TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] This description relates to wireless communications, and in particular, to positioning mechanisms in wireless networks.

BACKGROUND

[0002] A communication system may be a facility that enables communication between two or more nodes or devices, such as fixed or mobile communication devices. Signals can be carried on wired or wireless carriers.

[0003] An example of a cellular communication system is an architecture that is being standardized by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). A recent development in this field is often referred to as the long-term evolution (LTE) of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) radio-access technology. E-UTRA (evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access) is the air interface of 3GPP's Long Term Evolution (LTE) upgrade path for mobile networks. In LTE, base stations or access points (APs), which are referred to as enhanced Node AP or Evolved Node B (eNBs), provide wireless access within a coverage area or cell. In LTE, mobile devices, or mobile stations are referred to as user equipments (UE). LTE has included a number of improvements or developments.

[0004] 5G New Radio (NR) is part of a continued mobile broadband evolution process to meet the requirements of 5G, similar to earlier evolution of 3G & 4G wireless networks.

In addition, 5G is also targeted at the new emerging use cases in addition to mobile broadband. A goal of 5G is to provide significant improvement in wireless performance, which may include new levels of data rate, latency, reliability, and security. 5G NR may also scale to efficiently connect the massive Internet of Things (IoT), and may offer new types of mission-critical services. Ultra-reliable and low-latency communications (URLLC) devices may require high reliability and very low latency.

SUMMARY

[0005] An example method, apparatus, and computer-readable storage medium are provided for determining positioning information of a radio node.

[0006] In one example implementation, the method may include transmitting, by a first transmission reception point (TRP) of a plurality of TRPs, a first pre-coded signal to a radio node, the first pre-coded signal transmitted in joint transmission (JT) coordinated multipoint transmission (CoMP) with a second pre-coded signal from at least a second TRP of the plurality of TRPs to generate a first pre-defmed signal at a location of the radio node; receiving, by the first TRP, information from the radio node indicating the receiving of the first pre-defmed signal at the radio node; transmitting, by the first TRP, a third pre-coded signal, the third pre-coded signal transmitted in JT CoMP with a fourth pre-coded signal from the second TRP to generate a second pre-defmed signal at a location of a reference node; receiving, by the first TRP, information from the reference node indicating the receiving of the second pre-defmed signal at the reference node; and estimating, by the first TRP, a position of the radio node based at least on a known position of the reference node and a number of wavelength shifts associated with the receiving of the second pre-defmed signal at the reference node.

[0007] In an additional example implementation, the method may include receiving, by a radio node, reference signals from a plurality of transmission reception points (TRPs), the plurality of TRPs including at least a first TRP and a second TRP; transmitting, by the radio node, channel state information (CSI) reports to the plurality of TRPs; receiving, by the radio node, a first pre-defmed signal, the first pre-defmed signal generated at the radio node based at least on joint transmission (JT) coordinated multipoint transmission (CoMP) of a first pre- coded signal from the first TRP and a second pre-coded signal from the second TRP; transmitting, by the radio node to the first TRP, information indicating the generating of the first pre-defmed signal at the radio node; and receiving, by the radio node, an estimated position of the radio node from the first TRP, the estimated position being determined by the first TRP based at least on a known position of a reference node and a number of wavelength shifts associated with generating of a second pre-defmed signal at the reference node.

[0008] In an additional example implementation, the method may include transmitting, by a first transmission reception point of a plurality of transmission reception points, a first pre-coded signal to a radio node, the first pre-coded signal transmitted in a coordinated manner with a second pre-coded signal from at least a second transmission reception point of the plurality of transmission reception points to generate a first pre-defmed signal at a location of the radio node; receiving, by the first transmission reception point, information from the radio node indicating the receiving of the first pre-defmed signal at the radio node; transmitting, by the first transmission reception point, a third pre-coded signal, the third pre- coded signal transmitted in a coordinated manner with a fourth pre-coded signal from the second transmission reception point to generate a second pre-defmed signal at a location of a reference node; receiving, by the first transmission reception point, information from the reference node indicating the receiving of the second pre-defmed signal at the reference node; and estimating, by the first transmission reception point, a position of the radio node based at least on a known position of the reference node and a number of wavelength shifts associated with the receiving of the second pre-defmed signal at the reference node.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] FIG. l is a block diagram of a wireless network according to an example implementation.

[0010] FIG. 2 illustrates a diagram of a system for counting of pre-defmed signals (e.g., notches, peaks, etc.), according to an example implementation.

[0011] FIG. 3 is a message flow diagram illustrating determining of a UE position based on counting of pre-defmed signals (e.g., notches, peaks, etc.), according to an example implementation.

[0012] FIGs. 4A and 4B are diagrams illustrating the notch counting method, according to example implementations.

[0013] FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating the determining of a UE position, according to an example implementation.

[0014] FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating the determining of a UE position, according to an additional example implementation.

[0015] FIG. 7A is a block diagram illustrating a downlink signal processing chain, according to an example implementation.

[0016] FIG. 7B is a block diagram illustrating an uplink signal processing chain, according to an example implementation.

[0017] FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a node or wireless station (e.g., base station/access point or mobile station/user device/UE), according to an example implementation. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a wireless network 130 according to an example implementation. In the wireless network 130 of FIG. 1, user devices (UDs) 131, 132, 133 and 135, which may also be referred to as mobile stations (MSs) or user equipment (UEs), may be connected (and in communication) with a base station (BS) 134, which may also be referred to as an access point (AP), an enhanced Node B (eNB), a next generation Node B (gNB), or a network node. At least part of the functionalities of an access point (AP), base station (BS), or eNB/gNB may also be carried out by any node, server or host which may be operably coupled to a transceiver, such as a remote radio head. BS (or AP) 134 provides wireless coverage within a cell 136, including to user devices 131, 132, 133 and 135. Although only four user devices are shown as being connected or attached to BS 134, any number of user devices may be provided. BS 134 is also connected to a core network 150 via an interface 151. This is merely one simple example of a wireless network, and others may be used.

[0019] A user device (user terminal, user equipment (UE)) may refer to a portable computing device that includes wireless mobile communication devices operating with or without a subscriber identification module (SIM), including, but not limited to, the following types of devices: a mobile station (MS), a mobile phone, a cell phone, a smartphone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handset, a device using a wireless modem (alarm or measurement device, etc.), a laptop and/or touch screen computer, a tablet, a phablet, a game console, a notebook, and a multimedia device, as examples, or any other wireless device. It should be appreciated that a user device may also be a nearly exclusive uplink only device, of which an example is a camera or video camera loading images or video clips to a network.

