WO2025235531A1

WO2025235531A1 - Methods for scheduling aiot devices with different processing time

Info

Publication number: WO2025235531A1
Application number: PCT/US2025/028015
Authority: WO
Inventors: Aata EL HAMSS; Moon Il Lee; Paul Marinier; Martino Freda; Erdem Bala; Remun KOIRALA; Janet Stern-Berkowitz
Original assignee: InterDigital Patent Holdings Inc
Current assignee: InterDigital Patent Holdings Inc
Priority date: 2024-05-06
Filing date: 2025-05-06
Publication date: 2025-11-13
Anticipated expiration: 2026-11-06

Abstract

An ambient internet of things (AIoT) device, and an associated reader device, are disclosed. The AIoT device may receive a command, from the reader, for information from the AIoT device. The AIoT device determines whether the information can be provided to the reader within an expected time period. The AIoT device transmits to the reader, the information when the AIoT device determines that the information can be provided to the reader within the expected time period.

Description

METHODS FOR SCHEDULING AIOT DEVICES WITH DIFFERENT PROCESSING TIME

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/643,349, filed May 6, 2024, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Ambient Internet of Things (AloT) uses low-power loT devices. Various types of AloT devices include active AloT devices with batteries and passive AloT devices without batteries. In low power communication, there are multiple challenges in communication, especially in synchronization and/or scheduling. Therefore, there is a need for efficient techniques to manage communication with low-power devices, such as the AloT devices.

SUMMARY

[0003] In one or more embodiments, a method for use in an ambient internet of things (AloT) device is provided. The method includes receiving a request for information to be transmitted from the AloT device. The command is received from an AloT reader via a reader-to-device (R2D) transmission. The method includes determining at least one of: an estimated time for preparing the requested information, a payload size of the requested information, or a number of transmissions, required for communicating the requested information. The method includes transmitting, to the AloT reader via a device-to-reader (D2R) transmission, a message indicative of at least one of: the estimated processing time, the payload size, or the required number of transmissions required for communicating the requested information.

[0004] In an embodiment, the method includes determining an R2D channel structure based on the R2D transmission. The method includes determining at least one of: an expected processing time or a maximum processing time associated with the R2D channel structure. The method includes determining whether the R2D transmission can be processed in the expected processing time or the maximum processing time.

[0005] In an embodiment, determining at least one of: the expected processing time or the maximum processing time associated with the R2D channel structure is based on a preconfigured association.

[0006] In an embodiment, the R2D channel structure includes one or more of: an R2D preamble, an R2D postamble, an R2D transmission duration, or an R2D encoding scheme.

[0007] In an embodiment, the method includes determining, based on the R2D transmission, at least one of: a device identifier (ID), an indicated reporting time, or one or more resources for the R2D transmission. The method includes determining at least one of: an expected processing time or a maximum processing time, based on at least one of: the device ID, the indicated reporting time, or the one or more resources. The method includes determining whether the R2D transmission can be processed in the expected processing time or the maximum processing time.

[0008] In an embodiment, determining whether the R2D transmission can be processed in the expected processing time or the maximum processing time is based on one or more capabilities associated with the AloT device. [0009] In an embodiment, the estimated time for preparing the requested information is one of: a range of time, a minimum time, or a maximum time for preparing the requested information.

[0010] In an embodiment, determining the estimated time for preparing the requested information includes at least one of: determining whether the requested information is available in the AloT device, determining a preparation time required for the requested information, or determining an energy state of the AloT device.

[0011] In an embodiment, preparing the requested information incudes generating sensor information using one or more sensors of the AloT device.

[0012] In an embodiment, the method includes selecting at least one of: a D2R preamble or a D2R signal, based on at least one of: the estimated processing time, the payload size, or the required number of transmissions. The method includes generating the message comprising at least one of: the D2R preamble or the D2R signal.

[0013] In an embodiment, the method includes receiving a scheduling assignment from the AloT reader. The method includes transmitting the requested information to the AloT reader using the scheduling assignment.

[0014] In one or more embodiments, an AloT device comprising a transceiver and processor is provided. The transceiver and the processor are configured to receive, from an AloT reader via an R2D transmission, a request for information to be transmitted from the AloT device. The transceiver and the processor are configured to determine at least one of: an estimated time for preparing the requested information, a payload size of the requested information, or a number of transmissions required for communicating the requested information. The transceiver and the processor are configured to transmit, to the AloT reader via a D2R transmission, a message indicative of at least one of: the estimated processing time, the payload size, or the required number of transmissions required for communicating the requested information.

[0015] In an embodiment, the transceiver and the processor are further configured to determine an R2D channel structure based on the R2D transmission. The transceiver and the processor are configured to determine at least one of: an expected processing time or a maximum processing time associated with the R2D channel structure. The transceiver and the processor are configured to determine whether the R2D transmission can be processed in the expected processing time or the maximum processing time.

[0016] In an embodiment, determining at least one of: the expected processing time or the maximum processing time associated with the R2D channel structure is based on a preconfigured association.

[0017] In an embodiment, the transceiver and the processor are further configured to determine, based on the R2D transmission, at least one of: a device ID, an indicated reporting time, or one or more resources for the R2D transmission. The transceiver and the processor are further configured to determine at least one of: an expected processing time or a maximum processing time, based on at least one of: the device ID, the indicated reporting time, or the one or more resources. The transceiver and the processor are further configured to determine whether the R2D transmission can be processed in the expected processing time or the maximum processing time.

[0018] In an embodiment, determining whether the R2D transmission can be processed in the expected processing time or the maximum processing time is based on one or more capabilities associated with the AloT device.

[0019] In an embodiment, the estimated time for preparing the requested information is at least one of: a range of time, a minimum time, or a maximum time for preparing the requested information. [0020] In an embodiment, determining the estimated time for preparing the requested information includes at least one of: determining whether the requested information is available in the AloT device, determining a preparation time required for the requested information, or determining an energy state of the AloT device.

[0021] In an embodiment, the transceiver and the processor are further configured to select at least one of: a D2R preamble or a D2R signal, based on at least one of: the estimated processing time, the payload size, or the required number of transmissions. The transceiver and the processor are further configured to generate the message comprising at least one of: the D2R preamble or the D2R signal.

[0022] In an embodiment, the transceiver and the processor are further configured to receive a scheduling assignment from the AloT reader. The transceiver and the processor are further configured to transmit the requested information to the AloT reader using the scheduling assignment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] A more detailed understanding may be had from the following description, given by way of example in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals in the figures indicate like elements, and wherein:

[0024] FIG. 1 A is a system diagram illustrating an example communications system in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented;

[0025] FIG. 1B is a system diagram illustrating an example wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1A according to an embodiment;

[0026] FIG. 1C is a system diagram illustrating an example radio access network (RAN) and an example core network (CN) that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1 A according to an embodiment;

[0027] FIG. 1 D is a system diagram illustrating a further example RAN and a further example CN that may be used within the communications system illustrated in FIG. 1 A according to an embodiment; and

[0028] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of an ambient internet of things (AloT) device in accordance with a disclosed embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] The following is a non-exhaustive list of abbreviations used in this disclosure:

Table 1

[0030] FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating an example communications system 100 in which one or more disclosed embodiments may be implemented. The communications system 100 may be a multiple access system that provides content, such as voice, data, video, messaging, broadcast, etc., to multiple wireless users. The communications system 100 may enable multiple wireless users to access such content through the sharing of system resources, including wireless bandwidth. For example, the communications systems 100 may employ one or more channel access methods, such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA), single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA), zero-tail unique-word discrete Fourier transform Spread OFDM (ZT-UW-DFT-S-OFDM), unique word OFDM (UW-OFDM), resource block-filtered OFDM, filter bank multicarrier (FBMC), and the like.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 1A, the communications system 100 may include wireless transmit/receive units (WTRUs) 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, a radio access network (RAN) 104, a core network (ON) 106, a public switched telephone network (PSTN) 108, the Internet 110, and other networks 112, though it will be appreciated that the disclosed embodiments contemplate any number of WTRUs, base stations, networks, and/or network elements. Each of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may be any type of device configured to operate and/or communicate in a wireless environment. By way of example, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d, any of which may be referred to as a station (ST A), may be configured to transmit and/or receive wireless signals and may include a user equipment (UE), a mobile station, a fixed or mobile subscriber unit, a subscription-based unit, a pager, a cellular telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smartphone, a laptop, a netbook, a personal computer, a wireless sensor, a hotspot or Mi-Fi device, an Internet of Things (loT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery), an industrial device and applications (e.g., a robot and/or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and/or an automated processing chain contexts), a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and/or industrial wireless networks, and the like. Any of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and 102d may be interchangeably referred to as a UE.

[0032] The communications systems 100 may also include a base station 114a and/or a base station 114b. Each of the base stations 114a, 114b may be any type of device configured to wirelessly interface with at least one of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to facilitate access to one or more communication networks, such as the CN 106, the Internet 110, and/or the other networks 112. By way of example, the base stations 114a, 114b may be a base transceiver station (BTS), a NodeB, an eNode B (eNB), a Home Node B, a Home eNode B, a next generation NodeB, such as a gNode B (gNB), a new radio (NR) NodeB, a site controller, an access point (AP), a wireless router, and the like. While the base stations 114a, 114b are each depicted as a single element, it will be appreciated that the base stations 1 14a, 114b may include any number of interconnected base stations and/or network elements.

[0033] The base station 114a may be part of the RAN 104, which may also include other base stations and/or network elements (not shown), such as a base station controller (BSC), a radio network controller (RNC), relay nodes, and the like. The base station 114a and/or the base station 114b may be configured to transmit and/or receive wireless signals on one or more carrier frequencies, which may be referred to as a cell (not shown). These frequencies may be in licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or a combination of licensed and unlicensed spectrum. A cell may provide coverage for a wireless service to a specific geographical area that may be relatively fixed or that may change over time. The cell may further be divided into cell sectors. For example, the cell associated with the base station 114a may be divided into three sectors. Thus, in one embodiment, the base station 114a may include three transceivers, i.e., one for each sector of the cell. In an embodiment, the base station 114a may employ multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) technology and may utilize multiple transceivers for each sector of the cell. For example, beamforming may be used to transmit and/or receive signals in desired spatial directions.

