WO2025225019A1 - Wireless communication system, intent extraction device, wireless communication method, and intent extraction program - Google Patents

Abstract

A wireless communication system according to one embodiment includes a plurality of base stations and comprises: an acquisition unit that acquires information indicating an intent for wireless communication of each of a plurality of users each using a wireless terminal that connects to at least one of the base stations; an extraction unit that extracts each of the intents of the plurality of users acquired by the acquisition unit as an intent value obtained by quantifying the intent according to each predetermined index; a map generation unit that generates a map in which each data item based on the intent value extracted by the extraction unit is associated with the position of at least one of the base stations and the wireless terminals; an area division unit that divides an area on the map into a plurality of areas through classification based on the value of each data item; and a control unit that performs control so that the base stations and the wireless terminals perform wireless communication under different conditions for each area obtained through the division by the area division unit.

Description

Wireless communication system, requirement extraction device, wireless communication method, and requirement extraction program

The present invention relates to a wireless communication system, a requirement extraction device, a wireless communication method, and a requirement extraction program.

Users of communication services have the desire (intent) to provide highly reliable and low-latency communications. Meanwhile, service providers have the desire to provide services at low cost and to increase user satisfaction.

However, user requirements for communications (including the services used, the usage environment and circumstances, etc.) are not always expressed quantitatively, and may be expressed in vague terms that do not represent specific indicators or values. For example, there is known technology that collects information related to the requirements (intents) of users and service providers and converts this information into quantitative requirements (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1).

"Technology for extracting and converting diverse and ambiguous intents toward realizing Mintent," [online], NTT Research and Development Website, [searched April 23, 2024], Internet <URL: https://www.rd.ntt/research/JN202207_18762.html>

However, in the past, even when users requested an increase in communication resources for wireless communication, their requests were often expressed vaguely, making it impossible to distinguish between areas (regions) where an increase in communication resources was required and areas where an increase in communication resources was not required.

For example, even if the requirements extracted from multiple adjacent areas show the same trend, if the user inputs vague requirements (request notifications/inquiries), the results may differ when quantified, or may not fully meet the requirements.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a wireless communication system, a requirements extraction device, a wireless communication method, and a requirements extraction program that enable efficient control to satisfy the requirements of multiple users for wireless communication.

A wireless communication system according to one embodiment of the present invention is a wireless communication system equipped with multiple base stations, characterized by comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires information indicating the wireless communication requirements of each of multiple users using wireless terminals connected to at least one of the base stations; an extraction unit that extracts the requirements of the multiple users acquired by the acquisition unit as requirement values quantified for each predetermined index; a map generation unit that generates a map in which each piece of data based on the requirement values extracted by the extraction unit is associated with the positions of at least one of the base stations and the wireless terminals; an area division unit that divides an area on the map into multiple areas by classification based on the values of each piece of data; and a control unit that controls the base station and the wireless terminal to perform wireless communication under different conditions for each area divided by the area division unit.

Furthermore, a requirement extraction device according to one embodiment of the present invention is characterized by comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires information indicating the requirements for wireless communication of each of a plurality of users who use wireless terminals connected to at least one of a plurality of base stations; an extraction unit that extracts the requirements of the plurality of users acquired by the acquisition unit as requirement values quantified for each predetermined index; a map generation unit that generates a map in which each piece of data based on the requirement values extracted by the extraction unit is associated with the positions of at least one of the base stations and the wireless terminals; an area division unit that divides an area on the map into a plurality of areas by classification based on the values of each piece of data; and an output unit that outputs, for each area divided by the area division unit, conditions for setting the base station and the wireless terminal to perform different wireless communication.

