ADAPTATION OF DYNAMIC GRANT FOR ULTRA-RELIABLE AND LOW- LATENCY COMMUNICATION SUPPORT

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION:

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/822,377, filed October 31, 2019. The entire content of the above-referenced application is hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD:

[0002] Various communication systems may benefit from improved configured grants.

BACKGROUND:

[0003] In addition to regular eMBB services, 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) fifth generation (5G) may support new types of services/applications requiring strict latency and reliability requirements, including industrial IoT (IIoT). IIoT may include application such as motion control, mobile robots, massive sensor networks, remote access, and maintenance.

SUMMARY:

[0004] In accordance with some embodiments, a method may include configuring a UE with one or more of at least one CG and at least two reference signal resources associated with at least one of the at least one CG. The method may further include receiving, by the NE from the UE, at least one UL data transmission using at least one of the at least one CG together with at least one of the at least two reference signal resources. The method may further include determining, by the NE, at least one adaptive dynamic grant DG allocation according to the at least one reference signal resource received together with the at least one uplink data transmission.

[0005] In accordance with certain embodiments, an apparatus may include means for configuring a user equipment (UE) with one or more of at least one CG and at least two reference signal resources associated with at least one of the at least one CG. The apparatus may further include means for receiving, from the UE, at least one UL data transmission using at least one of the at least one CG together with at least one of the at least two reference signal resources. The apparatus may further include means for determining at least one adaptive DG allocation according to the at least one reference signal resource received together with the at least one uplink data transmission.

[0006] In accordance with various embodiments, an apparatus may include at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least configure a user equipment (UE) with one or more of at least one CG and at least two reference signal resources associated with at least one of the at least one CG. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least receive, from the UE, at least one UL data transmission using at least one of the at least one CG together with at least one of the at least two reference signal resources. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least determine at least one adaptive DG allocation according to the at least one reference signal resource received together with the at least one uplink data transmission.

[0007] In accordance with some embodiments, a non-transitory computer readable medium may be encoded with instructions that may, when executed in hardware, perform a method. The method may include configuring a user equipment (UE) with one or more of at least one CG and at least two reference signal resources associated with at least one of the at least one CG. The method may further include receiving, from the UE, at least one UL data transmission using at least one of the at least one CG together with at least one of the at least two reference signal resources. The method may further include determining at least one adaptive DG allocation according to the at least one reference signal resource received together with the at least one uplink data transmission. [0008] In accordance with certain embodiments, a computer program product may perform a method. The method may include configuring a user equipment (UE) with one or more of at least one CG and at least two reference signal resources associated with at least one of the at least one CG. The method may further include receiving, from the UE, at least one UL data transmission using at least one of the at least one CG together with at least one of the at least two reference signal resources. The method may further include determining at least one adaptive DG allocation according to the at least one reference signal resource received together with the at least one uplink data transmission.

[0009] In accordance with various embodiments, an apparatus may include circuitry configured to configuring a user equipment (UE) with one or more of at least one CG and at least two reference signal resources associated with at least one of the at least one CG. The circuitry may further be configured to receive, from the UE, at least one UL data transmission using at least one of the at least one CG together with at least one of the at least two reference signal resources. The circuitry may further be configured to determine at least one adaptive DG allocation according to the at least one reference signal resource received together with the at least one uplink data transmission.

[0010] In accordance with some embodiments, a method may include receiving, by a UE from a NE, one or more of at least one CG and at least two reference signal resources associated with at least one of the at least one CG. The method may further include selecting, by the UE, at least one reference signal resource based on whether further buffer data remains in the buffer after transmission using the at least one CG. The method may further include transmitting, by the UE to the NE, at least one UL data transmission together with at least one selected reference signal resource using at least one of the at least one CG.

[0011] In accordance with certain embodiments, an apparatus may include means for receiving, from a NE, one or more of at least one CG and at least two reference signal resources associated with at least one of the at least one CG. The apparatus may further include selecting at least one reference signal resource based on whether further buffer data remains in the buffer after transmission using the at least one CG. The apparatus may further include means for transmitting, to the NE, at least one UL data transmission together with at least one selected reference signal resource using at least one of the at least one CG.