[0034] The base stations 114a, 114b may communicate with one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d over an air interface 116, which may be any suitable wireless communication link (e.g., radio frequency (RF), microwave, centimeter wave, micrometer wave, infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV), visible light, etc.). The air interface 116 may be established using any suitable radio access technology (RAT).

[0035] More specifically, as noted above, the communications system 100 may be a multiple access system and may employ one or more channel access schemes, such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, and the like. For example, the base station 114a in the RAN 104 and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), which may establish the air interface 116 using wideband CDMA (WCDMA). WCDMA may include communication protocols such as High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) and/or Evolved HSPA (HSPA+). HSPA may include High-Speed Downlink (DL) Packet Access (HSDPA) and/or High-Speed Uplink (UL) Packet Access (HSUPA).

[0036] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA), which may establish the air interface 116 using Long Term Evolution (LTE) and/or LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) and/or LTE-Advanced Pro (LTE-A Pro).

[0037] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement a radio technology such as NR Radio Access , which may establish the air interface 116 using NR.

[0038] In an embodiment, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement multiple radio access technologies. For example, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement LTE radio access and NR radio access together, for instance using dual connectivity (DC) principles. Thus, the air interface utilized by WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be characterized by multiple types of radio access technologies and/or transmissions sent to/from multiple types of base stations (e.g., an eNB and a gNB).

[0039] In other embodiments, the base station 114a and the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement radio technologies such as IEEE 802.11 (i.e., Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), IEEE 802.16 (i.e., Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX)), CDMA2000, CDMA2000 1X, CDMA2000 EV-DO, Interim Standard 2000 (IS-2000), Interim Standard 95 (IS-95), Interim Standard 856 (IS-856), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE (GERAN), and the like.

[0040] The base station 114b in FIG. 1A may be a wireless router, Home Node B, Home eNode B, or access point, for example, and may utilize any suitable RAT for facilitating wireless connectivity in a localized area, such as a place of business, a home, a vehicle, a campus, an industrial facility, an air corridor (e.g., for use by drones), a roadway, and the like. In one embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.11 to establish a wireless local area network (WLAN). In an embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may implement a radio technology such as IEEE 802.15 to establish a wireless personal area network (WPAN). In yet another embodiment, the base station 114b and the WTRUs 102c, 102d may utilize a cellularbased RAT (e.g., WCDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR etc.) to establish a picocell or femtocell. As shown in FIG. 1 A, the base station 114b may have a direct connection to the Internet 110. Thus, the base station 114b may not be required to access the Internet 110 via the CN 106.

[0041] The RAN 104 may be in communication with the CN 106, which may be any type of network configured to provide voice, data, applications, and/or voice over internet protocol (VoIP) services to one or more of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d. The data may have varying quality of service (QoS) requirements, such as differing throughput requirements, latency requirements, error tolerance requirements, reliability requirements, data throughput requirements, mobility requirements, and the like. The CN 106 may provide call control, billing services, mobile location-based services, pre-paid calling, Internet connectivity, video distribution, etc., and/or perform high-level security functions, such as user authentication. Although not shown in FIG. 1A, it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 and/or the CN 106 may be in direct or indirect communication with other RANs that employ the same RAT as the RAN 104 or a different RAT. For example, in addition to being connected to the RAN 104, which may be utilizing a NR radio technology, the CN 106 may also be in communication with another RAN (not shown) employing a GSM, UMTS, CDMA 2000, WiMAX, E-UTRA, or WiFi radio technology.

[0042] The CN 106 may also serve as a gateway for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d to access the PSTN 108, the Internet 110, and/or the other networks 112. The PSTN 108 may include circuit-switched telephone networks that provide plain old telephone service (POTS). The Internet 110 may include a global system of interconnected computer networks and devices that use common communication protocols, such as the transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP) and/or the internet protocol (IP) in the TCP/IP internet protocol suite. The networks 112 may include wired and/or wireless communications networks owned and/or operated by other service providers. For example, the networks 112 may include another CN connected to one or more RANs, which may employ the same RAT as the RAN 104 or a different RAT.

[0043] Some or all of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d in the communications system 100 may include multimode capabilities (e.g., the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d may include multiple transceivers for communicating with different wireless networks over different wireless links). For example, the WTRU 102c shown in FIG. 1A may be configured to communicate with the base station 114a, which may employ a cellular-based radio technology, and with the base station 114b, which may employ an IEEE 802 radio technology. [0044] FIG. 1 B is a system diagram illustrating an example WTRU 102. As shown in FIG. 1 B, the WTRU 102 may include a processor 118, a transceiver 120, a transmit/receive element 122, a speaker/microphone 124, a keypad 126, a display/touchpad 128, non-removable memory 130, removable memory 132, a power source 134, a global positioning system (GPS) chipset 136, and/or other peripherals 138, among others. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may include any sub-combination of the foregoing elements while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0045] The processor 118 may be a general purpose processor, a special purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, a microcontroller, Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), any other type of integrated circuit (IC), a state machine, and the like. The processor 118 may perform signal coding, data processing, power control, input/output processing, and/or any other functionality that enables the WTRU 102 to operate in a wireless environment. The processor 118 may be coupled to the transceiver 120, which may be coupled to the transmit/receive element 122. While FIG. 1 B depicts the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 as separate components, it will be appreciated that the processor 118 and the transceiver 120 may be integrated together in an electronic package or chip.

[0046] The transmit/receive element 122 may be configured to transmit signals to, or receive signals from, a base station (e.g., the base station 114a) over the air interface 1 16. For example, in one embodiment, the transmit/receive element 122 may be an antenna configured to transmit and/or receive RF signals. In an embodiment, the transmit/receive element 122 may be an emitter/detector configured to transmit and/or receive IR, UV, or visible light signals, for example. In yet another embodiment, the transmit/receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and/or receive both RF and light signals. It will be appreciated that the transmit/receive element 122 may be configured to transmit and/or receive any combination of wireless signals.

[0047] Although the transmit/receive element 122 is depicted in FIG. 1 B as a single element, the WTRU 102 may include any number of transmit/receive elements 122. More specifically, the WTRU 102 may employ MIMO technology. Thus, in one embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include two or more transmit/receive elements 122 (e.g., multiple antennas) for transmitting and receiving wireless signals over the air interface 116.

[0048] The transceiver 120 may be configured to modulate the signals that are to be transmitted by the transmit/receive element 122 and to demodulate the signals that are received by the transmit/receive element 122. As noted above, the WTRU 102 may have multi-mode capabilities. Thus, the transceiver 120 may include multiple transceivers for enabling the WTRU 102 to communicate via multiple RATs, such as NR and IEEE 802.11 , for example. [0049] The processor 118 of the WTRU 102 may be coupled to, and may receive user input data from, the speaker/microphone 124, the keypad 126, and/or the display/touchpad 128 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) display unit or organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display unit). The processor 118 may also output user data to the speaker/microphone 124, the keypad 126, and/or the display/touchpad 128. In addition, the processor 118 may access information from, and store data in, any type of suitable memory, such as the non-removable memory 130 and/or the removable memory 132. The non-removable memory 130 may include random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), a hard disk, or any other type of memory storage device. The removable memory 132 may include a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, a memory stick, a secure digital (SD) memory card, and the like. In other embodiments, the processor 118 may access information from, and store data in, memory that is not physically located on the WTRU 102, such as on a server or a home computer (not shown).

[0050] The processor 118 may receive power from the power source 134, and may be configured to distribute and/or control the power to the other components in the WTRU 102. The power source 134 may be any suitable device for powering the WTRU 102. For example, the power source 134 may include one or more dry cell batteries (e.g., nickel-cadmium (NiCd), nickel-zinc (NiZn), nickel metal hydride (NiMH), lithium-ion (Li-ion), etc.), solar cells, fuel cells, and the like.

[0051] The processor 118 may also be coupled to the GPS chipset 136, which may be configured to provide location information (e.g., longitude and latitude) regarding the current location of the WTRU 102. In addition to, or in lieu of, the information from the GPS chipset 136, the WTRU 102 may receive location information over the air interface 116 from a base station (e.g., base stations 114a, 114b) and/or determine its location based on the timing of the signals being received from two or more nearby base stations. It will be appreciated that the WTRU 102 may acquire location information by way of any suitable location-determination method while remaining consistent with an embodiment.

[0052] The processor 118 may further be coupled to other peripherals 138, which may include one or more software and/or hardware modules that provide additional features, functionality and/or wired or wireless connectivity. For example, the peripherals 138 may include an accelerometer, an e-compass, a satellite transceiver, a digital camera (for photographs and/or video), a universal serial bus (USB) port, a vibration device, a television transceiver, a hands free headset, a Bluetooth® module, a frequency modulated (FM) radio unit, a digital music player, a media player, a video game player module, an Internet browser, a Virtual Reality and/or Augmented Reality (VR/AR) device, an activity tracker, and the like. The peripherals 138 may include one or more sensors. The sensors may be one or more of a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a hall effect sensor, a magnetometer, an orientation sensor, a proximity sensor, a temperature sensor, a time sensor; a geolocation sensor, an altimeter, a light sensor, a touch sensor, a magnetometer, a barometer, a gesture sensor, a biometric sensor, a humidity sensor and the like.

[0053] The WTRU 102 may include a full duplex radio for which transmission and reception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated with particular subframes for both the UL (e.g., for transmission) and DL (e.g., for reception) may be concurrent and/or simultaneous. The full duplex radio may include an interference management unit to reduce and or substantially eliminate self-interference via either hardware (e.g., a choke) or signal processing via a processor (e.g., a separate processor (not shown) or via processor 118). In an embodiment, the WTRU 102 may include a halfduplex radio for which transmission and reception of some or all of the signals (e.g., associated with particular subframes for either the UL (e.g., for transmission) or the DL (e.g., for reception)).