Furthermore, a wireless communication method according to one embodiment of the present invention is a wireless communication method in which multiple base stations accommodate multiple wireless terminals, and includes the following features: an acquisition step of acquiring information indicating the wireless communication requirements of each of multiple users using wireless terminals connected to at least one of the base stations; an extraction step of extracting the requirements of the multiple users acquired in the acquisition step as requirement values quantified for each predetermined index; a map generation step of generating a map in which data based on the requirement values extracted in the extraction step is associated with the positions of at least one of the base stations and the wireless terminals; an area division step of dividing an area on the map into multiple areas by classification based on the values of each of the data; and a control step of controlling the base station and the wireless terminal to perform wireless communication under different conditions for each of the areas divided in the area division step.

Furthermore, a requirement extraction program according to one embodiment of the present invention is a requirement extraction program for causing a computer to function as each part of a requirement extraction device having: an acquisition unit that acquires information indicating the wireless communication requirements of each of multiple users using wireless terminals connected to at least one of multiple base stations; an extraction unit that extracts the requirements of the multiple users acquired by the acquisition unit as requirement values quantified for each predetermined index; a map generation unit that generates a map in which each piece of data based on the requirement values extracted by the extraction unit is associated with the positions of at least one of the base stations and the wireless terminals; an area division unit that divides an area on the map into multiple areas by classification based on the values of each piece of data; and an output unit that outputs, for each area divided by the area division unit, conditions for setting the base station and the wireless terminal to perform different wireless communication.

The present invention makes it possible to efficiently perform control that satisfies the wireless communication needs of multiple users.

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a wireless communication system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating functions of a base station and a request extraction device. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of the operation of a wireless communication system. FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically illustrating another example of operation of the wireless communication system. FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically illustrating another configuration example of a wireless communication system. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a request extraction device according to an embodiment.

The following describes a wireless communication system according to one embodiment, using the drawings. Figure 1 is a diagram showing an example configuration of a wireless communication system 1 according to one embodiment. As shown in Figure 1, the wireless communication system 1 includes, for example, multiple base stations 2 and a request extraction device 3 connected via a wired or wireless network, and accommodates multiple wireless terminals 10.

The base station 2 functions as a transmitting station that transmits data to the wireless terminal 10. The base station 2 may be a wireless LAN base station or a Shared AP defined in IEEE 802.11bn. The base station 2 may also be a base station (cellular base station) in a mobile phone network.

The wireless terminals 10 are, for example, terminals carried by individual users. The request extraction device 3 extracts, via multiple base stations 2, requests (intents) for wireless communication from users of each of the wireless terminals 10.

Then, the request extraction device 3 controls communications between the base station 2 and each of the wireless terminals 10 so as to satisfy the wireless communication requests of multiple users based on the wireless communication requests of the users who use each of the wireless terminals 10.

The request extraction device 3 may exist independently, within a server not shown, or on the cloud. The request extraction device 3 may also be a sharing AP.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating the functions of the base station 2 and the request extraction device 3. As shown in FIG. 2, the base station 2 includes, for example, a sensor 20, a memory unit 22, a communication unit 24, and a CPU 26.

Sensor 20 is, for example, a camera, and detects the environment around base station 2 (such as the presence or absence of obstacles). For example, sensor 20 may acquire human movement through images. Note that sensor 20 may be an infrared sensor, ultraviolet sensor, sound sensor, temperature sensor, or other sensor that detects environmental information around base station 2, and may have multiple detection functions.

The storage unit 22 stores the position (coordinate) data of the base station 2 itself, the coordinate data of the wireless terminals 10 (corresponding to users) accommodated therein, and communication quality information such as throughput, delay, and PER in wireless communication. In other words, the storage unit 22 functions as a terminal information storage unit that stores information related to the wireless terminals 10.

The positions of the base station 2 and wireless terminal 10 may be detected using a GPS function or may be determined by wireless communication. The positions of the base station 2 and wireless terminal 10 may also be notified in advance as being fixed.

The communication unit 24 communicates with the request extraction device 3 via wired or wireless communication. The CPU 26 controls each component of the base station 2.

