WO2025241772A1 - Communication method and apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A communication method and apparatus. The method comprises: receiving port information from a first apparatus, wherein the port information indicates the position of at least one port of the first apparatus, and the at least one port is used for sending a sensing signal; receiving the plurality of sensing signals from the first apparatus; and on the basis of the port information and the plurality of sensing signals, determining sensing information, wherein the sensing information is used for sensing imaging. In the method, the position of at least one port of the first apparatus is indicated by means of the port information, so that compensation phase of the sensing signal can be determined on the basis of the position of the port, phase compensation is performed on the sensing signal by means of the compensation phase, and thus the sensing information obtained by performing coherent superposition on the sensing signals is more accurate, thereby improving the sensing imaging precision.

Description

A communication method and apparatus

Cross-reference to related applications

This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202410661460.2, filed on May 24, 2024, entitled "A Communication Method and Apparatus", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and apparatus.

Background Technology

In the evolution from 5G to 5G-Advanced (5G-A) technology, integrated communication and sensing technology is considered one of the key technologies for expanding the service capabilities of mobile communication networks. The core idea of this technology is to add sensing capabilities to the mobile communication network, building capabilities such as target detection, tracking, and imaging, thereby integrating communication and sensing capabilities into a single network. The principle of sensing technology is that the transmitting device sends radio waves (i.e., sensing signals) in a specific direction. When these radio waves illuminate the surface of the sensing target, they form reflected radio waves (i.e., the echo signal of the sensing signal). The receiving device then receives and processes these reflected radio waves to obtain sensing data, such as the location, speed, or type of the sensing target.

Still environment imaging is an important application scenario for 5G-A integrated communication and sensing. The transmitting device utilizes the multi-view and ranging capabilities of the receiving device to achieve still environment imaging, compensating for the insufficient field of view and imaging accuracy of the self-transmitting and self-receiving mode. In communication-sensing imaging technology based on back projection, to obtain higher sensing imaging accuracy, it is necessary to calculate the compensated phase of the received signal to achieve coherent superposition. Therefore, how to determine the compensated phase of the received signal is a problem that urgently needs to be solved.

Summary of the Invention

This application provides a communication method and apparatus for improving the accuracy of sensing imaging.

In a first aspect, this application provides a communication method, wherein the execution subject of the method is a second device or a module or chip within the second device. The second device can be a terminal device or a network device; the method is described here using the second device as the execution subject. The method includes: receiving port information from a first device, the port information indicating the location of at least one port of the first device, the at least one port being used to transmit sensing signals; receiving a plurality of the sensing signals from the first device; determining sensing information based on the port information of the first device and the plurality of sensing signals; and using the sensing information for sensing imaging.

By using the above method, the position of at least one port of the first device is indicated by the port information, so that the compensation phase of the sensing signal received from the first device can be determined according to the position of the port. The sensing signal is phase compensated by the compensation phase, so that the sensing information obtained from the sensing signal is more accurate and the sensing imaging accuracy is improved.

In one possible implementation, the location of the at least one port indicated by the port information is used to determine the compensation phase of the sensing signal.

Since the phase shift of the signal is related to the location of the port transmitting the signal, the compensation phase of the sensing signal can be accurately determined by indicating the location of the port used to transmit the sensing signal, thereby improving the accuracy of sensing imaging.

In one possible implementation, determining the sensing information based on the port information and the plurality of sensing signals includes: determining the compensation phase of the sensing signals based on the port information, and determining the sensing information based on the compensation phase and the plurality of sensing signals.

In one possible implementation, the port information includes at least one of the following:

The horizontal spacing of the at least one port; the vertical spacing of the at least one port; the number of horizontal ports included in the at least one port; the number of vertical ports included in the at least one port; the number of the at least one port; the azimuth angle of the panel where the at least one port is located; the pitch angle of the panel where the at least one port is located; the panel position of the panel where the at least one port is located.

Using the parameters mentioned above, the location of each port can be accurately determined, thereby obtaining accurate phase compensation information.

In one possible implementation, the method further includes: determining the position of each of the at least one ports based on at least one of the horizontal spacing, the vertical spacing, the number of horizontal ports, the number of vertical ports, the number of the at least one port, the azimuth angle, the pitch angle, and the panel position.

In one possible implementation, the panel is a two-dimensional panel, and the at least one port includes N _h N _v ports, wherein the position (x(a), y(a), z(a)) of port a located in the m-th row and n-th column of the panel satisfies the following form:
x(a)＝x ₀ +d _m,n sinθcosφ;
y(a)=y ₀ +d _m,n sinθ sinφ;
z(a) = _z0 + dm _,n cosθ;

Wherein, the panel position is (x ₀ , y ₀ , z ₀ ); d _h represents the horizontal spacing; d _v represents the vertical spacing; φ represents the azimuth angle; θ represents the pitch angle; m ranges from 1 to N _h ; n ranges from 1 to N _v ; N _h represents the number of horizontal ports; N _v represents the number of vertical ports.

In one possible implementation, the panel is a one-dimensional panel, and the positions (x(a), y(a), z(a)) of the at least one port located at port a in the panel satisfy the following form:
x(a) = _x0 + _da sinθcosφ;
y(a) = _y0 + _da sinθsinφ;
z(a) = z_₀ + d_{_a}cosθ;

Wherein, the panel position is (x ₀ , y ₀ , z ₀ ); d _h represents the horizontal spacing; d _v represents the vertical spacing; φ represents the azimuth angle; θ represents the pitch angle; the value of a ranges from 1 to A, where A represents the number of at least one port.

In one possible implementation, the port information includes the location of each of the at least one port.

In one possible implementation, the coverage area of the sensing signal includes multiple scattering points; the sensing information includes at least one of the following: multiple powers corresponding to the multiple scattering points and the index of the multiple scattering points; one of the powers is determined according to the multiple sensing signals, and one of the multiple powers corresponds to one of the multiple scattering points; the position information or index of each of the multiple scattering points; and the signal amplitude of each of the multiple scattering points.

In one possible implementation, the power corresponding to one of the plurality of scattering points satisfies the following form:

Wherein, the plurality of sensing signals are transmitted through T time units, A represents the number of the at least one port, B represents the number of ports used to receive the plurality of sensing signals; s(a,p,b;t) represents the sensing signal among the plurality of sensing signals that is transmitted through port a of the first device in time unit t and received by port b of the second device after passing through the scattering point p, 1≤t≤T. The compensation phase of s(a,p,b;t) is defined based on the position of the at least one port.

Secondly, this application provides a communication method, wherein the execution subject of the method is a first device or a module or chip within the first device. The first device can be a terminal device or a network device; the method is described here using the first device as the execution subject. The method includes: sending port information, the port information indicating the location of at least one port, the at least one port being used to send sensing signals; sending a plurality of the sensing signals; receiving sensing information from a second device, the sensing information being determined based on the port information and the plurality of sensing signals; and the sensing information being used for sensing imaging.

In one possible implementation, the location of the at least one port indicated by the port information is used to determine the compensation phase of the sensing signal.

In one possible implementation, the sensing information is determined based on the port information and a plurality of sensing signals, including: the compensation phase of the sensing signals is determined based on the port information, and the sensing information is determined based on the compensation phase and the plurality of sensing signals.

In one possible implementation, the port information includes at least one of the following:

The horizontal spacing of at least one port;

The vertical spacing of the at least one port;

The number of horizontal ports included in the at least one port;

The number of vertical ports included in the at least one port;

The number of the at least one port;

The azimuth angle of the panel where the at least one port is located;

The pitch angle of the panel where the at least one port is located;

The panel location of the panel containing at least one port.

In one possible implementation, at least one of the following is used to determine the position of each of the at least one port: the horizontal spacing, the vertical spacing, the number of horizontal ports, the number of vertical ports, the number of the at least one port, the azimuth angle, the pitch angle, and the panel position.

In one possible implementation, the panel is a two-dimensional panel, and the at least one port includes N _h N _v ports, wherein the position (x(a), y(a), z(a)) of port a located in the m-th row and n-th column of the panel satisfies the following form:
x(a)＝x ₀ +d _m,n sinθcosφ;
y(a)=y ₀ +d _m,n sinθ sinφ;
z(a) = _z0 + dm _,n cosθ;

Wherein, the panel position is (x ₀ , y ₀ , z ₀ ); d _h represents the horizontal spacing; d _v represents the vertical spacing; φ represents the azimuth angle; θ represents the pitch angle; m ranges from 1 to N _h ; n ranges from 1 to N _v ; N _h represents the number of horizontal ports; N _v represents the number of vertical ports.

In one possible implementation, the panel is a one-dimensional panel, and the positions (x(a), y(a), z(a)) of the at least one port located at port a in the panel satisfy the following form:
x(a) = _x0 + _da sinθcosφ;
y(a) = _y0 + _da sinθsinφ;
z(a) = z_₀ + d_{_a}cosθ;

Wherein, the panel position is (x ₀ , y ₀ , z ₀ ); d _h represents the horizontal spacing; d _v represents the vertical spacing; φ represents the azimuth angle; θ represents the pitch angle; the value of a ranges from 1 to A, where A represents the number of at least one port.

In one possible implementation, the port information includes the location of each of the at least one port.

In one possible implementation, the coverage area of the sensing signal includes multiple scattering points; the sensing information includes at least one of the following: multiple powers corresponding to the multiple scattering points and the index of the multiple scattering points; one of the powers is determined according to the multiple sensing signals, and one of the multiple powers corresponds to one of the multiple scattering points; the position information or index of each of the multiple scattering points; and the signal amplitude of each of the multiple scattering points.

In one possible implementation, the power corresponding to one of the plurality of scattering points satisfies the following form:

Wherein, the plurality of sensing signals are transmitted through T time units, A represents the number of the at least one port, B represents the number of ports used to receive the plurality of sensing signals; s(a,p,b;t) represents the sensing signal among the plurality of sensing signals that is transmitted through port a of the first device in time unit t and received by port b of the second device after passing through the scattering point p, 1≤t≤T. The compensation phase of s(a,p,b;t) is defined based on the position of the at least one port.

Thirdly, this application provides a communication method, wherein the execution subject of the method is a second device or a module or chip within the second device. The second device can be a terminal device or a network device; the method is described here using the second device as the execution subject. The method includes: receiving phase information from a first device, the phase information indicating a phase offset of at least one port combination, the port combination including a port of the first device and a port of the second device; the port combination being used to transmit sensing signals; receiving a plurality of the sensing signals from the first device; determining sensing information based on the phase information and the plurality of sensing signals; and the sensing information being used for sensing imaging.