[0012] In accordance with various embodiments, an apparatus may include at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least receive, from a NE, one or more of at least one CG and at least two reference signal resources associated with at least one of the at least one CG. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least select at least one reference signal resource based on whether further buffer data remains in the buffer after transmission using the at least one CG. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be further configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least transmit, to the NE, at least one UL data transmission together with at least one selected reference signal resource using at least one of the at least one CG.

[0013] In accordance with some embodiments, a non-transitory computer readable medium may be encoded with instructions that may, when executed in hardware, perform a method. The method may include receiving, from a NE, one or more of at least one CG and at least two reference signal resources associated with at least one of the at least one CG. The method may further include selecting at least one reference signal resource based on whether further buffer data remains in the buffer after transmission using the at least one CG. The method may further include transmitting, to the NE, at least one UL data transmission together with at least one selected reference signal resource using at least one of the at least one CG.

[0014] In accordance with certain embodiments, a computer program product may perform a method. The method may include receiving, from a NE, one or more of at least one CG and at least two reference signal resources associated with at least one of the at least one CG. The method may further include selecting at least one reference signal resource based on whether further buffer data remains in the buffer after transmission using the at least one CG. The method may further include transmitting, to the NE, at least one UL data transmission together with at least one selected reference signal resource using at least one of the at least one CG.

[0015] In accordance with various embodiments, an apparatus may include circuitry configured to receive, from a NE, one or more of at least one CG and at least two reference signal resources associated with at least one of the at least one CG. The circuitry may further be configured to select at least one reference signal resource based on whether further buffer data remains in the buffer after transmission using the at least one CG. The circuitry may further be configured to transmit, to the NE, at least one UL data transmission together with at least one selected reference signal resource using at least one of the at least one CG.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:

[0016] For proper understanding of this disclosure, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0017] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a signaling diagram according to certain embodiments.

[0018] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a flow diagram of a method that may be performed by a network entity according to certain embodiments.

[0019] FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a flow diagram of a method that may be performed by a user equipment according to certain embodiments.

[0020] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a system architecture according to certain embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION:

[0021] In order to support URLLC, 3GPP new radio (NR) includes configured grants (CG) for reducing transmission latency, as well as data duplication for increasing the transmission reliability. However, periodic CG, coupled with duplication support for a number of IIoT UEs, may consume significant network resources. Link adaptation (LA) may result in a more efficient use of network resources. However, conventional LA based on channel conditions may not be optimal when used with CG since the same grant, including resource allocation and modulation and coding scheme (MCS) of CG, may be periodically used for multiple transmissions. Thus, challenges arise in determining an optimal MCS and transport block size (TBS) on the allocated resources for CG.

[0022] In case of a large number of UEs are configured with CGs, the available resource may be insufficient to have exclusive CG resources allocated for each UE. Thus, the CG with overlapped/shared resources may be allocated to different UEs for URLLC uplink data transmission. This, however, may impact the reliability of the URLLC data transmission due to possible collision when more than one UE transmits URLLC data using the CGs that have overlapped/shared resource allocation. Thus, the invention considers a solution to use the dynamic grant (DG) quickly and adaptively according to reception of the URLLC transmissions using CGs to leverage shortage of CGs with overlapped/shared resources in supporting a high number of URLLC UEs per cell. [0023] Certain embodiments described herein may have various benefits and/or advantages to overcome the disadvantages described above. Lor example, certain embodiments may accommodate as many as possible URLLC UEs that are using carrier aggregation or multi-connectivity coupled with duplication while the aggregated radio resources are rather limited. In order to fulfill the low latency requirements of the URLLC data transmission, the CG interval should be configured at least shorter than the latency requirement. However, if the number of URLLC UEs in one cell is large, it might not be possible to allocate the exclusive CG resources for each UE. Thus, overlapped/shared resources may be allocated to different UEs with CG based UL data transmission. In order to address some disadvantages described herein, adaptive dynamic grant (DG) may be quickly assigned according to reception of the URLLC transmissions using CGs to leverage shortage of CGs with overlapped/shared resources in supporting a high number of URLLC UEs per cell.Thus, certain embodiments are directed to improvements in computer-related technology. In addition, certain embodiments relate to UEs being configured with at least one CG as primary grants for URLLC data transmissions, of which the resource allocated by CGs may be exclusive or shared among different UEs. Certain embodiments may also allocate DGs in early stages before the reception of the whole transport block transmitted using CG. The allocated adaptive DG may be used for either earlier HARQ retransmission, duplication of transmitted data, or a new transmission consisting of a duplication of the transmitted data plus new data.

