WO2025233305A1

WO2025233305A1 - Method, apparatus and computer program

Info

Publication number: WO2025233305A1
Application number: PCT/EP2025/062271
Authority: WO
Inventors: Johannes Harrebek; Ioannis KIMIONIS; Simon Svendsen; Benny Vejlgaard
Original assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy
Priority date: 2024-05-08
Filing date: 2025-05-06
Publication date: 2025-11-13
Anticipated expiration: 2026-11-08
Also published as: GB2640881A; GB202406385D0

Abstract

There is provided an apparatus comprising: means for sending a request, for a device, to trigger an activation of the device, wherein the request comprises configuration information related to performing reflection amplification at the device, and means for receiving, from a reader entity, information related to reflection amplification performed by the device. The apparatus further comprises means for determining whether to update the configuration information for a further activation of the device based on the information that has been received.

Description

METHOD, APPARATUS AND COMPUTER PROGRAM

Technical Field

Various examples of this disclosure relate to methods, apparatuses, and computer programs for a communication network.

Background

A communication network can be seen as a facility that enables communications between two or more communication devices, or provides communication devices access to a data network. A mobile or wireless communication network is one example of a communication network. A communication device may be provided with a service by an application server.

Such communication networks operate in accordance with standards such as those provided by 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) or ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute). Examples of standards are the so-called 5G (5th Generation) standards provided by 3GPP.

Some examples of this disclosure will be described with respect to certain aspects. These aspects are not intended to indicate key or essential features of the embodiments of this disclosure, nor are they intended to be used to limit the scope thereof. Other features, aspects, and elements will be readily apparent to a person skilled in the art in view of this disclosure. For example, it should be appreciated that further aspects may be provided by the combination of any two or more of the various aspects described below.

According to an aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising: means for sending a request, for a device, to trigger an activation of the device, wherein the request comprises configuration information related to performing reflection amplification at the device; means for receiving, from a reader entity, information related to reflection amplification performed by the device; and means for determining whether to update the configuration information for a further activation of the device based on the information that has been received.

In some examples, the request is sent, by the apparatus, to an activator entity for sending to the device.

In some examples, the device is an ambient internet-of-things device, AloT.

In some examples, the configuration information comprises at least one of the following: an indication to enable reflection amplification at the device, an indication to disable reflection amplification at the device, an indication of a time window for determining a bias level for amplification that is stable at the device, an indication to set a bias level of a reflection amplifier of the device to a specified value, an indication of a start time for determining a bias level for amplification that is stable at the device, or an indication of a number of cycles of bias level determinations that are allowed to be performed at the device.

In some examples, each cycle of bias level determination performed by the AloT device includes: i) determining whether there is stable amplification using the current bias level (using any suitable method), and ii) changing the bias level of the reflection amplifier (as necessary) based on the determination.

In some examples, a bias level for amplification that is stable is a bias level for amplification with oscillations below a threshold amount, or an amplification with no oscillations.

In some examples, the information received from the reader entity comprises at least one of the following: information related to a determination of a bias level for amplification that is stable performed by the device, an indication of whether a reflection amplifier of the device was powered- on for a backscatter response, an indication of whether a bias level for a reflection amplifier of the device has been determined for amplification that is stable, or an indication of a value for the bias level for the reflection amplifier.

In some examples, the apparatus comprises: means for, based on the determining, performing an action related to the configuration information for the further activation of the device.

In some examples, the action comprises: updating the configuration information for the further activation of the device so that a duration of the time window for determining a bias level for stable amplification is increased, and causing power for a carrier wave for the further activation of the device to be lowered.

In some examples, the apparatus comprises: means for, when it is determined that reflection amplification was performed by the device and a bias level associated with the reflection amplification is below a threshold level, updating the configuration information for the further activation of the device based on the indication of the value for the bias level for the reflection amplifier.

In some examples, the configuration information is updated to include the value of the bias level for the reflection amplifier as indicated as stable in the information received from the reader entity.

In some examples, the apparatus comprises: means for, when it is determined that at least one of: reflection amplification was not performed by the device or a bias level associated with the reflection amplification is above a threshold level, updating the configuration information for the further activation of the device so that a duration of the time window for determining a bias level for amplification is increased in the indication of the time window for determining oscillations at the device.

In some examples, the apparatus comprises: means for, when it is determined that at least one of: reflection amplification was not performed by the device or a bias level associated with the reflection amplification is above a threshold level, updating the configuration information for the further activation of the device so that a duration of the time window for determining a bias level for amplification is increased in the indication of the time window for determining oscillations at the device and/or causing power for a carrier wave for the further activation of the device to be lowered.

In some examples, the means for causing power for the carrier wave for the further activation of the device to be lowered comprises: means for configuring an entity that is arranged to generate the carrier wave to lower the power of the carrier wave for the further activation of the device.

In some examples, updating the information comprises at least one of the following: changing bias level for the reflection amplifier of the device, or increasing a time window for determining a bias level for amplification that is stable at the device.

In some examples, the apparatus comprises: means for sending a further request, for the device, to trigger the further activation of the device, wherein the further request comprises the configuration information that has been updated.

In some examples, the apparatus comprises: means for sending a capability request, to the device via the activator entity, for capabilities related to reflection amplification of the device.

In some examples, the apparatus comprises: means for receiving, from the reader entity, at least one capability related to reflection amplification of the device.

In some examples, the at least one capability related to reflection amplification comprises at least one of the following: support for performing reflection amplification, support for determining a bias level for amplification that is stable at the device, support for setting a bias level for a reflection amplifier, or support for a time window for determining a bias level for amplification that is stable at the device.

In some examples, the apparatus comprises: means for triggering an entity that is arranged to generate a carrier wave to begin a transmission of the carrier wave towards the device at a specified time, wherein the specified time is aligned with the configuration information, and wherein the carrier wave is for backscatter response for the device.

In some examples, the apparatus comprises: means for configuring the reader entity to receive a backscatter response from the AloT device based on the configuration information for the AloT device, such that the reader entity is configured to monitor for a backscatter response from the AloT device within a specific time window based on the configuration information.

In some examples, the apparatus is for a session control unit.

In some examples, the apparatus is one of: a base station, a network entity, or a user equipment.

According to an aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising: means for receiving, from an activator entity, a request to trigger an activation of the apparatus, wherein the request comprises configuration information related to performing reflection amplification at the apparatus; means for receiving a carrier wave; means for, based on the configuration information, performing a modulation of data onto the carrier wave which is being reflected, in order to generate an uplink modulation response, wherein reflection amplification is performed by the apparatus to generate the uplink modulation response; and means for sending, to a reader entity, the uplink modulation response, wherein the uplink modulation response comprises information related to reflection amplification performed by the apparatus.

In some examples, the apparatus is an ambient internet-of-things device, AloT.

In some examples, the information related to reflection amplification comprises at least one of the following: information related to a determination of a bias level for amplification that is stable that was performed by the device, an indication of whether a reflection amplifier of the device was powered- on for a backscatter response, an indication of whether a bias level for a reflection amplifier of the device has been determined for amplification that is stable, or an indication of a value for the bias level for the reflection amplifier.

In some examples, the means for performing a modulation of data comprises: means for, based on the configuration information, powering-on a reflection amplifier of the apparatus and setting a bias level for the reflection amplifier.

In some examples, the apparatus comprises: means for receiving, from the activator entity, a further request to trigger a further activation of the apparatus, wherein the further request comprises configuration information that has been updated based on the information.

In some examples, the apparatus comprises: means for receiving, from the activator entity, a capability request for capabilities related to reflection amplification of the apparatus. In some examples, the apparatus comprises: means for sending, to the reader entity, at least one capability related to reflection amplification of the apparatus.

In some examples, the at least one capability related to reflection amplification comprises at least one of the following: support for performing reflection amplification, support for determining a bias level for stable amplification at the device, support for setting a bias level for a reflection amplifier, or support for a time window for determining a bias level for stable amplification at the device.

In some examples, the apparatus is a device.

In some examples, the device is an ambient internet of things device.

In some examples, the apparatus is a user equipment configured as an ambient internet-of-things device.

According to an aspect, there is provided a method comprising: sending a request, for a device, to trigger an activation of the device, wherein the request comprises configuration information related to performing reflection amplification at the device; receiving, from a reader entity, information related to reflection amplification performed by the device; and determining whether to update the configuration information for a further activation of the device based on the information that has been received.