By using the above method, the phase offset or compensation phase corresponding to the port combination is indicated by the phase information. Thus, the compensation phase of the sensing signal transmitted through different port combinations can be determined based on the phase information. The sensing signal is then phase-compensated using this compensation phase, making the sensing information obtained from the sensing signal more accurate and improving the sensing imaging accuracy.

In one possible implementation, the phase information is used to determine the compensation phase of the sensed signal.

In one possible implementation, the phase information includes at least one of the following:

Phase offset between adjacent vertical ports in the first device;

Phase offset between adjacent horizontal ports in the first device;

Phase offset between adjacent vertical ports in the second device;

Phase offset between adjacent horizontal ports in the second device.

In one possible implementation, the compensation phase of the sensing signal among the plurality of sensing signals transmitted through port a and received by port b of the second device It must meet the following form:

Wherein, port a is the port in the first device used to send the sensing signal, and port a is located in row m _a and column n _a ; port b is the port in the second device used to receive the sensing signal, and port b is located in row m _b and column n _b . This indicates the phase offset between adjacent vertical ports in the first device; This indicates the phase offset between adjacent horizontal ports in the first device; This indicates the phase offset between adjacent vertical ports in the second device; This indicates the phase offset between adjacent horizontal ports in the second device.

In one possible implementation, the phase information includes the phase offset of each port combination in the at least one port combination; wherein, for port b included in the first device, the phase offset corresponding to each port combination including port b satisfies:

Where the value of b is in the range of _1≤b≤Nr , _Nr represents the number of ports included in the first device; _Nt represents the number of ports included in the second device; This indicates the phase offset of the port combination including port 1 of the second device and port b of the first device relative to the port combination including port 1 of the second device and port b-1 of the first device; The value of c represents the phase offset of the port combination of port c of the second device and port b of the first device relative to the port combination including port 1 of the second device and port b of the first device, where the value of c is in the range of 2≤c≤N _t .

In one possible implementation, the compensation phase of the sensing signal among the plurality of sensing signals transmitted through port a and received by port b of the second device It must meet the following form:

In one possible implementation, the coverage area of the sensing signal includes multiple scattering points; the sensing information includes at least one of the following: multiple powers corresponding to the multiple scattering points and the index of the multiple scattering points; one of the powers is determined according to the multiple sensing signals, and one of the multiple powers corresponds to one of the multiple scattering points; the position information or index of each of the multiple scattering points; and the signal amplitude of each of the multiple scattering points.

In one possible implementation, the power corresponding to one of the plurality of scattering points satisfies the following form:

The plurality of sensing signals are transmitted through T time units, where T is an integer greater than 0. N_{_r} represents the number of ports included in the first device; N_{_t} represents the number of ports included in the second device; s(a,p,b;t) represents the sensing signal transmitted through port a of the first device in time unit t, and received by port b of the second device after passing through the scattering point p, where 1≤t≤T. The compensation phase of s(a,p,b;t) is defined based on the phase information.

Fourthly, this application provides a communication method, wherein the execution subject of the method is a first device or a module or chip within the first device. The first device can be a terminal device or a network device; the method is described here using the first device as the execution subject. The method includes: transmitting phase information, the phase information indicating a phase offset of at least one port combination, the port combination including a port of the first device and a port of the second device; the port combination being used to transmit sensing signals; transmitting a plurality of the sensing signals; receiving sensing information from the second device, the sensing information being determined based on the phase information and the plurality of sensing signals; and the sensing information being used for sensing imaging.

In one possible implementation, the method further includes: performing perceptual imaging based on the perceptual information.

In one possible implementation, the phase information is used to determine the compensation phase of the sensed signal.

In one possible implementation, the phase information includes at least one of the following:

Phase offset between adjacent vertical ports in the first device;

Phase offset between adjacent horizontal ports in the first device;

Phase offset between adjacent vertical ports in the second device;

Phase offset between adjacent horizontal ports in the second device.

In one possible implementation, the compensation phase of the sensing signal among the plurality of sensing signals transmitted through port a and received by port b of the second device It must meet the following form:

Wherein, port a is the port in the first device used to send the sensing signal, and port a is located in row m _a and column n _a ; port b is the port in the second device used to receive the sensing signal, and port b is located in row m _b and column n _b . This indicates the phase offset between adjacent vertical ports in the first device; This indicates the phase offset between adjacent horizontal ports in the first device; This indicates the phase offset between adjacent vertical ports in the second device; This indicates the phase offset between adjacent horizontal ports in the second device.

In one possible implementation, the phase information includes the phase offset of each port combination in the at least one port combination; wherein, for port b included in the first device, the phase offset corresponding to each port combination including port b satisfies:

Where the value of b is in the range of _1≤b≤Nr , _Nr represents the number of ports included in the first device; _Nt represents the number of ports included in the second device; This indicates the phase offset of the port combination including port 1 of the second device and port b of the first device relative to the port combination including port 1 of the second device and port b-1 of the first device; The value of c represents the phase offset of the port combination of port c of the second device and port b of the first device relative to the port combination including port 1 of the second device and port b of the first device, where the value of c is in the range of 2≤c≤N _t .

In one possible implementation, the compensation phase of the sensing signal among the plurality of sensing signals transmitted through port a and received by port b of the second device It must meet the following form:

In one possible implementation, the coverage area of the sensing signal includes multiple scattering points; the sensing information includes at least one of the following: multiple powers corresponding to the multiple scattering points and the index of the multiple scattering points; one of the powers is determined according to the multiple sensing signals, and one of the multiple powers corresponds to one of the multiple scattering points; the position information or index of each of the multiple scattering points; and the signal amplitude of each of the multiple scattering points.

In one possible implementation, the power corresponding to one of the plurality of scattering points satisfies the following form:

The plurality of sensing signals are transmitted through T time units, where T is an integer greater than 0. N_{_r} represents the number of ports included in the first device; N_{_t} represents the number of ports included in the second device; s(a,p,b;t) represents the sensing signal transmitted through port a of the first device in time unit t, and received by port b of the second device after passing through the scattering point p, where 1≤t≤T. The compensation phase of s(a,p,b;t) is defined based on the phase information.

Fifthly, this application also provides a communication device capable of implementing any of the methods provided in any of the first to fourth aspects. This communication device can be implemented in hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more units or modules corresponding to the aforementioned functions.

In one possible implementation, the communication device includes a processor configured to support the communication device in performing corresponding functions of the first or second device in the methods described above. The communication device may also include a memory coupled to the processor, which stores necessary program instructions and data for the communication device. Optionally, the communication device further includes interface circuitry for supporting communication between the communication device and devices such as terminal devices.

In one possible implementation, the communication device includes corresponding functional modules, each used to implement the steps in the above method. The functions can be implemented in hardware or by hardware executing corresponding software. The hardware or software includes one or more modules corresponding to the functions described above.

In one possible implementation, the communication device includes a processing unit and a communication unit, which can perform the corresponding functions in the above-described method examples, as described in the methods provided in any of the first to fourth aspects, and will not be repeated here. A sixth aspect provides a communication device including a processor and an interface circuit. The interface circuit is used to receive signals from other communication devices outside the communication device and transmit them to the processor, or to send signals from the processor to other communication devices outside the communication device. The processor implements the functional modules of the methods in any possible implementation of any of the first to fourth aspects through logic circuits or by executing computer programs or instructions. Optionally, the communication device further includes a memory for storing computer programs or instructions.

A seventh aspect provides a circuit for performing the methods in any possible implementation of any of the first to fourth aspects described above, the circuit including chip circuitry. Optionally, the circuit may also be coupled to a memory.

Eighthly, a chip is provided, comprising a processor, which, when executing a computer program or instructions, implements the methods in any possible implementation of any of the first to fourth aspects. Optionally, the chip may further include a memory, which may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices. The memory is used to store computer programs or instructions.

A ninth aspect provides a communication device including a processor that, through logic circuitry or by executing a computer program or instructions, or by executing a computer program or instructions stored in a memory, implements the method in any possible implementation of any of the first to fourth aspects, thereby enabling the communication device to implement the method in any possible implementation of any of the first to second aspects.

In a tenth aspect, a communication apparatus is provided, comprising a unit or module for performing a method in any possible implementation of any of the first to fourth aspects described above.

Eleventhly, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, which stores a computer program or instructions that, when executed by a processor or when the computer program or instructions are run on a computer, implement the method in any possible implementation of any of the first to fourth aspects.

In a twelfth aspect, a computer program product is provided, which, when read and executed by a computer, implements the method in any possible implementation of any of the first to fourth aspects.

In a thirteenth aspect, embodiments of this application also provide a communication system. The communication system includes: a second means for implementing the method in the first aspect and any possible implementation thereof; and a first means for implementing the method in the second aspect and any possible implementation thereof. Alternatively, the communication system includes: a second means for implementing the method in the third aspect and any possible implementation thereof; and a first means for implementing the method in the fourth aspect and any possible implementation thereof.

Attached Figure Description

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a network architecture applicable to an embodiment of this application;

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a perception scene provided in an embodiment of this application;

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of a sensing scene provided in an embodiment of this application;

Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of a sensing imaging provided in an embodiment of this application;

Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a sensing imaging provided in an embodiment of this application;

Figure 6 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

Figure 7 is a schematic flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of a communication device structure provided in an embodiment of this application;

Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of a communication device structure provided in an embodiment of this application;

Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of a communication device structure provided in an embodiment of this application.

Detailed Implementation

The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of this application, and not all of them. The terms "first," "second," and corresponding terminology in this application are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such terms can be interchanged where appropriate; this is merely a way of distinguishing objects with the same attributes in the embodiments of this application. Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, system, product, or device that comprises a series of units is not necessarily limited to those units, but may include other units not explicitly listed or inherent to these processes, methods, products, or devices. The methods and apparatus provided in the embodiments of this application are based on the same or similar technical concepts. Since the principles by which the methods and apparatus solve problems are similar, the implementations of the apparatus and methods can refer to each other, and repeated details will not be repeated.

The method provided in this application can be applied to various mobile communication systems, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), fourth-generation (4G) communication systems (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE)), fifth-generation (5G) communication systems (e.g., 5G New Radio (NR)), LTE and NR hybrid architectures, and new communication systems that will emerge in future communication developments. The communication system can also include machine-to-machine (M2M) networks, machine-type communication (MTC) networks, or other networks.