[0024] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a signaling diagram showing communications between NE 120 and UE 130. NE 120 may be similar to NE 410, and UE 130 may be similar to UE 420, both illustrated in FIG. 4.

[0025] In step 101, NE 120 may transmit to UE 130 at least one configured grant (CG), which may be configured for URLLC data transmission.

[0026] In step 103, NE 120 may transmit to UE 130 at least two reference signal resources associated with at least one CG transmitted in step 101. While DMRS is used as an example, other sequences, such as preamble sequences, may be applied as well. In a variant, at least one of the at least two reference signal resources may be demodulation reference signals. In another variant, the at least two reference signal resources may be two different sequences and/or two different signals. Moreover, in another variant, the at least two reference signal resources may be one sequence and/or signal associated with different time-frequency resources. As an example, the first DMRS may be configured to be used by UE 130 if there is no further data left in a buffer after the data transmission using the associated CG. The second DMRS may be configured to be used by UE 130 if an associated CG cannot accommodate all the URLLC data in the data buffer and there is still data waiting in the buffer for transmission after the data transmission using associated CG. In some embodiments, the at least two DMRS configuration may be transmitted separately from or together with the at least one configured grant CG transmitted in step 101. Additionally or alternatively, at least two exclusive DMRS sequences or the same DMRS sequence with different time-frequency resources may be allocated to UE 130 associated with the at least one CG, avoiding collision between DMRS signals of different UE.

[0027] In step 105, UE 130 may select at least one DMRS based on whether buffer data remains after transmission using the at least one CG. [0028] In step 107, UE 130 may transmit to NE 120 at least one UL data transmission based on at least one CG with selected DMRS.

[0029] In step 109, NE 120 may perform at least one adaptive DG allocation based on the received at least one DMRS. For example, based on the detected DMRS in step 107, NE 120 may detect at least one collision between data transmissions among different UEs using the at least one CG with shared resources. Additionally or alternatively, NE 120 may detect at least one channel condition based on the detected at least one DMRS, for example, by comparing against at least one pre-defmed correlation threshold.

[0030] In certain embodiments, if the detected DMRS from the transmission of UE 130 using CG indicates that there is further data waiting in the buffer for transmission, NE 120 may make new LA based on detected DMRS for UE 130 and allocate the corresponding DG resources for duplication of the transmitted data previously using CG as well as the new data waiting in the buffer. In this case, the MCS might not be the same as configured in CG and the TB size should be larger than that of the TB configured in CG.

[0031] In some embodiments, if the detected DMRS from the transmission of UE 130 using CG indicates that there is further data waiting in the buffer for transmission and the detected DMRS also indicates good channel condition, NE 120 may schedule DG only for new data transmission in order to allow UE 130 to transmit the additional data faster without waiting for next CG occasion.

[0032] In various embodiments, if the detected DMRS from the transmission of using CG indicates that there is no further data waiting in the buffer for transmission but collision of the data transmissions is detected using CGs with other UE, NE 120 may determine to make new LA for UE 130 based on detected DMRS and allocate the corresponding DG resources for duplication of the transmitted data. In this case, the different MCS for the same TB size as configured by CG may be configured in the DG. This case may be applied when NE 120 estimates based on detected DMRS that the URLLC data transmission using CG is too worse to use for soft-combining with the following HARQ retransmission. [0033] In certain embodiments, if the detected DMRS from the transmission of UE 130 using CG indicates that there is no further data waiting in the buffer for transmission and there is no collision of using CGs with other UEs, the BS may determine to use DG to schedule the HARQ retransmission with same MCS and TB size as configured by CG. Thus, the soft-combining of first transmission using CG and HARQ retransmission using DG may be performed.