In some examples, the request is sent to an activator entity for sending to the device.

In some examples, the device is an ambient internet-of-things device, AloT.

In some examples, the method comprises: based on the determining, performing an action related to the configuration information for the further activation of the device.

In some examples, the method comprises: when it is determined that reflection amplification was performed by the device and a bias level associated with the reflection amplification is below a threshold level, updating the configuration information for the further activation of the device based on the indication of the value for the bias level for the reflection amplifier.

In some examples, the method comprises: when it is determined that at least one of: reflection amplification was not performed by the device or a bias level associated with the reflection amplification is above a threshold level, updating the configuration information for the further activation of the device so that a duration of the time window for determining a bias level for amplification is increased in the indication of the time window for determining oscillations at the device.

In some examples, the method comprises: when it is determined that at least one of: reflection amplification was not performed by the device or a bias level associated with the reflection amplification is above a threshold level, updating the configuration information for the further activation of the device so that a duration of the time window for determining a bias level for amplification is increased in the indication of the time window for determining oscillations at the device and/or causing power for a carrier wave for the further activation of the device to be lowered.

In some examples, the causing power for the carrier wave for the further activation of the device to be lowered comprises: configuring an entity that is arranged to generate the carrier wave to lower the power of the carrier wave for the further activation of the device.

In some examples, updating the information comprises at least one of the following: changing bias level for the reflection amplifier of the device, or increasing a time window for determining a bias level for amplification that is stable at the device. In some examples, the method comprises: sending a further request, for the device, to trigger the further activation of the device, wherein the further request comprises the configuration information that has been updated.

In some examples, the method comprises: sending a capability request, to the device via the activator entity, for capabilities related to reflection amplification of the device.

In some examples, the method comprises: receiving, from the reader entity, at least one capability related to reflection amplification of the device.

In some examples, the method comprises: triggering an entity that is arranged to generate a carrier wave to begin a transmission of the carrier wave towards the device at a specified time, wherein the specified time is aligned with the configuration information, and wherein the carrier wave is for backscatter response for the device.

In some examples, the method comprises: configuring the reader entity to receive a backscatter response from the AloT device based on the configuration information for the AloT device, such that the reader entity is configured to monitor for a backscatter response from the AloT device within a specific time window based on the configuration information.

In some examples, the method is performed by a session control unit.

According to an aspect, there is provided a method comprising: receiving, from an activator entity, a request to trigger an activation of the apparatus, wherein the request comprises configuration information related to performing reflection amplification at the apparatus; receiving a carrier wave; based on the configuration information, performing a modulation of data onto the carrier wave which is being reflected, in order to generate an uplink modulation response, wherein reflection amplification is performed by the apparatus to generate the uplink modulation response; and sending, to a reader entity, the uplink modulation response, wherein the uplink modulation response comprises information related to reflection amplification performed by the apparatus.

In some examples, the method is performed by a device.

In some examples, the device is an ambient internet-of-things device, AloT.

In some examples, the performing a modulation of data comprises: based on the configuration information, powering-on a reflection amplifier of the apparatus and setting a bias level for the reflection amplifier.

In some examples, the method comprises: receiving, from the activator entity, a further request to trigger a further activation of the apparatus, wherein the further request comprises configuration information that has been updated based on the information.

In some examples, the method comprises: receiving, from the activator entity, a capability request for capabilities related to reflection amplification of the apparatus.

In some examples, the method comprises: sending, to the reader entity, at least one capability related to reflection amplification of the apparatus.

In some examples, the method is performed by a user equipment configured as an ambient internet-of-things device.

According to an aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising: at least one processor, and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: sending a request, for a device, to trigger an activation of the device, wherein the request comprises configuration information related to performing reflection amplification at the device; receiving, from a reader entity, information related to reflection amplification performed by the device; and determining whether to update the configuration information for a further activation of the device based on the information that has been received.

In some examples, the device is an ambient internet-of-things device, AloT.

In some examples, the apparatus is caused to perform: based on the determining, performing an action related to the configuration information for the further activation of the device.

In some examples, the apparatus is caused to perform: when it is determined that reflection amplification was performed by the device and a bias level associated with the reflection amplification is below a threshold level, updating the configuration information for the further activation of the device based on the indication of the value for the bias level for the reflection amplifier.

In some examples, the apparatus is caused to perform: when it is determined that at least one of: reflection amplification was not performed by the device or a bias level associated with the reflection amplification is above a threshold level, updating the configuration information for the further activation of the device so that a duration of the time window for determining a bias level for amplification is increased in the indication of the time window for determining oscillations at the device.

In some examples, the apparatus is caused to perform: when it is determined that at least one of: reflection amplification was not performed by the device or a bias level associated with the reflection amplification is above a threshold level, updating the configuration information for the further activation of the device so that a duration of the time window for determining a bias level for amplification is increased in the indication of the time window for determining oscillations at the device and/or causing power for a carrier wave for the further activation of the device to be lowered.

In some examples, the apparatus is caused to perform: sending a further request, for the device, to trigger the further activation of the device, wherein the further request comprises the configuration information that has been updated.

In some examples, the apparatus is caused to perform: sending a capability request, to the device via the activator entity, for capabilities related to reflection amplification of the device.

In some examples, the apparatus is caused to perform: receiving, from the reader entity, at least one capability related to reflection amplification of the device.

In some examples, the apparatus is caused to perform: triggering an entity that is arranged to generate a carrier wave to begin a transmission of the carrier wave towards the device at a specified time, wherein the specified time is aligned with the configuration information, and wherein the carrier wave is for backscatter response for the device.

In some examples, the apparatus is caused to perform: configuring the reader entity to receive a backscatter response from the AloT device based on the configuration information for the AloT device, such that the reader entity is configured to monitor for a backscatter response from the AloT device within a specific time window based on the configuration information. In some examples, the apparatus is for a session control unit.

According to an aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising: at least one processor, and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform: receiving, from an activator entity, a request to trigger an activation of the apparatus, wherein the request comprises configuration information related to performing reflection amplification at the apparatus; receiving a carrier wave; based on the configuration information, performing a modulation of data onto the carrier wave which is being reflected, in order to generate an uplink modulation response, wherein reflection amplification is performed by the apparatus to generate the uplink modulation response; and sending, to a reader entity, the uplink modulation response, wherein the uplink modulation response comprises information related to reflection amplification performed by the apparatus.

In some examples, the apparatus is caused to perform: receiving, from the activator entity, a further request to trigger a further activation of the apparatus, wherein the further request comprises configuration information that has been updated based on the information.

In some examples, the apparatus is caused to perform: receiving, from the activator entity, a capability request for capabilities related to reflection amplification of the apparatus.

In some examples, the apparatus is caused to perform: sending, to the reader entity, at least one capability related to reflection amplification of the apparatus. In some examples, the at least one capability related to reflection amplification comprises at least one of the following: support for performing reflection amplification, support for determining a bias level for stable amplification at the device, support for setting a bias level for a reflection amplifier, or support for a time window for determining a bias level for stable amplification at the device.

In some examples, the apparatus is a device.

In some examples, the device is an ambient internet of things device.

According to an aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising: circuitry configured to perform: sending a request, for a device, to trigger an activation of the device, wherein the request comprises configuration information related to performing reflection amplification at the device; circuitry configured to perform: receiving, from a reader entity, information related to reflection amplification performed by the device; and circuitry configured to perform: determining whether to update the configuration information for a further activation of the device based on the information that has been received.

According to an aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising: circuitry configured to perform: receiving, from an activator entity, a request to trigger an activation of the apparatus, wherein the request comprises configuration information related to performing reflection amplification at the apparatus; circuitry configured to perform: receiving a carrier wave; circuitry configured to perform: based on the configuration information, performing a modulation of data onto the carrier wave which is being reflected, in order to generate an uplink modulation response, wherein reflection amplification is performed by the apparatus to generate the uplink modulation response; and circuitry configured to perform: sending, to a reader entity, the uplink modulation response, wherein the uplink modulation response comprises information related to reflection amplification performed by the apparatus.

