, different resource identifiers may be assigned to different resource configurations, and one of the resource configurations (and its associated resource identifier) may be selected for transmitting a sensing signal.

In some embodiments, the specific resource identifier may not be assigned the resource configuration. Instead, parameters that are used to specify the resource configuration of the sensing signal may be used as the first identification information.

In some embodiments, the first identification information related to the resource configuration may include a measurement identifier. The measurement identifier is generally assigned to relate a measurement object and a measurement report. In some embodiments, following the legacy method of L3 measurement, there are measurement objects and measurement reports, and an measurement ID is assigned to relate one object and report. An object means the frequency and time resources and repetition period of the measurements. A measurement report includes the report trigger event, measurement reporting period. In some embodiments, due to the measurement is about a single sensing signal, the period of measurement objects set to 0 or do not set.

In some embodiments, the first communication device 201 may transmit the resource configuration and/or the first identification information to the at least one device involved in the sensing service. In some embodiments, the resource configuration and/or the first identification information may be sent in separate messages. In some embodiments, the resource configuration may be transmitted to one or more devices which are configured to detect the sensing signal to obtain the measurement results.

In some embodiments, the at least one device which receives the first identification information related to the resource configuration may include the devices which need to measure and report measurement results of the sensing signal. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the first identification information related to the resource configuration may be transmitted to one or more second communication devices 202 that is configured to measure the sensing signal. Then the one or more second communication device 202 receive (210) the first identification information from the first communication device 201. For example, the first communication device 201 may send the resource configuration and/or the first identification information to the one or more second communication devices 202 to inform them where and/or how to measure the sensing signal.

In some embodiments, alternatively, or in addition, if the target device 203 has a measurement capability and is also configured to measurement the sensing signal. In this case, the target device 203 receives (220) the first identification information from the first communication device 201. For example, the first communication device 201 may send the resource configuration and/or the first identification information to the target device 203 to inform them where and/or how to measure the sensing signal. In some embodiments, the transmission between the first communication device 201 and the target device 203 may be included in a radio resource control (RRC) message and/or system information.

In some embodiments, the at least one device which receives the first identification information related to the resource configuration may include the devices which receive a plurality of measurement results for combinations. In some embodiments, a plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal may be reported to the sensing function device 204. In this case, the sensing function device 204 receives (225) the first identification information from the first communication device 201. In some embodiments, the network device 206 is used to combine the plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal as a combined measurement report and then transmit the combined measurement report to the sensing function device. In this case, the network device 206 receives (230) the first identification information from the first communication device 201. Note that the network device 206 may be the same device of the first communication device or the second communication device, or may be a separate network device. In some embodiments, the resource configuration for the sensing signal may be delivered to the sensing function device 204 and/or the network device 206 if there is no resource identifier or measurement identifier assigned to the resource configuration. In this case, the resource configuration itself is used to identify the measurement result related to the sensing signal.

For example, the first communication device 201 may send the resource configuration and/or the first identification information to the sensing function device 204 to inform the sensing function device 204 of the resource configuration and/or the first identification information of the sensing signal to be transmitted. In some cases, the first communication device 201 may send the resource configuration and/or the first identification information to the sensing function device 204, and then the sensing function device 204 may deliver the resource configuration and/or the first identification information to one or more devices which are configured to measure the sensing signal (e.g., one or more second communication device 202, and/or the target device 203) .

In general, depending on whether the first communication device 201 and/or the second communication device 202 are network devices or terminal devices, and depending on how the measurement results are reported, there may be six sensing modes. FIG. 3A illustrates schematic diagrams of six example sensing modes in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown, in Sensing Mode (A) 300, a sensing signal for sensing a target 330 is transmitted by a network device 310 and received or measured by the network device 310 itself. In Sensing Mode (B) 301, a sensing signal for sensing the target 330 is transmitted by the network device 310 and received or measured by another network device 312. In Sensing Mode (C) 302, a sensing signal for sensing the target 330 is transmitted by the network device 310 and received or measured by a terminal device 320.

In Sensing Mode (D) 303, a sensing signal for sensing the target 330 is transmitted by the terminal device 320 and received or measured by the terminal device 320 itself. In Sensing Mode (E) 304, a sensing signal for sensing the target 330 is transmitted by the terminal device 320 and received or measured by the network device 310. In Sensing Mode (F) 305, a sensing signal for sensing the target 330 is transmitted by the terminal device 320 and received or measured by another terminal device 322.

In some embodiments, if the target device to be sensed has a measurement capability, there may be further extended sensing modes among those illustrated in FIG. 3A. FIG. 3B illustrates some example extended sensing modes in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. In those extended sensing modes, a sensing signal may be measured for more than one time, to generate more than one measurement result. As shown in FIG. 3B, Sensing Mode (G) 306 is a combination of Sensing Mode (A) 300 and Sensing Mode (B) 301. In Sensing Mode (G) 306, a sensing signal for sensing a target 330 is transmitted by a network device 310 and received or measured by the network device 310 and the network device 312. Sensing Mode (H) 307 is a combination of Sensing Mode (A) 300 and Sensing Mode (C) 302. In Sensing Mode (H) 307, a sensing signal for sensing a target 330 is transmitted by a network device 310 and received or measured by the network device 310 and the terminal device 320. Sensing Mode (I) 308 is a combination of Sensing Mode (D) 303 and Sensing Mode (E) 304. In Sensing Mode (I) 308, a sensing signal for sensing a target 330 is transmitted by a terminal device 320 and received or measured by the network device 310 and the terminal device 320. Sensing Mode (J) 309 is a combination of Sensing Mode (E) 304 and Sensing Mode (F) 305. In Sensing Mode (J) 309, a sensing signal for sensing a target 330 is transmitted by a terminal device 320 and received or measured by the terminal device 320 and the terminal device 322.

It would be appreciated that the sensing modes illustrated in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B are examples only and there may be many other sensing modes. It would be appreciated that more than one second communication device may be involved in a sensing service. It can be seen from the sensing modes in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B that there may be various combinations of the devices which are to measure a sensing signal.

Referring back to FIG. 2, the first communication device 201 transmits (235) the sensing signal in the sensing service based on the resource configuration. Depending on whether them are configured to measure the sensing signal, one or more second communication devices 202 may measure (240) the sensing signal based on the resource configuration, and/or the target device 203 may measure (245) the sensing signal based on the resource configuration. The one or more second communication devices 202 may obtain one or more measurement results of the sensing signal according to the measuring. The target device 203 may obtain a measurement result of the sensing signal according to the measuring.

In some embodiments, one or more measurement results of the sensing signal may be delivered to the sensing function device 204. In some embodiments, the measurement results of the sensing signal may be delivered to the network device 206 which combines the measurement results and provide a combined measurement report to the sensing function device 204. It is noted that among all the measurement results, some or all of them may be combined at the network device 206. If some of them are combined at the network device 206 and one or more remaining measurement results are directly transmitted to the sensing function device 204, then the sensing function device 204 may further combine the combined measurement report and the received measurement result (s) . In some embodiments, the measurement results may be transmitted by the one or more second communication devices 202 and/or the target device 203 in association with the first identification information related to the resource configuration for the sensing signa (e.g., the resource identifier and/or the measurement identifier, or the resource configuration itself) .

Depending on whether the plurality of measurement results are combined at the sensing function device 204 and/or the network device 206, there may be two mechanisms for the measurement result transmission and combination.

In a first mechanism 252, the plurality of measurement results are combined at the sensing function device 204. The one or more second communication devices 202 transmit (250) one or more measurement result (s) to the sensing function device 204, and/or the target device 203 also transmit (260) one or more measurement result (s) to the sensing function device 204. In some embodiments, the target device 203 may deliver the measurement result to the access network, and then the access network transmits the measurement to the sensing function device 204.

The sensing function device 204 receives (255, 265) a plurality of measurement results from the one or more second communication devices 202 and/or the target device 203. The sensing function device 204 combines (270) the plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal based on the first identification information related to the resource configuration for the sensing signal. The plurality of measurement results are received in association with the first identification information related to the resource configuration for the sensing signal. For example, the resource identifier, the measurement identifier or resource configuration itself may be delivered to the sensing function device 204 to allow the sensing function device 204 to identify the measurement results that are related to a same sensing signal. Through the combination of the plurality of measurement results, the sensing function device 204 may derive a sensing result.

In a second mechanism 276, the plurality of measurement results are combined at the network device 206. The one or more second communication devices 202 transmit (275) one or more measurement result (s) to the sensing function device 204, and/or the target device 203 also transmits (285) one or more measurement result (s) to the sensing function device 204.

The network device 206 receives (280, 290) a plurality of measurement results from the one or more second communication devices 202 and/or the target device 203. The network device 206 combines (295) the plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal based on the first identification information related to the resource configuration for the sensing signal. The plurality of measurement results are received in association with the first identification information related to the resource configuration for the sensing signal. For example, the resource identifier, the measurement identifier or resource configuration itself may be delivered to the network device 206 to allow the sensing function device 204 to identify the measurement results that are related to a same sensing signal. It is noted that the network device 206 may be the first communication device 201 which transmits the sensing signal, or a second communication device 202 which measures the sensing signal, or any other network device in the access network. The network device 206 may will relate the received measurement results through the first identification configuration and consider these measurement results to come from the same sensing signal.