The following section will first explain some of the terms used in the embodiments of this application so that those skilled in the art can understand them.

Coherent superposition, also known as coherent accumulation, refers to the phase shift between different transmit/receive port pairs when transmitting signals using multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) methods. When there is a phase shift between the signals from different transmit/receive port pairs, superimposing these signals results in a small signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) gain; this superposition is called incoherent superposition. When the signals from different transmit/receive port pairs have undergone phase compensation and there is no phase shift, the superposition of multiple signals is a magnitude accumulation. If the SNR gain of N superimposed signals is N times, this superposition can be called coherent superposition.

The time unit in this application may include a symbol, a slot, a mini-slot, a partial slot, a sub-frame, a radio frame, or a sensing slot, etc., without limitation. A symbol may also be called a modulation symbol, a symbol group, a modulation symbol sequence, a modulation symbol stream, a modulation symbol string, or a modulation symbol set, etc., without limitation. The modulation method of the symbol is not limited in the embodiments of this application. For example, a symbol can be an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol.

In this embodiment, the network device can be a device in a wireless network, and can also be called a network apparatus, a wireless access network device, or an access network device. For example, the network device can be a radio access network (RAN) node that connects terminal devices to the wireless network, and can also be called an access network device. Network equipment includes, but is not limited to: base stations, evolved NodeBs (eNodeBs), transmission reception points (TRPs), next-generation NodeBs (gNBs) in 5G mobile communication systems, access network equipment in open radio access networks (O-RAN), next-generation base stations in future mobile communication systems, base stations in future mobile communication systems, or access nodes in wireless fidelity (WiFi) systems; or it can be a module or unit that performs part of the functions of a base station, such as a central unit (CU), a distributed unit (DU), a central unit control plane (CU-CP) module, or a central unit user plane (CU-UP) module. Access network equipment can be macro base stations, micro base stations, indoor stations, relay nodes, or donor nodes, etc. This application does not limit the specific technologies or specific equipment forms used in the network equipment.

In some implementations, network devices can include centralized units (CUs) and distributed units (DUs). This includes RAN devices at CU and DU nodes that separate the protocol layers of the gNB in the NR system. Some protocol layer functions are centrally controlled by the CU, while the remaining partial or complete protocol layer functions are distributed across the DUs, which are then centrally controlled by the CU. Furthermore, the CU can be divided into a control plane (CU-CP) and a user plane (CU-UP). The CU-CP is responsible for control plane functions, primarily including radio resource control (RRC) and the corresponding packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) (i.e., PDCP-C). PDCP-C is mainly responsible for control plane data encryption/decryption, integrity protection, and data transmission. The CU-UP is responsible for user plane functions, primarily including the service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) and the corresponding PDCP (i.e., PDCP-U). SDAP is mainly responsible for processing core network data and mapping flows to bearers. PDCP-U is primarily responsible for data plane encryption/decryption, integrity protection, header compression, sequence number maintenance, and data transmission. CU-CP and CU-UP are connected via the E1 interface. CU-CP represents the gNB connected to the core network via the NG interface and to the DU via the F1 interface control plane (F1-C). CU-UP is connected to the DU via the F1 interface user plane (F1-U). Alternatively, PDCP-C may also be located within CU-UP.

It is understood that CU (including CU-CP or CU-UP) or DU may have different names in different systems, but those skilled in the art will understand their meaning. For example, in an open radio access network (O-RAN) system, CU can also be called O-CU (open CU), DU can also be called O-DU, CU-CP can also be called O-CU-CP, and CU-UP can also be called O-CU-UP. For ease of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, and DU as examples. Network devices may also include active antenna units (AAU). CU implements some of the functions of gNB, and DU implements some of the functions of gNB. For example, CU is responsible for handling non-real-time protocols and services, implementing the functions of the RRC layer. DU is responsible for handling physical layer protocols and real-time services, implementing the functions of the radio link control (RLC) layer, media access control (MAC) layer, and physical (PHY) layer. In some deployments, the CU can also be divided into a centralized unit control plane (CU-CP) node and a centralized unit user plane (CU-UP) node. The CU-CP is responsible for control plane functions, while the CU-UP is responsible for user plane functions.

The terminal device involved in this application embodiment can be a wireless terminal device capable of receiving network device scheduling and instruction information. The terminal device can be referred to as a terminal device, or a user equipment (UE), terminal, mobile station (MS), mobile terminal (MT), etc. The terminal device can be a device including wireless communication functions (providing voice/data connectivity to the user). For example, a handheld device with wireless connectivity, or an in-vehicle device, in-vehicle module, etc. Currently, some examples of terminal devices include: mobile phones, tablet computers, laptops, PDAs, mobile internet devices (MID), wearable devices, virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, wireless terminals in industrial control, wireless terminals in vehicle networking, wireless terminals in self-driving, wireless terminals in remote medical surgery, wireless terminals in smart grids, and wireless terminals in transportation safety. Wireless terminals in various applications include those for smart cities, smart homes, device-to-device (D2D) communication, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, intelligent vehicles, in-vehicle systems (or onboard units) (telematics boxes, T-boxes), machine-to-machine/machine-type communications (M2M/MTC) communication, and Internet of Things (IoT) terminals. For example, terminal devices can be in-vehicle equipment, vehicle-mounted equipment, in-vehicle modules, vehicles, onboard units (OBUs), roadside units (RSUs), T-boxes, chips, or system-on-chip (SoCs), which can be installed in vehicles, OBUs, RSUs, or T-boxes. Wireless terminals in industrial control can include cameras, robots, etc. Wireless terminals in smart homes can include televisions, air conditioners, robot vacuums, speakers, set-top boxes, etc. Terminal devices can also be V2X devices, such as smart cars, digital cars, unmanned cars, driverless cars, pilotless cars, autonomous cars, pure electric vehicles (EVs), hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), range-extended electric vehicles (REEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), new energy vehicles, and roadside units (RSUs). Terminal devices can also be devices used in device-to-device (D2D) communication, such as electricity meters and water meters. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the terminal device can also be a terminal device in an IoT system. IoT is an important component of the future development of information technology. Its main technical feature is to connect objects to the network through communication technology, thereby realizing an intelligent network of human-machine interconnection and object-to-object interconnection.

In the evolution of 5G mobile communication systems towards 5G-A technology, integrated communication and sensing technology is considered one of the key technologies for expanding the service capabilities of mobile communication networks. The core idea of this integrated communication and sensing technology is to add sensing capabilities to the mobile communication network, building capabilities such as target detection, tracking, and imaging, thereby integrating communication and sensing capabilities into a single network, achieving harmonious coexistence and mutual benefit. The technical principles of sensing differ somewhat from those of communication. Communication involves the transmitter modulating information onto radio waves and sending it to the receiver, which then demodulates the signal to obtain the information. Sensing, however, requires the transmitter to send radio waves in a specific direction. When these radio waves strike a target surface, they form reflected waves, which the receiver receives and processes to obtain information such as the target's position, speed, and type. For example, see Figure 1, which illustrates an integrated communication and sensing scenario. In Figure 1, solid lines represent communication, and dashed lines represent sensing. As shown in Figure 1, network devices can sense other objects through self-transmission and reception, or simultaneously communicate with terminal devices while sensing other objects. Figure 1 illustrates an example where the terminal device is a smartphone and the perceived targets are drones, pedestrians, and vehicles.

Sensing technology can generally be divided into two modes: single-site sensing and dual-site sensing. Single-site sensing refers to a single device that transmits the sensing signal and receives the echo signal. In other words, in single-site sensing, the transmitting device both transmits the sensing signal and receives the echo signal reflected from the surface of the sensing target. Therefore, this single-site sensing mode can also be called a self-transmitting and self-receiving mode, without limitation. Dual-site sensing refers to two different devices that transmit the sensing signal and receive the echo signal. In other words, sensing station A transmits the sensing signal, and the echo signal reflected from the surface of the sensing target is received by sensing station B. Therefore, this dual-site sensing mode can also be called the A-transmitting and B-receiving mode. It should be noted that the echo signal is obtained by reflecting the sensing signal from the surface of the sensing target; therefore, this echo signal can still be called the sensing signal.

Figure 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of the sensing scenarios applicable to the embodiments of this application. Figure 2 provides six sensing scenarios: a scenario where network device A transmits and receives signals independently, i.e., network device A sends sensing signals and receives echo signals, as shown in (1) of Figure 2; a scenario where terminal device A transmits and receives signals independently, i.e., terminal device A sends sensing signals and receives echo signals, as shown in (2) of Figure 2; a scenario where network device A sends sensing signals and network device B receives echo signals, as shown in (3) of Figure 2; a scenario where terminal device A sends sensing signals and terminal device B receives echo signals, as shown in (4) of Figure 2; a scenario where network device A sends sensing signals and terminal device A receives echo signals, as shown in (5) of Figure 2; and a scenario where terminal device A sends sensing signals and network device A receives echo signals, as shown in (6) of Figure 2. Figure 2 uses a vehicle as the sensing target and a smartphone as the terminal device as an example.

This application can be applied to the perception scenarios shown in (3) to (6) of Figure 2, and may also be applied to other perception scenarios. This application does not limit this.

The sensing target can also be referred to as a target, a detected target, a sensed object, a sensed device, etc., without limitation. The sensing target can be any tangible object in the environment capable of reflecting electromagnetic waves. For example, the sensing target can be a stationary object such as a mountain, forest, or building. Alternatively, the sensing target can be a mobile object such as a vehicle, drone, pedestrian, or terminal device. This application does not limit the specific implementation form of the sensing target.

In one possible implementation, the sensing signal can act as a communication signal, meaning it can be received by a terminal device in the environment as a communication signal; alternatively, a communication signal can also act as a sensing signal, meaning a communication signal (e.g., a reference signal) can be multiplexed for sensing. Taking a network device's self-transmission and self-reception as an example, the network device sends a sensing signal and receives the echo signal of the sensing signal; simultaneously, the sensing signal may reach the terminal device through multiple transmission paths, meaning the terminal device receives the sensing signal, as shown in Figure 3. Figure 3 illustrates an example where the sensing signal reaches the terminal device via transmission path 1 and transmission path 2, the terminal device is a mobile phone, and the sensing target is a vehicle.