According to an aspect, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions, which when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: sending a request, for a device, to trigger an activation of the device, wherein the request comprises configuration information related to performing reflection amplification at the device; receiving, from a reader entity, information related to reflection amplification performed by the device; and determining whether to update the configuration information for a further activation of the device based on the information that has been received.

According to an aspect, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions, which when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: receiving, from an activator entity, a request to trigger an activation of the apparatus, wherein the request comprises configuration information related to performing reflection amplification at the apparatus; receiving a carrier wave; based on the configuration information, performing a modulation of data onto the carrier wave which is being reflected, in order to generate an uplink modulation response, wherein reflection amplification is performed by the apparatus to generate the uplink modulation response; and sending, to a reader entity, the uplink modulation response, wherein the uplink modulation response comprises information related to reflection amplification performed by the apparatus.

A computer product stored on a medium may cause an apparatus to perform the methods as described herein.

A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions, that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform the methods as described herein.

An electronic device may comprise apparatus as described herein.

Various other aspects and further embodiments are also described in the following detailed description and in the attached claims.

According to some aspects, there is provided the subject matter of the independent claims. Some further aspects are defined in the dependent claims. The embodiments that do not fall under the scope of the claims are to be interpreted as examples useful for understanding the disclosure.

List of Abbreviations:

AF: Application Function

AloT: Ambient internet of things

AMF: Access and Mobility Management Function

AN: Access Network

BS: Base Station

CA: Carrier aggregation

CC: Component carrier

CN: Core Network

CW: Carrier wave

DL: Downlink

D2R: Device-to-reader eNB: eNodeB gNB: gNodeB lloT: Industrial Internet of Things

LTE: Long Term Evolution

NEF: Network Exposure Function

NG-RAN: Next Generation Radio Access Network NF: Network Function

NR: New Radio

NRF: Network Repository Function

NW: Network

MS: Mobile Station

PCF Policy Control Function

PLMN: Public Land Mobile Network

RAN: Radio Access Network

RF: Radio Frequency

RF-ED: RF envelope detection

R2D: Reader-to-device

SCU: Session control unit

SMF: Session Management Function

UE: User Equipment

UDR: Unified Data Repository

UDM: Unified Data Management

UL: Uplink

UPF: User Plane Function

3GPP: 3^rd Generation Partnership Project

5G: 5^th Generation

5GC: 5G Core network

5G-AN: 5G Radio Access Network

5GS: 5G System

Brief Description of Drawings

Some examples will now be described, by way of illustrative and non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a 5G communication system;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic representation of an apparatus for the 5G communication system of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3 shows a schematic representation of a communication device;

FIG. 4 shows a schematic representation of an ambient loT device;

FIG. 5 shows a schematic representation of a communication system with an ambient loT device;

FIG. 6 shows a schematic representation of ambient loT backscatter communications against time; FIG. 7 shows a schematic representation of load switching within an ambient loT device with a reflection amplifier;

FIG. 8 shows an example signalling and operations diagram between an ambient loT device and other entities;

FIG. 9 shows an example method flow diagram performed by an apparatus;

FIG. 10 shows another example method flow diagram performed by an apparatus; and FIG. 11 shows a schematic representation of a non-volatile memory medium storing instructions which when executed by a processor allow a processor to perform one or more of the steps of the method of FIGS. 9 to 10.

Detailed Description

Internet-of-things (loT) describes devices that comprise sensors, processing ability, software and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices, other loT devices and systems over the internet or other communications networks. For loT applications, 3GPP has specified different types of loT and loT devices, such as for example, narrowband loT (NB-loT), enhanced machine type communications (eMTC), and New Radio (NR) reduced capability (RedCap) which aim to satisfy requirements on low cost and low power devices for wide area loT communications. loT devices may often consume tens, or hundreds, of milliwatts (mW) of power during transmission and/or reception operations. The cost of these loT device may also be low (e.g. within the range of a few US dollars). However, to achieve the outcome of the so-called ‘Internet of Everything’, loT devices with a considerably lower cost and considerably lower power consumption are desirable. A lower cost and power consumption is of particular desire in systems with a large number of applications requiring battery-less devices (i.e. devices that do not comprise an internal battery or energy storage device).

The number of loT connections has been growing rapidly in recent years and is predicted to be hundreds of billions of device by 2030. With more and more devices and entities expected to be interconnected for improving production efficiency and increasing comforts of life, there are demands for a further reduction in the size, cost, and power consumption of these loT devices. In particular, a regular replacement of batteries for loT devices is impractical due to the time and cost that this would incur. Some devices are configured to use energy harvested from the environment to power loT devices for self- sustainable communications. For example, in applications with a huge number of devices, like identity tags and sensors. loT devices that are able to harvest energy from the environment (e.g., from radio signals) may be referred to as ambient loT devices, or passive loT devices. Some loT devices integrate energy harvesting with a rechargeable battery or supercapacitor. Other loT devices are purely passive, and do not have any energy storage capabilities. Radio frequency identity (RFID) is a well-known technology supporting devices (such as tags, cards, etc.) that do not have a battery. The power consumption of passive RFID tags may be as low as 1 milli-Watt (mW). Some techniques employed with RFID that enable such low power consumption are envelope detection for downlink data reception, and backscatter communications for uplink data transmission. Backscatter (or backscattering) is the reflection of waves, particles, or signals back to the direction from which they came (or others).

Some ambient (or passive) devices are able to harness energy from wireless signals sent on specific carriers and/or bandwidths and charges circuitry that, once activated, will emit/reflect a signal. The reflected signal may encode an ID of the passive device in the backscattered signal. Devices able to harness energy from radio wave signals may be referred to as a passive radio. A typical system architecture around a passive radio may comprise: 1) An activator: a device that sends an activation signal targeted at waking up the passive device; 2) A passive radio (e.g., an ambient loT device): harnesses energy over a range of frequencies and listens for activation signals. Once such a signal is detected, the passive radio emits/reflects a signal which is specific to that radio ID; 3) A reader: a device that listens and detects the passive radio signals. The reader may or may not be collocated with the activator.

Some current 3GPP studies are related to ambient loT devices, such as the 3GPP Rel-19 RAN1 lead study on Ambient loT. As outlined below, agreements from RAN1#116 have been made on adopting ‘ambient device type 2a’ with reflection gain amplification. For the purpose of the study, RAN1 uses the following terminologies:

• Device 1 : ~1 micro-Watt (pW) peak power consumption, has energy storage, initial sampling frequency offset (SFO) up to 10X parts per million (ppm), neither downlink (DL) nor uplink (UL) amplification in the device. The device’s UL transmission is backscattered on a carrier wave provided externally.

• Device 2a: < a few hundred pW peak power consumption, has energy storage, initial sampling frequency offset (SFO) up to 10X ppm, both DL and/or UL amplification in the device. The device’s UL transmission is backscattered on a carrier wave provided externally.

• Device 2b: < a few hundred pW peak power consumption, has energy storage, initial sampling frequency offset (SFO) up to 10X ppm, both DL and/or UL amplification in the device. The device’s UL transmission is generated internally by the device.

An ambient loT device according to the specification of ‘device 2a’ as discussed above may have architecture with a radio frequency envelope detector (RF-ED) receiver. Furthermore, the device 2a may comprise at least one of the following: • Antenna - either shared or separate for RF energy harvester (if present) and receiver/transmitter.

• Matching network is to match impedance between antenna and other components (including RF energy harvester (if present) and receiver related blocks).

• Energy harvester.

• Energy storage (e.g., capacitor) stores harvested energy from energy harvester.

• Power management unit (PMU) manages storing energy to energy storage from energy harvester and suppling power to active component blocks which needs power supply.

• Digital baseband (BB) logic - includes functional blocks like encoder, decoder, controller, etc.

• Memory can include two types of memory: 1) Non-Volatile Memory (NVM) such as EEPROM for permanently storing device ID, etc, and 2) registers for temporarily keeping any information required for its operation only while energy is available in energy storage.

• Clock generator provides required clock signal(s).

• Reflection amplifier can amplify reflected backscattered signal - At least one of reader to device (R2D)/carrier wave to device (CW2D) and device to reader (D2R) could be amplified by either reflection amplifier or low-noise amplifier (LNA).