[0034] In some embodiments, using estimated channel condition information from detected DMRS coupled with which of the at least two allocated DMRS sequences is used by UE 130 to indicate whether there is data left in the buffer or not, NE 120 may determine adaptively the at least one DG to schedule UE 130 for at least one transmission technique. For example, the transmission technique may comprise one or more of normal HARQ retransmission, duplication of transmitted data with new LA, and/or new transmission consisting of transmitted data and new data. At least one channel condition estimation based on DMRS may be more accurate for the subcarriers that CG is allocated than other subcarriers. In some examples, the LA and DG allocation may try to allocate the resources from the subcarriers that CG is allocated.

[0035] In some embodiments, NE 120 may determine whether to schedule the at least one DG before or after decoding of the URLLC data transmission. For example, NE 120 may determine to schedule the DG only after detection of the DMRS from URLLC data transmission, but before the decoding of the data transmission, or alternatively, after decoding of the URLLC data transmission. For example, the determination may be based on whether collision of URLLC data transmission among multiple UE has occurred according to detected DMRSs. If collision between URLLC data transmissions using scheduled CGs from different UEs is identified based on detected DMRSs, NE 120 may abandon further processing, such as de modulation and decoding, of the received data, and/or may schedule the DG right after DMRS is detected. Alternatively, if the detected DMRS indicates no collision and no new data in the transmission buffer, NE 120 may determine to schedule DG after decoding of the previously transmitted URLLC data. [0036] In step 111, NE 120 may transmit to UE 130 DG configured to cause UE 130 to initiate the transmission comprising at least one of new transmission consisting of transmitted data and new data, duplication of transmitted data or HARQ retransmission. In this way, the transmitted data may refer to the URLLC data transmitted using CG before DG is scheduled. The new data may refer to the URLLC data waiting in the UE buffer which has not yet been transmitted. The DG may be transmitted to UE 130 using downlink control information (DCI) in at least one physical downlink control channel (PDCCH).

[0037] In some embodiments, at least one DCI bit may indicate at least one type of transmission the allocated DG is targeted to, as shown in the following table:

An indication of the new transmission, such as ‘01 ’ in the table above, consisting of at least the transmitted data on the CG in the DG may indicate to UE 130 that the transmission should accommodate at least the transmitted data in the previous transmission using CG. In an example, where only previous transmissions using CG are accommodated according to the resource allocation in DG, the new transmission may be a duplication of the transmitted data. Additionally or alternatively, the scheduled resource in DG may allow new data to be transmitted together with the previously transmitted data. For example, if a transport block (TB) size determined according to DG is larger than the size of transmitted data, new data may be included while the TB is formed. In this case, UE 110 may form one single TB including both new data and previously transmitted data. The new data and transmitted data may be transmitted using the same MCS and the same allocated resources according to DG. UE 130 may process the new data and transmitted data to form the TB, which may be channel coded and modulated together.

[0038] In some embodiments, in case NE 120 schedules the new transmission consisting of at least previously transmitted data using DCI bits indication “01”, NE 120 may use at least one upper layer (e.g. RLC or PDCP based on sequence number in the RLC/PDCP PDU header) to detect and delete the duplication if both new transmission consisting of transmitted data and previous transmission are correctly received and forwarded to the radio higher layer.