[0020] In LTE (as an example), core network 150 may be referred to as Evolved Packet Core (EPC), which may include a mobility management entity (MME) which may handle or assist with mobility /handover of user devices between BSs, one or more gateways that may forward data and control signals between the BSs and packet data networks or the Internet, and other control functions or blocks.

[0021] In addition, by way of illustrative example, the various example implementations or techniques described herein may be applied to various types of user devices or data service types, or may apply to user devices that may have multiple applications running thereon that may be of different data service types. New Radio (5G) development may support a number of different applications or a number of different data service types, such as for example: machine type communications (MTC), enhanced machine type communication (eMTC), narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), Internet of Things (IoT), and/or narrowband IoT user devices, enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), and ultra-reliable and low-latency communications (URLLC).

[0022] IoT may refer to an ever-growing group of objects that may have Internet or network connectivity, so that these objects may send information to and receive information from other network devices. For example, many sensor type applications or devices may monitor a physical condition or a status, and may send a report to a server or other network device, e.g., when an event occurs. Machine Type Communications (MTC or machine to machine communications) may, for example, be characterized by fully automatic data generation, exchange, processing and actuation among intelligent machines, with or without intervention of humans. Enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) may support much higher data rates than currently available in LTE.

[0023] Ultra-reliable and low-latency communications (URLLC) is a new data service type, or new usage scenario, which may be supported for New Radio (5G) systems. This enables emerging new applications and services, such as industrial automations, autonomous driving, vehicular safety, e-health services, and so on. 3 GPP targets in providing up to e.g., 1 ms U-Plane (user/data plane) latency connectivity with l-le-5 reliability, by way of an illustrative example. Thus, for example, URLLC user devices/UEs may require a significantly lower block error rate than other types of user devices/UEs as well as low latency. Thus, for example, a URLLC UE (or URLLC application on a UE) may require much shorter latency, as compared to an eMBB UE (or an eMBB application running on a UE).

[0024] The various example implementations may be applied to a wide variety of wireless technologies or wireless networks, such as LTE, LTE-A, 5G, IoT, MTC, eMTC, NB-IoT, eMBB, URLLC, etc., or any other wireless network or wireless technology. These example networks, technologies or data service types are provided only as illustrative examples. Multiple Input, Multiple Output (MIMO) may refer to a technique for increasing the capacity of a radio link using multiple transmit and receive antennas to exploit multipath propagation. MIMO may include the use of multiple antennas at the transmitter and/or the receiver. MIMO may include a multi-dimensional approach that transmits and receives two or more unique data streams through one radio channel. For example, MIMO may refer to a technique for sending and receiving more than one data signal simultaneously over the same radio channel by exploiting multipath propagation. According to an illustrative example, multi-user multiple input, multiple output (multi-user MIMIO, or MU-MIMO) enhances MIMO technology by allowing a base station (BS) or other wireless node to simultaneously transmit or receive multiple streams to different user devices or UEs, which may include simultaneously transmitting a first stream to a first UE, and a second stream to a second UE, via a same (or common or shared) set of physical resource blocks (PRBs) (e.g., where each PRB may include a set of time-frequency resources).

[0025] Also, a BS may use precoding to transmit data to a EE (based on a precoder matrix or precoder vector for the EE). For example, a UE may receive reference signals or pilot signals, and may determine a quantized version of a DL channel estimate, and then provide the BS with an indication of the quantized DL channel estimate. The BS may determine a precoder matrix based on the quantized channel estimate, where the precoder matrix may be used to focus or direct transmitted signal energy in the best channel direction for the UE. Also, each UE may use a decoder matrix may be determined, e.g., where the UE may receive reference signals from the BS, determine a channel estimate of the DL channel, and then determine a decoder matrix for the DL channel based on the DL channel estimate. For example, a precoder matrix may indicate antenna weights (e.g., an amplitude/gain and phase for each weight) to be applied to an antenna array of a transmitting wireless device. Likewise, a decoder matrix may indicate antenna weights (e.g., an amplitude/gain and phase for each weight) to be applied to an antenna array of a receiving wireless device.

This applies to UL as well when a UE is transmitting data to a BS.

[0026] For example, according to an example aspect, a receiving wireless user device may determine a precoder matrix using Interference Rejection Combining (IRC) in which the user device may receive reference signals (or other signals) from a number of BSs (e.g., and may measure a signal strength, signal power, or other signal parameter for a signal received from each BS), and may generate a decoder matrix that may suppress or reduce signals from one or more interferers (or interfering cells or BSs), e.g., by providing a null (or very low antenna gain) in the direction of the interfering signal, in order to increase a signal-to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) of a desired signal. In order to reduce the overall interference from a number of different interferers, a receiver may use, for example, a Linear Minimum Mean Square Error Interference Rejection Combining (LMMSE-IRC) receiver to determine a decoding matrix. The IRC receiver and LMMSE-IRC receiver are merely examples, and other types of receivers or techniques may be used to determine a decoder matrix. After the decoder matrix has been determined, the receiving UE/user device may apply antenna weights (e.g., each antenna weight including amplitude and phase) to a plurality of antennas at the receiving UE or device based on the decoder matrix.

Similarly, a precoder matrix may include antenna weights that may be applied to antennas of a transmitting wireless device or node. This applies to a receiving BS as well.

[0027] The positioning methods that are currently available encounter several limitations/challenges. Such limitations/challenges include performing round trip time (RTT) measurements using limited bandwidth. In addition, pathloss based methods such as radio frequency (RF) fingerprinting are inherently inaccurate; angle-based methods are less reliable with increasing distance between a user equipment (e.g., UE) and a radio network node (e.g., gNB); and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) based methods do not work well indoors, etc.

[0028] Therefore, robust positioning methods with no (or minor) modifications at a UE are therefore desirable. In addition, positioning methods with shorter training phase for RF fingerprinting or off-line training phases for ML based methods are also desirable.

[0029] The present disclosure, in an example implementation, describes a method for position estimation which may include transmitting, by a first transmission reception point (TRP) of a plurality of TRPs, a first pre-coded signal to a radio node, the first pre-coded signal transmitted in joint transmission (JT) coordinated multipoint transmission (CoMP) with a second pre-coded signal from a second TRP of the plurality of TRPs to generate a first pre-defmed signal at a location of the radio node; receiving, by the first TRP, information from the radio node indicating the receiving of the first pre-defmed signal at the radio node; transmitting, by the first TRP, a third pre-coded signal, the third pre-coded signal transmitted in JT CoMP with a fourth pre-coded signal from the second TRP to generate a second pre- defmed signal at a location of a reference node; receiving, by the first TRP, information from the reference node indicating the receiving of the second pre-defmed signal at the reference node and a number of wavelength shifts involved in generating of the second pre-defmed signal at the location of the reference node; and estimating, by the first TRP, a position of the radio node based at least on a known position of the reference node and a number of wavelength shifts indicated by the radio node.