• Reception-related blocks - e.g., RF BPF filter for improving selectivity, and/or LNA for improving signal strength and sensitivity of receiver (At least one of R2D/CW2D and D2R could be amplified by either reflection amplifier or LNA), and/or RF envelope detector (RF-ED) detects envelope from RF signal, and/or BB amplifier amplifies BB signal to improve signal strength, and/or BB low-pass filter (LPF) can filter out harmonics and high frequency components to improve input signal quality to comparator/ADC, and/or comparator or N-bit analogue to digital converter (ADC).

• Transmission-related blocks - e.g., backscatter modulator switches impedance to modulate backscattered signal with transmission signal from BB logics, and/or large frequency shifter (e.g., tens of MHz) for shifting backscattered signal from one frequency (e.g., frequency division duplexing (FDD)-DL frequency) to another frequency (e.g., FDD-UL frequency).

An example of an ambient loT device according to the 'device 2a’ specification is depicted in FIG. 4, and discussed in detail below.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic representation of an ambient loT device. The ambient loT device of FIG. 4 is of the type device 2a. The ambient loT (AloT) device 400 comprises an antenna 401, an RF band-pass filter (BPF) 403, an LNA 405, an RF ED 407, a BB amplifier 409, a BB LPF 411 , a comparator/N- bit ADC 413, and BB logic 415. The BB logic 415 comprises a decoder 417, a controller 419 and an encoder 421. The BB logic 415 is able to access a memory 423. The AloT 400 further comprises a large frequency shifter 425, a backscatter modulator 427, and a reflection amplifier 429. The reflection amplifier 429 may also be referred to as a reflection gain amplifier.

As described above, an ambient loT device may be referred to as an ‘AloT device’. An ambient loT device may also be referred to as simply an AloT. It should be understood that these terms may be used interchangeably.

A matching network 431, an RF energy harvester 433, a further energy harvester 435, and an energy storage 437 is also shown. The energy storage 437 is associated with a power management unit (PMU). The matching network 431 , the RF energy harvester 433, the further energy harvester 435, and the energy storage 437 may be part of the AloT 400.

An ambient loT device (such as the AloT device of FIG.4) may be provided with a carrier wave from other node. Links between entities/nodes in a topology may be bidirectional or unidirectional. BS, UE, assisting node, or intermediate node could be multiple BSs or UEs, respectively. The mixture of indoor and outdoor placement of such nodes is regarded as a network implementation choice.

In a first topology, an ambient loT device directly and bidirectionally communicates with a base station. The communication between the base station and the ambient loT device includes ambient loT data and/or signalling. This first topology includes the possibility that the BS transmitting to the ambient loT device is different from the BS receiving from the ambient loT device.

In a second topology, an ambient loT device communicates bidirectionally with an intermediate node between the AloT device and base station. In a similar manner to the first topology, the intermediate node transmitting to the ambient loT device may be different from the node receiving a response from the loT device. In this second topology, the intermediate node may be a relay, integrated access/backhaul (I AB) node, UE, repeater, etc. which is capable of ambient loT. The intermediate node transfers the information between BS and the ambient loT device.

Ambient loT devices (such as the AloT of FIG. 4 for example) may use backscattering for communications. A system depicting ambient loT backscatter communications is shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic representation of a communication system with an ambient loT device.

An activator 501 sends a DL activation signal to an AloT device 503. In FIG.5, the AloT device 503 is a tag. The AloT device 503 reflects the signal from the activator (i.e., using backscatter) to provide an UL backscatter signal to a reader 505. The activator 501 and the reader 505 may be the same device, or they may be different. In FIG. 5, the activator 501 is a UE, and the reader is a UE or a base station (BS). The activator 501 and the reader 505 have communication session control for the tag 503 (as the AloT).

The DL is the link from the activator 501 to the AloT device 503 also referred to as the R2D (reader to device) link. The UL is the link from the AloT device 503 to the reader 505 also referred to as the D2R (device to reader) link.

An ambient loT backscatter communication session between activator (e.g., activator 501), AloT device (e.g., AloT device 503) and reader (e.g., reader 505) have a DL activation period followed by an UL backscatter period as depicted in FIG. 6.

FIG. 6 shows a schematic representation of ambient loT backscatter communications against time.

FIG. 6 depicts different states (or device states) for an AloT device over time during a communication session. The states for the AloT device include: harvest, monitor, receive DL data, modulation ON, and modulate UL data. FIG. 6 also shows other signalling associated with an activator, and a node providing a carrier wave (CW).

In this manner, with reference to FIG. 6, the example AloT session has a series of events and associated AloT device states, as the following:

At time 0 (tO), a DL activation signal 601 is enabled with a pre-amble 603. The AloT device starts harvesting energy (e.g., RF energy harvesting).

At t1 , a wakeup receiver of the AloT device is monitoring for the DL activation signal 601 and DL data 605. The DL activation signal 601 and DL data 605 are transmitted by the activator.

Between t1 and tRef, the DL activation signal 601 and DL data 605 are received at the AloT device. This marks the end of the DL activation signal defining the timing reference point (tRef) for subsequent UL response modulation.

Between tRef and tRef+delay, an UL CW607 is enabled and a backscatter modulator of the AloT device is powered on. Stated differently, the UL CW 607 is enabled (at least) in time for AloT device UL modulation which will start at tRef+delay. The backscatter modulator may already be enabled (or powered-on) by the AloT device at tRef. As such there may be a time window whereby the backscatter modulator is powered on but there is no CW present. The CW 607 may be provided to the AloT device by a node capable of generating the CW.

At tRef+delay, UL modulation is started by the AloT device (after the receive to transmit delay 609) which may be configured by the DL activation signal. At least the CW 607 is modulated by the AloT device. The UL modulation from the AloT device is a backscatter signal. The AloT device may be a device 2a type device. AloT device type 2a has local clock potentially frequency synchronizing against the DL activation signal. The Tx delay may be counted in local clock cycles and may be set locally to accommodate for modulator power up settling and/or by the DL activation signal to allow network control of UL modulation timing for congestion and/or interference mitigation.

At tEnd, when UL modulation (backscatter) completes, the AloT device powers down (e.g., the backscatter modulator is powered-off). The UL CW may be terminated as well.

Backscatter modulation is typically implemented by switching an antenna of an AloT device between two passive loads (load modulation). This is a low power communication scheme that may result in low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at the reader, as the passive load may attenuate the incident signal before reflecting it, resulting in reflection loss (equivalent to a lower modulation factor). To increase the gain and thus the SNR at the reader compared to passive load modulation, a reflection amplifier may be comprises in an AloT device, as depicted in FIG. 7.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic representation of load switching within an ambient loT device with a reflection amplifier.

An antenna 701 of the AloT device 700 is connected to a phase shifter 703. The phase shifter 703 comprises two passive loads 705, 707, wherein a first load 705 is associated with a 0 degree phase and a second load is associated with a 90 degree phase. Backscatter modulation is achieved by switching between the first load 705 and the second load 707.

An output from the phase shifter 703 is connected to a reflection (gain) amplifier 709. The AloT device 701 (which may be device type 2a) may increase SNR by utilizing the reflection amplifier 709. The reflection amplifier 709 may be a low power reflection amplifier. The reflection amplifier is used to achieve reflection gain. The reflection amplifier 709 may be a single-port, sub-biased oscillator that operates with low current (e.g., microamp to milliamp current consumption) and present a negative resistance at the single port. This negative resistance translates to reflection gain, i.e. , amplifying and reflecting an incident signal.

A problem that is associated with the use of reflection amplifiers in AloT devices is stability. When a high-power incident RF signal is present (e.g., a carrier wave (CW) with a ‘high’ RF power), the reflection amplifier may become unstable and start oscillating. Oscillations will result in undesired interference, thus compromising the AloT device data at the reader. In this manner, it is an aim to avoid oscillations in AloT devices.

Some AloT devices are configured such that, when a reflection amplifier is being utilised, oscillations are detected by the AloT device. When oscillations are detected, the AloT attempts to suppress the oscillations. However, if the network that is in communication with the AloT device is not aware of (and not in control of) this feature of suppressing oscillations, then the AloT device may autonomously detect a CW triggering the local detection and suppression. This may run for an unknown number of cycles before finalizing and at this point start UL modulation. As a result, a time window utilised by a reader for monitoring UL responses from the AloT device may be incorrect and the reader may not receive the UL signals. The time windows would need to be extended by an undefined length of time to ensure reception of the UL response. This creates an additional resource overhead.