Still environment imaging is an important application scenario for 5G-A communication and sensing integration. Its imaging principle is based on the target point, the port location of the transmitting device sending the sensing signal, and the port location of the receiving device receiving the sensing signal. Through phase compensation, the power of the coherent superposition of the signals received at the transmitting and receiving ports of the target point is obtained, thus achieving still object imaging based on the power of the target point. For example, as shown in Figure 4, the network device sends a sensing signal, and the terminal device receives the sensing signal. The network device and the terminal device can pre-define an imaging area within the coverage of the sensing signal. This imaging area includes multiple target points. A target point can be considered the smallest unit of imaging, and one target point corresponds to one pixel in the imaging. A target point can be identified by a three-dimensional coordinate system. The three-dimensional coordinate system can be a global Cartesian coordinate system (e.g., longitude, latitude, horizontal height) or a local polar coordinate system (e.g., distance, horizontal angle, vertical angle). In the figure, a target point is represented by a grid. The target point can also be called a scattering point, grid point, grid target, or imaging grid, etc.

For the receiving end, such as the terminal device in Figure 4, to achieve high-precision sensing imaging, the signals corresponding to each scattering point can be coherently superimposed based on the sensing signal to obtain the power of each scattering point. The magnitude of the power of a scattering point can characterize whether a target exists at that scattering point. Therefore, all scattering points included in the imaging area and the power of each scattering point can constitute a power spectrum covering the imaging area. The terminal device reports the power of each scattering point to the network device, which can perform sensing imaging based on the power of each scattering point included in the imaging area. For example, referring to Figure 4, the final sensing imaging result can be shown in Figure 5, where the scattering points including the filled pattern in Figure 5 are scattering points including the target. Of course, Figure 5 is just an example, describing it using a side view of the imaging as an example. The actual imaging area is three-dimensional, and the imaging result is also three-dimensional.

To improve the accuracy of coherent superposition of received signals by the receiver, phase compensation of the received signals is required. To this end, this application provides a method that can determine the compensation phase based on the port position information by indicating the port position information to the receiver, thereby improving imaging accuracy.

In this application, the target is any tangible object in the environment capable of reflecting electromagnetic waves, such as mountains, forests, or buildings, and may also include movable objects such as vehicles, drones, pedestrians, and terminal devices. The target may also be referred to as a sensed target, a detected target, a sensed object, a sensed device, or a sensed device, etc., and the embodiments of this application are not limited thereto.

The network architecture and business scenarios described in the embodiments of this application are for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, and do not constitute a limitation on the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application. As those skilled in the art will know, with the evolution of network architecture and the emergence of new business scenarios, the technical solutions provided in the embodiments of this application are also applicable to similar technical problems.

It is understood that this application does not specifically limit the structure of the execution subject of the method provided in the embodiments of this application. It can be applied to modules in terminal devices or network devices, as long as they can communicate according to the method provided in the embodiments of this application by running a program that records the code of the method provided in the embodiments of this application. The following description takes the interaction between terminal devices and network devices as an example.

In this application, the first device can be used to transmit sensing signals. The first device can be a network device or a component in a network device (such as a DU or RU); or the first device can also be a terminal device or a component in a terminal device. For example, the first device can be terminal device A shown in (4) or (6) of FIG2, or a component in terminal device A; or the first device can also be network device A shown in (3) or (5) of FIG2, or a component in network device A.

The second device can be a communication device for performing (or conducting) sensing. For example, the second device can be used to receive sensing signals and perform sensing processing based on the sensing signals. The second device can be a network device or a component in a network device (such as a DU or RU); or the second device can also be a terminal device or a component in a terminal device. For example, the second device can be network device A shown in (6) of FIG2, or a component in network device A; or the second device can also be terminal device A shown in (5) of FIG2, or a component in terminal device A; or the second device can also be network device B shown in (3) of FIG2, or a component in network device B; or the second device can also be terminal device B shown in (4) of FIG2, or a component in terminal device B.

Figure 6 shows a flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. The method includes:

Step 601: The first device sends its port information.

Correspondingly, the second device receives port information from the first device.

In this application, port information indicates the location of at least one port of the first device, all or some of which are used to transmit sensing signals. The location of the at least one port indicated by the port information can be used to determine the compensation phase of the sensing signal. If some of the at least one port is used to transmit sensing signals, the first device can also indicate the ports among the at least one port used to transmit sensing signals. The sensing signal can also be described as a communication sensing signal or a reference signal, etc., and this application is not limited to this.

In this application, a port may also be referred to as an antenna port, antenna channel, antenna array, or MIMO port, etc. If a device transmits a signal through a port, that port may also be called a transmitting port; if a device receives a signal through a port, that port may also be called a receiving port.

In one implementation, the port information includes: the position of each port in at least one port, for example, the position of the port can be the three-dimensional coordinates of the port.

For example, if the first device has a total of 8 ports, and the first 4 ports are used for sensing signal transmission, then the first device can indicate the position of the first 4 ports through the port information.

In one implementation, the port information includes parameters for determining the location of at least one port. In this case, the port information can also be referred to as port configuration information, etc. For example, the port information includes at least one of the following: the parameters for determining the location of at least one port include at least one of the following: the horizontal spacing between at least one port;

Vertical spacing of at least one port;

At least one port includes the number of horizontal ports;

The number of vertical ports included in at least one port;

At least the number of ports;

The azimuth angle of the panel containing at least one port;

The pitch angle of the panel containing at least one port;

The panel position of at least one port is located on the panel. The panel position can also be called panel position information, etc. For example, the panel position can be the position of the first port in the panel. For example, the first port is the port in the first row and first column of the panel. The port information can also indicate the first port, or the first port can be a preset or predefined one.

In one implementation, the port information for the horizontal spacing d_{_h, vertical spacing d_v}, number of horizontal ports N_{_h} , and number of vertical ports N_v can include the values of these four parameters. For example, d_{_h} = 0.5λ, d _{_v} = 0.7λ, N_{_h} = 4, N _{_v} = 2, where λ is the carrier wavelength. Since the horizontal and vertical spacings are usually expressed in units of carrier wavelength λ, the port information including the values of these four parameters can also be expressed as: d_{_h} = 0.5, d _{_v} = 0.7, N_{_h} = 4, N _{_v} = 2. In another implementation, multiple sets of values can be predefined between the first and second devices. Each set of values includes different values for the horizontal spacing d_{_h}, vertical spacing d_{_v}, number of horizontal ports N _{_h}, and number of vertical ports N_{_v} . Each set of values corresponds to a sequence number, and the port information can include the sequence number corresponding to a set of values. This reduces the reporting overhead of port information.

The first device and the second device can pre-agree on the same global reference coordinate system, which can ensure that the values of information such as azimuth, elevation, and panel position in the global reference coordinate system of the first device are the same as the values in the global reference coordinate system of the second device.

In this application, if the first device is a network device, the network device can send port information via downlink messages such as RRC signaling or MAC control element (CE). If the first device is a terminal device, the terminal device can send port information via uplink messages such as MAC CE, uplink control information (UCI), or capability information.

In this application, the first device can also update port information. For example, if the first device is a terminal device, its azimuth, pitch, and panel position may change after it moves. Therefore, the first device can update the changed information, such as the azimuth, pitch, and panel position. For example, if the first device is a UE, the azimuth φ, pitch θ, and panel position of the UE's MIMO panel change with the UE's movement. Therefore, the UE can periodically report the azimuth φ, pitch θ, and panel position.

For any of the above information, if the port information does not include that information, it can be preset or pre-configured and does not need to be explicitly reported. For example, if the port information does not include the number of at least one port, then the number of at least one port can be preset or pre-configured. For example, if the port information does not include the panel position, then the panel position can be preset or pre-configured, or the panel position can be estimated based on the reference signal sent through the panel.

Step 602: The first device sends multiple sensing signals.

Correspondingly, the second device receives multiple sensing signals from the first device.

In this application, the sensing signal can be used for sensing. The specific implementation of the sensing signal is not limited. For example, the sensing signal can be a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) signal, or other signals, and this application does not limit this.

The first device can transmit sensing signals in multiple time units, for example, it can transmit one of multiple sensing signals in each time unit. The first device can transmit sensing signals using MIMO, that is, it can transmit sensing signals using multiple ports. Correspondingly, the second device can receive sensing signals using multiple ports. Specifically, for different ports of the first device, the first device can use the same or different time-frequency resources to transmit sensing signals to the second device respectively.

For example, the first device can transmit sensing signals through multiple ports in each of multiple time units; in each time unit, the sensing signals transmitted by the first device through different ports can be orthogonal, for example, orthogonal in the code domain or frequency domain. In this application, a sensing signal can refer to a sensing signal transmitted through one port in one time unit.

The first device can also indicate the port number for transmitting each sensing signal. In one implementation, the first device transmits sensing signals using all its ports, and the order in which the sensing signals are transmitted can be a pre-defined specific order. For example, the first device may pre-inform the second device of the port numbers and the row and column numbers of the antenna panel ports, and the first device will transmit sensing signals sequentially using the ports according to the port numbers or the row and column arrangement order of the antenna panel ports.

For example, the first device uses a two-dimensional antenna panel containing N _h horizontal ports and N _v vertical ports to transmit sensing signals. Starting from the first row and the first column, the ports in the m row and the n column are numbered as _mNv + n. Therefore, all ports are numbered in the sequence [1, _{Nv Nh} ]. The first port selects the corresponding row and column ports in the port numbering sequence to transmit sensing signals.

In another implementation, the first device sends sensing signals through some of its ports. In this case, the first device instructs the second device on the port number sequence, or port row and column number sequence for sending sensing signals, and then sends sensing signals sequentially according to the number sequence.

For example, the first device uses a two-dimensional antenna panel containing _Nh horizontal ports and _Nv vertical ports to transmit sensing signals. Starting from the first row and the first column, the ports in the mth row and the nth column are numbered as _mNv +n, so all ports are numbered as the sequence [1, _NvNh ] _. The first device instructs the second device to transmit the second port sequence of sensing signals (e.g., [1, 2, 3, 4]). Then, the first device selects the corresponding row and column ports to transmit sensing signals according to the second port sequence.

Optionally, the first device may indicate to the second device the time range for transmitting the sensing signal, i.e., a time window. This time window includes the time span for the coherent accumulation of the sensing measurement results, i.e., the time range for transmitting the sensing signal. The first device may indicate the time window via RRC signaling or other means, for example, indicating the number of time units (e.g., symbols or time slots) used for sensing, or indicating the number of milliseconds or seconds included in the time window; this application is not limited in this regard.