Through the combination of the plurality of measurement results, the network device 206 may generate a combined measurement report for the sensing signal. The network device 206 transmits (296) the combined measurement report to the sensing function device 206.

In some embodiments, the network device 206 may deliver the plurality of measurement results in one measurement report. In some embodiments, this measurement report may include an indication to indicate that these measurement results come from the same sensing signal. In some embodiments, the network device 206 may deliver these measurements in different measurement reports and include an indication to indicate that these measurements come from the same sensing signal. By receiving (298) the combined measurement report from the network device 206, the sensing function device 204 may derive a sensing result.

In the above embodiments, the first identification information related to the resource configuration may apply to a sensing signal at the specific time/frequency/spatial configuration. For a sensing service, the transmitter device (i.e., the first communication device 201) may repeat to transmit the sensing signal or transmit the sensing signal at different frequencies or different sequence IDs or different beams, etc. For example, in order to keep monitoring a moving car's location/velocity/direction on the road, a sensing signal may be transmitted in the sensing service for a plurality of repetition times. In some embodiments, some methods are proposed to allow the sensing function device to know these measurement results are for the same sensing service.

In some embodiments, if the first communication device 201 repeats to transmit a sensing signal, the first identification information related to the resource configuration may also helpful. The time configuration in the resource configuration may indicate at least one of: a repetition period, a repetition number, or a repetition gap for transmission of a sensing signal. According to the first identification information, the sensing function device 204 and/or the network device 206 may consider that the measurement results that are obtained from a plurality of repetitions of the sensing signal are for the same sensing service and may be combined to derive a sensing result for the sensing service.

In some embodiments, the first communication device 201 may further transmit second identification information related to the sensing service. The second identification information related to the sensing service may be used to identify the measurement results in the same sensing signal. The second identification information related to the sensing service may not change with the resource configuration (e.g., the frequency/time/spatial configuration and the transmitter) of the sensing signal. In this case, the plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal transmitted in a repetition time are to be combined based on at least one of the first identification information related to the resource configuration or the second identification information related to the sensing service.

For example, if it is desired to distinguish the measurement results of the sensing signal transmitted in different repetition periods, the resource configurations for the sensing signal in the different repetition periods may be assigned with different first identification information. Then a combination of first identification information related to a resource configuration and the second identification information related to the sensing service can be used to relate a plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal transmitted in a repetition time. The combination of first identification information related to a resource configuration and the second identification information related to the sensing service may be helpful if it is desired to combine the measurement results of the sensing signal in each repetition period, or if there is one transmitter and multiple measurement devices for a sensing signal.

In some embodiments, the second identification information related to the sensing service may include a service identifier (service ID) which is assigned to identify different sensing services. For example, a sensing service ID x is assigned to sense the speed and location of a car. As another example, a sensing service ID x is assigned to sensing the speed of a car, and a sensing service ID y is assigned to sensing the location of a car.

In some embodiments, the second identification information related to the sensing service may include a sensing session identifier assigned to a sensing session of the sensing service. Sensing session identifier may be assigned to identify the different sensing sessions of the sensing service. In some example, the target device 203 or the sensing function device 204, or the measurement device (e.g., the second communication device 202) may trigger the sessions. A sensing session means a sensing service request. In some embodiments, the sensing function device 204 may send a sensing request of a location sensing service to the measurement device (e.g., the second communication device 202) with a sensing session identifier (x) .

In some embodiments, the second identification information related to the sensing service may include a sensing procedure identifier assigned to a sensing procedure of the sensing service. Sensing procedure identifiers may be assigned to identify the different sensing procedures of a sensing service. The different sensing procedures may be initiated by different sensing requests, measurement requests, sensing configuration updates, sensing cancellations, and/or the like. In some embodiments, the sensing function device 204 may send a sensing request of a location sensing service to the measurement device (e.g., the second communication device 202) with a sensing session identifier (x) and a sensing procedure identifier (y) . Then the sensing function device 204 may send the measurement request to the measurement device (e.g., the second communication device 202) with the sensing session identifier (x) and sensing procedure identifier (z) .

In some scenarios, the sensing nodes (the first and/or second communication device 201 and/or 202, and the target device may be equipped with measurement ability. Moreover, they can measure the same sensing signal so that one sensing signal resource can be used as more than one measurement, which improves the sensing signal usage efficiency and reduces the sensing overhead. Also, it can solve resource congestion of sense. In this case, the extending sensing modes are proposed when the target has measurement ability.

For example, if the target device 203 to be sensed in the sensing service has a measurement capability, it may obtain a measurement result (referred to as “first measurement result” for the purpose of discussion) of the sensing signal among the plurality of measurement results. The first measurement result is transmitted by the target device 203 to at least one of the first communication device 201 or a second communication device 202 involved in the sensing service. The first measurement result may then be transmitted by the at least one of the first communication device 201 or the second communication device 202 to the sensing function device 204.

FIGS. 4A-4B illustrate schematic diagrams for example interaction scenarios between devices in a sensing service in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

In the interaction scenario 400 of FIG. 4A, the first communication device 201 transmits a sensing signal. The sensing signal may be reflected and/or refracted and/or diffracted by the target device 203 to the first communication device 201. The target device 203 may also receive and measure the sensing signal, to obtain a first measurement result of the sensing signal. The first measurement result is transmitted to the first communication device 201. The reflected and/or refracted and/or diffracted sensing signal is received and measured by the first communication device 201. The measurement results by the target device 203 and/or the first communication device 201 may include the final result, for example, target distance, speed, dynamic maps etc.; intermediate results: point cloud information based on the sensing measurement; preliminary results, for example, delay spread spectrum, Doppler spectrum and other information; or original result: the I/Q stream of the original signal.

The first communication device 201 may transmit the first measurement result of the sensing signal from the target device 203 and a second measurement result obtained itself (which may include measurements of reflected and/or refracted and/or diffracted sensing signal) to the sensing function device 204. The sensing function device 204 may process these measurement results to get a sensing result 405. In some embodiments, the sensing function device 204 may process these two measurement results independently and gets two sensing results. In some embodiments, the sensing function device 204 may combine the received measurement results (e.g. according to the first identification information and/or the second identification information as discussed above) . The combination may include average or weighted mean the sensing results, or taking one measurement result as the main result and the one as the assistant result.

In the interaction scenario 402 of FIG. 4B, the first communication device 201 transmits a sensing signal. The sensing signal may be reflected and/or refracted and/or diffracted by the target device 203 to a second communication device 202. The target device 203 may also receive and measure the sensing signal, to obtain a first measurement result of the sensing signal. The first measurement result is transmitted to the second communication device 202. The reflected and/or refracted and/or diffracted sensing signal is received and measured by the second communication device 202. The second communication device 202 may transmit the first measurement result of the sensing signal from the target device 203 and a second measurement result obtained itself (which may include measurements of reflected and/or refracted and/or diffracted sensing signal) to the sensing function device 204. The processing at the sensing function device 204 may be similar as discussed with reference to FIG. 4A, to derive a sensing result 407.

Depending on whether the first communication device 201 is a network device or a terminal device, and depending on whether the second communication device 202 is a network device or a terminal device, there may be various sensing modes according to the interaction scenarios in FIGS. 4A-4B. FIG. 5 illustrate schematic diagrams of example sensing modes according to the interaction scenarios in FIGS. 4A-4B in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown, in Sensing Mode (A) 500, a sensing signal for sensing a target device 530 is transmitted by a network device 510. The reflected and/or refracted and/or diffracted sensing signal from the target device 530 is received and measured by received or measured by the network device 510 itself. The target device 530 also provides a measurement result of the sensing signal to the network device 510.

In Sensing Mode (B) 501, a sensing signal for sensing the target device 530 is transmitted by the network device 510 and the reflected and/or refracted and/or diffracted sensing signal is received and measured by another network device 512. The target device 530 also provides a measurement result of the sensing signal to the network device 512.

In Sensing Mode (C) 502, a sensing signal for sensing the target device 530 is transmitted by the network device 510 and the reflected and/or refracted and/or diffracted sensing signal is received and measured by a terminal device 520. The target device 530 also provides a measurement result of the sensing signal to the terminal device 520.

In Sensing Mode (D) 503, a sensing signal for sensing the target device 530 is transmitted by the terminal device 520 and the reflected and/or refracted and/or diffracted sensing signal is received or measured by the terminal device 520 itself. The target device 530 also provides a measurement result of the sensing signal to the terminal device 520.

In Sensing Mode (E) 504, a sensing signal for sensing the target device 530 is transmitted by the terminal device 520 and the reflected and/or refracted and/or diffracted sensing signal is received or measured by another terminal device 522. The target device 530 also provides a measurement result of the sensing signal to the terminal device 522.