One or more of the problems identified above are addressed in one or more of the examples discussed below.

In examples, there is provided an apparatus (e.g., a session control unit, or network entity) which sends a request, for a device (e.g., an AloT device), to trigger an activation of the device, wherein the request comprises configuration information related to performing reflection amplification at the device. The apparatus receives, from a reader entity, information related to reflection amplification performed by the device, and then determines whether to update the configuration information for a further activation of the device based on the information that has been received.

In examples, there is provides an apparatus (e.g., an AloT device) which receives, from an activator entity, a request to trigger an activation of the apparatus, wherein the request comprises configuration information related to performing reflection amplification at the apparatus. The apparatus receives a carrier wave, and based on the configuration information, performs a modulation of data onto the carrier wave which is being reflected, in order to generate an uplink modulation response, wherein reflection amplification is performed by the apparatus to generate the uplink modulation response. The apparatus then sends, to a reader entity, the uplink modulation response, wherein the uplink modulation response comprises information related to reflection amplification performed by the apparatus.

These examples will be described in more detail below, alongside FIGS. 8 to 11.

Before explaining the examples above in greater detail, an example communication device (as shown in FIG. 3) that is capable of functioning as an activator, a reader, or an ambient loT device will be described. The communication device is part of a communication system (as shown in FIG. 1). The communication device is able to communicate with one or more of the entities of the communication system (as shown in FIG. 1) via an apparatus (as shown in FIG. 2), which may be part of/comprised in a base station or other network entity.

Certain general aspects of the communication system and the communication device are briefly explained with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 to assist in understanding the technology underlying the described examples.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a 5G communication system 100. The wireless communication system 100 comprises one or more communication devices 102 such as user equipments (UEs), or terminals. The wireless communication system 100 comprises a 5G system (5GS). The 5GS comprises a 5G radio access network (5G-RAN) 106, a 5G core network (5GC) 104 comprising one or more network functions (NF), one or more application functions (AFs) 108, and one or more data networks (DNs) 110.

The 5G-RAN 106 may comprise one or more gNodeB (gNB) distributed unit (DU) functions connected to one or more gNodeB (gNB) centralized unit (CU) functions.

The 5GC 104 comprises an access and mobility management function (AMF) 112, a session management function (SMF) 114, an authentication server function (AUSF) 116, a user data management (UDM) 118, a user plane function (UPF) 120, a network exposure function (NEF) 122 and/or other NFs. Some of the examples as shown below may be applicable to 3GPP 5G standards. However, some examples may also be applicable to 5G- advanced, 4G, 3G and other 3GPP standards.

In a wireless communication system 100, such as that shown in FIG. 1 , communication devices 102, such as for example, terminals, user apparatuses, user equipments (UE), and/or machine-type communication devices are provided with wireless access via at least one base station or similar wireless transmitting and/or receiving node or point. The communication device 102 is provided with an appropriate signal receiving and transmitting apparatus for enabling communications, for example enabling access to a communication network or communications directly with other devices. The communication device 102 may access a carrier provided by a base station or access point, and transmit and/or receive communications on the carrier.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of an apparatus 200. The apparatus 200 may be for the 5G communication system of FIG. 1. The apparatus 200 may be for controlling a function of one or more network entities and/or network functions, such as the entities of the 5G-RAN or the 5GC as illustrated on FIG. 1. The apparatus 200 comprises at least one random access memory (RAM) 211a, at least one read only memory (ROM) 211b, at least one processor 212, 213 and an input/output interface 214. The at least one processor 212, 213 is coupled to the RAM 211a and the ROM 211 b. The at least one processor 212, 213 may be configured to execute an appropriate software code 215. The software code 215 may for example allow to perform one or more steps to perform one or more of the present aspects or examples. The software code 215 may be stored in the ROM 211b. The apparatus 200 may be interconnected with another apparatus 200 controlling another entity/function of the 5G-AN or the 5GC. . In some examples, apparatus 200 may be configured to provide one or more functions of the 5G-AN or the 5GC. For example, apparatus 200 may be configured to perform at least some functionality of a particular function of the 5G-AN or the 5GC. For example, apparatus 200 may be configured to operate as a particular function of the 5G-AN or the 5GC. In alternative examples, apparatus 200 may be configured to perform at least some functionality of two or more functions of the 5G-AN and/or the 5GC. For example, apparatus 200 may be configured to operate as two or more functions of the 5G-AN and/or the 5GC. The apparatus 200 may comprise one or more circuits, or circuitry (not shown) which may be configured to perform one or more of the present aspects or examples.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a communication device 300. The communication device 300 may be similar to the communication device 102 illustrated in FIG. 1. The communication device 300 may be provided by any device capable of sending and receiving radio signals. Non-limiting examples of a communication device 300 are a user equipment, a terminal, a mobile station (MS) or mobile device such as a mobile phone or what is known as a ’smart phone’, a computer provided with a wireless interface card or other wireless interface facility (e.g., USB dongle), a personal data assistant (PDA) or a tablet provided with wireless communication capabilities, a machine-type communications (MTC) device, a Cellular Internet of things (CloT) device, or a terrestrial/maritime/aerial vehicle such as a car, a truck, a boat, an air plane, or a drone, or any combinations of these or the like. The communication device 300 may provide, for example, communication of data for carrying communications. The communications may be one or more of voice, electronic mail (email), text message, multimedia, data, machine data and so on.

The communication device 300 may receive signals over an air or radio interface 307 via appropriate apparatus for receiving and may transmit signals via appropriate apparatus for transmitting radio signals. In FIG. 3, a transceiver apparatus is designated schematically by block 306. The transceiver apparatus 306 may be provided for example by means of a radio part and associated antenna arrangement. The antenna arrangement may be arranged internally or externally to the mobile device.

The communication device 300 may be provided with at least one processor 301 , at least one memory ROM 302a, at least one RAM 302b and other possible components 303 for use in software and hardware aided execution of tasks it is designed to perform, including control of access to and communications with access systems and other communication devices. The at least one processor 301 is coupled to the RAM 302b and the ROM 302a. The at least one processor 301 may be configured to execute an appropriate software code 308. The software code 308 may for example allow to perform one or more of the present aspects. The software code 308 may be stored in the ROM 302a. The communication device 300 may comprise one or more circuits, or circuitry (not shown) which may be configured to perform one or more of the present aspects or examples.

The processor, storage and other relevant control apparatus may be provided on an appropriate circuit board and/or in chipsets. This feature is denoted by reference 304. The communication device may optionally have a user interface such as keypad 305, touch sensitive screen or pad, combinations thereof or the like. Optionally one or more of a display, a speaker and a microphone may be provided depending on the type of the device. A method for effective control of Ambient loT devices which have a reflection amplifier is provided, which ensures that the amplifier remains stable at a suitable bias level relative to a power of a carrier wave. This control may allow for a low overhead resource usage.

An ambient loT (AloT) device is triggered to determine whether a stable bias level for a reflection amplifier may be found (e.g., by detecting oscillations that may be caused by the reflection amplifier at the AloT device). The AloT device may attempt to suppress, or mitigate, the oscillations at the AloT device within a configured delay interval between a receive time and a transmission time (e.g., RX-TX delay). For example, the delay between an UL timing reference (tREF) (i.e., receiving) and the start of UL modulation performed by the AloT device (i.e., transmitting).

In this context, a ‘stable’ bias level may be considered to be a bias level that leads to (or allows) an amplification with oscillations below a threshold amount, or an amplification with no oscillations. A stable amplifier may not generate any signals by itself except for noise.

When providing an UL modulation response (e.g., a backscatter response) towards a reader, the device may also include information related to reflection amplification. For example, the information may indicate that a bias level for a reflection amplifier of the device results in a stable amplifier usage to gain-boost the UL (backscatter) modulation response. Alternatively, the information may indicate that stable amplifier usage was not achieved for the UL modulation response. Based on the information, the network will attempt to determine a suitable bias level for the for AloT device with respect to the incident RF power of a carrier wave. This is described in more detail alongside FIG. 8.