[0030] The present disclosure, in another example implementation, describes an additional method for position estimation which may include receiving, by a radio node, reference signals from a plurality of transmission reception points (TRPs), the plurality of TRPs including at least a first TRP and a second TRP; transmitting, by the radio node, channel state information (CSI) reports to the plurality of TRPs; generating, by the radio node, a first pre-defmed signal, the first pre-defmed signal generated at the radio node based at least on joint transmission (JT) coordinated multipoint transmission (CoMP) of a first pre- coded signal from the first TRP and a second pre-coded signal from the second TRP; transmitting, by the radio node to the first TRP, information indicating the generating of the first pre-defmed signal at the radio node; and receiving, by the radio node, an estimated position of the radio node from the first TRP, the estimated position being determined by the first TRP based at least on a known position of a reference node and a number of wavelength shifts associated with generating of a second pre-defmed signal at the reference node.

[0031] FIG. 2 illustrates a diagram of a system 200 for counting of pre-defmed signals (e.g., notches, peaks, etc.), according to an example implementation. In some implementations, for example, the counting of notches for a multi-transmission reception point (multi-TRP) scenario may be described with three TRPs (or gNBs, remote radio heads (RRHs), etc.) which may share a common precoder. In the present disclosure, the shared precoder may be referred to as a central precoder.

[0032] In an example implementation, the system may include three TRPs (202, 204, and 206) which may be operating in a joint transmission (JT) coordinated multi -point (CoMP) manner. In such transmission scenarios, the central precoder may be initially adapted until a radio node, e.g., UE 212 reports receiving of a pre-defmed signal at UE 212. The pre-defmed signal may be defined as a signal created (or generated) at the UE based on the combining of pre-coded signals received at the UE from the TRPs. In some implementations, the pre-coded coded signal may be reference signal which may be further defined as a signal with received power measurements that satisfy a threshold. In an example implementation, the pre-defmed signal may be a signal that satisfies a first threshold (which may be closer to zero) and referred to as a “notch” signal. The notch signal may be generated at UE 212 based on, for example, destructive superposition of signals from the TRPs. In another example implementation, the pre-defmed signal may be a signal that satisfies a second threshold (different from the first threshold value) and referred to as a “peak” signal. The peak signal may be generated at UE 212 based on, for example, constructive superposition of signals from the TRPs. The notches and peaks are examples only and the pre-defmed signals may include other signal with pre-defmed properties or meet pre-defmed criteria.

[0033] The central precoder for the TRPs may be further adapted such that the pre- defmed signal (e.g., the first pre-defmed signal) is moved towards the direction of a reference node, e.g., reference nodes 220, 222, or 224 and away from the UE. In an example implementation, the central precoder may be adapted such that a pre-defmed signal, e.g., a second pre-defmed signal, is generated at reference node 222. A reference node may be defined as a node whose position is known and/or may have a wired backhaul connection to the TRPs. In some implementations, for example, the reference node may be a fixed pre allocated device, specifically placed for support of location estimation procedures. Alternatively, the reference node might be a UE, which may have access to an accurate positioning method like an outdoor UE using GNSS navigation. In such a case, the indoor UEs may be supported by the proposed disclosure using notch/peak counting methods.

[0034] In some implementations, for example, the generating of the pre-defmed signal may be moved in the direction of reference node 222 (e.g., away from UE 212) by multiples of wavelength (e.g., 1 x wavelength, 2 x wavelength, etc.) or a portion of the wavelength (e.g., 0.5 x wavelength, 0.25 wavelength, etc.). Upon the generating of the second pre- defmed signal at reference node 222, the reference node 222 may notify the TRPs of the receiving of the second pre-defmed signal, for example, via, the backhaul connection to the TRPs. Upon receiving the message about the generating of the second pre-defmed signal at reference node 222, the TRPs, e.g., TRP 202, may determine the relative position of the UE (relative to the location of the reference node) and/or position of the UE based at least on the known position of reference node 222 and the number of wavelength shifts required to move the generating of the pre-defmed signal to reference node 222 (from UE 212). As the number of wavelength shifts are used to determine the position of the UE, the disclosure may be referred to as determining the position of the UE based on counting of notches (or peaks, etc.).

[0035] In some implementations, for example, industrial applications, the relative position between the radio node (e.g., UE 306) and a reference node (e.g., RN 308) may be more relevant than absolute position and therefore there may not be a need to determine the absolute position of the radio node.

[0036] The implementation of FIG. 2 with three TRPs is an example implementation for illustration purposes and any number of TRPs may be used to determine the position of the UE. However, with a single reference node, the accuracy may not be that high and the accuracy may be improved if at least two reference nodes are used to determine the position.

[0037] FIG. 3 is a message flow diagram 300 illustrating determining of a UE position based on counting of pre-defmed signals (e.g., notches, peaks, etc.), according to an example implementation.

[0038] In an example implementation, FIG. 3 illustrates a pair of TRPs (e.g., TRP 302 and 304), a radio node, e.g., UE 306, and at least one reference node, e.g., RN 308. The radio and/or reference nodes may be in communication with the TRPs. In some implementations, for example, TRPs 302 and 304 may be base stations in a wireless communication network that provide wireless services. In the present disclosure, TRPs 302 and 304 may be referred to as first and second TRPs.

[0039] In an example implementation, at 310, a TRP, e.g., TRP 302 may transmit a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), referred to as a first CSI-RS, to the radio node, e.g., UE 306. The CSI-RS is a downlink signal which may be used by the UE to estimate the channel and report channel state information back to the TRP. The channel state information may include channel quality information (CQI), pre-coding matrix indicator (PMI), rank indicator (RI), etc. Alternately, in some implementations, for example, TRP 302 may transmit a positioning reference signal (PRS) to the UE. The PRS may be used to determine location of the UE based at least on observed time difference of arrival (OTDA). Similarly, at 312, TRP 304 may transmit a CSI-RS, referred to as second CSI-RS, to the UE.