[0054] FIG. 1C is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 104 and the CN 106 according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 104 may employ an E-UTRA radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 104 may also be in communication with the CN 106.

[0055] The RAN 104 may include eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c, though it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 may include any number of eNode-Bs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. In one embodiment, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may implement MIMO technology. Thus, the eNode-B 160a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and/or receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a.

[0056] Each of the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the UL and/or DL, and the like. As shown in FIG. 1 C, the eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may communicate with one another over an X2 interface.

[0057] The CN 106 shown in FIG. 1C may include a mobility management entity (MME) 162, a serving gateway (SGW) 164, and a packet data network (PDN) gateway (PGW) 166. While the foregoing elements are depicted as part of the CN 106, it will be appreciated that any of these elements may be owned and/or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0058] The MME 162 may be connected to each of the eNode-Bs 162a, 162b, 162c in the RAN 104 via an S1 interface and may serve as a control node. For example, the MME 162 may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, bearer activation/deactivation, selecting a particular serving gateway during an initial attach of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like. The MME 162 may provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN 104 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as GSM and/or WCDMA.

[0059] The SGW 164 may be connected to each of the eNode Bs 160a, 160b, 160c in the RAN 104 via the S1 interface. The SGW 164 may generally route and forward user data packets to/from the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. The SGW 164 may perform other functions, such as anchoring user planes during inter-eNode B handovers, triggering paging when DL data is available for the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, managing and storing contexts of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, and the like.

[0060] The SGW 164 may be connected to the PGW 166, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices.

[0061] The CN 106 may facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to circuit-switched networks, such as the PSTN 108, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and traditional land-line communications devices. For example, the CN 106 may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 106 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to the other networks 112, which may include other wired and/or wireless networks that are owned and/or operated by other service providers.

[0062] Although the WTRU is described in FIGS. 1A-1 D as a wireless terminal, it is contemplated that in certain representative embodiments that such a terminal may use (e.g., temporarily or permanently) wired communication interfaces with the communication network.

[0063] In representative embodiments, the other network 112 may be a WLAN. [0064] A WLAN in Infrastructure Basic Service Set (BSS) mode may have an Access Point (AP) for the BSS and one or more stations (STAs) associated with the AP. The AP may have access or an interface to a Distribution System (DS) or another type of wired/wireless network that carries traffic in to and/or out of the BSS. Traffic to STAs that originates from outside the BSS may arrive through the AP and may be delivered to the STAs. Traffic originating from STAs to destinations outside the BSS may be sent to the AP to be delivered to respective destinations. Traffic between STAs within the BSS may be sent through the AP, for example, where the source STA may send traffic to the AP and the AP may deliver the traffic to the destination STA. The traffic between STAs within a BSS may be considered and/or referred to as peer-to-peer traffic. The peer-to-peer traffic may be sent between (e.g., directly between) the source and destination STAs with a direct link setup (DLS). In certain representative embodiments, the DLS may use an 802.11 e DLS or an 802.11z tunneled DLS (TDLS). A WLAN using an Independent BSS (IBSS) mode may not have an AP, and the STAs (e.g., all of the STAs) within or using the IBSS may communicate directly with each other. The IBSS mode of communication may sometimes be referred to herein as an "ad-hoc” mode of communication.

[0065] When using the 802.11 ac infrastructure mode of operation or a similar mode of operations, the AP may transmit a beacon on a fixed channel, such as a primary channel. The primary channel may be a fixed width (e.g., 20 MHz wide bandwidth) or a dynamically set width. The primary channel may be the operating channel of the BSS and may be used by the STAs to establish a connection with the AP. In certain representative embodiments, Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA) may be implemented, for example in 802.11 systems. For CSMA/CA, the STAs (e.g., every STA), including the AP, may sense the primary channel. If the primary channel is sensed/detected and/or determined to be busy by a particular STA, the particular STA may back off. One STA (e.g., only one station) may transmit at any given time in a given BSS.

[0066] High Throughput (HT) STAs may use a 40 MHz wide channel for communication, for example, via a combination of the primary 20 MHz channel with an adjacent or nonadjacent 20 MHz channel to form a 40 MHz wide channel.

[0067] Very High Throughput (VHT) STAs may support 20M Hz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, and/or 160 MHz wide channels. The 40 MHz, and/or 80 MHz, channels may be formed by combining contiguous 20 MHz channels. A 160 MHz channel may be formed by combining 8 contiguous 20 MHz channels, or by combining two non-contiguous 80 MHz channels, which may be referred to as an 80+80 configuration. For the 80+80 configuration, the data, after channel encoding, may be passed through a segment parser that may divide the data into two streams. Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) processing, and time domain processing, may be done on each stream separately. The streams may be mapped on to the two 80 MHz channels, and the data may be transmitted by a transmitting STA. At the receiver of the receiving STA, the above described operation for the 80+80 configuration may be reversed, and the combined data may be sent to the Medium Access Control (MAC).

[0068] Sub 1 GHz modes of operation are supported by 802.11 af and 802.1 1 ah. The channel operating bandwidths, and carriers, are reduced in 802.11 af and 802.11 ah relative to those used in 802.11n, and 802.11 ac. 802.11 af supports 5 MHz, 10 MHz, and 20 MHz bandwidths in the TV White Space (TVWS) spectrum, and 802.11 ah supports 1 MHz, 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, and 16 MHz bandwidths using non-TVWS spectrum. According to a representative embodiment, 802.11 ah may support Meter Type Control/Machine-Type Communications (MTC), such as MTC devices in a macro coverage area. MTC devices may have certain capabilities, for example, limited capabilities including support for (e.g., only support for) certain and/or limited bandwidths. The MTC devices may include a battery with a battery life above a threshold (e.g., to maintain a very long battery life).

[0069] WLAN systems, which may support multiple channels, and channel bandwidths, such as 802.11 n, 802.11 ac, 802.11 af, and 802.11 ah, include a channel which may be designated as the primary channel. The primary channel may have a bandwidth equal to the largest common operating bandwidth supported by all STAs in the BSS. The bandwidth of the primary channel may be set and/or limited by a STA, from among all STAs in operating in a BSS, which supports the smallest bandwidth operating mode. In the example of 802.11ah, the primary channel may be 1 MHz wide for STAs (e.g., MTC type devices) that support (e.g., only support) a 1 MHz mode, even if the AP, and other STAs in the BSS support 2 MHz, 4 MHz, 8 MHz, 16 MHz, and/or other channel bandwidth operating modes. Carrier sensing and/or Network Allocation Vector (NAV) settings may depend on the status of the primary channel. If the primary channel is busy, for example, due to a STA (which supports only a 1 MHz operating mode) transmitting to the AP, all available frequency bands may be considered busy even though a majority of the available frequency bands remains idle.

[0070] In the United States, the available frequency bands, which may be used by 802.11 ah, are from 902 MHz to 928 MHz. In Korea, the available frequency bands are from 917.5 MHz to 923.5 MHz. In Japan, the available frequency bands are from 916.5 MHz to 927.5 MHz. The total bandwidth available for 802.11 ah is 6 MHz to 26 MHz depending on the country code.

[0071] FIG. 1 D is a system diagram illustrating the RAN 104 and the CN 106 according to an embodiment. As noted above, the RAN 104 may employ an NR radio technology to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. The RAN 104 may also be in communication with the CN 106.

[0072] The RAN 104 may include gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c, though it will be appreciated that the RAN 104 may include any number of gNBs while remaining consistent with an embodiment. The gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may each include one or more transceivers for communicating with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c over the air interface 116. In one embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement Ml MO technology. For example, gNBs 180a, 108b may utilize beamforming to transmit signals to and/or receive signals from the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c. Thus, the gNB 180a, for example, may use multiple antennas to transmit wireless signals to, and/or receive wireless signals from, the WTRU 102a. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement carrier aggregation technology. For example, the gNB 180a may transmit multiple component carriers to the WTRU 102a (not shown). A subset of these component carriers may be on unlicensed spectrum while the remaining component carriers may be on licensed spectrum. In an embodiment, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may implement Coordinated Multi-Point (CoMP) technology. For example, WTRU 102a may receive coordinated transmissions from gNB 180a and gNB 180b (and/or gNB 180c).

[0073] The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using transmissions associated with a scalable numerology. For example, the OFDM symbol spacing and/or OFDM subcarrier spacing may vary for different transmissions, different cells, and/or different portions of the wireless transmission spectrum. The WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using subframe or transmission time intervals (TTIs) of various or scalable lengths (e.g., containing a varying number of OFDM symbols and/or lasting varying lengths of absolute time). [0074] The gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be configured to communicate with the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c in a standalone configuration and/or a non-standalone configuration. In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c without also accessing other RANs (e.g., such as eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c). In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may utilize one or more of gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c as a mobility anchor point. In the standalone configuration, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c using signals in an unlicensed band. In a non-standalone configuration WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may communicate with/connect to gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c while also communicating with/connecting to another RAN such as eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c. For example, WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may implement DC principles to communicate with one or more gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c and one or more eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c substantially simultaneously. In the non-standalone configuration, eNode-Bs 160a, 160b, 160c may serve as a mobility anchor for WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may provide additional coverage and/or throughput for servicing WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c.

[0075] Each of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may be associated with a particular cell (not shown) and may be configured to handle radio resource management decisions, handover decisions, scheduling of users in the UL and/or DL, support of network slicing, DC, interworking between NR and E-UTRA, routing of user plane data towards User Plane Function (UPF) 184a, 184b, routing of control plane information towards Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 182a, 182b and the like. As shown in FIG. 1 D, the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c may communicate with one another over an Xn interface.

[0076] The CN 106 shown in FIG. 1 D may include at least one AMF 182a, 182b, at least one UPF 184a, 184b, at least one Session Management Function (SMF) 183a, 183b, and possibly a Data Network (DN) 185a, 185b. While the foregoing elements are depicted as part of the CN 106, it will be appreciated that any of these elements may be owned and/or operated by an entity other than the CN operator.

[0077] The AMF 182a, 182b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 104 via an N2 interface and may serve as a control node. For example, the AMF 182a, 182b may be responsible for authenticating users of the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c, support for network slicing (e.g., handling of different protocol data unit (PDU) sessions with different requirements), selecting a particular SMF 183a, 183b, management of the registration area, termination of non-access stratum (NAS) signaling, mobility management, and the like. Network slicing may be used by the AMF 182a, 182b in order to customize CN support for WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c based on the types of services being utilized WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c. For example, different network slices may be established for different use cases such as services relying on ultra-reliable low latency (URLLC) access, services relying on enhanced massive mobile broadband (eMBB) access, services for MTC access, and the like. The AMF 182a, 182b may provide a control plane function for switching between the RAN 104 and other RANs (not shown) that employ other radio technologies, such as LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, and/or non-3GPP access technologies such as WiFi.

[0078] The SMF 183a, 183b may be connected to an AMF 182a, 182b in the CN 106 via an N11 interface. The SMF 183a, 183b may also be connected to a UPF 184a, 184b in the CN 106 via an N4 interface. The SMF 183a, 183b may select and control the UPF 184a, 184b and configure the routing of traffic through the UPF 184a, 184b. The SMF 183a, 183b may perform other functions, such as managing and allocating WTRU IP address, managing PDU sessions, controlling policy enforcement and QoS, providing DL data notifications, and the like. A PDU session type may be IP-based, non-IP based, Ethernet-based, and the like.

[0079] The UPF 184a, 184b may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 180a, 180b, 180c in the RAN 104 via an N3 interface, which may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet 110, to facilitate communications between the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c and IP-enabled devices. The UPF 184, 184b may perform other functions, such as routing and forwarding packets, enforcing user plane policies, supporting multi-homed PDU sessions, handling user plane QoS, buffering DL packets, providing mobility anchoring, and the like.

[0080] The CN 106 may facilitate communications with other networks. For example, the CN 106 may include, or may communicate with, an IP gateway (e.g., an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) server) that serves as an interface between the CN 106 and the PSTN 108. In addition, the CN 106 may provide the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c with access to the other networks 112, which may include other wired and/or wireless networks that are owned and/or operated by other service providers. In one embodiment, the WTRUs 102a, 102b, 102c may be connected to a local DN 185a, 185b through the UPF 184a, 184b via the N3 interface to the UPF 184a, 184b and an N6 interface between the UPF 184a, 184b and the DN 185a, 185b.

[0081] In view of FIGs. 1A-1 D, and the corresponding description of FIGs. 1A-1 D, one or more, or all, of the functions described herein with regard to one or more of: WTRU 102a-d, Base Station 114a-b, eNode-B 160a-c, MME 162, SGW 164, PGW 166, gNB 180a-c, AMF 182a-b, UPF 184a-b, SMF 183a-b, DN 185a-b, and/or any other device(s) described herein, may be performed by one or more emulation devices (not shown). The emulation devices may be one or more devices configured to emulate one or more, or all, of the functions described herein. For example, the emulation devices may be used to test other devices and/or to simulate network and/or WTRU functions.

[0082] The emulation devices may be designed to implement one or more tests of other devices in a lab environment and/or in an operator network environment. For example, the one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, or all, functions while being fully or partially implemented and/or deployed as part of a wired and/or wireless communication network in order to test other devices within the communication network. The one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, or all, functions while being temporarily implemented/deployed as part of a wired and/or wireless communication network. The emulation device may be directly coupled to another device for purposes of testing and/or performing testing using over-the-air wireless communications.

[0083] The one or more emulation devices may perform the one or more, including all, functions while not being implemented/deployed as part of a wired and/or wireless communication network. For example, the emulation devices may be utilized in a testing scenario in a testing laboratory and/or a non-deployed (e.g., testing) wired and/or wireless communication network in order to implement testing of one or more components. The one or more emulation devices may be test equipment. Direct RF coupling and/or wireless communications via RF circuitry (e.g., which may include one or more antennas) may be used by the emulation devices to transmit and/or receive data.

[0084] An internet of things (loT) system includes various connected devices and/or things (e.g., various sensors etc.) that can communicate with a network using small data payloads and low transmission power, for example. Given a high interest in loT systems, 3^rd generation partnership project (3GPP) introduced loT service in both long term evolution (LTE) and new radio (NR). Type of devices and deployment scenarios keep evolving as a demand for connected things increases. Recently, high interest was shown in very low power consumption type of loT devices in cellular system. This led the 3GPP community to evaluate how Ambient loT (AloT) type of devices may be deployed and supported in cellular networks. A 3GPP study item focuses on three types of devices. A first type of AloT device is capable of a peak power consumption around one micro watt, and has energy storage. The first type of AloT device is not capable of downlink (DL) and/or uplink (UL) amplification. The UL transmission of the first type of AloT device is backscattered on a carrier wave provided externally. A second type of AloT device is capable of peak power consumption around a few hundred micro watts and has energy storage. The second type of AloT device is capable of DL and/or UL amplification. The UL transmission of the second type of AloT device is also backscattered on a carrier wave provided externally. A third type of AloT device is capable of peak power consumption around a few hundred micro watts and has energy storage. The third type of AloT device is also capable of DL and/or UL amplification. The UL transmission of the third type of AloT device is generated internally by the third type of AloT device.

[0085] The first and the second types of AloT devices are characterized by poor synchronization performance leading to high synchronization frequency offset (SFO). This impacts the transmission timing from the first and the second types of AloT devices to the reader (i.e. device-to-reader (D2R) transmission). Furthermore, the first and second types of AloT devices are expected to have an energy harvester module to charge corresponding batteries (i.e. energy storage in the AloT devices). During high energy level, the AloT device may be capable of longer transmission duration and/or more transmissions whereas in low energy level the AloT device may not be capable of transmission. The third type of AloT device is more capable and is expected to have higher synchronization accuracy and have a higher level of energy.

[0086] The AloT devices are expected to be deployed on two different topologies. In topology 1 , the AloT device can communicate directly with a base station (gNB). In topology 2, the AloT device can communicate with an intermediate node that transfers the communication to the gNB. Such an intermediate node can be a wireless transmit receive unit (WTRU) (e.g., a user equipment (UE) etc.), a repeater and/or an integrated access/backhaul (IAB) node. In the topology 1 , the gNB schedules the AloT device whereas for the topology 2, the intermediate WTRU is responsible for scheduling the AloT device.

[0087] The design of an AloT system targets different D2R transmission ranges that can be from 10 to 50 meters. For shorter distance, a short D2R transmission may be sufficient for a reader to be able to decode a transmission. But for longer distance, D2R transmission repetition may be needed to decode the transmission.

[0088] Different types of AloT devices are expected to have different processing times. Some AloT devices can be capable of fast decoding and/or preparation of the transmission while others may be slower. In some situations, the reader may not be aware of the processing time capability of a given AloT device. For example, during the inventory round, the AloT devices are not yet identified to the network and their processing capability is unknown to the reader. The uncertainty regarding the processing time capability may lead the reader to assume the worst and/or longer processing time to schedule and/or trigger the AloT devices. If the reader uses the longer processing time for AloT every device, the latency of the scheduling and/or inventory procedure may increase. [0089] As such, the processing time capability may be important information for the AloT device to communicate. The processing and/or preparation that the AloT device needs to report to the reader depends on several factors. For example, one factor may be the processing capability of the AloT device, e.g., whether the AloT device has fast processing capability or not. Another factor could be the time that the AloT device needs to acquire requested information. For example, a sensor needs some time to measure a temperature and report it back to the reader.

[0090] Additionally, given the likely very large number of AloT devices and the time uncertainty for an AloT device to acquire the relevant capability information, it is not possible for the reader to know the preparation and/or processing time needed for each AloT device before sending commands to the AloT devices.

[0091] So in summary, the following disclosure address how a reader device may schedule transmissions for the AloT devices when the preparation and/or processing time is uncertain.

[0092] A device may refer to an ambient loT device, an loT device, machine type communication (MTC) device, or a WTRU (e.g., a UE) with reduced capability (e.g., reduced power capability). A reader may refer to an AloT reader, gNB, an IAB, a device acting as relay, and/or an intermediate WTRU acting as a relay between the gNB and the AloT device.

[0093] In an example topology, a reader may be a gNB. In some scenarios, a reader may be a WTRU under control and/or coverage of a gNB. When the reader is a WTRU, the reader may receive one or more configurations related to an AloT operation from a gNB and/or from another entity controlling AloT operations, e.g. an AloT controller. In an example, a configuration may be received by a physical layer, medium access control (MAC), and/or higher- layer signaling (radio resource control (RRC) or other protocol) etc. Unless otherwise specified, any parameter or configuration utilized by a reader may be obtained using such signaling.

[0094] A reader may be configured to schedule one or multiple AloT devices simultaneously. For example, the reader may indicate to a group of AloT devices using a multi-cast and/or group cast control information the scheduling parameters for the transmission. Such parameters may include a coding scheme, a modulation type, a transmission duration, a repetition number, and/or a frequency allocation. In another example, the reader may indicate to one AloT device using a unicast control information the scheduling parameters for the transmission. Such scheduling parameters may include one or more of the following: a coding scheme, a modulation scheme, a transmission duration, a repetition number, a frequency allocation, and/or a transmit power etc.

[0095] The control information may be carried in a separate channel (e.g., reader-to-device (R2D) control information channel) or may be carried with a data channel (e.g., reader-to-device channel). In one embodiment, the reader may indicate explicitly each scheduling parameter to the AloT device. In another solution, the reader may implicitly indicate one or more scheduling parameters to the AloT device. The one or more implicit scheduling parameters indication may be based on a carrier waveform. A carrier waveform may be associated with the one or multiple scheduling parameters. For example, a first carrier waveform may be associated with a first modulation scheme and a second carrier waveform may be associated with a second modulation scheme. When the reader transmits the first waveform to be used by the AloT device for backscattering, the AloT device uses the first modulation scheme. A carrier waveform may be characterized by a frequency location and/or a bandwidth size. For example, a first carrier waveform has B1 bandwidth, and a second carrier waveform has B2 waveform. [0096] In an example, a transmission from a device to reader (D2R) may be a transmission of data information, transmission of control information, or preamble, midamble, postamble, and/or reference signal transmission etc. A D2R transmission may be transmitted following reception of a scheduling message from a reader and/or autonomously initiated by the AloT device. For example, a AloT device may initiate a transmission for an initial access.