FIG. 8 shows an example signalling and operations diagram between an ambient loT device and other entities. The signalling and operations are for control of a bias level of a reflection amplifier of the ambient loT device based on incident RF power of a carrier wave for the ambient loT device. In FIG. 8, the communications are between a session control unit (SCU), an activator entity, an ambient loT (AloT) device, a node configured to provide (or generate) a CW (herein referred to as ‘CW node’), and a reader entity.

At S801 , the SCU sends (or provides) a request, via the activator entity to the device, for capabilities related to reflection amplification by the AloT device. In some examples, the activator entity forwards the request from the SCU to the device. In other examples, the activator entity receives the request from the SCU, and then sends a separate request (to the device) for capabilities related to reflection amplification by the AloT device.

The request for capabilities may be made using a default AloT device configuration.

The request for capabilities may indicate that the AloT device should power-off a reflection amplifier when providing an UL modulation response to the request for capabilities. In other examples, the request for capabilities includes a grant for the AloT device to perform autonomous CW-trigged oscillation detection and mitigation, e.g., to improve the link budget. The request for capabilities may request: whether the AloT device has a reflection amplifier for backscatter modulation.

The request for capabilities may request at least one of the following: whether the AloT device supports reflection amplification, whether the AloT device supports a procedure to determine a bias level for a reflection amplifier that provides a stable amplification, herein referred to as ‘bias level procedure’), supported reflection amplifier bias level settings or indexes at the AloT device, supported start times or start time ranges for the bias level procedure, or supported time window(s) for the duration of the bias level procedure.

At S802, the SCU configures the reader entity to receive a backscatter response from the AloT device.

At S803, the SCU configures (or triggers) carrier wave (CW) generation by the CW node for the AloT device.

At S804, the CW node sends, towards the AloT device, a CW. The CW may be an RF signal for ambient loT UL backscatter modulation. The CW may be an RF signal. A power (e.g., RF power) of the CW may be set by the configuration by the SCU.

At S805, the AloT device sends a backscatter response to the reader entity. The backscatter response may be referred to as an UL modulation response. The AloT device uses the CW that has been received to provide the UL modulation response. The UL modulation response is dependent on the power of the CW.

The UL modulation response comprises capability information related to the request for capabilities from the SCU. The capability information may be comprised in a capability report (or similar).

The capability information may comprise at least one of the following: an indication of whether the AloT device comprises a reflection amplifier (or whether the AloT device supports reflection amplification), an indication of whether the AloT device supports a procedure to determine a bias level for a reflection amplifier that provides a stable amplification, an indication of any supported reflection amplifier bias level settings or indexes, supported reflection amplifier bias level settings or indexes at the AloT device, supported start times or start time ranges for the bias level procedure, or supported time window(s) for the duration of the bias level procedure.

At S806, the reader entity sends (or provides), to the SCU, the capability information of the device.

At S807, the SCU sends (or provides) a request, via the activator entity to the AloT device, to trigger an activation of the AloT device. The request comprises configuration information related to performing reflection amplification at the AloT device. In some examples, the activator entity forwards the request from the SOU to the device. In other examples, the activator entity receives the request from the SCU, and then sends a separate request (to the device) with the configuration information.

The configuration information comprises at least one of the following: an indication to enable reflection amplification at the AloT device (or power-on the reflection amplifier), an indication to disable reflection amplification at the AloT device (or power-off the reflection amplifier), an indication of a time window for determining a stable (or suitable) bias level at the AloT device, an indication to set an initial bias level of the reflection amplifier of the AloT device to a specified value, an indication of a start time for determining a stable bias level at the AloT device, or an indication of a number of cycles of bias level determinations that are allowed to be performed at the device.

At S808, the SCU configures the reader entity to receive a backscatter response from the AloT device. The SCU may configure the reader entity based on the configuration information for the AloT device. For example, the SCU may configure the reader entity to monitor for a backscatter response from the AloT device within a specific time window, based on the configuration information. This allows for efficient resource usage, so that the reader is not monitoring for longer than is needed to receive the response from the AloT device.

At S809, the SCU configures (or triggers) CW generation by the CW node for the AloT device. The SCU may configure (or trigger) the CW node to provide the CW at a specific time. The specific time may be so that the CW is aligned with the AloT starting the oscillation determination.

At S810, the CW node sends, towards the AloT device, a CW. The CW may be an RF signal for ambient loT UL backscatter modulation. The CW may be sent according to the configuration received from the SCU. A power (e.g., RF power) of the CW may be set by the configuration by the SCU.

At S811, based on the configuration information that has been received, the AloT device powers the reflection amplifier ‘on’, such that the reflection amplifier has power and may be used for amplifying backscatter. In this example, it is assumed that: i) the AloT device has a reflection amplifier (and therefore supports reflection amplification of a backscatter response), and ii) the configuration information comprises an indication to power-on the reflection amplifier.

The AloT device sets a bias level for the reflection amplifier. This bias level may be considered to be an initial bias level. The AloT device sets the bias level based on the configuration information, in some examples. In other examples, the AloT device sets the bias level based on a pre-configured or default value.

In these examples, the ‘bias level’ for the reflection amplifier may be referred to as ‘bias voltage’ or simply ‘bias’. These terms may be used interchangeably.

The AloT device performs a procedure to determine a bias level for the reflection amplifier that provides a stable amplification (which may be termed the ‘bias level procedure’). The procedure may be performed based on the configuration information. For example, the initial configuration of the AloT device when the procedure is started may be based on (or aligned with) the configuration information.

The duration of time that the AloT device is permitted to perform the bias level procedure before providing an UL modulation response may be based on the configuration information.

At S812, the AloT device sends (or provides) an UL (backscatter) modulation response to the reader entity. The UL modulation response includes information related to the reflection amplification.

In this manner, based on the configuration information, the AloT device performs a modulation of data onto the CW (wherein the CW is being reflected) in order to generate the UL modulation response. Reflection amplification is performed by the apparatus in order to generate the UL modulation response

Backscatter modulation may refer to the technique of using/modulating mismatched antenna loads to reflect an incident RF signal (e.g., the CW) back with amplitude and/or phase modulation carrying the AloT device-to-reader (D2R) data.

The UL modulation response is sent after the bias level procedure has terminated at the AloT device. Stated differently, once the duration of time that the AloT device performs the bias level procedure has ended, the UL modulation response is sent.

The information related to reflection amplification may comprise at least one of: information related to determining a stable bias level that was performed by the device, an indication of whether the reflection amplifier of the device was powered on for the UL backscatter response, an indication of whether a bias level for a reflection amplifier of the device has been determined as stable, or an indication of a value for the bias level for the reflection amplifier.

For example, the AloT device may indicate that a stable bias level for the reflection amplifier was not found, and that the reflection amplifierwas powered-off for the UL modulation response. In other examples, the AloT device may indicate that the reflection amplifier was powered-on for the UL modulation response with a bias level of e g., 0.7 volts. It should be understood that 0.7 volts is given as an example only, to aid in the understanding of the disclosure. In some examples, when the information indicates that the reflection amplifier was powered-on and/or a value of the bias level is provided then it is implicitly indicated that a stable bias level was determined.

At S813, the reader entity sends (or provides), to the SCU, the information related to reflection amplification (from the AloT device). The information related to reflection amplification may be provided in a report (or similar).

At S814, the SCU evaluates the information related to reflection amplification (e.g., in the report) to determine a configuration for a further activation of the AloT device. Stated differently, the SCU determines whether to update the configuration information for the further activation of the AloT device based on the information that has been received from the AloT device. Based on the determining, the SCU may perform an action related to the configuration information for the further activation of the device.

The action may comprise updating the configuration information (or updating values/information/indications of the configuration information). Updating the information may comprise at least one of the following: changing the bias level for the reflection amplifier of the device, or increasing a time window for determining a stable bias level at the device.

In some examples, when the SCU determines that reflection amplification was performed by the device (amplifier powered-on) and a bias level associated with the reflection amplification is below a threshold level, the SCU may update the configuration information for the further activation of the device based on the indication of the value for the bias level for the reflection amplifier. Stated differently, the SCU may update the configuration information to include the value of the bias level that the AloT device has indicated is stable. The threshold level may be considered to be a maximum bias level. The maximum bias level may be set by the network.