[0040] At 314, upon receiving of the first CSI-RS from TRP 302, UE 306 may measure channel quality and transmit a CSI report (e.g., first CSI report) to TRP 302. In some implementations, for example, the information transmitted in the first CSI, e.g., PMI, may be used by TRP 302 for generating pre-coded signals at TRP 302 which may be further used for generating pre-defmed signals at UE 306 and/or RN 308, based on JT CoMP transmission from other TRPs, e.g., TRP 304. Similarly, at 316, UE 306 may measure the channel quality and transmit a CSI report (e.g., a second CSI report) to TRP 304. In some implementations, for example, the information transmitted in the second CSI, e.g., PMI, may be used by TRP 304 for generating pre-coded signals at UE 306 and/or RN 308.

[0041] At 318A, TRP 302 may transmit a pre-coded signal, e.g., a first pre-coded signal to the UE. At 318B, TRP 304 may transmit a pre-coded signal, e.g., a second pre-coded signal to the UE. In some implementations, for example, the pre-coded signals, e.g., the first and second pre-coded signals, may be transmitted to the UE as JT CoMP transmissions. That is, the transmissions from the TRPs may be based on JT CoMP transmissions such that the pre-coded signals transmitted from the TRPs may generate a pre-defmed signal, e.g., a notch or a peak, at the UE. In an example implementation, the JT CoMP may be achieved using a central precoder as described above in detail in reference to FIG. 2.

[0042] At 320, UE 306 may report the receiving of the first pre-defmed signal at the UE to the TRPs (e.g., TRPs 302 and/or 304). In an example implementation, the first pre- defmed signal may be defined as a signal with receive power values, at multiple sub-carriers, below a first threshold value. The notch signal may be created by destructive superposition of the pre-coded signals from TRP 302 and TRP 304 and/or peak signals may be created by constructive superposition of the pre-coded signals from the TRPs. [0043] In some implementations, the notch signal may be generated by keeping the transmission time (or carrier-phase) of a first TRP, e.g., TRP 302, fixed and varying the transmission time (or carrier-phase) of a second TRP, e.g., TRP 304, until the destructive superposition of the signals from the TRPs creates the notch signal at UE 312. In some implementations, the notch signal may be generated by keeping the transmission time of the second TRP, e.g., TRP 304, fixed and varying the transmission time of the first TRP, e.g., TRP 302, until the destructive superposition of the signals from the TRPs creates the notch signal at UE 312.

[0044] Upon receiving information that a notch/peak signal has been generated at the UE, the notch/peak signal may be moved towards a reference point whose position is previously known. In some implementations, the notch signal, e.g., notches at sub-carriers, may be moved towards the reference point as further described below.

[0045] At 322A, TRP 302 may transmit a pre-coded signal, e.g., a third pre-coded signal to a reference node, e.g., RN 308. At 322B, TRP 304 may transmit a pre-coded signal, e.g., a fourth pre-coded signal to the RN. In some implementations, for example, the pre-coded signals, e.g., the third and fourth pre-coded signals, may be transmitted to the UE in a JT CoMP transmission to generate a pre-defmed signal, e.g., a second pre-defmed signal at the UE.

[0046] In some implementations, the precoding weights of the precoded signals that are transmitted from the TRPs may depend on relative position of TRPs to the UE and the RN. For example, for two opposite TRPs, the weights for one TRP may be fixed and a phase slope for the time shift of one wavelength may be applied to the other TRP.

[0047] In an example implementation, the pre-defmed signals may be defined as being based on notch signal at the UE and/or RN. The notch may be shifted sequentially by one wavelength towards the direction of the reference node. Eventually, the reference node may detect that the notch signal has arrived at the reference node and informs the TRP. The TRP may count the number of time steps N needed to shift the creating of the notch from the UE to the reference node and multiply N by the wavelength to get the relative distance between UE and reference point.

[0048] At 324, RN 308 may report to the TRP 302 and/or TRP 304 the receipt of the pre-defmed notch signal at the reference node. As described above, the notch signal may be created by destructive superposition of the precoded signals from TRP 302 and TRP 304.

[0049] At 326, TRP 302 may estimate the position of the UE. In some implementations, for example, TRP 302 may estimate relative and absolute positions of the UE based on the known position of the reference point and the number of wavelengths shifts associated with moving of the notch signal from the location of the UE to the location of the reference node.

[0050] In some implementations, for example, the estimation mechanism may be improved by boosting the power of the precoded signals or by transmitting the precoded signals more than once so that the SINR for the measurements may be improved.

Alternately, the noise floor masking the narrower part of the notches may be reduced. In some implementations for indoor scenarios such as controlled industry environments, the SINR may be very high so that the fine detection of the notch location might be more accurate. In some implementations, for example, in relatively lower SINR conditions, the accurate position of the notches may be estimated, or extrapolated, from the notch shape above the noise floor. This may require that the notch shape be oversampled with a higher number of precoding steps compared to the wavelength. In such a case, a sub -wavelength position accuracy may be achieved.

[0051] In some implementations, the pre-defmed signals (e.g., notch/peak) may be generated for the full signal bandwidth. For example, the notch signal may be generated for the full 20 MHz when the bandwidth of the channel is 20 MHz to improve estimation mechanism. For example, in case of a line of sight (LOS) scenario, this may require a suitably chosen phase slope on the frequency domain channel transfer function to compensate for the frequency varying wavelength. In some implementations, for example, sine functions may be used. In addition to a notch signal over the full bandwidth, other broadband signals which may have benefits with respect to the peak to average power ratio of the transmit signals may be used.

[0052] At 328, upon estimating the position of the UE, TRP 302 may transmit the estimated position of the UE to the UE.

[0053] As described above, the position (or position information) of a UE may be described with higher accuracy based on counting of notches with JT CoMP transmissions from TRPs.

[0054] In some implementations, for example, the counting of notches may be used in dead reckoning to improve performance and/or reduce cost/complexity when the number of reference nodes is limited. For example, when computing the new location, the counting of notches may be used to calculate the new position by using a previously determined position. Further, the counting of notches in dead reckoning may be used to minimize cumulative errors since the step size of each fix and the latency and/or periodicity of the new fix computing may remain low during the counting of notches. [0055] In some implementations, for example, the detecting of a notch signal at a radio node and/or reference node may have some advantages as the notch signal may generate a clear signal for counting purposes. Specifically, in high signal-to-interference-plus-nose ratio (SINR) conditions, the notches may be deep and therefore may be narrow to allow for counting of the notches to be performed with sub -wavelength accuracy. For example, in case of a 3 GHz RF signal the wavelength is about ten centimeters and for a counting accuracy of one tenth of a wavelength, the principal position estimation accuracy would be around one centimeter. In some more implementations, e.g., peaks of a precoded signal, may be used for counting purposes. However, the detection of signal peaks may be difficult to detect as signal peaks may be much broader than signal notches, especially in case of a strong noise floor.