[0039] In various embodiments, at least one MAC layer may handle reception of new and previous transmission with duplicated data in different scenarios. For example, if a new transmission consisting of transmitted data is correctly received by NE 120, the received data from new transmission may be forwarded to the upper layer, and the previously transmitted data may not be forwarded to the upper layer even though it is also correctly received. The HARQ process of previous transmission may be reset regardless whether the data is received correctly or not. In addition, if a previous transmission is correctly received and a new transmission is not, the previously transmitted data may be forwarded to the upper layer. The HARQ retransmission of new transmission may be performed as normal, and the upper layer will detect and delete the duplication as discussed above. Alternatively, the HARQ process of new transmission may be reset, and another new transmission with new data only can be transmitted.

[0040] In certain embodiments, if either a new or a previous transmission is not correctly received, HARQ retransmissions may be performed for both transmissions as normal until either of the previously described conditions occurs. Alternatively, only HARQ retransmission of the new transmission may continue, and the HARQ process of the previous transmission may be reset.

[0041] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a flow diagram of a method that may be performed by a NE, such as NE 410 illustrated in FIG. 4, according to certain embodiments.

[0042] In step 201, the NE may configure a UE, such as UE 420 illustrated in FIG. 4, with at least one configured grant (CG), which may be configured for URLLC data transmission.

[0043] At 203, the NE may configure the UE with at least two demodulation reference signals (DMRS) associated with at least one CG transmitted in step 201. While DMRS is used as an example, other sequences, such as preamble sequences, may be applied as well. In a variant, at least one of the at least two reference signal resources may be demodulation reference signals. In another variant, the at least two reference signal resources may be two different sequences and/or two different signals. Moreover, in another variant, the at least two reference signal resources may be one sequence and/or signal associated with different time-frequency resources. As an example, the first DMRS may be configured to be used by the UE if there is no further data left in a buffer after the data transmission using the associated CG. The second DMRS may be configured to be used by the UE if an associated CG cannot accommodate all the URLLC data in the data buffer and there is still data waiting in the buffer for transmission after the data transmission using associated CG. In some embodiments, the at least two DMRS configuration may be transmitted separately from or together with the at least one configured grant CG transmitted in step 201. Additionally or alternatively, at least two exclusive DMRS sequences or the same DMRS sequence with different time-frequency resources may be allocated to the UE associated with the at least one CG, avoiding collision between DMRS signals of different UE.

[0044] In step 205, the NE may receive from the UE at least one UL data transmission based on at least one CG together with at least one of the at least two DMRS.

[0045] In step 207, the NE may perform at least one adaptive DG allocation based on the received at least one DMRS. For example, based on the received DMRS in step 205, the NE may detect at least one collision between data transmissions among different UEs using the at least one CG with shared resources. Additionally or alternatively, the NE may detect at least one channel condition based on the detected at least one DMRS, for example, by comparing against at least one pre-defmed correlation threshold.

[0046] In certain embodiments, if the detected DMRS from the transmission of the UE using CG indicates that there is further data waiting in the buffer for transmission, the NE may make new LA based on detected DMRS for the UE and allocate the corresponding DG resources for duplication of the transmitted data previously using CG as well as the new data waiting in the buffer. In this case, the MCS might not be the same as configured in CG and the TB size should be larger than that of the TB configured in CG.

[0047] In some embodiments, if the detected DMRS from the transmission of the UE using CG indicates that there is further data waiting in the buffer for transmission and the detected DMRS also indicates good channel condition, the NE may schedule DG only for new data transmission in order to allow the UE to transmit the additional data faster without waiting for next CG occasion.

[0048] In various embodiments, if the detected DMRS from the transmission of using CG indicates that there is no further data waiting in the buffer for transmission but collision of the data transmissions is detected using CGs with other UE, the NE may determine to make new LA for the UE based on detected DMRS and allocate the corresponding DG resources for duplication of the transmitted data. In this case, the different MCS for the same TB size as configured by CG may be configured in the DG. This case may be applied when the NE estimates based on detected DMRS that the URLLC data transmission using CG is too worse to use for soft-combining with the following HARQ retransmission.

[0049] In certain embodiments, if the detected DMRS from the transmission of the UE using CG indicates that there is no further data waiting in the buffer for transmission and there is no collision of using CGs with other UEs, the NE may determine to use DG to schedule the HARQ retransmission with same MCS and TB size as configured by CG. Thus, the soft-combining of first transmission using CG and HARQ retransmission using DG may be performed.

[0050] In some embodiments, using estimated channel condition information from detected DMRS coupled with which of the at least two allocated DMRS sequences is used by the UE to indicate whether there is data left in the buffer or not, the NE may determine adaptively the at least one DG to schedule the UE for at least one transmission technique. For example, the transmission technique may comprise one or more of normal HARQ retransmission, duplication of transmitted data with new LA, and/or new transmission consisting of transmitted data and new data. At least one channel condition estimation based on DMRS may be more accurate for the subcarriers that CG is allocated than other subcarriers. In some examples, the LA and DG allocation may try to allocate the resources from the subcarriers that CG is allocated.

[0051] In some embodiments, the NE may determine whether to schedule the at least one DG before or after decoding of the URLLC data transmission. For example, the NE may determine to schedule the DG only after detection of the DMRS from URLLC data transmission, but before the decoding of the data transmission, or alternatively, after decoding of the URLLC data transmission. For example, the determination may be based on whether collision of URLLC data transmission among multiple UE has occurred according to detected DMRSs. If collision between URLLC data transmissions using scheduled CGs from different UEs is identified based on detected DMRSs, the NE may abandon further processing, such as de modulation and decoding, of the received data, and/or may schedule the DG right after DMRS is detected. Alternatively, if the detected DMRS indicates no collision and no new data in the transmission buffer, the NE may determine to schedule DG after decoding of the previously transmitted URLLC data.

[0052] In step 209, the NE may transmit to the UE at least one DG configured to cause the UE to initiate the transmission comprising at least one of new transmission consisting of transmitted data and new data, duplication of transmitted data or HARQ retransmission. In this way, the transmitted data may refer to the URLLC data transmitted using CG before DG is scheduled. The new data may refer to the URLLC data waiting in the UE buffer which has not yet been transmitted. The DG may be transmitted to the UE using downlink control information (DCI) in at least one physical downlink control channel (PDCCH).

[0053] In some embodiments, the DCI may comprise at least one indication of DG, as shown in the following table: An indication of the new transmission, such as ‘01 ’ in the table above, consisting of at least the transmitted data on the CG in the DG may indicate to the UE that the transmission should accommodate at least the transmitted data in the previous transmission using CG. In an example, where only previous transmissions using CG are accommodated according to the resource allocation in DG, the new transmission may be a duplication of the transmitted data. Additionally or alternatively, the scheduled resource in DG may allow new data to be transmitted together with the previously transmitted data. For example, if a transport block (TB) size determined according to DG is larger than the size of transmitted data, new data may be included while the TB is formed. In this case, the UE may form one single TB including both new data and previously transmitted data. The new data and transmitted data may be transmitted using the same MCS and the same allocated resources according to DG. The UE may process the new data and transmitted data to form the TB, which may be channel coded and modulated together.

[0054] In some embodiments, in case the NE schedules the new transmission consisting of at least previously transmitted data using DCI bits indication “01”, the NE may use at least one upper layer (e.g. RLC or PDCP based on sequence number in the RLC/PDCP PDU header) to detect and delete the duplication if both new transmission consisting of transmitted data and previous transmission are correctly received and forwarded to the radio higher layer.

[0055] In various embodiments, at least one MAC layer may handle reception of new and previous transmission with duplicated data in different scenarios. For example, if a new transmission consisting of transmitted data is correctly received by the NE, the received data from new transmission may be forwarded to the upper layer, and the previously transmitted data may not be forwarded to the upper layer even though it is also correctly received. The HARQ process of previous transmission may be reset regardless whether the data is received correctly or not. In addition, if a previous transmission is correctly received and a new transmission is not, the previously transmitted data may be forwarded to the upper layer. The HARQ retransmission of new transmission may be performed as normal, and the upper layer will detect and delete the duplication as discussed above. Alternatively, the HARQ process of new transmission may be reset, and another new transmission with new data only can be transmitted.

[0056] In certain embodiments, if either a new or a previous transmission is not correctly received, HARQ retransmissions may be performed for both transmissions as normal until either of the previously described conditions occurs. Alternatively, only HARQ retransmission of the new transmission may continue, and the HARQ process of the previous transmission may be reset.

[0057] FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a flow diagram of a method that may be performed by a UE, such as UE 420 illustrated in FIG. 4, according to certain embodiments.

[0058] At 301, the UE may receive from a NE, such as NE 410 illustrated in FIG. 4, a configuration of one or more of at least one CG and at least two reference signal resources, such as demodulation reference signals (DMRS), associated with at least one CG configured. While DMRS is used as an example, other sequences, such as preamble sequences, may be applied as well. In a variant, at least one of the at least two reference signal resources may be demodulation reference signals. In another variant, the at least two reference signal resources may be two different sequences and/or two different signals. Moreover, in another variant, the at least two reference signal resources may be one sequence and/or signal associated with different time-frequency resources. As an example, the first DMRS may be configured to be used by the UE if there is no further data left in a buffer after the data transmission using the associated CG. The second DMRS may be configured to be used by the UE if an associated CG cannot accommodate all the URLLC data in the data buffer and there is still data waiting in the buffer for transmission after the data transmission using associated CG. In some embodiments, the at least two DMRS configuration may be transmitted separately from or together with the at least one configured grant CG. Additionally or alternatively, at least two exclusive DMRS sequences or the same DMRS sequence with different time- frequency resources may be allocated to the UE associated with the at least one CG, avoiding collision between DMRS signals of different UE. [0059] In step 303, the UE may select at least one DMRS based on whether buffer data remains after transmission using the at least one CG.

[0060] In step 305, the UE may transmit to the NE at least one UL data transmission based on at least one CG with selected DMRS.

[0061] In step 307, the UE may receive from the NE at least one DG configured to cause the UE to initiate the transmission comprising at least one of new transmission consisting of transmitted data and new data, duplication of transmitted data or HARQ retransmission. In this way, the transmitted data may refer to the URLLC data transmitted using CG before DG is scheduled. The new data may refer to the URLLC data waiting in the UE buffer which has not yet been transmitted. The DG may be transmitted to UE 130 using downlink control information (DCI) in at least one physical downlink control channel (PDCCH).

[0062] FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a system according to certain embodiments. In one embodiment, a system may include multiple devices, such as, for example, NE 410 and UE 420.

[0063] NE 410 may be one or more of a base station, such as an evolved node B (eNB) or next generation node B (gNB), a next generation radio access network (NG RAN), a serving gateway, a server, and/or any other access node or combination thereof.

[0064] UE 420 may include one or more of a mobile device, such as a mobile phone, smart phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), tablet, or portable media player, digital camera, pocket video camera, video game console, navigation unit, such as a global positioning system (GPS) device, desktop or laptop computer, single-location device, such as a sensor or smart meter, or any combination thereof.

[0065] One or more of these devices may include at least one processor, respectively indicated as 411 and 421. At least one memory may be provided in one or more of devices indicated at 412 and 422. The memory may be fixed or removable. The memory may include computer program instmctions or computer code contained therein. Processors 411 and 421 and memory 412 and 422 or a subset thereof, may be configured to provide means corresponding to the various blocks of FIGS. 1-3. Although not shown, the devices may also include positioning hardware, such as global positioning system (GPS) or micro electrical mechanical system (MEMS) hardware, which may be used to determine a location of the device. Other sensors are also permitted and may be included to determine location, elevation, orientation, and so forth, such as barometers, compasses, and the like.

[0066] As shown in FIG. 4, transceivers 413 and 423 may be provided, and one or more devices may also include at least one antenna, respectively illustrated as 414 and 424. The device may have many antennas, such as an array of antennas configured for multiple input multiple output (MIMO) communications, or multiple antennas for multiple radio access technologies. Other configurations of these devices, for example, may be provided.

[0067] Transceivers 413 and 423 may be a transmitter, a receiver, or both a transmitter and a receiver, or a unit or device that may be configured both for transmission and reception.

[0068] Processors 411 and 421 may be embodied by any computational or data processing device, such as a central processing unit (CPU), application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or comparable device. The processors may be implemented as a single controller, or a plurality of controllers or processors.

[0069] Memory 412 and 422 may independently be any suitable storage device, such as a non-transitory computer-readable medium. A hard disk drive (HDD), random access memory (RAM), flash memory, or other suitable memory may be used. The memories may be combined on a single integrated circuit as the processor, or may be separate from the one or more processors. Furthermore, the computer program instructions stored in the memory and which may be processed by the processors may be any suitable form of computer program code, for example, a compiled or interpreted computer program written in any suitable programming language. Memory may be removable or non-removable.

[0070] The memory and the computer program instructions may be configured, with the processor for the particular device, to cause a hardware apparatus such as user equipment to perform any of the processes described below (see, for example, FIGS. 1-3). Therefore, in certain embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable medium may be encoded with computer instructions that, when executed in hardware, perform a process such as one of the processes described herein. Alternatively, certain embodiments may be performed entirely in hardware.

[0071] In certain embodiments, an apparatus may include circuitry configured to perform any of the processes or functions illustrated in FIGS. 1-3. For example, circuitry may be hardware-only circuit implementations, such as analog and/or digital circuitry. In another example, circuitry may be a combination of hardware circuits and software, such as a combination of analog and/or digital hardware circuit(s) with software or firmware, and/or any portions of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s)), software, and at least one memory that work together to cause an apparatus to perform various processes or functions. In yet another example, circuitry may be hardware circuit(s) and or processor(s), such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that include software, such as firmware for operation. Software in circuitry may not be present when it is not needed for the operation of the hardware.

[0072] The features, structures, or characteristics of certain embodiments described throughout this specification may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. For example, the usage of the phrases “certain embodiments,” “some embodiments,” “other embodiments,” or other similar language, throughout this specification refers to the fact that a particular feature, stmcture, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearance of the phrases “in certain embodiments,” “in some embodiments,” “in other embodiments,” or other similar language, throughout this specification does not necessarily refer to the same group of embodiments, and the described features, structures, or characteristics maybe combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

[0073] One having ordinary skill in the art will readily understand that certain embodiments discussed above may be practiced with steps in a different order, and/or with hardware elements in configurations which are different than those which are disclosed. Therefore, it would be apparent to those of skill in the art that certain modifications, variations, and alternative constructions would be apparent, while remaining within the spirit and scope of the invention. In order to determine the metes and bounds of the invention, therefore, reference should be made to the appended claims.

[0074] Partial Glossary

[0075] 3 GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project [0076] 5G Fifth Generation [0077] BS Base Station [0078] CG Configured Grant [0079] CQI Channel Quality Indicator [0080] DCI Downlink Control Information [0081] DG Dynamic Grant [0082] DMRS Demodulation Reference Signal [0083] eMBB Enhanced Mobile Broadband [0084] eNB Evolved Node B [0085] EPS Evolved Packet System [0086] gNB Next Generation Node B [0087] GPS Global Positioning System [0088] HARQ Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request [0089] IIoT Industrial Internet of Things [0090] IoT Internet of Things [0091] LA Link Adaptation [0092] LTE Long-Term Evolution [0093] MAC Media Access Control [0094] MCS Modulation and Coding Scheme [0095] MME Mobility Management Entity [0096] NAS Non-Access Stratum [0097] NE Network Entity [0098] NR New Radio [0099] PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel [0100] PDCP Packet Data Convergence Protocol

[0101] PDU Protocol Data Unit

[0102] RAN Radio Access Network

[0103] RLC Radio Link Control

[0104] SRS Sounding Reference Signal

[0105] TB Transport Block

[0106] TBS Transport Block Size

[0107] TR Technical Report

[0108] UE User Equipment

[0109] UL Uplink

[0110] URLLC Ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Communication [0111] WLAN Wireless Local Area Network