In some examples, when the SCU determines that at least one of: reflection amplification was not performed by the device (amplifier powered-off) or a bias level associated with the reflection amplification is above the threshold level, the SCU updates the configuration information for the further activation of the device so that the duration of the time window for the procedure is increased in the configuration for the AloT device. In some examples, the SCU may also (when the SCU determines that at least one of: reflection amplification was not performed by the device (amplifier powered-off) or a bias level associated with the reflection amplification is above a threshold level) cause a power for a CW for the further activation of the device to be lowered. The SCU may configure the CW node to lower the (RF) power of a CW to be generated for the further activation of the device.

At S815, the SCU may send a further request, for the device, to trigger the further activation of the device, wherein the further request comprises the configuration information. The further request comprises the configuration information that has been updated. For example, the configuration information (that has been updated) comprises an indication of the value of the bias level that the AloT device has indicated allows for stable amplification.

The SOU may be a network entity. For example, the SCU may be a base station, or gNB. In other examples, the SCU may be a communication device. For example, the SCU may be a user equipment (UE).

The activator entity may be a network entity. For example, the activator entity may be a base station, or gNB. In other examples, the activator entity may be a communication device. For example, the activator entity may be a UE.

The CW node may be a network entity. For example, the CW node may be a base station, or gNB. In other examples, the CW node may be a communication device. For example, the CW node may be a UE.

The reader entity may be a network entity. For example, the reader entity may be a base station, or gNB. In other examples, the reader entity may be a communication device. For example, the reader entity may be a UE.

In some examples, the activator entity and the reader entity are the same entity. For example, a base station or UE is configured as an activator entity and a reader entity. In other examples, the activator entity and the reader entity are separate entities.

In some examples, the activator entity and the CW node are the same entity. In other examples, the activator entity and the CW node are separate entities.

In some examples, the SCU and the activator entity are the same entity. In other examples, the SCU and the activator entity are separate entities.

In some examples, the SCU, the activator entity, and the reader entity are the same entity. In other examples, the SCU, the activator entity, and the reader entity are separate entities.

It should be understood that one or more of the steps of FIG. 8 may not be performed in some examples, or may be performed in an alternative order.

An ambient loT device (e.g., the AloT device of FIG. 8) is activated and configured via an activator (or activator entity). A reader (or reader entity) will receive the ambient loT device backscatter response. However, different topologies are defined for ambient loT activation and reading sessions. The activator, reader and carrier wave node may be, for example, either gNBs, UEs, or a combination of those. As such, different interfaces and signal types may carry the information described in Figure 8. Below is a list of some example options for these interfaces and signal types:

SCU to Activator:

When Activator is gNB: Xn, NR positioning protocol A (NRPPa) When Activator is UE: Uu, PC5 interface, LTE positioning protocol (LPP), radio resource control (RRC), discontinuous reception (DRX) paging

SCU to Reader:

When Reader is gNB: Xn, NRPPa

When Reader is UE: Uu, PC5, LPP, RRC, DRX paging

SCU to CW node:

- When CW node is gNB: Xn, NRPPa

- When CW node is UE: Uu, PC5, LPP, RRC, DRX paging

Activator to AloT Device:

- Ambient loT R2D physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)

CW node to AloT device:

Continuous wave signal, multi-tone signal

AIOT device ->Reader: Ambient loT D2R PUCCH, information modulated onto CW node signal

Reader->SCU:

Reader is gNB: Xn, NRPPa

Reader is UE: Uu, PC5, LPP, RRC, small data transmission (SDT)

One or more of the examples above have the advantage that the network has control over reflection amplification performed by ambient loT devices. For example, when ambient loT devices are performing procedures to determine a stable bias level for reflection amplification. This enables a fast and efficient network-controlled optimization for stable usage of a reflection amplifier of an ambient loT device by controlling the adjustment of at least one of a bias level of the amplifier, a time window for determination a stable bias level, or a carrier wave power level, wherein the adjustment is based on reporting information provided by the ambient loT device. If there is no network control, an AloT device may perform bias level procedures to start with a default bias level and then proceed to run for each activation of the AloT device with the reflection amplifier powered-on. With a network awareness of a stable bias level and a power for a CW, this means that an AloT device may not need to run the bias level procedure for each activation. This decreases the AloT device power consumption. Furthermore, there is the advantage that resource overhead is reduced due to the aligned configuring of the CW and the UL monitoring window that the reader uses to monitor for an UL modulation response. This is because if the network is not aware of when an AloT device will be transmitting an UL modulation response, then the AloT device may autonomously detect a CW and then start UL modulation after a time delay (which is unknown to the network). Stated differently, when a bias level procedure at the AloT is not controlled by then network, then the network may configure a CW to be ON aligned with a configured AloT RX-TX delay. At which point the network expects the AloT to start UL modulation with an aligned reader UL monitoring window. Upon CW detection, the AloT device may then autonomously start a bias level procedure and only hereafter, after an unknown delay, start UL modulation. As a result, the time window that the reader will monitor for a UL modulation response will need to be extended by an undefined amount to ensure reception of the UL modulation response, which creates an increased resource overhead.

FIG. 9 shows an example method flow performed by an apparatus. The apparatus may be for an SCU. The apparatus may be configured to operate as an SCU. Alternatively, or additionally, the apparatus may be one of: a base station (e.g., a gNB), a network entity, or a UE.

In S901, the method comprises: sending a request, for a device, to trigger an activation of the device, wherein the request comprises configuration information related to performing reflection amplification at the device.

In S903, the method comprises: receiving, from a reader entity, information related to reflection amplification performed by the device.

In S905, the method comprises: determining whether to update the configuration information for a further activation of the device based on the information that has been received.

It should be understood that, in some examples, one or more additional method steps are included in the method flow of FIG.9 and are performed by the apparatus. In some examples, one or more of the method steps of FIG. 9 detailed above may not be performed, or may be performed in a different order.

FIG. 10 shows an example method flow performed by an apparatus. The apparatus may be for an AloT device. The apparatus may be configured to operate as an AloT device. Alternatively, or additionally, the apparatus may be one of: a communication device, a UE, or a terminal.

In S1001 , the method comprises: receiving, from an activator entity, a request to trigger an activation of the apparatus, wherein the request comprises configuration information related to performing reflection amplification at the apparatus.

In S1003, the method comprises: receiving a carrier wave. In S1005, the method comprises: based on the configuration information, performing a modulation of data onto the carrier wave which is being reflected, in order to generate an uplink modulation response, wherein reflection amplification is performed by the apparatus to generate the uplink modulation response.

In S1007, the method comprises: sending, to a reader entity, the uplink modulation response, wherein the uplink modulation response comprises information related to reflection amplification performed by the apparatus.

It should be understood that, in some examples, one or more additional method steps are included in the method flow of FIG.10 and are performed by the apparatus. In some examples, one or more of the method steps of FIG. 10 detailed above may not be performed, or may be performed in a different order.

FIG. 11 shows a schematic representation of non-volatile memory media 1100a (e.g. Blu-ray disc (BD), computer disc (CD) or digital versatile disc (DVD)) and 1100b (e.g. flash memory, solid state memory, universal serial bus (USB) memory stick) storing instructions and/or parameters 1102 which when executed by a processor allow the processor to perform one or more of the steps of the methods of FIGS. 9 to 10.

It is noted that while the above describes example embodiments, there are several variations and modifications which may be made to the disclosed solution without departing from the scope of the present invention.

The examples may thus vary within the scope of the attached claims. In general, some embodiments may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. For example, some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device, although embodiments are not limited thereto. While various embodiments may be illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other pictorial representation, it is well understood that these blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods described herein may be implemented in, as nonlimiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

The examples may be implemented by computer software stored in a memory and executable by at least one data processor of the involved entities or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. Further in this regard it should be noted that any procedures may represent program steps, or interconnected logic circuits, blocks and functions, or a combination of program steps and logic circuits, blocks and functions. The software may be stored on such physical media as memory chips, or memory blocks implemented within the processor, magnetic media such as hard disk or floppy disks, and optical media such as for example DVD and the data variants thereof, CD. The term “non-transitory”, as used herein, is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e. tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (e.g. RAM vs ROM).

As used herein, “at least one of the following:<a list of two or more elements: ” and “at least one of: <a list of two or more elements:*” and similar wording, where the list of two or more elements are joined by “and”, or “or”, mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all of the elements.

The memory may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory. The data processors may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment, and may include one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), gate level circuits and processors based on multi core processor architecture, as non-limiting examples.