[0056] In some implementations, for example, for mmWave systems (e.g., frequency bands FR2, FR3, etc.), the counting of notches may achieve even higher accuracies in the millimeter range due to reduced wavelengths. However, it may be a bit challenging to identify the right signal notch in a reasonable amount of time. In such scenarios, for example, a combined mechanism may be implemented where the lower RF frequencies may be used to perform a coarse location estimate and mmWave RF -frequencies may be used for fine tuning of the previously determined coarse location estimate.

[0057] In some implementations, for example, a combination of multiple positioning methods may be used for better estimation results. In an example implementation, positioning methods such as OTDA with finger printing. In another example implementation, machine learning (ML) approaches may be used with the proposed counting method.

[0058] In some implementations, for example, the positioning methods may include a combination of positioning methods which may include starting from a known position which may be derived, for example, from a GNSS system outside of a building, and using the counting method to estimate the relative movement with respect to this known position.

[0059] In some implementations, for example, the above described procedures may be used on the uplink as well. That is, instead of transmitting reference signals from the TRPs, reference signals may be transmitted from the radio node (e.g., UE) and/or reference nodes, one at a time, to the TRPs. Instead of precoding, the received signals may be combined (e.g., receive combining). Further, instead of modifying precoding weights, the combining weights may be modified. Furthermore, instead of observing notches/peaks at the UE or at the reference node, notches/peaks at the output of the receive combiner, which originate either from the signals transmitted by the UE or by the reference node, are observed.

[0060] In other words, due to the equivalence of FIGs. 7 A and 7B, the procedures for uplink are similar to the procedure described above for downlink with some differences, for example, where the processing is performed and/or what is reported. In an example implementation, the message that would configure a UE or a reference node to receive the reference signal in the downlink implementation may be replaced by a message that triggers the transmission of the reference signal by a radio node (e.g., UE). The processing a UE may perform in the downlink in the received signals may be performed at a network node (e.g., gNB or any other central node) after combining. The received signal in the downlink and the combined signal in the uplink are equivalent in the context of the signal processing chains of FIGs. 7 A and 7B. In some implementations, the combining weights may be applied to the signals (e.g., based on the reference signal transmitted by the UE) received by the TRPs in the uplink. The signals received by the TRPs may be different because the signal transmitted by the UE propagated through different radio channels. However, no additional reporting from the UE is needed as the information that the UE would have reported over the air interface may be already available in the network because the processing of the received signals is performed at the network. In some implementations, for example, the estimation may be performed similar to the estimation mechanism on the downlink, but on the combined uplink signal instead of the received downlink.

[0061] In addition, in some implementations, a radio node (e.g., a UE or a reference node) may transmit a reference signal and several TRPs (e.g., at least two TRPs) may receive the reference signal and joint processing of the receive reference signals may be performed. The processing may be performed anywhere in the network. In an example implementation, the processing may be performed at one of the TRPs. In another example implementation, the processing may be performed at a central node. The TRPs (e.g., at least two TRPs) may report the received signals to the node that is performing the processing. In some implementations, the reporting may be performed prior to the applying the weights so that the node that is performing the processing may apply the weights (e.g., different weights) to the received signals for generating a notch. In an example implementation, the generating of the notch may be performed by an iterative algorithm.

[0062] In some implementations, for example, focusing on measuring relative movements may be described as follows: a small number of Tx-points, e.g., two, and line-of- sight (LOS) channel conditions may be assumed. In order to generate a deep notch with two transmit signals, the amplitudes of the two signals may have to be the same. Therefore, path- loss measurements are performed and the transmit powers are adjusted so that the receive powers of the two signals are the same at the radio node which is located between the Tx- points. The result is that there are more or less periodic notches in the distance of half a wavelength along a line between the transmitters, i.e., the positions of the notches are known.

[0063] In some implementations, for example, the transmit signals may be narrow-band. For example, a moving radio node may now count notches and determine its relative movements. In some implementations, for example, the phases of the transmit signals may be rotated which may correspond to a frequency shift. Then the notches move and a radio node may determine the relative movements with respect to the moving notches by counting them. The above described procedures may be performed with two pairs of transmit points (e.g., AB and BC from a total of three transmit points A, B, and C). By this, the relative movements in two linearly independent directions may be determined and therefore the relative movements in the whole plane.

[0064] In some implementations, for example, focusing on measuring relative movements may be described as follows: a small number of Tx-points, e.g., two, and line-of- sight (LOS) channel conditions are assumed. In order to generate a deep notch with two transmit signals, the amplitudes of the two signals have to be the same. Therefore, path-loss measurements are performed and the transmit powers are adjusted so that the receive powers of the two signals are the same at the radio node which is located between the Tx-points. The result is that there are more or less periodic notches in the distance of half a wavelength along a line between the transmitters, i.e., the positions of the notches are known.

[0065] In some implementations, for example, the precoder variation for notch counting might start from the UE location as described above. However, in some implementations, for example, a notch/peak may be generated at a known reference node position and the precoder may be adapted until a notch/peak is generated at the location of the UE.

[0066] In some implementations, for example, the notch detection before notch/peak counting may have a threshold value indicating a trigger to increment/decrement the notch/peak count for proper counting of the notches/peaks.

[0067] In some implementations, for example, the proposed notch/peak counting methods may be used in combination with CSI estimation for UE-gNB links, which has the benefit that the first generation of the notch/peak at UE side can be performed quite fast. Without such CSI, there might be a long search procedure before the multi TRP precoder finds the right notch/peak precoder for the UE. Similarly, the reference node might report a CSI, which can be done quite seldom in case of a fixed reference node. This CSI information may be used for defining the right direction for moving the notch from the UE to the reference node. The positioning itself should be then done based on the notch/peak counting, as counting processes are generally the most robust solution.

[0068] In some implementations, for example, the latency introduced by the proposed methods may be estimated. For example, a wavelength of 0.1 m and a relative distance between UE and reference node of 10 m would need about 100 counting steps (wavelength shifts). For a 1 ms radio frame this might end up in about 100 ms for the counting process. After the first position estimation, one can switch over to a relative counting mode, i.e., a counting of the additional notches needed with respect to the last position estimate. In that case the latency can be reduced significantly.