The requirement extraction device 3 has a communication unit 30, an acquisition unit 31, an extraction unit 32, an aggregation unit 33, a map generation unit 34, an area division unit 35, an evaluation unit 36, an output unit 37, and a control unit 38.

The communication unit 30 communicates with the base stations 2 via wired or wireless communication, and outputs various data received from each base station 2 to the acquisition unit 31 and control unit 38.

The acquisition unit 31 acquires information indicating the wireless communication requests of each of multiple users using wireless terminals 10 connected to at least one of multiple base stations 2, and outputs this information to the extraction unit 32 and the control unit 38. For example, the acquisition unit 31 can acquire the user's wireless communication requests by having the user answer questions displayed on the wireless terminal 10.

The extraction unit 32 extracts the requests of multiple users acquired by the acquisition unit 31 as request values quantified for each predetermined index, and outputs them to the aggregation unit 33 and control unit 38.

The aggregation unit 33 aggregates the coordinate data of the base station 2 itself and the user held by each base station 2, as well as the data detected by the sensor 20, associates it with each user's request, and outputs the results to the map generation unit 34 and the control unit 38.

The map generation unit 34 generates a map that associates each piece of data based on the required values extracted by the extraction unit 32 with the positions of at least one of the base station 2 and the wireless terminal 10, and outputs the map to the area division unit 35 and the control unit 38.

The area division unit 35 divides the area on the map generated by the map generation unit 34 into multiple areas by classifying the data (including processed data such as average values and deviations) based on the required values extracted by the extraction unit 32, for example, and outputs the results to the evaluation unit 36 and control unit 38.

The evaluation unit 36 evaluates, for example, whether or not communication resources need to be expanded for each of the multiple regions divided by the region division unit 35, based on the map generated by the map generation unit 34 and the data based on the required values extracted by the extraction unit 32, and outputs the results to the control unit 38.

The output unit 37 outputs, for example, to another device, the conditions under which the base station 2 and the wireless terminal 10 perform different wireless communications for each region divided by the region dividing unit 35. The communication unit 30 described above may also have the functionality of the output unit 37.

The control unit 38 controls each unit that constitutes the request extraction device 3. For example, the control unit 38 controls the base station 2 and the wireless terminal 10 to perform wireless communication under different conditions for each area divided by the area division unit 35.

The functions of the request extraction device 3 may also be provided by other devices constituting the wireless communication system 1, such as the base station 2, or by other devices (not shown) connected via the network.

Next, an example of the operation of the wireless communication system 1 will be described. Figure 3 is a diagram that schematically illustrates an example of the operation of the wireless communication system 1. The requirement extraction device 3 generates a map that associates each piece of data based on the requirement values extracted by the extraction unit 32 with the positions of at least one of the base station 2 and the wireless terminal 10.

For example, the request extraction device 3 divides an area where wireless terminals 10 whose request values indicating the user's specified request are equal to or greater than a first threshold into "area A." The request extraction device 3 also divides an area where wireless terminals 10 whose request values indicating the user's specified request are less than the first threshold and equal to or greater than a second threshold into "area B." The request extraction device 3 also divides an area where wireless terminals 10 whose request values indicating the user's specified request are less than the second threshold into "area C."

At this time, the requirement extraction device 3 may visualize the wireless terminals 10 in the divided areas by different colors. The requirement extraction device 3 may also visualize each area using numbers, figures, graphs, etc.

Furthermore, if there is a wireless terminal 10 in the same area where the quality of wireless communication (e.g., throughput, delay, PER, RSSI, etc.) fluctuates greatly, the request extraction device 3 may visualize this as a user with large quality fluctuations.

Furthermore, the request extraction device 3 may generate a map in the map generation unit 34 by associating the deviation between the request extracted by the extraction unit 32 and the communication quality of the wireless terminal 10 with the location of the wireless terminal 10 or the base station 2. In this case, the map generation unit 34 may divide the deviation value into several stages and associate a color or the like with each stage. Furthermore, the map generation unit 34 may generate a map by calculating, for example, the number of people, the congestion rate, or the average movement speed.