[0097] The AloT device may be pre-configured with one or multiple preamble, midamble, postamble, and/or reference signal transmission parameters and the reader may indicate to the AloT device which preamble to use for the transmission. Each preamble may be configured with a different sequence.

[0098] A transmission from a reader to device (R2D) may be a transmission of data information, transmission of control information, or preamble, midamble, postamble, and/or reference signal transmission. A R2D transmission may be transmitted following receiving a scheduling message from a reader.

[0099] A time unit may refer to a pre-defined duration in terms of an absolute unit of time such as a second, millisecond, or the like. Alternatively, or additionally, a time unit may refer to a pre-defined duration in terms of a certain number of symbols, slots, and/or frames etc. Alternatively, or additionally, a time unit may refer to a time period indicated dynamically by a transmission such as a synchronization signal, sync transmission, preamble, midamble, and/or postamble transmission etc.

[0100] An AloT device may operate according to alternating first and second periods characterized as follows. A first period ("On” or "active time”) during which the AloT device enables reception and/or transmission capabilities. A second period ("Off') during which the AloT device disables reception and/or transmission capabilities for at least some types of receptions and/or transmissions. During this second period, the AloT device may set its circuitry to enable energy harvesting from a radio source, for example.

[0101] A duty cycle or a duty cycle ratio may be defined as the ratio between On and Off periods. During the "On” period, an AloT device consumes energy accumulated in an energy storage (e.g. capacitor or battery) according to a first (discharging) rate while during the Off period, an AloT device may accumulate energy according to a second (charging) rate. The discharging and charging rates may depend on various factors. For example, the charging rate may depend on the received power available from a radio source which varies depending on the distance from the radio source. A maximum On-duration may be defined as the maximum duration of an On period such that there is remaining energy at the end of the On period. The maximum On-duration may depend on factors such as energy storage capacity and discharging rate. A maximum duty cycle may be defined as the maximum duty cycle such that an AloT device always has remaining energy (i.e. more than zero) at the end of an On period. The maximum duty cycle may be different for different AloT devices, and for a same AloT device may vary over time depending on the above-mentioned factors for the charging and discharging rates.

[0102] An activity cycle includes a specific time pattern defining On and Off periods. An activity cycle may be characterized by at least one of the following: a periodicity, defined as a time difference between the start of two successive On periods (or two successive Off periods); the duration of the On period, or maximum thereof, or minimum thereof; the duration of the Off period, or maximum thereof, or minimum thereof; an offset defined as time difference between a reference time and the start of an On period (or alternatively of an Off period); a reference time may be derived from, or correspond to, the transmission time of a synchronization signal; and/or a set of start times, where each start time corresponds to the start of an On period (or of an Off period); a start time may be identified by e.g. a time index.

[0103] In some embodiments, a synchronization capability may be associated with sampling frequency offset (SFO). For example, a first value of SFO may be associated with a first synchronization capability and a second value of SFO may be associated with a second synchronization capability. In another embodiment, a synchronization capability may be associated with a jitter value. For example, for a first value of jitter may be associated with a first synchronization capability and a second value of jitter capability may be associated with a second synchronization capability. The AloT device may determine synchronization capability of the AIOT device based on one or more of the following: timing shift from a reference time indicated from the reader, SFO, and/or jitter period where the jitter period is the deviation of a clock signal of the AloT device with respect to a reference point indicated by the reader.

[0104] One or more AloT commands may be a control or data transmission from a reader to an AloT device requesting the report of some information from the AloT device. The requested information may be then transmitted by the AloT device following the reception of the AloT command. The AloT command may be transmitted in reader- to-device control channel or reader-to-device data channel. In one example, the AloT command may be a request to a AloT device to identify itself. Following such command the AloT device reports its AloT device identity (e.g., an AloT device ID) to the reader. In another example, the AloT command may be a request to report a collected information from the AloT device. This information may be, for example, collected from the surrounding environment using sensors (e.g., measure temperature). In another example, the AloT command may be a request to report the AloT device duty cycle related information. The duty cycle information may include at least one or more of an: on-duration, off duration, activity cycle, maximum on-duration, and/or maximum duty cycle. The AloT command may be a request to report the energy level of the AloT device.

[0105] In some embodiments, a reader determines the R2D required time to process a command. In this embodiment, a reader may determine the required time to process an R2D command based on the command characteristics. The command characteristics may be related to the information that the reader is requesting the AloT device to transmit.

[0106] The command characteristics may include a type of information needed to be reported by the AloT device. For example, for time sensitive information, the reader may determine a short processing time required to process an R2D command. The type of information may depend on the type of service the AloT device belongs to.

[0107] The command characteristics may include an AloT device identity for which the command may be sent. For example, a AloT device identity may be associated with AloT device type and/or processing capability. The AloT device identity may be an RNTI that is associated to the AloT device by the reader or an identity that is fixed and set by the manufacturer. A range of AloT device IDs may be allocated (by a manufacturer) to AloT devices with certain processing time capability.

[0108] The command characteristics may include a maximum latency tolerated for the command. For example, each command may have a maximum latency tolerated for the command.

[0109] In some embodiments, the reader may select the R2D channel structure. The reader may select R2D channel structure based on the determined required time to process an R2D command. The R2D signal/preamble structure may include one or more of the following: R2D preamble; R2D postamble; R2D transmission duration; and/or R2D encoding scheme etc.

[0110] The reader may trigger a group of AloT devices, during the query, with the same processing time. A group ID may be allocated to the group of AloT devices with a same processing time capability. The reader may indicate shorter time for the a first set of AloT devices identified with certain AloT device IDs and longer time for a second set of AloT devices with certain AloT device IDs.

[0111] In some embodiments, one or more R2D transmissions may target AloT devices with a certain processing time. The reader may expect a time, or a maximum time, from an AloT device to decode and process a reader-to- device (R2D) transmission. In some embodiments, the reader may address an R2D transmission to only one or more AloT devices capable of decoding and processing the R2D transmission within an expected time, or within a maximum time. The reader can indicate to the AloT devices that only the one or more AloT devices capable of decoding and processing the R2D transmission within the expected time or the maximum time may decode and process the R2D transmission. In one example solution, the expected time or a maximum time to process the R2D transmission may be carried explicitly in an R2D control channel scheduling the R2D transmission. For example, the R2D control channel may carry a field indicating a value of expected time or a maximum time from a pre-configured value. In another embodiment, the expected time or a maximum time to process the R2D transmission may be carried implicitly to the AloT device using one or more of the following: an AloT device ID, an R2D channel structure, R2D preamble, an R2D postamble, an R2D transmission duration, and/or R2D encoding scheme. The AloT device ID may include a groupcast AloT device ID and/or unicast AloT device ID. For example, an AloT device ID may be associated with an expected time and/or a maximum time to process the R2D transmission.

[0112] In R2D channel structure, for example, a channel structure may be associated with certain expected time and/or a maximum time to process the R2D transmission. The R2D channel structure may include one or more of the following: an R2D preamble, for example, an R2D preamble may be associated with an expected time and/or a maximum time to process the R2D transmission; an R2D postamble, for example, an R2D postamble may be associated with an expected time and/or a maximum time to process the R2D transmission; an R2D transmission duration, for example, an R2D transmission duration may be associated with an expected time and/or a maximum time to process the R2D transmission; an R2D encoding scheme (e.g., a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) size, use or not of forward error correction (FEC)), for example, an R2D encoding scheme may be associated with an expected time and/or a maximum time to process the R2D transmission; an indicated transmission time to report D2R feedback upon reception of R2D transmission, for example, the feedback transmission time may be associated with an expected time or a maximum time to process the R2D transmission; a frequency carrier and/or resource used for the R2D transmission, for example, a frequency carrier may be associated with an expected time or a maximum time to process the R2D transmission.

[0113] The reader may address a command to a group of AloT devices with the same (or similar) processing time capability and indicate the same expected time or a maximum time to process the R2D transmission.

[0114] In some embodiments, an association (e.g., a preconfigured association) between the R2D channel structure and processing time may exist. An AloT device may be configured or preconfigured with an association between an R2D channel structure and expected or maximum processing time of an R2D transmission. In one example, the AloT device may receive, from the reader, a configuration indicative of the association. The configuration may be received prior to the reception of an R2D transmission. In another example, the AloT device may be hardcoded with an association between an R2D channel structure and an expected and/or maximum processing time of the R2D transmission. The R2D channel structure may include one or more of the following: the R2D preamble, the R2D postamble, the R2D transmission duration, and/or the R2D encoding scheme etc.

[0115] In an example, the R2D preamble may be associated with the expected time and/or the maximum time to process the R2D transmission. The R2D preamble may include a start indicator part (e.g., a fixed length of low voltage), and clock reference part (e.g., include two or more transmission edges). In one example, a first R2D preamble with a first voltage level may be associated with a first expected time and/or a maximum time to process the R2D transmission. A second R2D preamble with a second voltage level may be associated with a second expected time and/or a maximum time to process the R2D transmission. In another example, a first R2D preamble with only two transmission edges may be associated with a first expected time and/or a maximum time to process the R2D transmission. The second R2D preamble with three transmission edges may be associated with the second expected time and/or the maximum time to process the R2D transmission. In another example, the first R2D preamble with the first sequence may be associated with the first expected time and/or the maximum time to process the R2D transmission. The second R2D preamble with second sequence may be associated with the second expected time and/or the maximum time to process the R2D transmission.

[0116] In an example, the R2D postamble may be associated with the expected time and/or the maximum time to process the R2D transmission. In one example, the first R2D postamble with a first sequence may be associated with the first expected time and/or the maximum time to process the R2D transmission. The second R2D postamble with a second sequence may be associated with the second expected time and/or the maximum time to process the R2D transmission.