As used herein, the terms “means for”, “means for performing operations including”, “means configured to perform operations including”, or “means configured to perform” (or similar) may be any means that are suitable for performing the feature(s). The “means” may be configured to perform one or more of the functions and/or method steps previously described. For example, the “means” may include one or more of: at least one processor, at least one memory, transceiver circuitry, antenna circuitry, etc. It should be understood that these are provided as non-limiting examples.

Alternatively, or additionally some examples may be implemented using circuitry. The circuitry may be configured to perform one or more of the functions and/or method steps previously described. That circuitry may be provided in the base station and/or in the communications device.

As used in this application, the term “circuitry” may refer to one or more or all of the following:

(a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analogue and/or digital circuitry);

(b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as:

(i) a combination of analogue and/or digital hardware circuit(s) with software/firmware and

(ii) any portions of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s)), software, and memory(ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as the communications device or base station to perform the various functions previously described; and (c) hardware circuit(s) and or processor(s), such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation.

This definition of circuitry applies to uses of the term “means” in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and/or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example integrated device. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in a server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

The foregoing description has provided by way of exemplary and non-limiting examples a full and informative description of some embodiments. However, various modifications and adaptations may become apparent to those skilled in the relevant arts in view of the foregoing description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the appended claims. However, all such and similar modifications of the teachings will still fall within the scope as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising: means for sending a request, for a device, to trigger an activation of the device, wherein the request comprises configuration information related to performing reflection amplification at the device; means for receiving, from a reader entity, information related to reflection amplification performed by the device; and means for determining whether to update the configuration information for a further activation of the device based on the information that has been received.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the request is sent, by the apparatus, to an activator entity for sending to the device.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the device is an ambient internet-of-things device, AloT.

4. The apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the configuration information comprises at least one of the following: an indication to enable reflection amplification at the device, an indication to disable reflection amplification at the device, an indication of a time window for determining a bias level for amplification that is stable at the device, an indication to set a bias level of a reflection amplifier of the device to a specified value, an indication of a start time for determining a bias level for amplification that is stable at the device, or an indication of a number of cycles of bias level determinations that are allowed to be performed at the device.

5. The apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein the information received from the reader entity comprises at least one of the following: information related to a determination of a bias level for amplification that is stable performed by the device, an indication of whether a reflection amplifier of the device was powered- on for a backscatter response, an indication of whether a bias level for a reflection amplifier of the device has been determined for amplification that is stable, or an indication of a value for the bias level for the reflection amplifier.

6. The apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the apparatus comprises: means for, based on the determining, performing an action related to the configuration information for the further activation of the device.

7. The apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the apparatus comprises: means for, when it is determined that reflection amplification was performed by the device and a bias level associated with the reflection amplification is below a threshold level, updating the configuration information for the further activation of the device based on the indication of the value for the bias level for the reflection amplifier.

8. The apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the apparatus comprises: means for, when it is determined that at least one of: reflection amplification was not performed by the device or a bias level associated with the reflection amplification is above a threshold level, updating the configuration information for the further activation of the device so that a duration of the time window for determining a bias level for amplification is increased in the indication of the time window for determining oscillations at the device.

9. The apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 6, wherein the apparatus comprises: means for, when it is determined that at least one of: reflection amplification was not performed by the device or a bias level associated with the reflection amplification is above a threshold level, updating the configuration information for the further activation of the device so that a duration of the time window for determining a bias level for amplification is increased in the indication of the time window for determining oscillations at the device and/or causing power for a carrier wave for the further activation of the device to be lowered.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the means for causing power for the carrier wave for the further activation of the device to be lowered comprises: means for configuring an entity that is arranged to generate the carrier wave to lower the power of the carrier wave for the further activation of the device.

11 . The apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 10, wherein updating the information comprises at least one of the following: changing bias level for the reflection amplifier of the device, or increasing a time window for determining a bias level for amplification that is stable at the device.

12. The apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 11, wherein the apparatus comprises: means for sending a further request, for the device, to trigger the further activation of the device, wherein the further request comprises the configuration information that has been updated.

13. The apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 12, wherein the apparatus comprises: means for sending a capability request, to the device via the activator entity, for capabilities related to reflection amplification of the device.

14. The apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 13, wherein the apparatus comprises: means for receiving, from the reader entity, at least one capability related to reflection amplification of the device.

15. The apparatus according to claim 13 or claim 14, wherein the at least one capability related to reflection amplification comprises at least one of the following: support for performing reflection amplification, support for determining a bias level for amplification that is stable at the device, support for setting a bias level for a reflection amplifier, or support for a time window for determining a bias level for amplification that is stable at the device.

16. The apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 15, wherein the apparatus comprises: means for triggering an entity that is arranged to generate a carrier wave to begin a transmission of the carrier wave towards the device at a specified time, wherein the specified time is aligned with the configuration information, and wherein the carrier wave is for backscatter response for the device.

17. The apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 16, wherein the apparatus comprises: means for configuring the reader entity to receive a backscatter response from the

AloT device based on the configuration information for the AloT device, such that the reader entity is configured to monitor for a backscatter response from the AloT device within a specific time window based on the configuration information.

18. An apparatus comprising: means for receiving, from an activator entity, a request to trigger an activation of the apparatus, wherein the request comprises configuration information related to performing reflection amplification at the apparatus; means for receiving a carrier wave; means for, based on the configuration information, performing a modulation of data onto the carrier wave which is being reflected, in order to generate an uplink modulation response, wherein reflection amplification is performed by the apparatus to generate the uplink modulation response; and means for sending, to a reader entity, the uplink modulation response, wherein the uplink modulation response comprises information related to reflection amplification performed by the apparatus.

19. The apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the apparatus is an ambient internet- of-things device, AloT.

20. The apparatus according to claim 18 or claim 19, wherein the configuration information comprises at least one of the following: an indication to enable reflection amplification at the apparatus, an indication to disable reflection amplification at the apparatus, an indication of a time window for determining a bias level for amplification that is stable at the apparatus, an indication to set a bias level of a reflection amplifier of the apparatus to a specified value, an indication of a start time for determining a bias level for amplification that is stable at the apparatus, or an indication of a number of cycles of bias level determinations that are allowed to be performed at the apparatus.

21 . The apparatus according to any of claims 18 to 20, wherein the information related to reflection amplification comprises at least one of the following: information related to a determination of a bias level for amplification that is stable that was performed by the apparatus, an indication of whether a reflection amplifier of the apparatus was powered- on for a backscatter response, an indication of whether a bias level for a reflection amplifier of the apparatus has been determined for amplification that is stable, or an indication of a value for the bias level for the reflection amplifier.

22. A method comprising: sending a request, for a device, to trigger an activation of the device, wherein the request comprises configuration information related to performing reflection amplification at the device; receiving, from a reader entity, information related to reflection amplification performed by the device; and determining whether to update the configuration information for a further activation of the device based on the information that has been received.

23. A method comprising: receiving, from an activator entity, a request to trigger an activation of the apparatus, wherein the request comprises configuration information related to performing reflection amplification at the apparatus; receiving a carrier wave; based on the configuration information, performing a modulation of data onto the carrier wave which is being reflected, in order to generate an uplink modulation response, wherein reflection amplification is performed by the apparatus to generate the uplink modulation response; and sending, to a reader entity, the uplink modulation response, wherein the uplink modulation response comprises information related to reflection amplification performed by the apparatus.

24. A computer program comprising instructions, which when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: sending a request, for a device, to trigger an activation of the device, wherein the request comprises configuration information related to performing reflection amplification at the device; receiving, from a reader entity, information related to reflection amplification performed by the device; and determining whether to update the configuration information for a further activation of the device based on the information that has been received.

25. A computer program comprising instructions, which when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: receiving, from an activator entity, a request to trigger an activation of the apparatus, wherein the request comprises configuration information related to performing reflection amplification at the apparatus; receiving a carrier wave; based on the configuration information, performing a modulation of data onto the carrier wave which is being reflected, in order to generate an uplink modulation response, wherein reflection amplification is performed by the apparatus to generate the uplink modulation response; and sending, to a reader entity, the uplink modulation response, wherein the uplink modulation response comprises information related to reflection amplification performed by the apparatus.