Then, if, for example, the requests in area A contain many requests related to large capacity, and the requests in area C contain few requests related to large capacity, the request extraction device 3 controls the allocation of some of the communication resources allocated to area A to area C.

In this way, wireless communication system 1 can control the increase or decrease of limited communication resources for each divided area by checking the trend in requests for each divided area and the difference with the actual communication quality. Furthermore, even if wireless communication system 1 is unable to extract user requests completely, it can perform efficient control by complementing requests that have already been extracted.

The requirements extraction device 3 may also perform user clustering and area division based on the map generated by the map generation unit 34. In this case, the requirements extraction device 3 may use a hierarchical method such as the shortest distance method, or a non-hierarchical method such as the k-means method.

The wireless communication system 1 may also be configured to present answer candidates to questions for the user displayed on the wireless terminal 10 based on the map generated by the map generation unit 34. For example, the wireless terminal 10 may present names of places or buildings, names of applications used, methods of use, means, required quality, etc. as answer candidates.

Furthermore, when receiving requests from users in the same area, the wireless communication system 1 may reduce the number of questions to the users. For example, in an area where there are many users requesting high throughput, it may be assumed that other users also require high throughput, and the number of questions regarding throughput may be reduced.

Next, another example of the operation of the wireless communication system 1 will be described. Figure 4 is a diagram schematically showing another example of the operation of the wireless communication system 1. Here, it is assumed that a shielding object (obstacle) 4 is present within area A.

When representing the coordinates of the user (wireless terminal 10) or base station 2, or when performing clustering, the wireless communication system 1 may take into account obstructions based on terrain information that utilizes a 3D model of the terrain including obstructions 4. For example, when a obstruction 4 is present, the wireless communication system 1 may replace the actual distance to the user (a [m]) with the converted distance in the absence of obstruction (e.g., a' > a [m]) based on the value of radio wave attenuation due to the obstruction 4.

Furthermore, the wireless communication system 1 may be configured as a wireless communication system 1 that uses a reflector 100 to form an area where radio waves can reach, as shown in Figure 5. In Figure 5, the user requests in each of the three divided areas are classified as requests X, Y, and Z, respectively.

In this way, the wireless communication system 1 generates a map in which each piece of data based on the requirement values extracted by the extraction unit 32 is associated with the location of at least one of the base stations 2 and the wireless terminal 10, and divides the area on the map into multiple regions by classifying each piece of data based on its value, thereby enabling efficient control to satisfy the requirements of multiple users for wireless communication.

Furthermore, each function possessed by the base station 2 and the request extraction device 3 may be configured in part or in whole by hardware such as a PLD (Programmable Logic Device) or FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or may be configured as a program executed by a processor such as a CPU.

For example, the requirements extraction device 3 can be implemented using a computer and a program, and the program can be recorded on a storage medium or provided via a network.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a requirement extraction device 3 according to one embodiment. As shown in the figure, the requirement extraction device 3 has an input unit 50, an output unit 51, a communication unit 52, a CPU 53, a memory 54, and an HDD 55 connected via a bus 56, and functions as a computer. The requirement extraction device 3 is also capable of inputting and outputting data to and from a computer-readable storage medium 57.

The input unit 50 is, for example, a keyboard and mouse. The output unit 51 is, for example, a display device such as a display that outputs images. The communication unit 52 is, for example, a wired or wireless network interface, and may also function as an output unit that outputs data to the outside.

As described above, the CPU 53 controls each component of the request extraction device 3 and performs predetermined processing. The memory 54 and HDD 55 are storage units that store data, etc.

The storage medium 57 is capable of storing programs and the like that execute the functions of the requirement extraction device 3. Note that the architecture that constitutes the requirement extraction device 3 is not limited to the example shown in Figure 6.