[0117] In an example, the R2D transmission duration may be associated with the expected time and/or the maximum time to process the R2D transmission. When the AloT device is indicated with the R2D transmission duration, the AloT device determines the expected time and/or the maximum time to process the R2D transmission using the associated R2D transmission duration.

[0118] In an example, the R2D encoding scheme (e.g., the CRC size, use or not of the FEC etc.) may be associated with the expected time and/or the maximum time to process the R2D transmission. The encoding scheme may include the CRC size. For example, a short CRC size (e.g., less than x bits) may be associated with the first expected time and/or the maximum time to process the R2D transmission. A long CRC size (e.g., above x bits) may be associated with the second expected time and/or the maximum time to process the R2D transmission. Different CRC sizes may be associated with different R2D processing time. Another encoding scheme may be based on the usage of the FEC. For example, using the FEC for the R2D transmission may be associated with the first expected time and/or the maximum time to process the R2D transmission. Not using the FEC for the R2D transmission may be associated with the second expected time and/or the maximum time to process the R2D transmission. The R2D control information may indicate to the AloT device whether the R2D transmission is using the FEC or not. [0119] In some embodiments, the AloT device determines the required time to process the R2D transmission. Before decoding and processing the R2D transmission, the AloT device may be configured to determine whether it is capable of processing an R2D transmission within the expected or maximum time. The AloT device makes the determination based on one or more capabilities associated with the AloT device. In a first embodiment, the AloT device determines whether it will be capable of processing the R2D transmission within the expected or maximum time from the reader based on the R2D channel structure. In another embodiment, the AloT device determines whether it will be capable of processing the R2D transmission within the expected or maximum time from the reader based on explicit expected or maximum time indication in the R2D control information.

[0120] The AloT device may determine whether it will be capable of processing the R2D transmission within the expected and/or maximum time from the reader based on the indicated transmission time to report D2R feedback corresponding to the reception of R2D transmission. In another embodiment, the AloT device determines if it will be capable of processing the R2D transmission within the expected or maximum time from the reader based on the frequency carrier and/or resource used for the R2D transmission. For example, a flag and/or a field in the R2D control information may indicate which frequency to receive the R2D transmission.

[0121] The AloT device may determine whether it will be capable of processing the R2D transmission within the expected and/or maximum time from the reader based on an assigned radio network temporary identifier (RNTI) from the reader. The received R2D transmission may include an RNTI indication targeting specific AloT devices.

[0122] When the AloT device determines that it is capable of processing a received R2D transmission within the expected and/or maximum time from the reader, the AloT device starts or continues decoding and processing the R2D transmission.

[0123] When the AloT device determines that it is not capable of processing a received R2D transmission within the expected or maximum time from the reader, the AloT device stops or does not start decoding and processing the R2D transmission.

[0124] In some embodiments, a slot structure dependent on the processing time may be used. The slot and/or frame structure of the R2D transmissions and/or D2R transmissions may depend on the processing time and/or preparation time capability of the AloT devices. For example, AloT devices with short processing time and/or preparation time capability may be configured by the reader to receive and/or transmit using long slot duration. AloT devices with long processing time and/or preparation may be configured with long processing time and/or preparation time capability.

[0125] In the following embodiments, a preparation time of D2R transmissions is considered.

[0126] In some embodiments, an AloT device estimates the time to prepare the requested information. The AloT device can be configured to estimate the time t_prep needed to prepare requested information that was requested in a command received from a reader. Such estimated time may be an exact value or a range and/or time window. For example, the estimated time may be a minimum time and/or maximum time required to prepare the requested information. The estimated time may include the time to acquire the information (e.g., acquiring the information from higher layers and/or from external source such as sensors or other AloT devices) and/or the time to prepare the D2R transmission to carry the requested information (e.g., encoding, modulating and/or transmitting the RF signal etc.). The AloT device determines the estimated time based on whether the information is already available in the AloT device or not. For example, a variable bi is set to 0 when the requested information is already available in the AloT device, and it is set to 1 when the requested information is not available in the AloT device (b1 can take 0 or 1 value). [0127] The AloT device determines the estimated time based on the required time to collect the requested information. For example, when the requested information is not available in the AloT device, the AloT device determines the required time to collect the requested information

[0128] The AloT device determines the estimated time based on an energy state of the AloT device, for example, whether the AloT device needs to charge before reporting the requested information. When the AloT device needs to charge before reporting the requested information, the AloT device determines the time needed for charging The charging time can be equal to zero when the AloT device does not need to charge before the transmission. The time needed to charge may depend on the duty cycle e.g., is equal to the remaining time of the "ON” duration plus the "Off' duration of the AloT device. The parameter can include the required time to charge to perform one transmission or alternatively include the required time to charge to transmit N transmissions.

[0129] The AloT device determines the estimated time based on the number of transmissions needed to report the requested information and the preparation time associated with each transmission. The number of transmissions may depend on the size of the information payload to be reported to the reader. For example, the AloT device may be configured with a maximum payload size for D2R transmission N_max. The AloT device determines the size of the information payload to be reported Nj_nf₀. The AloT device determines the number of transmissions needed to report the requested information as [Ni_nf₀/Nmax] . The AloT device can charge the battery in between multiple transmissions.

[0130] In one example solution, the AloT device determines the estimated time using the following formula:

[0131] is the required time to charge for the all the transmissions required to report the information to the reader.

[0132] In some embodiments, a AloT devices determines the size of the information payload. The AloT device may be configured to determine the size of the information payload based on the type of received command from the reader and the collected information size. For example, the AloT device may be preconfigured to receive a set of possible commands, where each command can request a different type of information. The requested information may have a size range and the exact size of the information payload may not be known to the reader. The AloT device determines the exact size and reports it to the reader. The AloT device determines the exact size based on its higher layer and/or application indication (e.g., the higher layer and/or application layer indicates the exact size of the received command). In another embodiment, the AloT device determines the exact size based on its the information collected by its sensors and/or information received externally from other source (e.g., another AloT device).

[0133] In some embodiments, the AloT device reports the number of transmissions for the request. The AloT device may be configured to report to the reader the number of transmissions needed to report the requested information. Each such transmission may carry a MAC protocol data unit (PDU) if the MAC protocol performs segmentation. Each transmission for the requested information may be identified by a segment index. The AloT device may determine the number of transmissions based on a maximum payload size for D2R transmissions. For example, the AloT device may be configured with a maximum payload size for D2R transmission N_max. The AloT device first determines the size of the information payload to be reported Nj_nf₀. The AloT device then determines the number of transmissions needed to report the requested information as [ Nj_nf₀ 1 N_max ]. The AloT device can charge the battery in between multiple transmissions.

[0134] In some embodiments, the AloT device may determine the number of transmissions based on the power and/or energy to transmit the D2R transmission and the energy level in the AloT device side. For example, the AloT device determines the required power and/or energy to transmit and compares it to stored energy.

[0135] In some embodiments, the reader requests a new segment and/or portion. The reader may request from the AloT device to transmit a new segment and/or new portion of the requested information. Following the reception of the request, the reader receives a new segment and/or portion of the requested information. The reader may indicate an identifier for the requested information (e.g. a request ID and/or a transaction ID and/or a process ID etc.). The reader may include an indication of whether or not the request corresponds to an initial request for the indicated request ID. Alternatively, the information from reader may include a segment index.

[0136] In some embodiments, the AloT device reports a next segment and/or a specific segment after receiving a request from the reader. An AloT device may transmit a new segment or new portion of the requested information following reception of a request from the reader. The information from the reader may include an identifier for the requested information (e.g. the request ID and/or the transaction ID and/or the process ID etc.). In an embodiment, the AloT device transmits the first segment after receiving the first request, the second segment after receiving second request, and so on. The information from the reader may include the indication of whether or not it corresponds to an initial request for the indicated request ID. Alternatively, the information from reader may include the segment index. In this case, the AloT device transmits the requested segment identified by the segment index.

[0137] In some embodiments, an AloT device reports information on remaining information payload and/or number of transmissions. The AloT device may indicate in a transmission at least one of the following for the requested information: whether there is remaining information payload after this transmission (i.e. "More data” bit); the amount of remaining information payload after this transmission, or the amount of remaining information payload for this transmission and subsequent transmissions; the number of transmissions after the current transmission required to transmit the remaining information payload; and/or the segment index of the transmission, for example.

[0138] The reader may receive in a D2R transmission (D2R control and/or D2R data transmission and/or D2R control and data transmission etc.) whether there is remaining information payload after the D2R received transmission and/or the amount of remaining information payload after the received D2R received transmission. For example, whether there is more data related to the requested information to be transmitted but the actual transmission does not have the needed payload. The reader may receive in the D2R transmission (the D2R control and/or the D2R data transmission and/or the D2R control and data transmission etc.) the number of transmissions required to transmit the remaining information payload after the received D2R received transmission. The reader may also receive the segment index of the transmission.

[0139] In some embodiments, the AloT device indicates a minimum period of time before a next transmission. The AloT device may indicate in a transmission at least one of the following for the requested information: the minimum period of time between the start or end of this transmission and the start of a subsequent transmission (segment) containing remaining information payload; and/or the minimum period of time between successive transmissions (segments) containing payload for the requested information.

[0140] The AloT device may determine the minimum period of time based on estimating the duration required to complete processing and/or recharge energy storage to a level sufficient for completing a subsequent transmission.

[0141] After transmitting a request and/or a command to the AloT device, the reader may receive from the AloT device in the D2R transmission the minimum period of time between the start or end of the D2R transmission and the start of a subsequent D2R transmission (segment) containing remaining information payload. The reader may also receive from the AloT device the minimum period of time between successive D2R transmissions including payload for the requested information.

[0142] In some embodiments, the AloT device indicates if requested information is available. The AloT device may indicate in a transmission at least one of the following for the requested information: whether the transmission contains or not the requested information (or portion thereof); whether processing is completed for generating and/or preparing transmission of the requested information; whether the AloT device has sufficient stored energy to complete transmission of the requested information, or of a portion thereof. The portion may correspond to the size of a segment. The size of a segment may be indicated by the reader or may correspond to the maximum duration of the transmission. [0143] After transmitting a request/command to an AloT device, the reader may receive, from the AloT device, one or more of the following indication: whether the D2R transmission contains or not the requested information (or portion thereof); whether processing is completed for generating and/or preparing D2R transmission of the requested information; whether the AloT device has sufficient stored energy to complete transmission of the requested information, or of a portion thereof. The portion may correspond to the size of a segment. The size of a segment may be indicated by the reader or may correspond to the maximum duration of the transmission.

[0144] In some embodiments, the AloT device indicates the maximum duration of the transmission. An AloT device may indicate in the transmission, the maximum duration of a single transmission and/or the corresponding payload. The AloT device may determine this duration based on at least one of its maximum energy storage, required power for transmitting to a reader, required power for receiving from a reader. In case the information is provided as a maximum payload, the AloT device may determine such maximum payload based on the maximum duration and a data rate. The data rate may be pre-defined or the AloT device may determine the data rate based on signals and/or control information from the reader.

[0145] After transmitting the request and/or the command to the AloT device, the reader may receive an indication from the AloT device indicating the maximum duration of a single D2R transmission and/or the corresponding payload. The reader may indicate to the AloT device the data rate of the scheduled D2R transmission (using for example control signaling) and then the reader receives the corresponding payload and/or maximum duration indication from the AloT device.

[0146] In some embodiments, a AloT device interrupts processing upon reader indication or timeout. An AloT device may interrupt (or cancel) processing and/or transmission of any remaining payload for a requested information when at least one of the following occurs: the maximum period of time has elapsed since reception of last request from the reader for a segment of the requested information. The maximum may be predefined or the AloT device may determine the value based on signals and/or control information from the reader; the AloT device receives an explicit indication from the reader to interrupt processing for the requested information. The indication may include an identifier for the request (e.g., request ID); the AloT device receives a request from the reader for a different request identifier; the AloT device receives certain control information from the reader. For example, the AloT device may receive an indication to initiate a contention-based access procedure; and/or the AloT device may indicate or confirm cancellation in a transmission to the reader.

[0147] The reader may receive a cancelling and/or interruption indication from the AloT device when the event described above occurs.

[0148] In some embodiments, a AloT device determines the D2R transmission time. An AloT device may be configured to determine the transmission time of D2R based on its processing capability (e.g., during a query procedure when using slotted aloha). For example, a first set of slots may be reserved for a first processing time capability and second set of slots can be reserved for a second processing time capability. The reader may indicate using the query round command the time of the first set of slots and the time of the second set of slots. Alternatively, and/or additionally, the time of the first set of slots and the time of the second set of slots may be preconfigured relative to the time of query command reception time. In one example solution, an AloT device with short processing time capability selects first set of slots with high priority/probability and second set of slots can be selected also but with lower priority and/or probability.

[0149] In some embodiments, an AloT device determines the time to prepare the requested information based on the synchronization capability. The AloT device may determine the time needed to prepare the requested information requested in the command received from the reader based on the synchronization capability of the AloT device. The AloT device may need to correct its timing e.g., by receiving a synchronization signal to adjust its time synchronization. Such required time to adjust the synchronization is considered by the AloT device when determining the time to prepare the requested information. For example, the AloT device determines that the time to prepare the requested information exceeds the time assumed by the AloT device for which the synchronization drift is tolerated by the reader. In this case, the AloT device needs to receive the synchronization signal and/or a signal from the reader to adjust its timing before sending the requested information. The time to prepare the requested information may include the time to monitor, receive, and process the synchronization signals.

[0150] In the following embodiments, a D2R feedback transmission is described. In some embodiments, the D2R feedback using a signal and/or a preamble transmission may be performed by the AloT device. When the AloT device determines the preparation time, the size of the information payload and the number of transmissions, the AloT device may be configured to transmit a signal/preamble to indicate at least one or more of the following: an estimated time needed to prepare the requested information. The estimated time can be an exact value or a range e.g., a minimum time and a maximum time; the size of the information payload required to transmit the requested information; and/or the number of transmissions needed to report the requested information (e.g., N separate transmissions to allow charging) [0151] The AloT device may be configured with multiple D2R preambles and/or signals, where each preamble and/or signal may be associated with an estimated time and/or a size of the information payload required to report the requested information and/or number of transmissions needed to report the requested information. The AloT device selects and transmits a D2R preamble and/or signal based on the determined estimated time and/or the size of the information payload required to report the requested information and/or the number of transmissions needed to report the requested information.

[0152] In some embodiments, the D2R feedback may be control information. When the AloT device determines the preparation time, the size of the information payload and the number of transmissions, the AloT device may transmit a D2R control information to indicate the estimated time needed to prepare the requested information and/or the size of the information payload required to transmit the requested information and/or the number of transmissions needed to report the requested information.

[0153] The AloT device may be configured with D2R control information resource. The D2R control information resource may have a bitfield to indicate the estimated time and/or a bitfield to indicate the size of the information payload required to report the requested information and/or a bitfield to indicate the number of transmissions needed to report the requested information. The D2R feedback may be multiplexed with other D2R control messages such as ACK/NACK feedback.

[0154] In some embodiments, the D2R feedback may indicate to the reader to wait. The AloT device may send to the reader feedback on the status of processing a command and/or on the availability of a specific information. For example, for certain commands, the time needed to finish processing the command may not be known to the AloT device and/or the reader and the AloT device may or may be expected to send to the reader feedback applicable to the processing of the command. As an example, the feedback may indicate that the processing is continuing (e.g., "in process”) or the feedback may indicate processing has been completed or the feedback may indicate a failure. In another example, the AloT device may not have a timing of when a requested information may be available and the feedback may indicate to the reader if and/or when the information is available.

[0155] In one embodiment, a first AloT device may access the channel in a first access occasion wherein an access occasion may be a time and/or frequency resource. The access occasion may be delimited with a message from the reader, e.g., a Query and/or a QueryRep message. In one solution, a AloT device may choose an access occasion randomly. In some cases, the reader may send a new message (e.g., a QueryRep message) to indicate a new access occasion before the output of a command to the first AloT device is received. The new access occasion may be used by a second AloT device, e.g., to access the channel and send messages to the reader and/or receive messages from the reader. The first AloT device may be indicated an access occasion which the first AloT device may use to send the output of the command.

[0156] In an example, the AloT device A chooses an access occasion and transmits an initial message to the reader. The reader acknowledges the initial message from AloT device A. The AloT device A sends data to the reader (e.g., a product code). The reader acknowledges the data and sends a command to the AloT device (e.g., compute a key). The AloT device sends a response to the reader wherein the response may indicate that the output associated with the command is not available and the AloT device is processing the command. The reader acknowledges the response. The reader may indicate to the AloT device a specific time and/or frequency resource (e.g., an access occasion) which the AloT device may use to send another response. For example, the index of the access occasion may be n + K where n is the index of the current occasion and K may be an integer. The reader may send one or more QueryRep messages to indicate access occasion(s) n+1 , n+2, .... , n + K-1 wherein AloT devices other than the first AloT device may communicate with the reader in these access occasions. The reader may send a QueryRep message to indicate access occasion n + K-1 and AloT device A may access the channel to send a response to the reader.

[0157] The QueryRep message may include an AloT device ID and only the AloT device with the matching ID accesses the channel in the occasion associated with the QueryRep. For example, AloT device A may send a response in the access occasion associated with a QueryRep message containing part or all of AloT device A ID. The access occasion allocated to the AloT device may not be used by other AloT devices to access the channel. If the AloT devices use a counter to determine an access occasion (e.g., slot counter as used in radio frequency identification (RFID) etc.), the AloT devices may not update their counters if the QueryRep message contains a AloT device ID or in general if an access occasion is allocated to a specific AloT device.

[0158] The QueryRep message may include an indication and certain AloT devices may not attempt channel access when this indication is received. For example, the indication may be a 1 -bit indication. If the bit is set to a first value AloT devices are allowed to access the channel (e.g., AloT devices may count the access occasion as a valid occasion and may update their slot counters). If the bit is set to second value AloT devices are not allowed to access the channel (e.g., AloT devices may not count the access occasion as a valid occasion and may not update their slot counters). If the bit is set to second value, the associated access occasion may be used by the AloT device A to send status and/or command output.

[0159] A new message type may be defined instead of the QueryRep message. The new message may indicate an access occasion wherein the access occasion may be reserved, e.g., to the AloT devices waiting for an access occasion to send a response to a previously received command.

[0160] Alternatively, and/or additionally, the AloT device may transmit D2R feedback to the reader only when it is ready. For example, when the AloT device has not determined the required time or did not finish processing and/or preparation, the AloT device may omit sending feedback to the reader. Only the AloT devices that have finished processing and/or have determined the required time to prepare the required information transmit the D2R feedback. For example, firstly a unicast R2D transmission followed by a reply from the AloT device that provides minimum time and/or status required and their IDs. Then a groupcast R2D transmission targeting AloT devices that replied during the first step IDs. There could be contention based or contention free depending on the number of identified AloT devices.

[0161] The overall method for determining the processing time of an AloT device based on the command type and AloT device feedback will now be described with reference to FIG. 2.

[0162] Referring to FIG. 2, an AloT device receives a command (e.g., a request from the reader to report higher layer information) carried in a R2D transmission and the AloT device determines whether the AloT device will be capable of processing the transmission within the expected or maximum time from a reader based on a R2D channel structure. The R2D channel structure includes one or more of the following: an R2D preamble, an R2D postamble, an R2D transmission duration, and/or an R2D encoding scheme (e.g., the CRC size, use or not of FEC) etc.

[0163] At 210, the AloT device is configured or preconfigured with an association between the R2D channel structure and an expected and/or maximum processing time of R2D transmission. At 220-230, the AloT device makes a determination of whether it will be capable of processing the transmission within the expected and/or maximum time based on the capabilities associated with the AloT device (e.g., AloT device capabilities). At 240, when the AloT device determines that it is capable of processing the R2D transmission within the expected and/or maximum time, the AloT device determines one or more of the following: an estimated time t_prep needed to prepare the requested information. The estimated time t_prep may be an exact value or a range (e.g., a minimum time and a maximum time). The AloT device determines the estimated time based on one or more of the following: whether the information is already available in the AloT device or not; the required time to collect the requested information, an energy state of the AloT device (e.g., whether the AloT device needs to charge before reporting the requested information); the size of the information payload required to transmit the requested information; a number of transmissions needed to report the requested information (e.g., N separate transmissions to allow charging).