Optionally, the first device may also indicate the three-dimensional coordinate range of the imaging area to the second device. This three-dimensional coordinate range may have the first or second device as the origin, or it may have another reference point as the origin. The imaging area is located within the coverage area of the sensing signal, and the imaging area may include multiple scattering points, each of which can be represented by a three-dimensional coordinate. The imaging area may also be preset or determined by the second device; this application does not limit this.

Step 603: The second device determines the sensing information based on the port information and multiple sensing signals.

The perceived information is used for perception imaging, and the perceived information includes at least one of the following:

Multiple scattering points correspond to multiple powers, one of the multiple powers corresponds to one of the multiple scattering points, and one scattering point corresponds to one power in the power spectrum information; multiple powers can also be referred to as power spectrum information.

Location information or index of each scattering point among multiple scattering points;

The signal amplitude at each of the multiple scattering points;

The SNR of each scattering point among multiple scattering points can be the ratio of the power of the scattering point to the noise power.

In this application, the compensation phase of the sensing signal can be determined based on port information, thereby determining sensing information based on the compensation phase and multiple sensing signals. In one possible implementation, the position of each of at least one port can be determined based on the port information, and the compensation phase of the sensing signal can be determined based on the position of the at least one port, thereby determining sensing information based on the phase-compensated sensing signal.

If the port information includes the location of each port in at least one port, then the location of each port in at least one port of the first device can be obtained directly from the port information.

If the port information includes parameters for determining the position of at least one port, then the position of each port of the first device can be determined based on at least one of the following: horizontal spacing, vertical spacing, number of horizontal ports, number of vertical ports, number of at least one port, azimuth angle, pitch angle, and panel position.

For example, in implementation method one, if the panel is a two-dimensional panel, the position (x(a), y(a), z(a)) of port a located in the m-th row and n-th column of the panel satisfies the following form:
x(a)＝x ₀ +d _m,n sinθcosφ;
y(a)=y ₀ +d _m,n sinθ sinφ;
z(a) = _z0 + dm _,n cosθ;

Wherein, the panel position is ( _x0 , _y0 , _z0 ); _dh represents the horizontal spacing of at least one port; _dv represents the vertical spacing of at least one port; φ represents the azimuth angle of the panel; θ represents the pitch angle of the panel; m is an integer, and the value of m is 1 ≤ m ≤ _Nh ; n is an integer, and the value of n is 1 ≤ n ≤ _Nv ; _Nh represents the number of horizontal ports included in at least one port; _Nv represents the number of vertical ports included in at least one port. At least one port includes _{Nh Nv} ports.

In this application, unless otherwise specified, when the position is represented in the form of (x, y, z), x, y, and z represent the coordinates in the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis, respectively. For example, x(a), y(a), and z(a) represent the coordinates of port a in the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis, respectively.

For example, in implementation method two, if the panel is a one-dimensional panel, at least one port located at port a in the panel (x(a), y(a), z(a)) satisfies the following form:
x(a) = _x0 + _da sinθcosφ;
y(a) = _y0 + _da sinθsinφ;
z(a) = z_₀ + d_{_a}cosθ;

Wherein, the panel position is ( _x0 , _y0 , _z0 ); _dh represents the horizontal spacing of at least one port; _dv represents the vertical spacing of at least one port; φ represents the azimuth angle of the panel; θ represents the pitch angle of the panel. a is an integer, and the value of a is 1≤a≤N, and at least one port includes N ports.

Based on the preceding description, the coverage area of the sensing signal includes multiple scattering points. For one of the multiple scattering points, p, the compensated phase of the sensing signal transmitted through port a of the first device in time unit t and received by port b of the second device after passing through scattering point p satisfies the following form:

Wherein, port a is one of at least one port of the first device, port a is used to transmit sensing signals, and port b is used to receive sensing signals; t is the index of the time unit; j is the imaginary unit; c represents the electromagnetic wave velocity; _fc represents the carrier frequency of the sensing signal.

In this application, R(a,p,b;t) is determined based on the positions of port a and port b. In one implementation, the position of port a is (x(a), y(a), z(a)), the position of port b is (x(b), y(b), z(b)), and the position of the scattering point p is (x(p), y(p), z(p)); then R(a,p,b;t) can satisfy the following form:

Based on the above description, after determining the compensation phase, phase compensation can be performed on the sensed signal according to the compensation phase.

For example, the sensing signal coverage area includes multiple scattering points. For one of the multiple scattering points, p, the sensing signal after phase compensation of the sensing signal transmitted from port a of the second device to port b of the first device at time unit t at scattering point p can satisfy:

Where 1≤t≤T, T is an integer greater than 0, s(a,p,b；t) represents the sensing signal that is transmitted through port a of the first device in time unit t and received by port b of the second device after passing through the scattering point p. s(a,p,b；t) can be understood as the echo signal of the sensing signal sent by port a of the first device in time unit t, which passes through the scattering point p and is received by port b of the second device. The compensation phase of s(a,p,b;t) is shown above. This compensation phase is determined based on the position of at least one port, for example, based on the position of port a, the position of port b, and the position of the scattering point p.

In one implementation, for one of the multiple scattering points within the coverage area of the sensing signal, the signals of the sensing signals transmitted from different time units, different ports, and different ports received at that scattering point can be coherently superimposed to obtain the power corresponding to that scattering point.

For example, taking the application of back-projection-based communication sensing imaging technology in this application for sensing imaging, for a scattering point p among multiple scattering points, the power ^I2 (p) corresponding to the scattering point p satisfies the following form:

In this process, multiple sensing signals are transmitted through T time units, where T is an integer greater than 0. A represents the number of at least one port of the first device, and B represents the number of ports in the second device used to receive multiple sensing signals. I(p;t) represents the signal amplitude of the sensing signal transmitted in time unit t at the scattering point p. ^I2 (p;t) represents the signal power of the sensing signal transmitted in time unit t at the scattering point p.

Step 604: The second device sends sensing information.

Correspondingly, the first device receives sensing information from the second device.

The first device can perform sensing and imaging based on the sensing information. This application does not limit the specific method of sensing and imaging, and will not elaborate further here.

Using the above method, the port information indicates the port's location, which allows the compensation phase of the sensing signal to be determined based on the port's location. This compensation phase is then used to perform phase compensation on the sensing signal, making the sensing information obtained by coherently superimposing the sensing signals more accurate and improving the sensing imaging precision.

In this application, the phase offset of different port combinations can also be pre-indicated, so that the compensation phase of the sensing signal can be directly determined based on the phase offset, which will be described in detail below. The method described below can be applied to scenarios where the uplink and downlink channels between the first device and the second device are mutually exclusive, and of course it can also be applied to other scenarios, which are not limited by this application.

Figure 7 shows a flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application. The method includes:

Step 701: The first device sends phase information.

Correspondingly, the second device receives phase information from the first device.

The phase information indicates the phase offset of at least one port combination. A port combination includes one port of a first device and one port of a second device. The port combination is used to transmit sensing signals; for example, one port in a port combination is used to transmit sensing signals, and the other port is used to receive sensing signals. The sensing signal may also be described as a communication sensing signal or a reference signal, etc., and this application is not limited to these terms.

In this application, the phase information may be determined based on the sensing signal from the second device, which will be referred to as the second sensing signal below.

Before step 701, the second device may use one or more ports to send the second sensing signal in multiple time units; correspondingly, the first device may use one or more ports to receive the second sensing signal.

Specifically, for different ports of the second device, the second device can use the same or different time-frequency resources to send the second sensing signal to the first device respectively.

If N _{_r} represents the number of ports in the first device and N_{_t} represents the number of ports in the second device, and the second device transmits a second sensing signal through N _{_t} ports in one time unit, then the second sensing signal transmitted by one port in one time unit can be considered as one second sensing signal. The second sensing signal received by the first device through one port from one port of the second device in one time unit can also be called a second sensing received signal. Therefore, for one second sensing signal transmitted by the second device through one port in one time unit, the first device can receive a total of N _{_r} second sensing received signals using N _{_r} ports. For one second sensing signal transmitted by the second device through N _{_t} ports in one time unit, the first device can receive a total of N _{_r}N_{_t} second sensing received signals using N_r ports. Each second sensing received signal corresponds to a port combination, which includes one port of the first device and one port of the second device. For example, a port combination corresponding to a second sensing received signal includes port 1 of the first device and port 2 of the second device, indicating that the second sensing received signal originates from port 2 of the second device and is received by port 1 of the first device.

The ports of the first device and the ports of the second device can be numbered according to the row and column arrangement of the antenna panel. For the specific numbering method, please refer to step 602, which will not be repeated here.

Before transmitting the second sensing signal, the second device instructs the port sequence consisting of N_{_t} ports for transmitting the second sensing signal, as detailed in step 602; the first device selects N _{_r} ports to receive the second sensing signal. In subsequent steps 702 and 703, the first device transmits the sensing signal using the N _{_r} ports used in step 701 to receive the second sensing signal, and the second device receives the sensing signal using the port sequence consisting of the N_{_t} ports from step 701.

The first device can determine the phase of the N _r N _t second sensing received signals based on the N _r N _t second sensing received signals, thereby determining the phase offset between any two of the N _r N _t second sensing received signals. Since the phase offset between two second sensing signals is related to the position of the ports in the port combination corresponding to these two second sensing signals, and the uplink and downlink channels are mutually exclusive, taking the first port combination and the second port combination as an example, the phase offset of the second sensing signal corresponding to the first port combination relative to the second sensing signal corresponding to the second port combination can be understood as the phase offset of the first port combination relative to the second port combination.

In this application, for N _r N _t second sensing received signals, there are N _r N _t port combinations, meaning that the number of at least one port combination is N _r N _t . Phase information can indicate the phase offset of these N _r N _t port combinations in various ways.

In one implementation, one of _{the NrNt} port combinations is used as the reference port combination. The phase information includes the phase offset between each of _{the NrNt} port combinations other than the reference port combination and the reference port combination. The phase offset of the reference port combination can be 0.

For example, the phase information includes _{NrNt phase} offsets, which are respectively in, This indicates the phase offset of the port combination including port 1 of the second device and port 1 of the first device relative to the reference port combination; This indicates the phase offset of the port combination, including port 2 of the second device and port 1 of the first device, relative to the reference port combination; This represents the phase offset of the port combination, including port N_{_t} of the second device and port 1 of the first device, relative to the reference port combination. Other cases follow the same logic and will not be elaborated further. Wherein, if If it is a reference port combination, then The phase shift is 0, and the other cases follow the same logic, which will not be elaborated further.