The functions performed by the components described herein may be implemented in circuitry or processing circuitry, including general purpose processors, application specific processors, integrated circuits, ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), CPUs (Central Processing Units), conventional circuits, and/or combinations thereof, programmed to perform the described functions.

A processor includes transistors and other circuits and is considered a circuitry or processing circuitry. A processor may also be a programmed processor, which executes programs stored in memory.

In this specification, a circuit, unit, or means refers to hardware that is programmed to realize or executes the described functions. The hardware may be any hardware disclosed in this specification or any hardware known to be programmed to realize or execute the described functions.

If the hardware is a processor, which is considered to be a type of circuitry, the circuitry, means, or unit is the combination of the hardware and the software used to configure the hardware and/or processor.

1: Wireless communication system, 2: Base station, 3: Requirement extraction device, 4: Obstacle, 10: Wireless terminal, 20: Sensor, 22: Memory unit, 24: Communication unit, 26: CPU, 30: Communication unit, 31: Acquisition unit, 32: Extraction unit, 33: Aggregation unit, 34: Map generation unit, 35: Region segmentation unit, 36: Evaluation unit, 37: Output unit, 38: Control unit, 50: Input unit, 51: Output unit, 52: Communication unit, 53: CPU, 54: Memory, 55: HDD, 56: Bus, 57: Storage medium, 100: Reflector

Claims (4)

In a wireless communication system having a plurality of base stations,
an acquisition unit that acquires information indicating a request for wireless communication from each of a plurality of users who use wireless terminals connected to at least one of the base stations;
an extracting unit that extracts the requests of the plurality of users acquired by the acquiring unit as request values quantified for each predetermined index;
a map generating unit that generates a map in which each piece of data based on the required value extracted by the extracting unit is associated with a position of at least one of the base station and the wireless terminal;
an area dividing unit that divides an area on the map into a plurality of areas based on classifications based on the values of each of the data;
a control unit that controls the base station and the wireless terminal to perform wireless communication under different conditions for each area divided by the area dividing unit. an acquisition unit that acquires information indicating a request for wireless communication from each of a plurality of users who use wireless terminals connected to at least one of a plurality of base stations;
an extracting unit that extracts the requests of the plurality of users acquired by the acquiring unit as request values quantified for each predetermined index;
a map generating unit that generates a map in which each piece of data based on the required value extracted by the extracting unit is associated with a position of at least one of the base station and the wireless terminal;
an area dividing unit that divides an area on the map into a plurality of areas based on classifications based on the values of each of the data;
and an output unit that outputs, for each area divided by the area dividing unit, a condition for setting the base station and the wireless terminal to perform different wireless communication. A wireless communication method in which a plurality of base stations accommodate a plurality of wireless terminals,
an acquisition step of acquiring information indicating a request for wireless communication from each of a plurality of users using wireless terminals connected to at least one of the base stations;
an extraction step of extracting the requests of the plurality of users acquired in the acquisition step as request values quantified for each predetermined index;
a map generating step of generating a map in which each piece of data based on the required values extracted in the extracting step is associated with a position of at least one of the base station and the wireless terminal;
an area division step of dividing the area on the map into a plurality of areas by classification based on the values of each of the data;
a control step of controlling the base station and the wireless terminal to perform wireless communication under different conditions for each of the areas divided by the area dividing step. an acquisition unit that acquires information indicating a request for wireless communication from each of a plurality of users who use wireless terminals connected to at least one of a plurality of base stations;
an extracting unit that extracts the requests of the plurality of users acquired by the acquiring unit as request values quantified for each predetermined index;
a map generating unit that generates a map in which each piece of data based on the required value extracted by the extracting unit is associated with a position of at least one of the base station and the wireless terminal;
an area dividing unit that divides an area on the map into a plurality of areas based on classifications based on the values of each of the data;
and an output unit that outputs, for each area divided by the area dividing unit, conditions for setting the base station and the wireless terminal to perform different wireless communication.