In Sensing Mode (F) 505, a sensing signal for sensing the target device 530 is transmitted by the terminal device 520 and the reflected and/or refracted and/or diffracted sensing signal is received or measured by the network device 510. The target device 530 also provides a measurement result of the sensing signal to the network device 510.

In some cases, there may be two or more communication devices which are configured to measure the sensing signal. FIGS. 6A-6B illustrate schematic diagrams for example interaction scenarios between devices in a sensing service in accordance with some further example embodiments of the present disclosure.

In the interaction scenario 600 of FIG. 6A, the first communication device 201 transmits a sensing signal. The sensing signal may be reflected and/or refracted and/or diffracted by the target device 203 to the first communication device 201 and a second communication device 202. It is noted that there may be more than one second communication device 202, and there may not be all measurement nodes that can receive the reflected and/or refracted and/or diffracted signal. In the illustrated example of FIG. 6A, the reflected and/or refracted and/or diffracted sensing signal is received and measured by the first communication device 201 and the second communication device 202. The first communication device 201 and/or the second communication device 202 may deliver the measurement results the of reflected and/or refracted and/or diffracted sensing signal to the sensing function device 204. The sensing function device 204 may thus derive a sensing result 605.

In the interaction scenario 602of FIG. 6B, the first communication device 201 transmits a sensing signal. The sensing signal may be reflected and/or refracted and/or diffracted by the target device 203 to the first communication device 201 and a second communication device 202. In addition to the measurement results of the sensing signal obtained by the first communication device 201 and/or the second communication device 202, the measurement result of the sensing signal is further obtained by the target device 203. The measurement result of the sensing signal from the target device 203 may be transmitted to the first communication device 201, the second communication device 202, and/or any other device (s) . The first communication device 201 and/or the second communication device 202 may deliver the measurement results the of reflected and/or refracted and/or diffracted sensing signal, and/or the measurement result from the target device 203 to the sensing function device 204. The sensing function device 204 may thus derive a sensing result 607.

Depending on whether the first communication device 201 is a network device or a terminal device, and depending on whether the second communication device 202 is a network device or a terminal device, there may be various sensing modes according to the interaction scenarios in FIGS. 6A-6B. FIGS. 7A-7K illustrate schematic diagrams of example sensing modes according to the interaction scenarios in FIGS. 6A-6B in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 7A-7D show some example sensing modes according to the interaction scenarios in FIG. 6A. As shown in FIG. 7A, in a sensing area 700, a network device 710 transmits a sensing signal to sense a target device 730. The reflected and/or refracted and/or diffracted sensing signal is received and measured by the network device 710 and one or more other network devices 712, 714. The target device 730 also provides a measurement result of the sensing signal to the network device 710.

As shown in FIG. 7B, in a sensing area 701, a network device 710 transmits a sensing signal to sense a target device 730. The reflected and/or refracted and/or diffracted sensing signal is received and measured by the network device 710 and one or more other terminal devices 720, 722. The target device 730 also provides a measurement result of the sensing signal to the network device 710.

As shown in FIG. 7C, in a sensing area 702, a terminal device 724 transmits a sensing signal to sense a target device 730. The reflected and/or refracted and/or diffracted sensing signal is received and measured by the terminal device 724 and one or more other terminal devices 720, 722. The target device 730 also provides a measurement result of the sensing signal to the terminal device 724.

As shown in FIG. 7D, in a sensing area 703, a terminal device 724 transmits a sensing signal to sense a target device 730. The reflected and/or refracted and/or diffracted sensing signal is received and measured by the terminal device 724, a terminal device 722, and a network device 712. The target device 730 also provides a measurement result of the sensing signal to the terminal device 724.

FIGS. 7E-7K show some example sensing modes according to the interaction scenarios in FIG. 6B. As shown in FIG. 7E, in a sensing area 704, a network device 710 transmits a sensing signal to sense a target device 730. The reflected and/or refracted and/or diffracted sensing signal is received and measured by the network device 710 and another network device 712. The target device 730 also provides a measurement result of the sensing signal to the network devices 710 and 712.

As shown in FIG. 7F, in a sensing area 705, a network device 710 transmits a sensing signal to sense a target device 730. The reflected and/or refracted and/or diffracted sensing signal is received and measured by the network device 710 and a terminal device 720. The target device 730 also provides a measurement result of the sensing signal to the terminal device 720.

As shown in FIG. 7G, in a sensing area 706, a network device 710 transmits a sensing signal to sense a target device 730. The reflected and/or refracted and/or diffracted sensing signal is received and measured by the network device 710 and one or more other network device 712, 712. The target device 730 also provides a measurement result of the sensing signal to the network devices 710 and 714.

As shown in FIG. 7H, in a sensing area 707, a network device 710 transmits a sensing signal to sense a target device 730. The reflected and/or refracted and/or diffracted sensing signal is received and measured by the network device 710 and one or more terminal device 720, 722. The target device 730 also provides a measurement result of the sensing signal to the network device 710.

As shown in FIG. 7I, in a sensing area 708, a terminal device 724 transmits a sensing signal to sense a target device 730. The reflected and/or refracted and/or diffracted sensing signal is received and measured by the terminal device 724 and one or more terminal devices 720, 722. The target device 730 also provides a measurement result of the sensing signal to the terminal device 720, 722.

As shown in FIG. 7J, in a sensing area 709, a terminal device 724 transmits a sensing signal to sense a target device 730. The reflected and/or refracted and/or diffracted sensing signal is received and measured by the terminal device 724, another terminal device 722, and a network device 710. The target device 730 also provides a measurement result of the sensing signal to the network device 710.

As shown in FIG. 7K, in a sensing area 711, a network device 710 transmits a sensing signal to sense a target device 730. The reflected and/or refracted and/or diffracted sensing signal is received and measured by the network device 710 and one or more network devices 712, 714. The target device 730 also provides a measurement result of the sensing signal to the network devices 712, 714.

It would be appreciated that the sensing modes illustrated in FIGS. 5A-FIG. 5B and FIGS. 7A-7C are examples only and there may be many other sensing modes. It would be appreciated that more than one second communication device may be involved in a sensing service. It can be seen from the sensing modes in FIGS. 5A-FIG. 5B and FIGS. 7A-7C that there may be various combinations of the devices which are to measure a sensing signal.

In a sensing service, in a sensing service, the transmission mode among the devices may change with time. For example, at a time point of T1, the transmission mode is a first node transmitting and receiving. When the target moves away from the first node and close to a second node, the transmission may need to change to the first node transmitting and the second node receiving. Some embodiments of the present disclosure are proposed to support such sensing change notification.

FIG. 8A illustrates a signaling flow 800 of sensing configuration changing in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. The signaling flow 800 involves a first device 802 and a sensing function device 804.

In the signaling flow 800, it is assumed that the first device 802 is involved in a sensing service.

The sensing function device 804 determines (820) whether configuration information for at least one device involved in a sensing service is to be updated. In accordance with a determination that the configuration information is to be updated, the sensing function device 804 transmits (825) updated configuration information to the at least one device. The updated configuration information may indicate at least one of the following: at least one transmission mode of the at least one device, at least one role of the at least one device in the sensing service, an active or inactive indication of a transmission function of the at least one device in the sensing service, or an active or inactive indication of a reception function of the at least one device in the sensing service. In some embodiments, the updated configuration information may be transmitted in a measurement information exchange message or a configuration update message.

It is assumed that the first device 802 is involved in the sensing service with the updated configuration information, then the first device 802 may receive (830) the updated configuration information. The first device 802 performs (835) the sensing service based on the updated configuration information. In addition to the first device 802, there may be one or more other devices which is involved in the sensing service with the updated configuration information. The first device 802 and/or other devices involved in the sensing service may include one or more communication device that are configured to transmit and/or receive a sensing signal in the sensing service (e.g., the first communication device 201 or one or more second communication device 202 in FIG. 2) , a target device to be sensed in the sensing device (e.g., the target device 203 in FIG. 2) , or the network device 206 in FIG. 2 which combines measurement results.

In some embodiments, the first device 802 and/or other device (s) involved in the sensing service with the updated configuration information may transmit, to the sensing function device 804, acknowledgement information for the updated configuration information.

In some embodiments, if the first device 802 is involved in the sensing service before the update, the first device 802 may transmit (805) changing indication information related to a sensing service. The changing indication information related to a sensing service may indicate at least one of the following: a change of a transmission mode of the first device in the sensing service, a change of a role of the first device in the sensing service, activation or deactivation of a transmission function of the first device in the sensing service, or activation or deactivation of a reception function of the first device in the sensing service. The sensing function device 804 may receive (810) the changing indication information and may thus determine (820) the updated configuration information based on the changing indication information. In some embodiments, in addition to the first device 802 or as an alternative, the sensing function device 804 may receive (810) changing indication information from one or more devices, which may be currently involved in the sensing service or expected to be involved in the sensing service.

In some embodiments, the first device 802 may be a communication device that is configured to transmit and/or receive a sensing signal in the sensing service (e.g., the first communication device 201 or the second communication device 202 in FIG. 2) . In some embodiments, the first device 802 may be a target device to be sensed in the sensing device (e.g., the target device 203 in FIG. 2) . In some embodiments, the changing indication information may be transmitted to an access and mobility management function (AMF) device which may further forward the changing indication information to the sensing function device 804.

In some cases, for a sensing service, a transmission mode of one or more devices involved therein may change. A transmission mode of a communication device or a target device in the sensing service may specify whether the communication device is to transmit a sensing signal, receive the sensing signal, and/or forward a measurement result from other device, or whether the target device is to receive the sensing signal. In some embodiment, the target device, the communication device, or the sensing function device 804 may decide to change to a new transmission mode.

If the target device decides to change its transmission mode, the target device may send changing indication information indicating a change of the transmission mode to the access network (e.g., a network device in the access network) . Then, the access network may send the changing indication information to the AMF, and the AMF delivers it to the sensing function device 804.

Suppose the communication device (s) is a network device (s) and decides to change its transmission mode. In that case, the communication device (s) may send changing indication information indicating a change of the transmission mode to the AMF, and the AMF delivers it to the sensing function device 804. If the communication device (s) is a terminal device (s) and decides to change its transmission mode. Then the terminal device may send changing indication information indicating a change of the transmission mode to the AMF, and the AMF delivers it to the sensing function device 804.

In some embodiments, the sensing function device 804 may directly decide to change a transmission mode (s) of at least one device in the sensing device.

In some embodiments, the sensing function device 804 may decide on a new transmission mode for at least one device in the sensing service. In some examples, one or more new devices may be involved in the sensing service, and/or one or more old devices may be excluded from the sensing service. The sensing function device 804 may transmit the updated configuration information to indicate an updated transmission mode of at least one device involved in the sensing service. The updated configuration information may be included in measurement information exchange or configuration update messages. Based on the updated configuration information, the at least one device involved in the sensing service may perform the sensing service accordingly.

In some cases, for a sensing service, roles (or states) of one or more devices involved therein may change. A role or state of a device involved in a sensing service may indicate whether the device acts as a transmitter of a sensing signal, a receiver of a sensing signal, and/or a receiver of a measurement result. In some embodiment, the target device, the communication device, or the sensing function device 804 may decide on the new roles or states, e.g., changing from a transmitter to a receiver, acting as a receiver only, acting as a transmitter only, or acting as no transmitter or receiver. In some embodiment, the target device, the communication device, or the sensing function device 804 may decide on the new roles or states, e.g., changing from no transmitter or receiver to a transmitter and/or a receiver.

If the target device decides to change its role or state in the sensing service, the target device may send changing indication information indicating a change of the role or state to the access network (e.g., a network device in the access network) . Then, the access network may send the changing indication information to the AMF, and the AMF delivers it to the sensing function device 804.

Suppose the communication device (s) is a network device (s) and decides to change its role or state. In that case, the communication device (s) may send changing indication information indicating a change of the role or state to the AMF, and the AMF delivers it to the sensing function device 804. If the communication device (s) is a terminal device (s) and decides to change its role or state. Then the terminal device may send changing indication information indicating a change of the role or state to the AMF, and the AMF delivers it to the sensing function device 804.

In some embodiments, the sensing function device 804 may directly decide to change a role (s) or state (s) of at least one device in the sensing device.

In some embodiments, the sensing function device 804 may decide on a role (s) or state (s) for at least one device in the sensing service. In some examples, one or more new devices may be involved in the sensing service, and/or one or more old devices may be excluded from the sensing service. The sensing function device 804 may transmit the updated configuration information to indicate an updated role or state of at least one device involved in the sensing service. The updated configuration information may be included in measurement information exchange or configuration update messages. Based on the updated configuration information, the at least one device involved in the sensing service may perform the sensing service accordingly.

In some cases, for a sensing service, a transmission function of a device involved in the sensing service may change. For example, the transmission function may be deactivated or activated for transmitting a sensing signal and/or a measurement result. Alternatively or in addition, a reception function of a device involved in the sensing service may change. For example, the reception function may be deactivated or activated for receiving a sensing signal and/or a measurement result.

If the target device decides to activate or deactivate its transmission function in the sensing service, the target device may send changing indication information indicating activation or deactivation of the transmission function of the first device in the sensing service to the access network (e.g., a network device in the access network) . Then, the access network may send the changing indication information to the AMF, and the AMF delivers it to the sensing function device 804. If the target device decides to activate or deactivate its reception function in the sensing service, the target device may send changing indication information indicating activation or deactivation of the reception function of the first device in the sensing service to the access network (e.g., a network device in the access network) . Then, the access network may send the changing indication information to the AMF, and the AMF delivers it to the sensing function device 804. Similarly, the target device may decide to activate or deactivate its reception function in the sensing service and may indicate in a similar way to the sensing function device 804.

Suppose the communication device (s) is a network device (s) and decides to change activate or deactivate its transmission function in the sensing service. In that case, the communication device (s) may send changing indication information indicating activation or deactivation of the transmission function e in the sensing service to the AMF, and the AMF delivers it to the sensing function device 804. If the communication device (s) is a terminal device (s) and decides to change activation or deactivation of the transmission function in the sensing service. Then the terminal device may send changing indication information indicating activation or deactivation of the transmission function of the first device in the sensing service to the AMF, and the AMF delivers it to the sensing function device 804. Similarly, the communication device (s) may decide to activate or deactivate its reception function in the sensing service and may indicate in a similar way to the sensing function device 804.

In some embodiments, the sensing function device 804 may directly decide to activate and/or deactivate a transmission function and/or a reception function of at least one device in the sensing device.

In some embodiments, the sensing function device 804 may decide on whether a transmission function and/or a reception function of at least one device in the sensing service are to be activated or deactivated. In some examples, one or more new devices may be involved in the sensing service, and/or one or more old devices may be excluded from the sensing service. The sensing function device 804 may transmit the updated configuration information to indicate an active or inactive indication of a transmission function of the at least one device in the sensing service, and/or an active or inactive indication of a reception function of the at least one device in the sensing service. The updated configuration information may be included in measurement information exchange or configuration update messages. Based on the updated configuration information, the at least one device involved in the sensing service may perform the sensing service accordingly.

In the above discussed embodiments related to sensing services, the sensing function device, terminal device, network device in access network, and the target device may communicate with each other, and may further communicate with devices or functions in the core network. There are some example sensing architectures to support communications related to sensing services. FIGS. 8B-8D illustrates schematic diagrams of example sensing architectures in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. Those sensing architectures may be examples for ISAC scenarios or other similar sensing scenarios.

An sensing architecture 850 in FIG. 8B is a tight coupling structure A1. In the sensing architecture 850, a Sensing Function (SF) 860 is one logical entity (which may correspond to the sensing function devices 130, 204, 804 in FIG. 1B, FIG. 2, and FIG. 8A. In the tight coupling structure A1, the SF 860 is one function in the core network, e.g., the fifth-generation core network (5GC) .

The SF 860 can connect to various functions or entities in the network. As shown, the SF 806 may connect to an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 862 via NS1 interface which may further connect to a terminal device 868 via N1 interface and to a (Radio) Access Network ( (R) AN) 870 via N2 interface. The SF 807 may further connect to a Network Exposure Function (NEF) 864 via NS2 interface (which may further connect to an Application Function (AF) via NS33 interface. The SF 806 may further connect to an Unified Data Management (UDM) 874 via NS3 interface (which may connect to the AMF 862 via N8 interface) , to a Network Data Analytics Function (NWDAF) 876 via NS4 interface, to a Location Data Management (LMF) 878 via NS6 interface, and to a Policy Control Function (PCF) 880 via NS5 interface (which may further connect to the NEF 864 via N5 interface) . The SF 806 may further connect to a User Plane Function (UPF) 872 via NS7 interface, where the UPF 872 may connect to the (R) AN 870.

An sensing architecture 852 in FIG. 8C is a tight coupling structure A2. In the sensing architecture 852, a sensing function 885 comprises two logical entities, an SF-C (sensing function-control) unit 882 and an SF-U (sensing function-user) unit 884, which may connect with each other via NS8 interface. In the tight coupling structure A1, the SF-C 882 and SF-U 884 are functions in the core network, e.g., the 5GC. As compared with the sensing architecture 852 in FIG. 8B, the SF-C unit 882 connects to the AMF 862, NEF 864, UDM 874, NWDAF 876, LMF 878, and PCF 880; and the SF-U unit 884 connects to the UPF 872 via NS7 interface.

An sensing architecture 854 in FIG. 8D is a loose coupling structure B1. In the loose coupling structure, an SF 895 is one function independent of a core network (e.g., 5GC) and thus is included in a standalone sensing architecture. In the standalone sensing architecture, the SF 895 may connect to an NEF 896 via NS2 interface which may further connect to an AF 898 for sensing via N33 interface.

The SF 895 connects to the (R) AN 870 via NS1 interface, which can facilitate provisioning of sensing services for an environment 894. In the core network, the AMF 862 may connect to a Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF) 884 via N22 interface, to an Authentication Server Function (AUSF) 886 via N12 interface, and to the UDM 874 via N8 interface. The UDM 874 and the AMF 862 may also connect to a Session Management function (SMF) 890 which may further connect to a PCF 880 via N7 interface. The PCF 880 further connects to another PCF 885 via N5 interface. The UPF 872 may connect to a data network (DN) 892 via N6 interface.

Similar to the tight coupling structure, there may be a variant for the SF in the loose coupling structure, referred to as a loose coupling structure B2. In the loose coupling structure B2, the structure is the same as shown in FIG. 8D but the SF is split into a SF-C unit and a SF-U unit.

It would be appreciated that the architectures in FIGS. 8B-8D are provided for the purpose of illustration and there may be variants for the sensing architectures.

FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart of a communication method 900 implemented at a first communication device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 900 will be described from the perspective of the first communication device 201 in FIG. 2.

At block 910, the first communication device 201 transmits, to at least one device involved in a sensing service, first identification information related to a resource configuration, the resource configuration being allocated for transmission of a sensing signal in the sensing service.

At block 920, the first communication device 201 transmits the sensing signal based on the resource configuration. A plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal are to be combined based at least in part on the first identification information related to the resource configuration.

In some example embodiments, the at least one device comprises at least one of the following: at least one communication device that is configured to measure the sensing signal, a target device to be sensed in the sensing service, the target device having a measurement capability, a sensing function device that combines the plurality of measurement results, or a network device that combines the plurality of measurement results as a combined measurement report, the combined measurement report being transmitted from the network device to the sensing function device.

In some example embodiments, the first communication device 201 may determine a resource identifier for the resource configuration as the first identification information, the resource identifier being assigned by the first communication device, by a sensing function device, or by a target device to be sensed; and transmit the resource identifier for the resource configuration to the at least one device.

In some example embodiments, the resource identifier is determined based on a combination of at least one of the following: an identifiers of a frequency-domain configuration in the resource configuration, an identifier of a time-domain configuration in the resource configuration, an identifier of a spatial-domain configuration in the resource configuration, an identifier of a sequence generation in the resource configuration, an identifier of a resource mapping in the resource configuration, an identifier of a measurement-related configuration in the resource configuration, or at least one combination identifier of a combination of two or more of the frequency-domain configuration, the time-domain configuration, the spatial-domain configuration, the sequence generation, the resource mapping, or the measurement-related configuration.

In some example embodiments, the first communication device 201 may transmit, to the at least one device, a measurement identifier as the first identification information related to the resource configuration, the measurement identifier being assigned to relate a measurement object and a measurement report.

In some example embodiments, a period of the measurement object is configured as zero or as not set.

In some example embodiments, the sensing signal is transmitted in the sensing service for a plurality of repetition times, and the first communication device 201 may transmit, to the at least one device, second identification information related to the sensing service; and wherein a plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal transmitted in a repetition time are to be combined based on at least one of the first identification information related to the resource configuration or the second identification information related to the sensing service.

In some example embodiments, the resource configuration at least comprises a time-domain configuration, the time-domain configuration indicating at least one of: a repetition period, a repetition number, or a repetition gap.

In some example embodiments, the second identification information comprises one of the following: a service identifier assigned to the sensing service, a sensing session identifier assigned to a sensing session of the sensing service, or a sensing procedure identifier assigned to a sensing procedure of the sensing service.

In some example embodiments, the plurality of measurement results are obtained by two or more of the following: the first communication device, at least one second communication device that is configured to measure the sensing signal, or a target device to be sensed in the sensing service, the target device having a measurement capability.

In some example embodiments, a target device to be sensed in the sensing service has a measurement capability and obtains a first measurement result of the sensing signal among the plurality of measurement results.

In some example embodiments, the first measurement result is transmitted by the target device to at least one of the first communication device or a second communication device involved in the sensing service, and wherein the first measurement result is transmitted by the at least one of the first communication device or the second communication device to the sensing function device.

FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart of a communication method 1000 implemented at a sensing function device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 1000 will be described from the perspective of the sensing function device 204 in FIG. 2.

At block 1010, the sensing function device 204 receives a plurality of measurement results of a sensing signal in a sensing service or a combined measurement report of the plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal.

At block 1020, in accordance with a determination that the plurality of measurement results are received, the sensing function device 204 combines the plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal based on first identification information related to a resource configuration. The resource configuration is allocated for transmission of a sensing signal in the sensing service. In some cases, the combined measurement report is generated by combing the plurality of measurement results based at least in part on the first identification information.

In some example embodiments, the sensing function device 204 may further: receive, from a first communication device, the first identification information related to the resource configuration, the first communication device being configured to transmit the sensing signal based on the resource configuration; and wherein the plurality of measurement results are received in association with the first identification information.

In some example embodiments, the sensing function device 204 may receive the plurality of measurement results in association with the first identification information from at least one of the following: at least one communication device that is configured to measure the sensing signal, or a target device to be sensed in the sensing service, the target device having a measurement capability; or receive the combined measurement report from a network device, the network device combining the plurality of measurement results as the combined measurement report.

In some example embodiments, the first identification information related to the resource configuration comprises: a resource identifier for the resource configuration, the resource identifier being assigned by a first communication device that is configured to transmit the sensing signal or by the sensing function device, or a measurement identifier, the measurement identifier being assigned to relate a measurement object and a measurement report.

In some example embodiments, the sensing signal is transmitted in the sensing service for a plurality of repetition times, and wherein a plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal transmitted in a repetition time are to be combined based on at least one of the first identification information related to the resource configuration or second identification information related to the sensing service.

In some example embodiments, the sensing function device 204 may further: receive, from a first communication device, the second identification information related to the sensing service, the first communication device being configured to transmit the sensing signal based on the resource configuration, and wherein the plurality of measurement results are received in association with the at least one of the first identification information or the second identification information.

FIG. 11 illustrates a flowchart of a communication method 1100 implemented at a target device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 1100 will be described from the perspective of the target device 203 in FIG. 2.

At block 1110, the target device 203 receives, from a first communication device, first identification information related to a resource configuration, the resource configuration being allocated for transmission of a sensing signal in the sensing service, and the target device to be sensed in the sensing device and having a measurement capability.

At block 1120, the target device 203 receives, from the first communication device, the sensing signal based on the resource configuration, to obtain a first measurement result of the sensing signal.

At block 1130, the target device 203 transmits the first measurement result in association with the first identification information. A plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal are to be combined based at least in part on the first identification information, the plurality of measurement results comprising the first measurement result.

In some example embodiments, the first identification information related to the resource configuration comprises: a resource identifier for the resource configuration, the resource identifier being assigned by a first communication device that is configured to transmit the sensing signal or assigned by the sensing function device, or a measurement identifier, the measurement identifier being assigned to relate a measurement object and a measurement report.

In some example embodiments, the sensing signal is received in the sensing service for a plurality of repetition times, and the target device 203 may further: receive, from the first communication device, second identification information related to the sensing service; receive the sensing signal in a repetition time to obtain the first measurement result; and transmit the first measurement result in association with at least one of the first identification information or the second identification information, wherein a plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal transmitted in the repetition time are to be combined based on the at least one of the first identification information related to the resource configuration or the second identification information related to the sensing service.

In some example embodiments, the target device 203 further: transmit the first measurement result according to a sensing mode of the sensing device.

In some example embodiments, the first measurement result is transmitted to at least one of the following: the first communication device, at least one second communication device that is configured to measure the sensing signal, the sensing function device, or a network device that combines the plurality of measurement results as a combined measurement report.

FIG. 12 illustrates a flowchart of a communication method 1200 implemented at a first device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 1200 will be described from the perspective of the first device 802 in FIG. 8A.

At block 1210, the first device 802 receives, from a sensing function device, updated configuration information related to a sensing service, the updated configuration information indicating at least one of the following: an updated transmission mode of the first device in the sensing service, an updated role of the first device in the sensing service, an active or inactive indication of a transmission function of the first device in the sensing service, or an active or inactive indication of a reception function of the first device in the sensing service.

At block 1220, the first device 802 performs the sensing service based on the updated configuration information.

In some example embodiments, the first device comprises: a communication device that is configured to transmit and/or receive a sensing signal in the sensing service, or a target device to be sensed in the sensing device, the target device having a measurement capability.

In some example embodiments, the first device 802 may further provide, to the sensing function device, changing indication information related to the sensing service, the changing indication information being used for determining the updated configuration information and indicating at least one of the following: a change of a transmission mode of the first device in the sensing service, a change of a role of the first device in the sensing service, activation or deactivation of the transmission function of the first device in the sensing service, or activation or deactivation of the reception function of the first device in the sensing service.

In some example embodiments, the first device 802 may transmit the changing indication information to an access and mobility management function (AMF) device, the changing indication information being forwarded by the AMF device to the sensing function device.

In some example embodiments, the first device 802 may further transmit, to the sensing function device, acknowledgement information for the updated configuration information.

In some example embodiments, the first device 802 may receive the updated configuration information in a measurement information exchange message or a configuration update message.

FIG. 13 illustrates a flowchart of a communication method 1300 implemented at a sensing function device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 1300 will be described from the perspective of the sensing function device 804 in FIG. 8A.

At block 1310, the sensing function device 804 determines whether configuration information for at least one device involved in a sensing service is to be updated.

At block 1320, in accordance with a determination that the configuration information is to be updated, the sensing function device 804 transmits updated configuration information to the at least one device, the updated configuration information indicates at least one of the following: at least one transmission mode of the at least one device, at least one role of the at least one device in the sensing service, an active or inactive indication of a transmission function of the at least one device in the sensing service, or an active or inactive indication of a reception function of the at least one device in the sensing service.

In some example embodiments, the sensing function device 804 may further receive, from a first device, changing indication information related to a sensing service, the first device being involved in the sensing service, and the changing indication information indicating at least one of the following: a change of a transmission mode of the first device in the sensing service, a change of a role of the first device in the sensing service, activation or deactivation of a transmission function of the first device in the sensing service, or activation or deactivation of a reception function of the first device in the sensing service; and determine the updated configuration information based on the changing indication information.

In some example embodiments, the sensing function device 804 may further receive, to the at least one device, acknowledgement information for the updated configuration information.

In some example embodiments, the sensing function device 804 may transmit the updated configuration information in a measurement information exchange message or a configuration update message.

FIG. 14 is a simplified block diagram of a device 1400 that is suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 1400 can be considered as a further example implementation of any of the devices as shown in FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, FIG. 2, or FIG. 8A. Accordingly, the device 1400 can be implemented at or as at least a part of the terminal device 103 or the network device 102 in FIG. 1A, the communication device 110, the sensing function device 130 or the target 120 in FIG. 1B, any of the devices in FIG. 2, or any of the devices in FIG. 8A.

As shown, the device 1400 includes a processor 1410, a memory 1420 coupled to the processor 1410, a suitable transceiver 1440 coupled to the processor 1410, and a communication interface coupled to the transceiver 1440. The memory 1420 stores at least a part of a program 1430. The transceiver 1440 may be for bidirectional communications or a unidirectional communication based on requirements. The transceiver 1440 may include at least one of a transmitter 1442 and a receiver 1444. The transmitter 1442 and the receiver 1444 may be functional modules or physical entities. The transceiver 1440 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 1430 is assumed to include program instructions that, when executed by the associated processor 1410, enable the device 1400 to operate in accordance with the embodiments of the present disclosure, as discussed herein with reference to FIGS. 2 to 13. The embodiments herein may be implemented by computer software executable by the processor 1410 of the device 1400, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. The processor 1410 may be configured to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure. Furthermore, a combination of the processor 1410 and memory 1420 may form processing means 1450 adapted to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure.

The memory 1420 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 1420 is shown in the device 1400, there may be several physically distinct memory modules in the device 1400. The processor 1410 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 1400 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.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a first communication device comprising a circuitry is provided. The circuitry is configured to: transmit, to at least one device involved in a sensing service, first identification information related to a resource configuration, the resource configuration being allocated for transmission of a sensing signal in the sensing service; and transmit the sensing signal based on the resource configuration, wherein a plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal are to be combined based at least in part on the first identification information related to the resource configuration. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the circuitry may be configured to perform any method implemented by the first communication device as discussed above.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a sensing function device comprising a circuitry is provided. The circuitry is configured to: receive a plurality of measurement results of a sensing signal in a sensing service or a combined measurement report of the plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal; and in accordance with a determination that the plurality of measurement results are received, combine the plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal based on first identification information related to a resource configuration, the resource configuration being allocated for transmission of a sensing signal in the sensing service, wherein the combined measurement report is generated by combing the plurality of measurement results based at least in part on the first identification information. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the circuitry may be configured to perform any method implemented by the sensing function device as discussed above.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a target device comprising a circuitry is provided. The circuitry is configured to: receive, from a first communication device, first identification information related to a resource configuration, the resource configuration being allocated for transmission of a sensing signal in the sensing service, and the target device to be sensed in the sensing device and having a measurement capability; receive, from the first communication device, the sensing signal based on the resource configuration, to obtain a first measurement result of the sensing signal; and transmit the first measurement result in association with the first identification information, wherein a plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal are to be combined based at least in part on the first identification information, the plurality of measurement results comprising the first measurement result. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the circuitry may be configured to perform any method implemented by the target device as discussed above.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a first device comprising a circuitry is provided. The circuitry is configured to: receive, from a sensing function device, updated configuration information related to a sensing service, the updated configuration information indicating at least one of the following: an updated transmission mode of the first device in the sensing service, an updated role of the first device in the sensing service, an active or inactive indication of a transmission function of the first device in the sensing service, or an active or inactive indication of a reception function of the first device in the sensing service; perform the sensing service based on the updated configuration information. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the circuitry may be configured to perform any method implemented by the first device as discussed above.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a sensing function device comprising a circuitry is provided. The circuitry is configured to: determine whether configuration information for at least one device involved in a sensing service is to be updated; and in accordance with a determination that the configuration information is to be updated, transmit updated configuration information to the at least one device, the updated configuration information indicates at least one of the following: at least one transmission mode of the at least one device, at least one role of the at least one device in the sensing service, an active or inactive indication of a transmission function of the at least one device in the sensing service, or an active or inactive indication of a reception function of the at least one device in the sensing service.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the circuitry may be configured to perform any method implemented by the sensing function device as discussed above.

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.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a first communication apparatus is provided. The first communication apparatus comprises means for transmitting, to at least one device involved in a sensing service, first identification information related to a resource configuration, the resource configuration being allocated for transmission of a sensing signal in the sensing service; and means for transmitting the sensing signal based on the resource configuration, means for wherein a plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal are to be combined based at least in part on the first identification information related to the resource configuration. In some embodiments, the first apparatus may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 900. In some example embodiments, the first apparatus may further comprise means for performing other operations in some example embodiments of the method 900. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a sensing function apparatus is provided. The sensing function apparatus comprises means for receiving a plurality of measurement results of a sensing signal in a sensing service or a combined measurement report of the plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal; and means for in accordance with a determination that the plurality of measurement results are received, combining the plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal based on first identification information related to a resource configuration, the resource configuration being allocated for transmission of a sensing signal in the sensing service, means for wherein the combined measurement report is generated by combing the plurality of measurement results based at least in part on the first identification information. In some embodiments, the second apparatus may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 1000. In some example embodiments, the second apparatus may further comprise means for performing other operations in some example embodiments of the method 1000. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a target apparatus is provided. The target apparatus comprises means for receiving, from a first communication device, first identification information related to a resource configuration, the resource configuration being allocated for transmission of a sensing signal in the sensing service, and the target device to be sensed in the sensing device and having a measurement capability; means for receiving, from the first communication device, the sensing signal based on the resource configuration, to obtain a first measurement result of the sensing signal; and means for transmitting the first measurement result in association with the first identification information, means for wherein a plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal are to be combined based at least in part on the first identification information, the plurality of measurement results comprising the first measurement result. In some embodiments, the third apparatus may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 1100. In some example embodiments, the third apparatus may further comprise means for performing other operations in some example embodiments of the method 1100. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a first apparatus is provided. The first apparatus comprises means for receiving, from a sensing function device, updated configuration information related to a sensing service, the updated configuration information indicating at least one of the following: means for an updated transmission mode of the first device in the sensing service, means for an updated role of the first device in the sensing service, means for an active or inactive indication of a transmission function of the first device in the sensing service, or means for an active or inactive indication of a reception function of the first device in the sensing service; means for performing the sensing service based on the updated configuration information. In some embodiments, the fourth apparatus may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 1200. In some example embodiments, the fourth apparatus may further comprise means for performing other operations in some example embodiments of the method 1200. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, a sensing function apparatus is provided. The sensing function apparatus comprises means for determining whether configuration information for at least one device involved in a sensing service is to be updated; and means for in accordance with a determination that the configuration information is to be updated, transmitting updated configuration information to the at least one device, the updated configuration information indicates at least one of the following: means for at least one transmission mode of the at least one device, means for at least one role of the at least one device in the sensing service, means for an active or inactive indication of a transmission function of the at least one device in the sensing service, or means for an active or inactive indication of a reception function of the at least one device in the sensing service.

In some embodiments, the fifth apparatus may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 1300. In some example embodiments, the fifth apparatus may further comprise means for performing other operations in some example embodiments of the method 1300. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module.

In summary, embodiments of the present disclosure provide the following aspects.

In an aspect, it is proposed a first communication device which comprises: a processor configured to cause the first communication device to: transmit, to at least one device involved in a sensing service, first identification information related to a resource configuration, the resource configuration being allocated for transmission of a sensing signal in the sensing service; and transmit the sensing signal based on the resource configuration, wherein a plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal are to be combined based at least in part on the first identification information related to the resource configuration.

In some embodiments, the at least one device comprises at least one of the following: at least one communication device that is configured to measure the sensing signal, a target device to be sensed in the sensing service, the target device having a measurement capability, a sensing function device that combines the plurality of measurement results, or a network device that combines the plurality of measurement results as a combined measurement report, the combined measurement report being transmitted from the network device to the sensing function device.

In some embodiments, the processor is further configured to cause the first communication device to: determine a resource identifier for the resource configuration as the first identification information, the resource identifier being assigned by the first communication device, by a sensing function device, or by a target device to be sensed; and transmit the resource identifier for the resource configuration to the at least one device.

In some embodiments, the resource identifier is determined based on a combination of at least one of the following: an identifiers of a frequency-domain configuration in the resource configuration, an identifier of a time-domain configuration in the resource configuration, an identifier of a spatial-domain configuration in the resource configuration, an identifier of a sequence generation in the resource configuration, an identifier of a resource mapping in the resource configuration, an identifier of a measurement-related configuration in the resource configuration, or at least one combination identifier of a combination of two or more of the frequency-domain configuration, the time-domain configuration, the spatial-domain configuration, the sequence generation, the resource mapping, or the measurement-related configuration.

In some embodiments, the processor is further configured to cause the first communication device to: transmit, to the at least one device, a measurement identifier as the first identification information related to the resource configuration, the measurement identifier being assigned to relate a measurement object and a measurement report.

In some embodiments, a period of the measurement object is configured as zero or as not set.

In some embodiments, the sensing signal is transmitted in the sensing service for a plurality of repetition times, and wherein the processor is further configured to cause the first communication device to: transmit, to the at least one device, second identification information related to the sensing service; and wherein a plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal transmitted in a repetition time are to be combined based on at least one of the first identification information related to the resource configuration or the second identification information related to the sensing service.

In some embodiments, the resource configuration at least comprises a time-domain configuration, the time-domain configuration indicating at least one of: a repetition period, a repetition number, or a repetition gap.

In some embodiments, the second identification information comprises one of the following: a service identifier assigned to the sensing service, a sensing session identifier assigned to a sensing session of the sensing service, or a sensing procedure identifier assigned to a sensing procedure of the sensing service.

In some embodiments, the plurality of measurement results are obtained by two or more of the following: the first communication device, at least one second communication device that is configured to measure the sensing signal, or a target device to be sensed in the sensing service, the target device having a measurement capability.

In some embodiments, a target device to be sensed in the sensing service has a measurement capability and obtains a first measurement result of the sensing signal among the plurality of measurement results.

In some embodiments, the first measurement result is transmitted by the target device to at least one of the first communication device or a second communication device involved in the sensing service, and wherein the first measurement result is transmitted by the at least one of the first communication device or the second communication device to the sensing function device.

In an aspect, it is proposed a sensing function device which comprises: a processor configured to cause the sensing function device to: receive a plurality of measurement results of a sensing signal in a sensing service or a combined measurement report of the plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal; and in accordance with a determination that the plurality of measurement results are received, combine the plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal based on first identification information related to a resource configuration, the resource configuration being allocated for transmission of a sensing signal in the sensing service, wherein the combined measurement report is generated by combing the plurality of measurement results based at least in part on the first identification information.

In some embodiments, the processor is configured to cause the sensing function device to: receive, from a first communication device, the first identification information related to the resource configuration, the first communication device being configured to transmit the sensing signal based on the resource configuration; and wherein the plurality of measurement results are received in association with the first identification information.

In some embodiments, the processor is configured to cause the sensing function device to: receive the plurality of measurement results in association with the first identification information from at least one of the following: at least one communication device that is configured to measure the sensing signal, or a target device to be sensed in the sensing service, the target device having a measurement capability; or receive the combined measurement report from a network device, the network device combining the plurality of measurement results as the combined measurement report.

In some embodiments, the first identification information related to the resource configuration comprises: a resource identifier for the resource configuration, the resource identifier being assigned by a first communication device that is configured to transmit the sensing signal or by the sensing function device, or a measurement identifier, the measurement identifier being assigned to relate a measurement object and a measurement report.

In some embodiments, the sensing signal is transmitted in the sensing service for a plurality of repetition times, and wherein a plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal transmitted in a repetition time are to be combined based on at least one of the first identification information related to the resource configuration or second identification information related to the sensing service.

In some embodiments, the processor is further configured to cause the sensing function device to: receive, from a first communication device, the second identification information related to the sensing service, the first communication device being configured to transmit the sensing signal based on the resource configuration, and wherein the plurality of measurement results are received in association with the at least one of the first identification information or the second identification information.

In an aspect, it is proposed a target device which comprises: a processor configured to cause the target device to: receive, from a first communication device, first identification information related to a resource configuration, the resource configuration being allocated for transmission of a sensing signal in the sensing service, and the target device to be sensed in the sensing device and having a measurement capability; receive, from the first communication device, the sensing signal based on the resource configuration, to obtain a first measurement result of the sensing signal; and transmit the first measurement result in association with the first identification information, wherein a plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal are to be combined based at least in part on the first identification information, the plurality of measurement results comprising the first measurement result.

In some embodiments, the first identification information related to the resource configuration comprises: a resource identifier for the resource configuration, the resource identifier being assigned by a first communication device that is configured to transmit the sensing signal or assigned by the sensing function device, or a measurement identifier, the measurement identifier being assigned to relate a measurement object and a measurement report.

In some embodiments, the sensing signal is received in the sensing service for a plurality of repetition times, and wherein the processor is further configured to cause the target device to: receive, from the first communication device, second identification information related to the sensing service; receive the sensing signal in a repetition time to obtain the first measurement result; and transmit the first measurement result in association with at least one of the first identification information or the second identification information, wherein a plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal transmitted in the repetition time are to be combined based on the at least one of the first identification information related to the resource configuration or the second identification information related to the sensing service.

In some embodiments, the processor is further configured to cause the target device to: transmit the first measurement result according to a sensing mode of the sensing device.

In some embodiments, the first measurement result is transmitted to at least one of the following: the first communication device, at least one second communication device that is configured to measure the sensing signal, the sensing function device, or a network device that combines the plurality of measurement results as a combined measurement report.

In an aspect, it is proposed a first device which comprises: a processor configured to cause the first device to: receive, from a sensing function device, updated configuration information related to a sensing service, the updated configuration information indicating at least one of the following: an updated transmission mode of the first device in the sensing service, an updated role of the first device in the sensing service, an active or inactive indication of a transmission function of the first device in the sensing service, or an active or inactive indication of a reception function of the first device in the sensing service; perform the sensing service based on the updated configuration information.

In some embodiments, the processor is further configured to cause the first device to: provide, to the sensing function device, changing indication information related to the sensing service, the changing indication information being used for determining the updated configuration information and indicating at least one of the following: a change of a transmission mode of the first device in the sensing service, a change of a role of the first device in the sensing service, activation or deactivation of the transmission function of the first device in the sensing service, or activation or deactivation of the reception function of the first device in the sensing service.

In some embodiments, the processor is configured to cause the first device to: transmit the changing indication information to an access and mobility management function (AMF) device, the changing indication information being forwarded by the AMF device to the sensing function device.

In some embodiments, the processor is further configured to cause the first device to: transmit, to the sensing function device, acknowledgement information for the updated configuration information.

In some embodiments, the processor is further configured to cause the first device to: receive the updated configuration information in a measurement information exchange message or a configuration update message.

In some embodiments, the first device comprises: a communication device that is configured to transmit and/or receive a sensing signal in the sensing service, or a target device to be sensed in the sensing device, the target device having a measurement capability.

In an aspect, it is proposed a sensing function device which comprises: a processor configured to cause the sensing function device to: determine whether configuration information for at least one device involved in a sensing service is to be updated; and in accordance with a determination that the configuration information is to be updated, transmit updated configuration information to the at least one device, the updated configuration information indicates at least one of the following: at least one transmission mode of the at least one device, at least one role of the at least one device in the sensing service, an active or inactive indication of a transmission function of the at least one device in the sensing service, or an active or inactive indication of a reception function of the at least one device in the sensing service.

In some embodiments, the processor is further configured to cause the sensing function device to: receive, from a first device, changing indication information related to a sensing service, the first device being involved in the sensing service, and the changing indication information indicating at least one of the following: a change of a transmission mode of the first device in the sensing service, a change of a role of the first device in the sensing service, activation or deactivation of a transmission function of the first device in the sensing service, or activation or deactivation of a reception function of the first device in the sensing service; and determine the updated configuration information based on the changing indication information.

In some embodiments, the processor is further configured to cause the sensing function device to: receive, to the at least one device, acknowledgement information for the updated configuration information.

In some embodiments, the processor is further configured to cause the sensing function device to: transmit the updated configuration information in a measurement information exchange message or a configuration update message.

In an aspect, a first communication device comprises: at least one processor; and at least one memory coupled to the at least one processor and storing instructions thereon, the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, causing the device to perform the method implemented by the first communication device discussed above.

In an aspect, a sensing function device comprises: at least one processor; and at least one memory coupled to the at least one processor and storing instructions thereon, the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, causing the device to perform the method implemented by the sensing function device discussed above.

In an aspect, a target device comprises: at least one processor; and at least one memory coupled to the at least one processor and storing instructions thereon, the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, causing the device to perform the method implemented by the target device discussed above.

In an aspect, a first device comprises: at least one processor; and at least one memory coupled to the at least one processor and storing instructions thereon, the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, causing the device to perform the method implemented by the first device discussed above.

In an aspect, a computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when executed on at least one processor, causing the at least one processor to perform the method implemented by the first communication device discussed above.

In an aspect, a computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when executed on at least one processor, causing the at least one processor to perform the method implemented by the sensing function device discussed above.

In an aspect, a computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when executed on at least one processor, causing the at least one processor to perform the method implemented by the target device discussed above.

In an aspect, a computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when executed on at least one processor, causing the at least one processor to perform the method implemented by the first device discussed above.

In an aspect, a computer program comprising instructions, the instructions, when executed on at least one processor, causing the at least one processor to perform the method implemented by the first communication device discussed above.

In an aspect, a computer program comprising instructions, the instructions, when executed on at least one processor, causing the at least one processor to perform the method implemented by the sensing function device discussed above.

In an aspect, a computer program comprising instructions, the instructions, when executed on at least one processor, causing the at least one processor to perform the method implemented by the target device discussed above.

In an aspect, a computer program comprising instructions, the instructions, when executed on at least one processor, causing the at least one processor to perform the method implemented by the first device discussed above.

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 14. 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 first communication device comprising:

a processor configured to cause the first communication device to:

transmit, to at least one device involved in a sensing service, first identification information related to a resource configuration, the resource configuration being allocated for transmission of a sensing signal in the sensing service; and

transmit the sensing signal based on the resource configuration,

wherein a plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal are to be combined based at least in part on the first identification information related to the resource configuration.
The device of claim 1, wherein the at least one device comprises at least one of the following:

at least one communication device that is configured to measure the sensing signal,

a target device to be sensed in the sensing service, the target device having a measurement capability,

a sensing function device that combines the plurality of measurement results, or

a network device that combines the plurality of measurement results as a combined measurement report, the combined measurement report being transmitted from the network device to the sensing function device.
The device of claim 1 or 2, wherein the processor is further configured to cause the first communication device to:

determine a resource identifier for the resource configuration as the first identification information, the resource identifier being assigned by the first communication device, by a sensing function device, or by a target device to be sensed; and

transmit the resource identifier for the resource configuration to the at least one device.
The device of claim 3, wherein the resource identifier is determined based on a combination of at least one of the following:

an identifiers of a frequency-domain configuration in the resource configuration,

an identifier of a time-domain configuration in the resource configuration,

an identifier of a spatial-domain configuration in the resource configuration,

an identifier of a sequence generation in the resource configuration,

an identifier of a resource mapping in the resource configuration,

an identifier of a measurement-related configuration in the resource configuration, or

at least one combination identifier of a combination of two or more of the frequency-domain configuration, the time-domain configuration, the spatial-domain configuration, the sequence generation, the resource mapping, or the measurement-related configuration.
The device of any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the sensing signal is transmitted in the sensing service for a plurality of repetition times, and wherein the processor is further configured to cause the first communication device to:

transmit, to the at least one device, second identification information related to the sensing service; and

wherein a plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal transmitted in a repetition time are to be combined based on at least one of the first identification information related to the resource configuration or the second identification information related to the sensing service.
The device of claim 5, wherein the second identification information comprises one of the following:

a service identifier assigned to the sensing service,

a sensing session identifier assigned to a sensing session of the sensing service, or

a sensing procedure identifier assigned to a sensing procedure of the sensing service.
The device of any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the plurality of measurement results are obtained by two or more of the following:

the first communication device,

at least one second communication device that is configured to measure the sensing signal, or

a target device to be sensed in the sensing service, the target device having a measurement capability.
The device of any of claims 1 to 7, wherein a target device to be sensed in the sensing service has a measurement capability and obtains a first measurement result of the sensing signal among the plurality of measurement results.
The device of claim 8, wherein the first measurement result is transmitted by the target device to at least one of the first communication device or a second communication device involved in the sensing service, and

wherein the first measurement result is transmitted by the at least one of the first communication device or the second communication device to the sensing function device.
A sensing function device comprising:

a processor configured to cause the sensing function device to:

receive a plurality of measurement results of a sensing signal in a sensing service or a combined measurement report of the plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal; and

in accordance with a determination that the plurality of measurement results are received, combine the plurality of measurement results of the sensing signal based on first identification information related to a resource configuration, the resource configuration being allocated for transmission of a sensing signal in the sensing service,

wherein the combined measurement report is generated by combing the plurality of measurement results based at least in part on the first identification information.
The device of claim 10, wherein the processor is configured to cause the sensing function device to:

receive, from a first communication device, the first identification information related to the resource configuration, the first communication device being configured to transmit the sensing signal based on the resource configuration; and

wherein the plurality of measurement results are received in association with the first identification information.
The device of claim 10, wherein the processor is configured to cause the sensing function device to:

receive the plurality of measurement results in association with the first identification information from at least one of the following:

at least one communication device that is configured to measure the sensing signal, or

a target device to be sensed in the sensing service, the target device having a measurement capability; or

receive the combined measurement report from a network device, the network device combining the plurality of measurement results as the combined measurement report.
The device of any of claims 10 to 12, wherein the first identification information related to the resource configuration comprises:

a resource identifier for the resource configuration, the resource identifier being assigned by a first communication device that is configured to transmit the sensing signal or by the sensing function device, or

a measurement identifier, the measurement identifier being assigned to relate a measurement object and a measurement report.
The device of claim 13, wherein the resource identifier is determined based on a combination of at least one of the following:

an identifiers of a frequency-domain configuration in the resource configuration,

an identifier of a time-domain configuration in the resource configuration,

an identifier of a spatial-domain configuration in the resource configuration,

an identifier of a sequence generation in the resource configuration,

an identifier of a resource mapping in the resource configuration,

an identifier of a measurement-related configuration in the resource configuration, or

at least one combination identifier of a combination of two or more of the frequency-domain configuration, the time-domain configuration, the spatial-domain configuration, the sequence generation, the resource mapping, or the measurement-related configuration.
The device of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to cause the sensing function device to:

receive, from a first communication device, second identification information related to the sensing service, the first communication device being configured to transmit the sensing signal based on the resource configuration, and

wherein the plurality of measurement results are received in association with the at least one of the first identification information or the second identification information.
The device of claim 15, wherein the second identification information comprises one of the following:

a service identifier assigned to the sensing service,

a sensing session identifier assigned to a sensing session of the sensing service, or

a sensing procedure identifier assigned to a sensing procedure of the sensing service.
A first device comprising:

a processor configured to cause the first device to:

receive, from a sensing function device, updated configuration information related to a sensing service, the updated configuration information indicating at least one of the following:

an updated transmission mode of the first device in the sensing service,

an updated role of the first device in the sensing service,

an active or inactive indication of a transmission function of the first device in the sensing service, or

an active or inactive indication of a reception function of the first device in the sensing service;

perform the sensing service based on the updated configuration information.
The device of claim 17, wherein the processor is further configured to cause the first device to:

provide, to the sensing function device, changing indication information related to the sensing service, the changing indication information being used for determining the updated configuration information and indicating at least one of the following:

a change of a transmission mode of the first device in the sensing service,

a change of a role of the first device in the sensing service,

activation or deactivation of the transmission function of the first device in the sensing service, or

activation or deactivation of the reception function of the first device in the sensing service.
A sensing function device comprising:

a processor configured to cause the sensing function device to:

determine whether configuration information for at least one device involved in a sensing service is to be updated; and

in accordance with a determination that the configuration information is to be updated, transmit updated configuration information to the at least one device, the updated configuration information indicates at least one of the following:

at least one transmission mode of the at least one device,

at least one role of the at least one device in the sensing service,

an active or inactive indication of a transmission function of the at least one device in the sensing service, or

an active or inactive indication of a reception function of the at least one device in the sensing service.
The device of claim 19, wherein the processor is further configured to cause the sensing function device to:

receive, from a first device, changing indication information related to a sensing service, the first device being involved in the sensing service, and the changing indication information indicating at least one of the following:

a change of a transmission mode of the first device in the sensing service,

a change of a role of the first device in the sensing service,

activation or deactivation of a transmission function of the first device in the sensing service, or

activation or deactivation of a reception function of the first device in the sensing service; and

determine the updated configuration information based on the changing indication information.