[0069] For open space scenarios, the notch/peak generation is related to the relative time delay variations - in terms of number of wavelengths - of the precoder signals, while for non line of sight (NLOS) scenarios the multiple reflections may generate a certain distortion. In such cases, CSI estimation of the radio channel and a corresponding precoding adaptation may be performed. Alternately, in an alternative approach, the above described methods may be combined with profiling concept, which may allow to estimate the multipath component parameters of the channel impulse response accurately. Based on this information the notch/peak might be calculated artificially by taking into account the strongest - or most relevant - multi path component per TRP. But typical scenarios might be of LOS, where the simpler schemes may work.

[0070] The positioning methods generally support moving UEs up to certain mobility.

As for any positioning method, the highest mobility depends on the time needed to do one single location estimation. In some implementations, for example, as an extended method, a method of two notches, where one notch may be generated at the UE and another notch may be generated at the reference node. In case the UE feeds back notch tracking information this may be used to compensate for the UE mobility. Especially, the compensation signal might be applied similarly to the reference node notch prior to the notch counting.

[0071] FIGs. 4A and 4B are diagrams 400 and 450 illustrating notch counting methods, according to example implementations. For example, FIG. 4 A illustrates locations of UE and reference node (402/452, 404/454) and the wavelength shifts (406/456) associated with generating the pre-defmed signals at the UE and reference node. For example, FIG. 4A illustrates varying precoder phase of Tx_l (e.g., TRP 302) till the notch/peak is shifted from the UE to the reference node.

[0072] FIG. 5 is a flow chart 500 illustrating the determining of a UE position, according to an example implementation.

[0073] At block 510, a TRP, for example, TRP 302 may transmit a first pre-coded signal to a radio node, e.g., UE 306. In some implementations, for example, the first pre-coded signal may be transmitted in a JT CoMP transmission with a second pre-coded signal from at least a second TRP, e.g., TRP 304, to generate a first pre-defmed signal at the UE. The first pre-defmed signal may be a notch signal or a peak signal as described above.

[0074] At block 520, the TRP may receive information from the radio node indicating the receiving of the first pre-defmed signal at UE 306. In some implementations, the information indicates that the receiving/generating of a notch/peak signal at the UE. The receiving of notch/peak signal may be based on destructive superposition or constructive superposition of the reference signals from TRPs 302 and 304.

[0075] At block 530, the TRP may transmit a third pre-coded signal. In some implementations, for example, the third pre-coded signal may be transmitted in a JT CoMP transmission manner with a fourth pre-coded signal from TRP 304 to generate a second pre- defmed signal at a location of the reference node, RN 308.

[0076] At block 540, the TRP, e.g., TRP 302 may receive information from the first TRP. In some implementations, for example, the information may indicate the receiving of the second pre-defmed signal at the reference node, e.g., RN 308.

[0077] At block 550, the TRP may estimate a position of the radio node, e.g., UE 306, based at least on a known position of RN 308 and a number of wavelength shifts associated with the receiving of the second pre-defmed signal at RN 308. In some implementations, for example, TRP 302 may determine the number of the wavelength shifts as TRP 302 is aware of the precoding weights needed for generating the first and second pre-defmed signals.

[0078] Thus, as described above, the position of the UE may be accurately determined.

[0079] Additional example implementations are described herein.

[0080] Example 1. A method of communications, comprising: transmitting, by a first transmission reception point (TRP) of a plurality of TRPs, a first pre-coded signal to a radio node, the first pre-coded signal transmitted in joint transmission (JT) coordinated multipoint transmission (CoMP) with at least a second pre-coded signal from a second TRP of the plurality of TRPs to generate a first pre-defmed signal at a location of the radio node; receiving, by the first TRP, information from the radio node indicating the receiving of the first pre-defmed signal at the radio node; transmitting, by the first TRP, a third pre-coded signal, the third pre-coded signal transmitted in JT CoMP with a fourth pre-coded signal from the second TRP to generate a second pre-defmed signal at a location of a reference node; receiving, by the first TRP, information from the reference node indicating the receiving of the second pre-defmed signal at the reference node; and estimating, by the first TRP, a position of the radio node based at least on a known position of the reference node and a number of wavelength shifts associated with the receiving of the second pre-defmed signal at the reference node.

[0081] Example 2. The method of Example 1, further comprising: transmitting, by the first TRP, a first channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS) to the radio node; and receiving, by the first TRP, in response to the transmitting of the first CSI-RS, a first CSI report from the radio node, wherein the first pre-coded signal is generated based at least on the first CSI report received from the radio node.

[0082] Example 3. The method of any of Examples 1-2, wherein the first and second pre-defmed signals are notch signals generated by destructive superposition of respective pre-coded signals from the first and second TRPs.

[0083] Example 4. The method of any of Examples 1-3, wherein the first and second pre-defmed signals are notch signals with received power levels that satisfy a first threshold value.

[0084] Example 5. The method of any of Examples 1-4, wherein the first and second pre-defmed signals are peak signals generated by constructive superposition of respective pre-coded signals from the first and second TRPs.

[0085] Example 6. The method of any of Examples 1-5, wherein the first and second pre-defmed signals are peak signals with received power levels that satisfy a second threshold value.

[0086] Example 7. The method of any of Examples 1-6, wherein the generating of the second pre-defmed signal at the reference node includes: moving the generating of a pre- defmed signal towards the reference node by modifying transmit times of the third and/or fourth pre-coded signals.

[0087] Example 8. The method of any of Examples 1-7, wherein the information indicating the receiving of the second pre-defmed signal is received via an uplink control channel from the reference node.

[0088] Example 9. The method of any of Examples 1-8, wherein the uplink control channel is a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH).

[0089] Example 10. The method of any of Examples 1-9, wherein the first and/or second pre-defmed signals are generated over a full bandwidth of a channel.

[0090] Example 11. The method of any of Examples 1-10, further comprising: receiving, by the first TRP, a CSI report from the reference node.

[0091] Example 12. The method of any of Examples 1-11, further comprising: transmitting, by the first TRP, the first CSI-RS to the reference node; and receiving, by the first TRP, in response to the transmitting of the first CSI-RS, a third CSI report from the reference node, wherein the third pre-coded signal is generated based at least on the third CSI report received from the reference node.

[0092] Example 13. The method of any of Examples 1-12, wherein the third CSI report is received via a backhaul link between the first TRP and the reference node.

[0093] Example 14. The method of any of Examples 1-13, further comprising: transmitting, by the first TRP, the estimated position of the radio node to the radio node.

[0094] Example 15. The method of any of Examples 1-14, wherein the wavelength shifts include partial wavelength shifts.

[0095] Example 16. An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform a method of any of Examples 1-15.

[0096] Example 17. An apparatus comprising means for performing a method of any of Examples 1-15.

[0097] Example 18. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer executable program code which, when executed on a computer system, causes the computer system to perform the steps of any of Examples 1-15.