In this implementation, the phase offset can also be replaced by a compensation phase, and the phase offset and compensation phase are opposites of each other. For example, if the phase information includes N _r N _t compensation phases, then the compensation phases can be respectively

In one implementation, N _r N _t port combinations are divided into multiple groups, and one port combination in each group is used as a reference port combination. For each group of port combinations, the phase information can include the phase offset of each port combination in the group other than the reference port combination with respect to the reference port combination. The phase offset of the reference port combination in the group of port combinations can be determined based on one port combination in another group.

For example, _NrNt port combinations are divided into _Nr groups, _and each port combination in each group includes one port of the first device. The phase information includes _NrNt phase offsets, that is, _it includes Where 1≤b≤N _r .

Specifically, it can be understood to include the following:

in, This can represent the phase shift of a set of port combinations, specifically the phase shift of a set of port combinations including port b of the first device. Taking the reference port combination in the group of port combinations that includes port b of the first device as an example, then The phase shift is 0. This represents the phase offset of port combination p(1,b) including port 1 of the second device and port b of the first device relative to port combination p(1,b-1) including port 1 of the second device and port b-1 of the first device. This represents the phase offset of port combination p(2,b) including port 2 of the second device and port b of the first device relative to port combination p(1,b) including port 1 of the second device and port b of the first device. Let p(c,b) represent the phase offset of the port combination p(c,b) including port c of the second device and port b of the first device relative to the port combination p(1,b) including port 1 of the second device and port b of the first device, where the value of c is in the range of 2≤c≤N _t .

In this implementation, the phase offset can also be replaced by a compensation phase. For example, if the phase information includes N _r N _t compensation phases, then the compensation phases can be respectively Where 1≤b≤N _r .

In another implementation, the phase information includes at least one of the following:

Phase offset between adjacent vertical ports in the first device;

Phase offset between adjacent horizontal ports in the first device;

Phase offset between adjacent vertical ports in the second device;

Phase offset between adjacent horizontal ports in the second device.

In this implementation, the phase offset can also be replaced with a compensated phase. For example, the phase information includes at least one of the following:

Compensation phase of adjacent vertical ports in the first device;

Compensation phase of adjacent horizontal ports in the first device;

Compensation phase of adjacent vertical ports in the second device;

The compensation phase of adjacent horizontal ports in the second device.

In the first device, the phase offset of adjacent vertical ports and the compensation phase of adjacent vertical ports are opposites of each other, and so on for other cases, which will not be elaborated further.

For any of the above information, if the phase information does not include that information, the information can be preset or pre-configured. For example, if the phase information does not include the phase offset of adjacent vertical ports in the first device, then the phase offset of adjacent vertical ports in the first device can be preset or pre-configured.

This implementation reduces reporting overhead by simplifying the parameters included in the reported phase information. It is particularly suitable for scenarios where the first and second devices are far apart. When the first and second devices are far apart, the phase offset between port combinations can be related to the phase offsets of adjacent vertical ports in the first device, adjacent horizontal ports in the first device, adjacent vertical ports in the second device, and adjacent horizontal ports in the second device. Therefore, the phase offset of each port combination can be determined using the aforementioned information.

Step 702: The first device sends multiple sensing signals.

Correspondingly, the second device receives multiple sensing signals from the first device.

In this application, the sensing signal can be used for sensing. The specific implementation of the sensing signal is not limited. For example, the sensing signal can be a CSI-RS signal, a PDSCH signal, or other signals; this application does not limit this.

The first device can transmit sensing signals in multiple time units, for example, it can transmit one of multiple sensing signals in each time unit. The first device can transmit sensing signals using MIMO, that is, it can transmit sensing signals using multiple ports. Correspondingly, the second device can receive sensing signals using multiple ports. Specifically, for different ports of the first device, the first device can use the same or different time-frequency resources to transmit sensing signals to the second device respectively.

For example, the first device can transmit sensing signals through multiple ports in each of multiple time units; in each time unit, the sensing signals transmitted by the first device through different ports can be orthogonal, for example, orthogonal in the code domain or frequency domain. In this application, a sensing signal can refer to a sensing signal transmitted through one port in one time unit.

The first device uses Nr ports in step 701 to send sensing signals, and the port numbers are consistent with those in step 602, and also correspond to the port number order of the phase offset information in step 701.

Optionally, the first device may indicate to the second device the time range for transmitting the sensing signal, i.e., a time window. This time window includes the time span for the coherent accumulation of the sensing measurement results, i.e., the time range for transmitting the sensing signal. The first device may indicate the time window via RRC signaling or other means, for example, indicating the number of time units (symbols or time slots) used for sensing, or indicating the number of milliseconds or seconds included in the time window; this application is not limited in this regard.

Optionally, the first device may also indicate the three-dimensional coordinate range of the imaging area to the second device. This three-dimensional coordinate range may have the first or second device as the origin, or it may have another reference point as the origin. The imaging area is located within the coverage area of the sensing signal, and the imaging area may include multiple scattering points, each of which can be represented by a three-dimensional coordinate. The imaging area may also be preset or determined by the second device; this application does not limit this.

Step 703: The second device determines the sensing information based on the phase information and multiple sensing signals.

The perceived information is used for perceived imaging, and the perceived information includes at least one of the following:

Multiple scattering points correspond to multiple powers, one of the multiple powers corresponds to one of the multiple scattering points, and one scattering point corresponds to one power in the power spectrum information; multiple powers can also be referred to as power spectrum information.

Location information or index of each scattering point among multiple scattering points;

The signal amplitude at each of the multiple scattering points, for example, the signal amplitude at scattering point p is I(p).

The SNR of each scattering point among multiple scattering points can be the ratio of the power of the scattering point to the noise power.

The second device can determine the compensated phase of the sensing signal based on the phase information, and thus determine the sensing information based on the phase-compensated sensing signal.

In one implementation, the phase information includes the phase offset of each port combination in at least one port combination. The compensated phase of the sensing signals from port a to port b among the multiple sensing signals can then be determined based on the phase information. Specifically, the compensated phase of the sensing signals from port a to port b among the multiple sensing signals can be determined based on the phase offset or compensated phase of the port combinations including port a and port b.

For example, the compensated phase of the sensing signal transmitted through port a and received by port b of the second device among multiple sensing signals. It must meet the following form:

In one implementation, the phase information includes at least one of the phase offsets of adjacent vertical ports in the first device, the phase offsets of adjacent horizontal ports in the first device, the phase offsets of adjacent vertical ports in the second device, and the phase offsets of adjacent horizontal ports in the second device, and the compensated phase of the sensing signal transmitted through port a and received by port b of the second device among multiple sensing signals. It must meet the following form:

Wherein, port a is the port in the first device used to transmit sensing signals, and port a is located in row m _a and column n _a ; port b is the port in the second device used to receive sensing signals, and port b is located in row m _b and column n _b . This indicates the phase offset between adjacent vertical ports in the first device; This indicates the phase offset between adjacent horizontal ports in the first device; This indicates the phase offset between adjacent vertical ports in the second device; This indicates the phase offset between adjacent horizontal ports in the second device.

For example, the sensing signal coverage area includes multiple scattering points. For one of the multiple scattering points, p, the sensing signal after phase compensation of the sensing signal transmitted from port a of the second device to port b of the first device at time unit t at scattering point p can satisfy:

Where 1≤t≤T, T is an integer greater than 0, s(a,p,b；t) represents the sensing signal transmitted from port a to port b at scattering point p in time unit t, and s(a,p,b；t) can be understood as the echo signal received by port b of the second device after the sensing signal sent by port a of the first device passes through scattering point p in time unit t. This represents the compensated phase of s(a,p,b;t).

In one implementation, for one of the multiple scattering points within the coverage area of the sensing signal, the signals of the sensing signals transmitted from different time units, different ports, and different ports received at that scattering point can be coherently superimposed to obtain the power corresponding to that scattering point.

For example, taking the application of back-projection-based communication sensing imaging technology in this application for sensing imaging, for a scattering point p among multiple scattering points, the power ^I2 (p) corresponding to the scattering point p satisfies the following form:

The plurality of sensing signals are transmitted through T time units, where A represents the number of the at least one port, B represents the number of ports used to receive the plurality of sensing signals, and s(a,p,b;t) represents the sensing signal transmitted from port a to port b at the scattering point p at time unit t, where 1≤t≤T. This represents the compensated phase of s(a,p,b;t).

Step 704: The second device sends sensing information.

Correspondingly, the first device receives sensing information from the second device.

The first device can perform sensing and imaging based on the sensing information. This application does not limit the specific method of sensing and imaging, and will not elaborate further here.

By using the above method, the phase offset or compensation phase corresponding to the port combination is indicated by the phase information. Thus, the compensation phase of the sensing signal transmitted through different port combinations can be determined based on the phase information. The sensing signal is then phase-compensated using this compensation phase, making the sensing information obtained by coherently superimposing the sensing signals more accurate and improving the sensing imaging accuracy.

It is understood that, in order to achieve the functions in the above embodiments, the first or second device includes hardware structures and/or software modules corresponding to the execution of each function. Those skilled in the art should readily recognize that, based on the units and method steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed in this application, this application can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed by hardware or by computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application scenario and design constraints of the technical solution.

The following are schematic diagrams of possible communication devices provided in the embodiments of this application. These communication devices can be used to implement the functions of the first or second device in the above method embodiments, and thus can also achieve the beneficial effects of the above method embodiments.

As shown in Figure 8, the communication device 800 includes a processing unit 810 and a communication unit 820. The communication device 800 is used to implement the functions of the terminal device or network device in the various method embodiments shown above.

When the communication device 800 is used to implement the function of the second device:

A communication unit is configured to receive port information from a first device, the port information indicating the location of at least one port of the first device, the at least one port being used to transmit sensing signals; and to receive a plurality of the sensing signals from the first device.

The processing unit is configured to determine sensing information based on the port information of the first device and the plurality of sensing signals; the sensing information is used for sensing imaging.

When the communication device 800 is used to implement the function of the first device:

A processing unit is configured to send port information via a communication unit, the port information indicating the location of at least one port of the first device, the at least one port being used to send sensing signals; and to send a plurality of the sensing signals.