[0164] The AloT device sends a D2R transmission that indicates at least one of the estimated time, required information payload size, and/or the required number of transmissions. For example, at 250, the AloT device selects and transmits a D2R preamble and/or signal based on at least one of the determined estimated time, required information payload, and/or the required number of transmissions. For example, at 260, the AloT device sends a D2R message indicating at least one of the determined estimated time, required information payload, and/or the required number of transmissions.

[0165] The AloT device then receives a scheduling assignment to report the requested information.

[0166] Finally, the AloT device transmits the requested information using D2R transmission.

[0167] Some benefits of the above described process may include that the AloT devices with different processing and/or preparation time capabilities can be scheduled depending on their capability without assuming the longer processing time scenario for all AloT devices.

[0168] In an embodiment, if the reader is a WTRU, the reader and/or the WTRU receives an indication from a gNB or other network entity to request information from an AloT device, the indication includes at least one of: a type of request and information associated with the request. The reader and/or the WTRU transmits a first request to a AloT device, the first request including at least one of: an identifier for a AloT device, an identifier for the request, a type of request, information associated with the request (such as a payload size or maximum payload size), and/or an indication of timing of the response from the AloT device.

[0169] The reader and/or the WTRU then receives a first response from the AloT device, the first response including at least one of: an indication of whether the first response includes information, an indication of the minimum period of time after which the AloT device can provide the requested information (or remaining information), an indication of whether there is remaining information to transmit, and/or an indication of the required number of transmissions. [0170] After the minimum period of time has elapsed, on a condition that the AloT device indicated that there is remaining information to transmit, the reader and/or the WTRU transmits a second request to the AloT device including at least one of: an identifier of the AloT device, an identifier for the request, and/or an indication of timing of the response from the AloT device.

[0171] The reader and/or the WTRU then receives a second response from the AloT device, the second response including at least one of: an indication of whether the first response includes information, an indication of the minimum period of time after which the AloT device can provide information (or remaining information), and/or an indication of whether there is remaining information to transmit.

[0172] On a condition that the AloT device indicated that there is no remaining information to transmit, the reader concatenates the information from first and second responses from the AloT device. If the AloT device indicates that there is additional information to transmit, the process continues until the reader and/or the WTRU has all of the information, which is then concatenated at the reader and/or the WTRU. The reader and/or the WTRU transmits the information to the gNB and/or other network entity for the AloT device.

[0173] At 270, when the AloT device determines that it is not capable of processing a received R2D transmission within the expected or maximum time from the reader, the AloT device stops or does not start decoding and processing the R2D transmission.

[0174] In various embodiments, a method for use in an AloT device is provided. The method comprises receiving a command, from a reader, for information from the AloT device. The method comprises determining, at the AloT device, whether the information can be provided to the reader within an expected time period. The method comprises transmitting, from the AloT device to the reader, the information when the AloT device determines that the information can be provided to the reader within the expected time period.

[0175] In an embodiment, the expected time period is related to a channel structure of a communication link between the AloT device and the reader.

[0176] In an embodiment, the channel structure includes a preamble, postamble, transmission duration, and an encoding scheme.

[0177] In an embodiment, the AloT device is configured with an association between the channel structure and the expected time period.

[0178] In an embodiment, determination of whether the information can be provided to the reader within the expected time period is based on AloT device capabilities.

[0179] In an embodiment, determining whether the information can be provided to the reader within the expected time period includes determining a preparation time for the AloT device to prepare the information.

[0180] In an embodiment, the information is sensor information, and the determining a preparation time for the sensor information includes determining a time to acquire the sensor information.

[0181] In an embodiment, determining whether the information can be provided to the reader within the expected time period includes determining whether the AloT device has the information available or not. [0182] In an embodiment, determination of whether the information can be provided to the reader within the expected time period is based on an energy state of the AloT device.

[0183] In an embodiment, determination of whether the information can be provided to the reader within the expected time period is based on a size of a payload required to transmit the information.

[0184] In an embodiment, determination of whether the information can be provided to the reader within the expected time period is based on a number of transmissions required to transmit the information.

[0185] In an embodiment, the method includes transmitting, by the AloT device to the reader, an indication of a required time to prepare the information, a payload size associated with the information, and/or a required number of transmissions required for transmitting the information.

[0186] In an embodiment, the indication is a preamble selected by the AloT device.

[0187] In an embodiment, the method includes receiving, at the AloT device from the reader, a scheduling assignment for transmitting the information.

[0188] In various embodiments, an AloT device configured to perform one or more of the above processes is provided.

[0189] Although features and elements are described above in particular combinations, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that each feature or element can be used alone or in any combination with the other features and elements. In addition, the methods described herein may be implemented in a computer program, software, or firmware incorporated in a computer-readable medium for execution by a computer or processor. Examples of computer-readable media include electronic signals (transmitted over wired or wireless connections) and computer- readable storage media. Examples of computer-readable storage media include, but are not limited to, a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a register, cache memory, semiconductor memory devices, magnetic media such as internal hard disks and removable disks, magneto-optical media, and optical media such as CD-ROM disks, and digital versatile disks (DVDs). A processor in association with software may be used to implement a radio frequency transceiver for use in a WTRU, UE, terminal, base station, RNC, or any host computer.

Claims

CLAIMS What is Claimed:

1 . A method for use in an ambient internet of things (AloT) device, the method comprising: receiving, from an AloT reader via a reader-to-device (R2D) transmission, a request for information to be transmitted from the AloT device; determining at least one of: an estimated time for preparing the requested information, a payload size of the requested information, or a number of transmissions, required for communicating the requested information; and transmitting, to the AloT reader via a device-to-reader (D2R) transmission, a message indicative of at least one of: the estimated time, the payload size, or the required number of transmissions required for communicating the requested information.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: determining an R2D channel structure based on the R2D transmission; determining at least one of: an expected processing time or a maximum processing time associated with the R2D channel structure; and determining whether the R2D transmission can be processed in the expected processing time or the maximum processing time.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein determining at least one of: the expected processing time or the maximum processing time associated with the R2D channel structure is based on a preconfigured association.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the R2D channel structure includes one or more of: an R2D preamble, an R2D postamble, an R2D transmission duration, or an R2D encoding scheme.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: determining, based on the R2D transmission, at least one of: a device identifier (ID), an indicated reporting time, or one or more resources for the R2D transmission; determining at least one of: an expected processing time or a maximum processing time, based on at least one of: the device ID, the indicated reporting time, or the one or more resources; and determining whether the R2D transmission can be processed in the expected processing time or the maximum processing time.

6. The method of claims 2 or 5, wherein determining whether the R2D transmission can be processed in the expected processing time or the maximum processing time is based on one or more capabilities associated with the AloT device.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the estimated time for preparing the requested information is one of: a range of time, a minimum time, or a maximum time for preparing the requested information.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the estimated time for preparing the requested information includes at least one of: determining whether the requested information is available in the AloT device, determining a preparation time required for the requested information, or determining an energy state of the AloT device.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein preparing the requested information incudes generating sensor information using one or more sensors of the AloT device.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: selecting at least one of: a D2R preamble or a D2R signal, based on at least one of: the estimated time, the payload size, or the required number of transmissions; and generating the message comprising at least one of: the D2R preamble or the D2R signal.

11 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: receiving a scheduling assignment from the AloT reader; and transmitting the requested information to the AloT reader using the scheduling assignment.

12. An ambient internet of things (AloT) device, comprising: a transceiver; and a processor, wherein the transceiver and the processor are configured to: receive, from an AloT reader via a reader-to-device (R2D) transmission, a request for information to be transmitted from the AloT device, determine at least one of: an estimated time for preparing the requested information, a payload size of the requested information, or a number of transmissions, required for communicating the requested information, and transmit, to the AloT reader via a device-to-reader (D2R) transmission, a message indicative of at least one of: the estimated time, the payload size, or the required number of transmissions required for communicating the requested information.

13. The AloT device of claim 12, wherein the transceiver and the processor are further configured to: determine an R2D channel structure based on the R2D transmission, determine at least one of: an expected processing time or a maximum processing time associated with the R2D channel structure, and determine whether the R2D transmission can be processed in the expected processing time or the maximum processing time.

14. The AloT device of claim 13, wherein determining at least one of: the expected processing time or the maximum processing time associated with the R2D channel structure is based on a preconfigured association.

15. The AloT device of claim 12, wherein the transceiver and the processor are further configured to: determine, based on the R2D transmission, at least one of: a device identifier (ID), an indicated reporting time, or one or more resources for the R2D transmission, determine at least one of: an expected processing time or a maximum processing time, based on at least one of: the device ID, the indicated reporting time, or the one or more resources, and determine whether the R2D transmission can be processed in the expected processing time or the maximum processing time.

16. The AloT device of claim 13 or 15, wherein determining whether the R2D transmission can be processed in the expected processing time or the maximum processing time is based on one or more capabilities associated with the AloT device.

17. The AloT device of claim 12, wherein the estimated time for preparing the requested information is one of: a range of time, a minimum time, or a maximum time for preparing the requested information.

18. The AloT device of claim 12, wherein determining the estimated time for preparing the requested information includes at least one of: determining whether the requested information is available in the AloT device, determining a preparation time required for the requested information, or determining an energy state of the AloT device.

19. The AloT device of claim 12, wherein the transceiver and the processor are further configured to: select at least one of: a D2R preamble or a D2R signal, based on at least one of: the estimated time, the payload size, or the required number of transmissions, and generate the message comprising at least one of: the D2R preamble or the D2R signal.

20. The AloT device of claim 12, wherein the transceiver and the processor are further configured to: receive a scheduling assignment from the AloT reader, and transmit the requested information to the AloT reader using the scheduling assignment.