[0098] Example 27. A method of communications, comprising: transmitting, by a first transmission reception point of a plurality of transmission reception points, a first pre-coded signal to a radio node, the first pre-coded signal transmitted in a coordinated manner with at least a second pre-coded signal from a second transmission reception point of the plurality of transmission reception points to generate a first pre-defmed signal at a location of the radio node; receiving, by the first transmission reception point, information from the radio node indicating the receiving of the first pre-defmed signal at the radio node; transmitting, by the first transmission reception point, a third pre-coded signal, the third pre-coded signal transmitted in a coordinated manner with a fourth pre-coded signal from the second transmission reception point to generate a second pre-defmed signal at a location of a reference node; receiving, by the first transmission reception point, information from the reference node indicating the receiving of the second pre-defmed signal at the reference node; and estimating, by the first transmission reception point, a position of the radio node based at least on a known position of the reference node and a number of wavelength shifts associated with the receiving of the second pre-defmed signal at the reference node.

[0099] Example 28. A method of communications, comprising: receiving, by a transmission reception point of a plurality transmission reception points, a first reference signal from a radio node; performing joint processing of the first reference signal as received by the plurality of transmission reception points, the joint processing generating a first pre- defmed signal based on applying different weights to the reference signal as received by the plurality of transmission reception points; receiving, by a transmission reception point of a plurality transmission reception points, a second reference signal from a reference node; performing joint processing of the second reference signal as received by the plurality of transmission reception points, the joint processing generating a second pre-defmed signal based on applying different weights to the reference signal as received by the plurality of transmission reception points; and estimating a position of the radio node based at least on a known position of the reference node and a number of wavelength shifts associated with the receiving of the second pre-defmed signal at the reference node.

[0100] FIG. 6 is a flow chart 600 illustrating the determining of a UE position, according to an additional example implementation.

[0101] At block 610, a radio node, e.g., UE 306, may receive reference signals from a plurality of transmission reception points (TRPs), e.g.., TRPs 302 and 304.

[0102] At block 620, the UE may transmit CSI reports to the plurality of TRPs, e.g.,

TRPs 302 and 304.

[0103] At block 630, eNB 204 may transmit DCI via a downlink control channel to the TIE. In some implementations, for example, the DCI may include information for triggering transmission of the additional SRS from the UE.

[0104] At block 640, eNB 204 may receive the additional SRS and/or the basic SRS based at least on the DCI transmitted from the network node.

[0105] At block 650, eNB 204 may receive the additional SRS and/or the basic SRS based at least on the DCI transmitted from the network node.

[0106] Thus, the DCI may be used to efficiently trigger the additional SRS.

[0107] Additional example implementations are described herein.

[0108] Example 19. A method of communications, comprising: receiving, by a radio node, reference signals from a plurality of transmission reception points (TRPs), the plurality of TRPs including at least a first TRP and a second TRP; transmitting, by the radio node, channel state information (CSI) reports to the plurality of TRPs; receiving, by the radio node, a first pre-defmed signal, the first pre-defmed signal generated at the radio node based at least on joint transmission (JT) coordinated multipoint transmission (CoMP) of a first pre- coded signal from the first TRP and a second pre-coded signal from the second TRP; transmitting, by the radio node to the first TRP, information indicating the generating of the first pre-defmed signal at the radio node; and receiving, by the radio node, an estimated position of the radio node from the first TRP, the estimated position being determined by the first TRP based at least on a known position of a reference node and a number of wavelength shifts associated with generating of a second pre-defmed signal at the reference node.

[0109] Example 20. The method of Example 19, wherein the first pre-defmed signal is a notch signal generated by destructive superposition of respective pre-coded signals from the first and second TRPs.

[0110] Example 21. The method of any of Examples 19-20, wherein the first pre- defmed signal is a peak signal with a received power level that satisfies a first threshold value.

[0111] Example 22. The method of any of Examples 19-21, wherein the first pre- defmed signal is generated by destructive superposition of the first and second pre-coded signals from the first and second TRPs.

[0112] Example 23. The method of any of Examples 19-22, wherein the radio node is a user equipment (UE).

[0113] Example 24. An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform a method of any of Examples 19-23.

[0114] Example 25. An apparatus comprising means for performing a method of any of Examples 19-23.

[0115] Example 26. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon computer executable program code which, when executed on a computer system, causes the computer system to perform the steps of any of Examples 19-23.

[0116] The above described implementations provide some technical advantages or benefits which may include determining accurate positioning of radio nodes (for example, conventional UEs with moderate complexity). Compared to direct CSI estimation methods used for positioning, such as a round trip time estimation from the channel impulse response, the counting of notches/peaks may combine high accuracy - mainly depending on the RF wavelength - with robustness due to the simple counting procedure. The method is robust against gNB impairments like relative time or frequency offsets between the precoding gNBs and/or TRPs as only the relative precoder variations will be used for the counting method. The method is especially useful if reference nodes are relatively close to the UE compared to the gNB-UE distances, which are doing the precoding for example in industrial campus or any controlled environment with open propagation space, as the gNB-UE links may be affected by diffraction and reflection processes. These more large-scale effects will typically have only moderate effects for the small-scale area around the UE. For FR2 bands (and FR3 bands), the counting method will benefit from shorter wavelength in the range of millimeters so that a correspondingly higher positioning accuracy may be achieved with moderate effort.

[0117] FIG. 7A is a block diagram 700 illustrating a downlink signal processing chain, according to an example implementation.

[0118] In some implementations, for example, the signal processing chain in the downlink, for transmissions from gNB to UE, as illustrated in 700, may include the following: a transmitter (gNB) 702, splitter (to several gNBs) 704, applying weights for parallel radio channels (precoder) 706, parallel radio channels 708, summation (in front of the receive antenna) 710, and a receiver 712.

[0119] FIG. 7B is a block diagram 750 illustrating an uplink signal processing chain, according to an example implementation.

[0120] In some implementations, for example, the signal processing chains in the uplink, for transmissions from a UE to gNB, as illustrated in 750, may include the following: transmitter (UE) 752, splitter (in the air, to inputs of several parallel radio channels) 754, parallel radio channels 756, applying weights for parallel channels (in the receive combiner) 758, summation (in the receive combiner) 760, and a receiver 762.

[0121] The signal processing chains described above may be considered as being equivalent if the receiver noise is ignored and only the order of applying scalar weights and passing the radio channel, which is a linear system, are changed. This may be allowed in a linear system without changing the result. The advantages of the afore mentioned implementation include less transmissions over the radio channel when the weights have to be modified without the radio channels or the UE position having changed.