The processing unit is configured to receive sensing information from the second device via the communication unit, the sensing information being determined based on the port information and multiple sensing signals; the sensing information is used for sensing imaging.

When the communication device 800 is used to implement the function of the second device:

A communication unit is configured to receive phase information from a first device, the phase information indicating a phase offset of at least one port combination, the port combination including a port of the first device and a port of a second device; the port combination is configured to transmit sensing signals; and to receive a plurality of the sensing signals from the first device.

The processing unit is used to determine sensing information based on the phase information and multiple sensing signals; the sensing information includes power spectrum information.

When the communication device 800 is used to implement the function of the first device:

A processing unit is configured to transmit phase information via a communication unit, the phase information indicating a phase offset of at least one port combination, the port combination including a port of a first device and a port of a second device; the port combination is used to transmit sensing signals; and to transmit multiple sensing signals.

The processing unit is configured to receive sensing information from the second device via the communication unit, the sensing information being determined based on the phase information and a plurality of sensing signals; the sensing information is used for sensing imaging.

More detailed descriptions of the processing unit 810 and the communication unit 820 can be obtained directly from the relevant descriptions in the above method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

It should be understood that the division of units in the above device is merely a logical functional division. In actual implementation, they can be fully or partially integrated into a single physical entity, or they can be physically separated. Furthermore, all units in the device can be implemented entirely through software calls from processing elements; all units can be implemented entirely in hardware; or some units can be implemented through software calls from processing elements, while others are implemented in hardware. For example, each unit can be a separate processing element, or it can be integrated into a chip within the device. Alternatively, it can be stored as a program in memory, called and executed by a processing element of the device. Moreover, these units can be fully or partially integrated together, or implemented independently. The processing element here can also be called a processor, which can be an integrated circuit with signal processing capabilities. In the implementation process, the operations or units described above can be implemented through integrated logic circuits in the processor element or through software calls from processing elements.

In one example, a unit in any of the above devices can be one or more integrated circuits configured to implement the methods described above, such as: one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or one or more digital single-processors (DSPs), or one or more field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or a combination of at least two of these forms of integrated circuits. As another example, when a unit in the device can be implemented in the form of a processing element scheduler, the processing element can be a processor, such as a general-purpose central processing unit (CPU), or other processor capable of calling programs. Furthermore, these units can be integrated together to implement a system-on-a-chip (SOC).

The receiving unit described above is an interface circuit of the device, used to receive signals from other devices. For example, when the device is implemented as a chip, the receiving unit is an interface circuit for the chip to receive signals from other chips or devices. The transmitting unit described above is an interface circuit of the device, used to transmit signals to other devices. For example, when the device is implemented as a chip, the transmitting unit is an interface circuit for the chip to transmit signals to other chips or devices.

As another possible product form, the first or second device in this application embodiment can be implemented using a general bus architecture. For ease of explanation, refer to FIG9, which is a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device 900 provided in an embodiment of this application. The communication device 900 includes a processor 901 and a transceiver 902. The communication device 900 can be a terminal device, or a chip or chip system therein; or, the communication device 900 can be a network device, or a chip or module therein. FIG9 only shows the main components of the communication device 900. In addition to the processor 901 and transceiver 902, the communication device 900 may further include a memory 903 and input/output devices (not shown in the figure).

Optionally, the processor 901 is mainly used to process communication protocols and communication data, control the entire communication device, execute software programs, and process the data of the software programs. The memory 903 is mainly used to store software programs and data. The transceiver 902 may include radio frequency (RF) circuitry and an antenna. The RF circuitry is mainly used for converting baseband signals to RF signals and processing RF signals. The antenna is mainly used for transmitting and receiving RF signals in the form of electromagnetic waves. Input/output devices, such as touchscreens, displays, and keyboards, are mainly used to receive user input data and output data to the user.

Optionally, the processor 901, transceiver 902, and memory 903 can be connected via a communication bus.

When the communication device is powered on, the processor 901 can read the software program in the memory 903, interpret and execute the instructions of the software program, and process the data of the software program. When data needs to be transmitted wirelessly, the processor 901 performs baseband processing on the data to be transmitted and outputs the baseband signal to the radio frequency (RF) circuit. The RF circuit processes the baseband signal and transmits the RF signal outward in the form of electromagnetic waves through the antenna. When data is sent to the communication device, the RF circuit receives the RF signal through the antenna, converts the RF signal into a baseband signal, and outputs the baseband signal to the processor 901. The processor 901 converts the baseband signal into data and processes the data.

In another implementation, the radio frequency circuitry and antenna can be set up independently of the processor that performs baseband processing. For example, in a distributed scenario, the radio frequency circuitry and antenna can be arranged remotely, independent of the communication device.

In some embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the above-described communication device 800 can be implemented in the form of the communication device 900 shown in FIG9.

As an example, the function/implementation process of the processing unit 810 in FIG8 can be implemented by the processor 901 in the communication device 900 shown in FIG9 calling the computer execution instructions stored in the memory 903. The function/implementation process of the communication unit 820 in FIG8 can be implemented by the transceiver 902 in the communication device 900 shown in FIG9.

As another possible product form, the first or second device in this application may adopt the composition structure shown in FIG10, or include the components shown in FIG10. FIG10 is a schematic diagram of the composition of a communication device 1000 provided in this application.

As shown in Figure 10, the communication device 1000 includes at least one processor 1001. Optionally, the communication device also includes a communication interface 1002.

When the relevant program instructions are executed in the at least one processor 1001, the communication device 1000 can implement the methods and any possible designs provided in any of the foregoing embodiments. Alternatively, the processor 1001 can implement the methods and any possible designs provided in any of the foregoing embodiments through logic circuits or executable code instructions.

The communication interface 1002 can be used to receive program instructions and transmit them to the processor, or it can be used for communication interaction between the communication device 1000 and other communication devices, such as exchanging control signaling and/or service data. For example, the communication interface 1002 can be used to receive signals from other devices besides the communication device 1000 and transmit them to the processor 1001, or to send signals from the processor 1001 to other communication devices besides the communication device 1000.

Optionally, the communication interface 1002 can be a code and/or data read/write interface circuit, or the communication interface 1002 can be a signal transmission interface circuit between a communication processor and a transceiver, or a chip pin.

Optionally, the communication device 1000 may further include at least one memory 1003, which can be used to store the required program instructions and/or data. It should be noted that the memory 1003 may exist independently of the processor 1001 or may be integrated with the processor 1001. The memory 1003 may be located within or outside the communication device 1000, without limitation.

Optionally, the communication device 1000 may further include a power supply circuit 1004, which can be used to power the processor 1001. The power supply circuit 1004 may be located in the same chip as the processor 1001, or in a separate chip outside the chip containing the processor 1001.

Optionally, the communication device 1000 may also include a bus, through which the various parts of the communication device 1000 can be interconnected.

In some embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the communication device 800 shown in FIG8 can take the form of the communication device 1000 shown in FIG10 in terms of hardware implementation.

As an example, the function/implementation process of the processing unit 810 in FIG8 can be implemented by the processor 1001 in the communication device 1000 shown in FIG10 calling the computer execution instructions stored in the memory 1003. The function/implementation process of the communication unit 820 in FIG8 can be implemented by the communication interface 1002 in the communication device 1000 shown in FIG10.

It should be noted that the structure shown in Figure 10 does not constitute a specific limitation on the terminal device or network device. For example, in other embodiments of this application, the terminal device or network device may include more or fewer components than shown in the figure, or combine some components, or split some components, or have different component arrangements. The components shown in the figure may be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of software and hardware.

When the aforementioned communication device is a chip applied to a terminal, the terminal chip implements the functions of the terminal in the above method embodiments. The terminal chip receives information from other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) in the terminal, which is information sent to the terminal by the base station; or, the terminal chip sends information to other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) in the terminal, which is information sent to the base station by the terminal.

When the aforementioned communication device is a module applied to a base station, the base station module implements the functions of the base station in the above method embodiments. The base station module receives information from other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) in the base station, information sent by the terminal to the base station; or, the base station module sends information to other modules (such as radio frequency modules or antennas) in the base station, information sent by the base station to the terminal. Here, the base station module can be the baseband chip of the base station, or a DU (Digital Unit) or other modules. The DU can be a DU under an Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) architecture.

It is understood that the processor in the embodiments of this application may be a Central Processing Unit (CPU), or other general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, hardware components, or any combination thereof. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

The method steps in the embodiments of this application can be implemented in hardware or by a processor executing software instructions. The software instructions can consist of corresponding software modules, which can be stored in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, erasable programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable read-only memory, registers, hard disks, portable hard disks, CD-ROMs, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to a processor, enabling the processor to read information from and write information to the storage medium. Of course, the storage medium can also be a component of the processor. The processor and storage medium can reside in an ASIC. Alternatively, the ASIC can reside in a base station or terminal. Of course, the processor and storage medium can also exist as discrete components in the base station or terminal.

In the above embodiments, implementation can be achieved entirely or partially through software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented using software, it can be implemented entirely or partially in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer programs or instructions. When the computer program or instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are performed entirely or partially. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, a network device, a user equipment, or other programmable device. The computer program or instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer program or instructions can be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired or wireless means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium, such as a floppy disk, hard disk, or magnetic tape; it can also be an optical medium, such as a digital video optical disc; or it can be a semiconductor medium, such as a solid-state drive. The computer-readable storage medium may be a volatile or non-volatile storage medium, or may include both types of storage media.

In the various embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified or in case of logical conflict, the terminology and/or descriptions of different embodiments are consistent and can be referenced by each other. The technical features of different embodiments can be combined to form new embodiments according to their inherent logical relationship.

Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of this application can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, this application can take the form of a completely hardware embodiment, a completely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, this application can take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

This application is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to this application. It should be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in one or more blocks of the flowchart illustrations and/or one or more blocks of the block diagrams.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium produce an article of manufacture including instruction means that implement the functions specified in one or more flowcharts and/or one or more block diagrams.

Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to this application without departing from the scope of this application. Therefore, if such modifications and variations fall within the scope of the claims of this application and their equivalents, this application also intends to include such modifications and variations.

Claims (32)

A communication method, characterized in that it includes: Receive port information from a first device, the port information indicating the location of at least one port of the first device, the at least one port being used to transmit sensing signals; Receive multiple sensing signals from the first device; Based on the port information of the first device and the multiple sensing signals, sensing information is determined; the sensing information is used for sensing imaging. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The location of the at least one port indicated by the port information is used to determine the compensation phase of the sensing signal. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, determining the sensing information based on the port information and the plurality of sensing signals includes: The compensation phase of the sensing signal is determined based on the port information, and the sensing information is determined based on the compensation phase and the plurality of sensing signals. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the port information includes at least one of the following: The horizontal spacing of at least one port; The vertical spacing of the at least one port; The number of horizontal ports included in the at least one port; The number of vertical ports included in the at least one port; The number of the at least one port; The azimuth angle of the panel where the at least one port is located; The pitch angle of the panel where the at least one port is located; The panel location of the panel containing at least one port. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that the method further comprises: The position of each of the at least one ports is determined based on at least one of the following: the horizontal spacing, the vertical spacing, the number of horizontal ports, the number of vertical ports, the number of at least one port, the azimuth angle, the pitch angle, and the panel position. According to the method of claim 5, the panel is a two-dimensional panel, the at least one port includes N _h N _v ports, and the position (x(a), y(a), z(a)) of port a located in the m-th row and n-th column of the panel among the at least one ports satisfies the following form:
x(a)＝x ₀ +d _m,n sinθcosφ;
y(a)=y ₀ +d _m,n sinθ sinφ;
z(a) = _z0 + dm _,n cosθ;
Wherein, the panel position is (x ₀ , y ₀ , z ₀ ); d _h represents the horizontal spacing; d _v represents the vertical spacing; φ represents the azimuth angle; θ represents the pitch angle; m ranges from 1 to N _h ; n ranges from 1 to N _v ; N _h represents the number of horizontal ports; N _v represents the number of vertical ports. According to the method of claim 5, the panel is a one-dimensional panel, and the positions (x(a), y(a), z(a)) of the at least one port located at port a in the panel satisfy the following form:
x(a) = _x0 + _da sinθcosφ;
y(a) = _y0 + _da sinθsinφ;
z(a) = z_₀ + d_{_a}cosθ;
Wherein, the panel position is (x ₀ , y ₀ , z ₀ ); d _h represents the horizontal spacing; d _v represents the vertical spacing; φ represents the azimuth angle; θ represents the pitch angle; the value of a ranges from 1 to A, where A represents the number of at least one port. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the port information includes: The position of each of the at least one ports. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8 is characterized in that the coverage area of the sensing signal includes multiple scattering points; The perceived information includes at least one of the following: The plurality of scattering points correspond to the plurality of powers and the index of the plurality of scattering points; one of the powers is determined according to the plurality of sensing signals, and one of the plurality of powers corresponds to one of the plurality of scattering points; The location information or index of each of the plurality of scattering points; The signal amplitude of each of the plurality of scattering points. According to the method of claim 9, the power corresponding to one of the plurality of scattering points satisfies the following form:
Wherein, the plurality of sensing signals are transmitted through T time units, A represents the number of the at least one port, B represents the number of ports used to receive the plurality of sensing signals; s(a,p,b;t) represents the sensing signal among the plurality of sensing signals that is transmitted through port a of the first device in time unit t and received by port b of the second device after passing through the scattering point p, 1≤t≤T. The compensation phase of s(a,p,b;t) is defined based on the position of the at least one port. A communication method, characterized in that it includes: Sending port information, the port information indicating the location of at least one port of the first device, the at least one port being used to send sensing signals; Send multiple of the sensing signals; The system receives sensing information from a second device, the sensing information being determined based on the port information and a plurality of sensing signals; the sensing information is used for sensing imaging. The method according to claim 11, wherein the position of the at least one port indicated by the port information is used to determine the compensation phase of the sensing signal. The method according to claim 12, wherein the sensing information is determined based on the port information and a plurality of sensing signals, including: The compensation phase of the sensing signal is determined based on the port information, and the sensing information is determined based on the compensation phase and the plurality of sensing signals. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the port information includes at least one of the following: The horizontal spacing of at least one port; The vertical spacing of the at least one port; The number of horizontal ports included in the at least one port; The number of vertical ports included in the at least one port; The number of the at least one port; The azimuth angle of the panel where the at least one port is located; The pitch angle of the panel where the at least one port is located; The panel location of the panel containing at least one port. The method according to claim 14, wherein at least one of the horizontal spacing, the vertical spacing, the number of horizontal ports, the number of vertical ports, the number of at least one port, the azimuth angle, the pitch angle, and the panel position is used to determine the position of each of the at least one ports. According to the method of claim 15, the panel is a two-dimensional panel, the at least one port includes N _h N _v ports, and the position (x(a), y(a), z(a)) of port a located in the m-th row and n-th column of the panel among the at least one ports satisfies the following form:
x(a)＝x ₀ +d _m,n sinθcosφ;
y(a)=y ₀ +d _m,n sinθ sinφ;
z(a) = _z0 + dm _,n cosθ;
Wherein, the panel position is (x ₀ , y ₀ , z ₀ ); d _h represents the horizontal spacing; d _v represents the vertical spacing; φ represents the azimuth angle; θ represents the pitch angle; m ranges from 1 to N _h ; n ranges from 1 to N _v ; N _h represents the number of horizontal ports; N _v represents the number of vertical ports. According to the method of claim 15, the panel is a one-dimensional panel, and the positions (x(a), y(a), z(a)) of the at least one port located at port a in the panel satisfy the following form:
x(a) = _x0 + _da sinθcosφ;
y(a) = _y0 + _da sinθsinφ;
z(a) = z_₀ + d_{_a}cosθ;
Wherein, the panel position is (x ₀ , y ₀ , z ₀ ); d _h represents the horizontal spacing; d _v represents the vertical spacing; φ represents the azimuth angle; θ represents the pitch angle; the value of a ranges from 1 to A, where A represents the number of at least one port. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein the port information includes: The position of each of the at least one ports. The method according to any one of claims 11 to 18 is characterized in that the coverage area of the sensing signal includes multiple scattering points; The perceived information includes at least one of the following: The plurality of scattering points correspond to the plurality of powers and the index of the plurality of scattering points; one of the powers is determined according to the plurality of sensing signals, and one of the plurality of powers corresponds to one of the plurality of scattering points; The location information or index of each of the plurality of scattering points; The signal amplitude of each of the plurality of scattering points. A communication method, characterized in that the method is applied to a second device, comprising: Receive phase information from a first device, the phase information indicating a phase offset of at least one port combination, the port combination including a port of the first device and a port of the second device; the port combination is used to transmit a sensing signal; Receive multiple sensing signals from the first device; Based on the phase information and multiple sensing signals, sensing information is determined; the sensing information is used for sensing imaging. The method according to claim 20, wherein the phase information is used to determine the compensation phase of the sensing signal. The method according to claim 20 or 21, wherein the phase information comprises at least one of the following: Phase offset between adjacent vertical ports in the first device; Phase offset between adjacent horizontal ports in the first device; Phase offset between adjacent vertical ports in the second device; Phase offset between adjacent horizontal ports in the second device. The method according to claim 22, characterized in that the compensation phase of the sensing signal transmitted through port a and received by port b of the second device among the plurality of sensing signals. It must meet the following form:
Wherein, port a is the port in the first device used to send the sensing signal, and port a is located in row m _a and column n _a ; port b is the port in the second device used to receive the sensing signal, and port b is located in row m _b and column n _b . This indicates the phase offset between adjacent vertical ports in the first device; This indicates the phase offset between adjacent horizontal ports in the first device; This indicates the phase offset between adjacent vertical ports in the second device; This indicates the phase offset between adjacent horizontal ports in the second device. The method according to claim 20 or 21, wherein the phase information includes the phase offset of each port combination in the at least one port combination; Wherein, for port b included in the first device, the phase offset corresponding to each port combination including port b satisfies:
Where the value of b is in the range of _1≤b≤Nr , _Nr represents the number of ports included in the first device; _Nt represents the number of ports included in the second device; This indicates the phase offset of the port combination including port 1 of the second device and port b of the first device relative to the port combination including port 1 of the second device and port b-1 of the first device; The value of c represents the phase offset of the port combination of port c of the second device and port b of the first device relative to the port combination including port 1 of the second device and port b of the first device, where the value of c is in the range of 2≤c≤N _t . The method according to claim 24, characterized in that the compensation phase of the sensing signal transmitted through port a and received by port b of the second device among the plurality of sensing signals. It must meet the following form:
A communication method, characterized in that the method is applied to a first device, comprising: Transmit phase information indicating a phase offset of at least one port combination, the port combination including a port of a first device and a port of a second device; the port combination is used to transmit sensing signals. Send multiple of the sensing signals; The device receives sensing information from the second device, the sensing information being determined based on the phase information and a plurality of the sensing signals; the sensing information is used for sensing imaging. A communication device, characterized in that it comprises: A communication unit is configured to receive port information from a first device, the port information indicating the location of at least one port of the first device, the at least one port being used to transmit sensing signals; and to receive a plurality of the sensing signals from the first device. The processing unit is used to determine sensing information based on the port information and multiple sensing signals; the sensing information is used for sensing imaging. A communication device, characterized in that it comprises: A processing unit is configured to send port information via a communication unit, the port information indicating the location of at least one port of the first device, the at least one port being used to send sensing signals; and to send a plurality of the sensing signals. The processing unit is configured to receive sensing information from the second device via the communication unit, the sensing information being determined based on the port information and multiple sensing signals; the sensing information is used for sensing imaging. A communication device, characterized in that it comprises: A communication unit is configured to receive phase information from a first device, the phase information indicating a phase offset of at least one port combination, the port combination including a port of the first device and a port of a second device; the port combination is configured to transmit sensing signals; and to receive a plurality of the sensing signals from the first device. The processing unit is configured to determine sensing information based on the phase information and multiple sensing signals; the sensing information is used for sensing imaging. A communication device, characterized in that it comprises: A processing unit is configured to transmit phase information via a communication unit, the phase information indicating a phase offset of at least one port combination, the port combination including a port of a first device and a port of a second device; the port combination is used to transmit sensing signals; and to transmit multiple sensing signals. The processing unit is configured to receive sensing information from the second device via the communication unit, the sensing information being determined based on the phase information and a plurality of sensing signals; the sensing information is used for sensing imaging. A communication device, characterized in that it includes a processor and a memory; The processor is configured to execute a computer program or instructions stored in the memory, causing the communication device to implement the method described in any one of claims 1 to 25. A computer program product, characterized in that when a computer reads and executes the computer program product, the method described in any one of claims 1 to 25 is performed.