[0122] FIG. 8 is a block diagram 800 of a wireless station (e.g., user equipment (UE)/user device/radio node or TRP/AP/gNB/MgNB/SgNB) according to an example implementation. The wireless station 800 may include, for example, one or more RF (radio frequency) or wireless transceivers 802A, 802B, where each wireless transceiver includes a transmitter to transmit signals and a receiver to receive signals. The wireless station also includes a processor or control unit/entity (controller) 804/808 to execute instructions or software and control transmission and receptions of signals, and a memory 806 to store data and/or instructions.

[0123] Processor 804 may also make decisions or determinations, generate frames, packets or messages for transmission, decode received frames or messages for further processing, and other tasks or functions described herein. Processor 804, which may be a baseband processor, for example, may generate messages, packets, frames or other signals for transmission via wireless transceiver 802 (802A or 802B). Processor 804 may control transmission of signals or messages over a wireless network, and may control the reception of signals or messages, etc., via a wireless network (e.g., after being down-converted by wireless transceiver 802, for example). Processor 804 may be programmable and capable of executing software or other instructions stored in memory or on other computer media to perform the various tasks and functions described above, such as one or more of the tasks or methods described above. Processor 804 may be (or may include), for example, hardware, programmable logic, a programmable processor that executes software or firmware, and/or any combination of these. Using other terminology, processor 804 and transceiver 802 together may be considered as a wireless transmitter/receiver system, for example.

[0124] In addition, referring to FIG. 8, a controller (or processor) 808 may execute software and instructions, and may provide overall control for the station 800, and may provide control for other systems not shown in FIG. 8, such as controlling input/output devices (e.g., display, keypad), and/or may execute software for one or more applications that may be provided on wireless station 800, such as, for example, an email program, audio/video applications, a word processor, a Voice over IP application, or other application or software. Moreover, a storage medium may be provided that includes stored instructions, which when executed by a controller or processor may result in the processor 804, or other controller or processor, performing one or more of the functions or tasks described above.

[0125] According to another example implementation, RF or wireless transceiver(s)

802A/802B may receive signals or data and/or transmit or send signals or data. Processor 804 (and possibly transceivers 802A/802B) may control the RF or wireless transceiver 802A or 802B to receive, send, broadcast or transmit signals or data.

[0126] The aspects are not, however, restricted to the system that is given as an example, but a person skilled in the art may apply the solution to other communication systems. Another example of a suitable communications system is the 5G concept.

It is assumed that network architecture in 5G will be quite similar to that of the LTE- advanced. 5G is likely to use multiple input - multiple output (MIMO) antennas, many more base stations or nodes than the LTE (a so-called small cell concept), including macro sites operating in co-operation with smaller stations and perhaps also employing a variety of radio technologies for better coverage and enhanced data rates. In one example implementation, the smaller station may be a small cell operating at a lower power or at a higher frequency (e.g., above 6GHz). In another example implementation, the smaller station may be a small cell that may be used as a secondary cell (SCell) for a UE (instead of a primary cell (PCell) or mobility anchor).

[0127] It should be appreciated that future networks will most probably utilize network functions virtualization (NFV) which is a network architecture concept that proposes virtualizing network node functions into “building blocks” or entities that may be operationally connected or linked together to provide services. A virtualized network function (VNF) may comprise one or more virtual machines running computer program codes using standard or general type servers instead of customized hardware. Cloud computing or data storage may also be utilized. In radio communications this may mean node operations may be carried out, at least partly, in a server, host or node operationally coupled to a remote radio head. It is also possible that node operations will be distributed among a plurality of servers, nodes or hosts. It should also be understood that the distribution of labor between core network operations and base station operations may differ from that of the LTE or even be non-existent.

[0128] Implementations of the various techniques described herein may be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer hardware, firmware, software, or in combinations of them. Implementations may be implemented as a computer program product, i.e., a computer program tangibly embodied in an information carrier, e.g., in a machine-readable storage device or in a propagated signal, for execution by, or to control the operation of, a data processing apparatus, e.g., a programmable processor, a computer, or multiple computers. Implementations may also be provided on a computer readable medium or computer readable storage medium, which may be a non-transitory medium. Implementations of the various techniques may also include implementations provided via transitory signals or media, and/or programs and/or software implementations that are downloadable via the Internet or other network(s), either wired networks and/or wireless networks. In addition, implementations may be provided via machine type communications (MTC), and also via an Internet of Things (IOT).

[0129] The computer program may be in source code form, object code form, or in some intermediate form, and it may be stored in some sort of carrier, distribution medium, or computer readable medium, which may be any entity or device capable of carrying the program. Such carriers include a record medium, computer memory, read-only memory, photoelectrical and/or electrical carrier signal, telecommunications signal, and software distribution package, for example. Depending on the processing power needed, the computer program may be executed in a single electronic digital computer or it may be distributed amongst a number of computers.

[0130] Furthermore, implementations of the various techniques described herein may use a cyber-physical system (CPS) (a system of collaborating computational elements controlling physical entities). CPS may enable the implementation and exploitation of massive amounts of interconnected ICT devices (sensors, actuators, processors microcontrollers,...) embedded in physical objects at different locations. Mobile cyber physical systems, in which the physical system in question has inherent mobility, are a subcategory of cyber-physical systems. Examples of mobile physical systems include mobile robotics and electronics transported by humans or animals. The rise in popularity of smartphones has increased interest in the area of mobile cyber-physical systems.

Therefore, various implementations of techniques described herein may be provided via one or more of these technologies.

[0131] A computer program, such as the computer program(s) described above, can be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, and can be deployed in any form, including as a stand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unit or part of it suitable for use in a computing environment. A computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computers at one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network.

[0132] Method steps may be performed by one or more programmable processors executing a computer program or computer program portions to perform functions by operating on input data and generating output. Method steps also may be performed by, and an apparatus may be implemented as, special purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit).

[0133] Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, by way of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, and any one or more processors of any kind of digital computer, chip or chipset. Generally, a processor will receive instructions and data from a read only memory or a random access memory or both. Elements of a computer may include at least one processor for executing instructions and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer also may include, or be operatively coupled to receive data from or transfer data to, or both, one or more mass storage devices for storing data, e.g., magnetic, magneto optical disks, or optical disks. Information carriers suitable for embodying computer program instructions and data include all forms of non volatile memory, including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, e.g., internal hard disks or removable disks; magneto optical disks; and CD ROM and DVD-ROM disks. The processor and the memory may be supplemented by, or incorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry.