FIELD

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to communication technologies, and more particularly, to a communication method implemented at a communication device and the corresponding communication device.

BACKGROUND

[0002] 3 GPP has launched a new research project on Long Term Evolution (LTE) based vehicular communication V2X service, so as to study and explore opportunities for widely-deployed LTE network based "vehicle interconnection." The LTE based V2X research consists of three portions: vehicle-to-vehicle communication (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure/network communication (V2I/N) and vehicle-to-pedestrian communication (V2P).

[0003] In existing V2X based solutions, newly-built expensive traffic control facilities are usually required to realize intelligent traffic management, which leads to a high cost and implementation complexity. Therefore, such solutions are difficult to implement. In other existing solutions, vehicle information is transferred via an existing transport network (fixed or wireless) to a server at the core network for example. After processing the received information, the server sends a processing result back to vehicles via the transport network. However, a large latency will be introduced due to multiple kinds of processing in this long transport process, and therefore the increasing high-speed processing requirements for modern communication cannot be satisfied.

SUMMARY

[0004] Generally, the embodiments of the present disclosure propose a communication method implemented at a communication device as well as the corresponding communication device, so as to achieve high-speed V2X based traffic management with low complexity.

[0005] In a first aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method implemented at a Mobile Edge Computing device. The method comprises: receiving location information of a first-type terminal device and location information of a second-type terminal device; determining path planning information for the first-type terminal device based on the location information of the first-type terminal device and the location information of the second-type terminal device; and sending the path planning information to the first-type terminal device so that the first-type terminal device determines a travelling route based on the path planning information.

[0006] In this aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a Mobile Edge Computing device, comprising: a transceiver configured to receive location information of a first-type terminal device and location information of a second-type terminal device; and a controller configured to determine path planning information for the first-type terminal device based on the location information of the first-type terminal device and the location information of the second-type terminal device; wherein the transceiver is further configured to send the path planning information to the first-type terminal device so that the first-type terminal device determines a travelling route based on the path planning information.

[0007] The embodiments of the present disclosure further comprise a Mobile Edge Computing device. The device comprises: a processor and a memory having instructions stored therein, which, when run by the processor, cause the device to execute a method according to the first aspect.

[0008] The embodiments of the present disclosure further comprise a Mobile Edge Computing device. The device comprises: means for receiving location information of a first-type terminal device and location information of a second-type terminal device; means for determining path planning information for the first-type terminal device based on the location information of the first-type terminal device and the location information of the second-type terminal device; and means for sending the path planning information to the first-type terminal device so that the first-type terminal device determines a travelling route based on the path planning information.

[0009] In a second aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method implemented at a first-type terminal device. The method comprises: sending location information of the first-type terminal device to a Mobile Edge Computing device so that the Mobile Edge Computing device determines path planning information for the first-type terminal device based on the location information of the first-type terminal device and location information of a second-type terminal device; receiving the path planning information from the Mobile Edge Computing device; and determining a travelling route based on the path planning information.

[0010] In this aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure further provide a first-type terminal device. The device comprises: a transceiver configured to send location information of the first-type terminal device to a Mobile Edge Computing device so that the Mobile Edge Computing device determines path planning information for the first-type terminal device based on the location information of the first-type terminal device and location information of a second-type terminal device, and receive the path planning information from the Mobile Edge Computing device; and a controller configured to determine a travelling route based on the path planning information.

[0011] The embodiments of the present disclosure further comprise a first-type terminal device. The device comprises: a processor and a memory having instructions stored therein, which, when run by the processor, cause the terminal device to execute a method according to the second aspect.

[0012] The embodiments of the present disclosure further comprise a first-type terminal device. The device comprises: means for sending location information of the first-type terminal device to a Mobile Edge Computing device so that the Mobile Edge Computing device determines path planning information for the first-type terminal device based on the location information of the first-type terminal device and location information of a second-type terminal device; means for receiving the path planning information from the Mobile Edge Computing device; and means for determining a travelling route based on the path planning information. [0013] As is to be understood from the following description, according to the embodiments of the present disclosure, Mobile Edge Computing is combined with V2X technology for vehicle management, thereby making effective use of existing traffic management infrastructure and reducing an implementation cost and complexity. In the meanwhile, Mobile Edge Computing is adopted to solve the high latency problem brought about by transmission to the core network in traditional solutions, and vehicle management is enabled with a low latency and high bandwidth. Therefore, the embodiments of the present disclosure can effectively enhance the processing speed, efficiency and capacity of vehicle management without increasing the construction cost.

[0014] It should be appreciated description as described in the summary is not intended to limit essential or important features of the embodiments of the present disclosure or used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become easier to understand from the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] The above and other features, advantages and aspects of various embodiments of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed illustration, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements, wherein:

[0016] Fig. 1 shows an exemplary communication network in which the embodiments of the present disclosure are implemented;

[0017] Fig. 2 shows a flowchart of a method implemented at a Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; [0018] Fig. 3 shows a block diagram of an apparatus at a first-type terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0019] Fig. 4 shows a message flow diagram according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0020] Fig. 5 shows a message flow diagram according to other embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0021] Fig. 6 shows a block diagram of an apparatus at a MEC device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0022] Fig. 7 shows a block diagram of an apparatus at a first-type terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; and [0023] Fig. 8 shows a block diagram of a device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0024] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some embodiments of the present disclosure have been illustrated. However, the present disclosure can be implemented in various manners, and thus should not be construed to be limited to the embodiments disclosed herein. On the contrary, those embodiments are provided for the thorough and complete understanding of the present disclosure. It should be understood that the accompanying drawings and embodiments of the present disclosure are merely for the illustration purpose, rather than limiting the scope of the present disclosure. [0025] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, a "Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) device" represents a device capable of supporting Mobile Edge Computing. The MEC device may be a Mobile Edge Computing server or a similar device deployed at the edge of a radio access network, which can open real-time wireless and network information (e.g. a real-time specific location of a user in the moving status, real-time load situation of a base station, etc.) towards various upper-layer applications and services, so as to provide various scenario related service.

[0026] The term "network device" used here refers to other entity or node with specific functionality in a base station or communication network. The "base station (BS)" may represent a node B (NodeB or NB), an Evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), a remote radio unit (R U), a radio-frequency head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a repeater, or a low power node such as a Picocell, a Femto cell and the like. In the context of the present disclosure, the terms "network device" and "base station" may be used interchangeably, and generally, the eNB is taken as an example of the network device, for the sake of discussion. [0027] The term "terminal device" used here refers to any terminal device that can perform wireless communication with the network device or one another. As an example, the terminal device may comprise a mobile terminal (MT), a subscriber station (SS), a portable subscriber station (PSS), a mobile station (MS) or an access terminal (AT), and the above on-board devices. In the context of the present disclosure, the term "terminal device" might mainly take a vehicle as an example of the network device for the sake of discussion. It will be appreciated this is merely exemplary and not limiting.

[0028] The terms "comprise", "include" and their variants used here are to be read as open terms that mean "include, but is not limited to". The term "based on" is to be read as "based at least in part on". The term "one embodiment" is to be read as "at least one embodiment"; the term "another embodiment" is to be read as "at least one other embodiment". Definitions of other terms will be presented in description below.

[0029] As described above, current V2X based solutions usually require a higher cost and implementation complexity or have a higher latency and lower processing efficiency, and thus a fast and effective vehicle management solution cannot be provided. To solve these and other potential problems, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication method incorporating V2X and MEC technologies.

[0030] MEC technology has developed and evolved into a key component of future mobile wideband networks and will become one of key technologies of next-generation mobile communication network. MEC can provide an information technology service environment and cloud computing capabilities within the closest radio access network (RAN) to a terminal device, thereby reducing a delay/latency, enhancing network operation efficiency, improving service distribution/transfer capabilities, and optimizing/improving the terminal user experience. The Mobile Edge Computing device deployed at the edge of the radio access network may open real-time wireless and network information (e.g. a real-time specific location of a user in the moving status, real-time load situation of a base station, etc.) towards various upper-layer applications and services, and may provide various scenario related service, thereby effectively increasing users' mobile wideband experience.

[0031] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method implemented at a MEC device. The MECT device receives location information of different types of terminal devices, determines path planning information for some type of terminal device (e.g. an ambulance) based on the location information, and sends the path planning information to the type of terminal device. Then, the terminal device may determine a new route according to the path planning information. In this way, it is possible to effectively utilize existing traffic management infrastructure and enhance the mobile management efficiency with a low cost and a low latency.

[0032] Fig. 1 shows an exemplary communication network 100 in which the embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. The communication network 100 comprises a MEC device 110 and a terminal device 120 (e.g. a family car), a terminal device 130 (e.g. an ambulance) and a terminal device 140 (e.g. a bus) which communicate with the MEC device 110, and the MEC device 110 further controls a traffic facility management device 150 for managing traffic facilities (e.g. traffic lights, cameras, etc.). [0033] It will be appreciated the number and type of terminal devices as shown in Fig. 1 are merely for the illustration purpose, without suggesting any limitation. The network 100 may include any appropriate number of terminal devices. Further, it will be appreciated that in order to simplify description, the network 100 in Fig. 1 does not show a network device that serves the terminal device, such as a base station. Those skilled in the art will appreciate communication between the terminal devices 120-140 and the MEC device 110 may be implemented via a base station serving these terminal devices.

[0034] As shown in Fig. 1, all the terminal devices 120-140 are shown as vehicles running on a road 101. The road 101 comprises 4 lanes, namely 102, 103, 104 and 105, among which lane 102 is a predefined lane for the bus 140 and hence referred to as a "bus lane" below. It will be appreciated the number and form of roads and lanes as shown in Fig. 1 are merely for the illustration purpose, without suggesting any limitation. [0035] Communication in the network 100 may be implemented according to any appropriate communication protocol, including without limitation to, the first generation (1G), the second generation (2G), the third generation (3G), the fourth generation (4G), the fifth generation (5G) and other cellular communication protocol, wireless local area network communication protocols such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, and/or any other protocols that are currently known or to be developed later. Furthermore, the communication utilizes any appropriate wireless communication technology, including without limitation to, code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division duplexing (FDD), time division duplexing (TDD), multiple input multiple output (MIMO), orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), and/or any other technology that is currently known or to be developed in future.

[0036] With reference to Fig. 2 to Fig. 8, principles and specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be illustrated in detail from the perspective of a MEC device and a terminal device respectively. First referring to Fig. 2, the figure shows a flowchart of a method 200 implemented at a MEC device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be appreciated that the method 200 may be implemented at, for example, the MEC device 110 as shown in Fig. 1.

[0037] The method 200 starts at 210, where the MEC device receives location information of a first-type terminal device and location information of a second-type terminal device. According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the type of terminal device may be defined in various ways. In some embodiments, the first-type terminal device may be a terminal device associated with a special event (also referred to as "a special terminal device" below), e.g. an ambulance, a rescue car, a police car, a fire engine and the like for handling emergency events, or an official car, a government car and the like for handling public affairs. In this embodiment, the second-type terminal device is a terminal device which is not associated with a special event, e.g. an ordinary family car, etc.

[0038] As an alternative embodiment, in other embodiments, the second-type terminal device may be a terminal device associated with public transport, e.g. a bus, etc. The first-type terminal device is a terminal device which is not associated with public transport, e.g. an ordinary general vehicle, a family car, etc.

[0039] The location information of a terminal device may comprise location coordinates, speed, movement direction, road identity (ID), lane ID and/or other appropriate information of the terminal device. According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the MEC device may periodically obtain location information of various types of terminal devices, and may also query location information of the terminal device on demand. The terminal device may also periodically (e.g. every 100ms) or aperiodically report its own location information to the MEC device.

[0040] At 220, the MEC device determines path planning information for the first-type terminal device based on the location information of the first-type terminal device and the location information of the second-type terminal device. The path planning information may be implemented in various ways. [0041] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first-type terminal device is a terminal device associated with a special event, e.g. a special car such as an ambulance, a rescue car, a police car, a fire engine, an official car and so on. The second-type terminal device is a terminal device which is not associated with a special event, e.g. an ordinary vehicle. Specifically, in these embodiments the MEC device may obtain map information of an area where the first-type terminal device and the second-type terminal device are located, and the area may be in the vicinity of a road on which an ambulance in rescue service and an ordinary car are running, e.g. several kilometers around the road. Then, the MEC device may determine a set of candidate paths for the first-type terminal device based on the location information of the first-type terminal device, the location information of the second-type terminal device and the obtained map information, and select a target path from the set of candidate paths. The target path is an optimum path which the MEC device selects for the first-type terminal device, which may comprise road ID, lane ID, the number of vehicles on each road/lane, the length of a road, and other information. The selection of the target path may be implemented according to the road congestion avoiding criterion, the shortest distance criterion, and the highway priority criterion, etc. Then, the MEC device incorporates the target path into the path planning information so as to send it to the first-type terminal device.

[0042] In some additional embodiments, the MEC device may optionally receive a path planning request from the first-type terminal device, and this path planning request may comprise the identification, classification, a priority level, location information, a destination and/or other information of the first-type terminal device. The MEC device may start path planning for the terminal device in response to the path planning request. It will be appreciated that the examples are merely illustrative and not limiting, and the path planning may not be triggered by the path planning request. In other embodiment, the MEC device may determine whether to make the path planning for the first-type terminal device, according to the moving trajectory, status, speed and the like of the first-type terminal device.

[0043] In some additional embodiments, the MEC device may optionally send a message for avoiding the target path to the second-type terminal device. Optionally, in response to determining a congestion level of the target path reaches a predefined threshold, i.e. determining the target path is rather congested, the MEC device may send a message for adjusting status of a traffic facility to a traffic facility management device associated with the target path. Thereby, congestion situation of the target path may be adjusted by adjusting the time duration, frequency and the like of a red light and/or a green light of traffic lights (e.g. reducing the time or frequency of a red light, and/or increasing the time or frequency of a green light).

[0044] In some additional embodiments, the MEC device may optionally receive updated location information of the firs type of terminal device and update the target path based on the updated location information. Then, the MEC device may send the updated target path to the second-type terminal device and/or the traffic facility management device.

[0045] In some additional embodiments, in response to determining that the first-type terminal device no longer needs the target path, the MEC device may optionally send a message, indicating that the target path has been released, to the second-type terminal device and/or the traffic facility management device. In the process of determining whether the first-type terminal device needs the target path, the MEC device may determine that the first-type terminal device no longer needs the target path upon receiving the path release message of the first-type terminal device. It will be appreciated this is merely exemplary and not limiting. In other embodiments of the present disclosure, alternatively, the MEC device may also detect whether the first-type terminal device has reached the destination according to the location information of the device, and if the first-type terminal device has reached the destination, the MEC device may determine the device no longer needs the target path. [0046] In some alternative embodiments of the present disclosure, the second-type terminal device may be a terminal device associated with public transport, e.g. a bus. The first-type terminal device is a terminal device that is not associated with public transport, e.g. a general vehicle. In these embodiments, the MEC device may determine an idle level of a predefined path for the second-type terminal device based on the location information of the first-type terminal device and the location information of the second-type terminal device. For example, according to location coordinates of a general vehicle and a bus, it may be determined whether a given road and/or a given lane are/is congested or idle for usage of other vehicles. [0047] In some embodiments, the MEC device may determine the number of the first-type terminal devices and the number of the second-type terminal devices on the predefined path based on the location information of the first-type terminal device and the second-type terminal device, and determine an idle level of the predefined path according to the determined number and a predefined idle threshold. [0048] Next, the MEC device may determine the availability of the predefined path to the first-type terminal device based on the idle level of the predefined path, and incorporate the availability into the path planning information. The predefined path's availability to the first-type terminal device comprises information regarding whether the first-type terminal device may use the predefined path and the limitation of the predefined path, etc. According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the availability may be divided into two or more levels. For example, the availability may be available and unavailable levels, wherein "available" means the first-type terminal device is allowed to use the predefined path, and "unavailable" means the first-type terminal device is not allowed to use the predefined path. For another example, the availability may be divided into N levels, wherein N>2. In some embodiments, suppose N=3, if the idle level of the predefined path is high, the MEC device may determine the predefined path is available to the first-type terminal device, at which point a new first-type terminal device may be allowed to enter the predefined path. If the idle level of the predefined path is medium, the MEC device may determine the predefined path is limited-available to first-type terminal devices, i.e. allowing existing first-type terminal devices to be on the predefined path but not allowing a new first-type terminal device to enter the predefined path. If the idle level of the predefined path is low, the MEC device may determine the predefined path is unavailable to first-type terminal devices and does not allow existing and new first-type terminal devices to be on the predefined path. [0049] If the availability is low, e.g. lower than a predefined threshold, then the MEC device may send a message for adjusting status of the traffic facility to the traffic facility management device, thereby adjusting the number of vehicles on or the availability of the predefined path by adjusting the time duration, frequency and the like of a red light and/or a green light of traffic lights.

[0050] Returning to the method 200, at 230, the MEC device sends the path planning information to the first-type terminal device so that the first-type terminal device may determine a travelling route of the path planning information.

[0051] Through the discussion above, the embodiments of the present disclosure combine Mobile Edge Computing with V2X technology for vehicle management, thereby making effective use of existing traffic management infrastructure and reducing an implementation cost and complexity. In the meanwhile, the Mobile Edge Computing is adopted to solve the high latency problem brought about by transmission to the core network in traditional solutions, and vehicle management is enabled with a low latency and high bandwidth. Therefore, embodiments of the present disclosure can effectively enhance the processing speed, efficiency and capacity of vehicle management without increasing the construction cost.

[0052] With reference to Fig. 3, the embodiments of the present disclosure will be further described from another aspect. Fig. 3 shows a flowchart of a method 300 implemented at a first-type terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 300 starts at 310, where the first-type terminal device sends location information of the first-type terminal device to a Mobile Edge Computing device. The location information of a terminal device may comprise location coordinates, speed, movement direction, road ID, lane ID and/or other appropriate information of the terminal device. The terminal device may also periodically or aperiodically report its own location information to the MEC device.

[0053] The MEC device determines path planning information for the first-type terminal device based on the location information of the first-type terminal device and location information of a second-type terminal device, and send the path planning information to the first-type terminal device. [0054] At 320, the first-type terminal device receives the path planning information from the MEC device. According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, the path planning information may comprise a target path and candidate paths planned for a mobile terminal, availability of a predefined path of the second-type terminal device to the first-type terminal device, idle level of the predefined path and/or other appropriate information.

[0055] At 330, the first-type terminal device determines a travelling route based on the path planning information. [0056] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the first-type terminal device is a terminal device associated with a special event, e.g. a special car such as an ambulance, a rescue car, a police car, a fire engine, an official car and so on. The second-type terminal device is a terminal device that is not associated with a special event, e.g. an ordinary vehicle. Specifically, in these embodiments the first-type terminal device extracts a target path from the received path planning information. The target path may be selected by the Mobile Edge Computing device from a set of candidate paths which are determined based on the location information of the first-type terminal device, the location information of the second-type terminal device and map information of an area where the terminal devices are located. Next, the first-type terminal device determines a travelling route based on the target path.

[0057] In some embodiments, the first-type terminal device may send a path planning request to the MEC device so as to trigger the MEC device to start path planning for the terminal device in response to the path planning request. The path planning request may comprise the identification, classification, a priority level, location information, a destination and/or other information of the first-type terminal device.

[0058] As an alternative, in other embodiments of the present disclosure, the second-type terminal device may be a terminal device associated with public transport, e.g. a bus. The first-type terminal device is a terminal device that is not associated with public transport, e.g. a general vehicle. At 330, the first-type terminal device may extract from the path planning information availability of a predefined path of the second-type terminal device to the first-type terminal device, and use the predefined path in light of the availability.

[0059] In some embodiments, the availability of the predefined path of the second-type terminal device to the first-type terminal device may be determined by the MEC device based on an idle level of the predefined path. The idle level of the predefined path may be determined by the MEC device based on the location information of the first-type terminal device and the location information of the second-type terminal device.

[0060] In some embodiments, the first-type terminal device may use a predefined path according to the obtained availability of the predefined path in various ways. In one embodiment, if the availability indicates that the predefined path is available to the first-type terminal device, it may be determined that the first-type terminal device is allowed to enter the predefined path. If the availability indicates that the predefined path is limited-available to the first-type terminal device, it may be determined that the first-type terminal device is not allowed to enter the predefined path. If the availability indicates the predefined path is unavailable to the first-type terminal device, it may be determined that the first-type terminal device needs to get out of the predefined path.

[0061] Description is presented below to the embodiments of the present disclosure with further reference to Figs. 4 and 5. Fig. 4 shows a message flow diagram according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 4, the first-type terminal device is a terminal device associated with a special event, e.g. an ambulance, a rescue car, a police car, a fire engine and the like for handling emergency event, or an official car, a government car and the like for handling public affair. To simplify description, these special terminal devices are also referred to as "special vehicles." In this embodiment, the second-type terminal device is a terminal device that is not associated with a special event, e.g. an ordinary family car, etc., which is also referred to as an "ordinary vehicle."

[0062] The embodiment in Fig. 4 shows three processes. The first process comprises operations 401-406, corresponding to the process of determining a target path; the second process comprises operations 411-414, corresponding to the process of updating the target path, and the third process comprises operations 421-424, corresponding to the process of releasing the target path. It will be appreciated the embodiment in Fig. 4 is merely exemplary, without suggesting any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art will fully understand the embodiments of the present disclosure have other more appropriate implementations.

[0063] At 401, the first-type terminal device sends location information to the MEC device. For example, a special vehicle may send a route planning request to the MEC device at 401, and the route planning request may comprise the special vehicle's identification, classification, a priority level, location information, a destination and/or other information. Therefore, after receiving the route planning request, the MEC device may extract the location information of the special vehicle from the route planning request.

[0064] At 402, the second-type terminal device sends location information to the MEC device. The location information may be sent periodically or according to a query from the MEC device.

[0065] At 403, the MEC device determines path planning information for the first-type terminal device based on the location information of the first-type terminal device and the location information of the second-type terminal device. Specifically, the MEC device may obtain map information of an area where the special vehicle and the ordinary vehicle are located based on location information of the special vehicle and the ordinary vehicle, and determine candidate paths for the special vehicle based on the location information of the special vehicle, the ordinary vehicle and the map information, thereby obtaining a set of candidate paths. The set may comprise one or more candidate paths. Then, the MEC device may select a target path from the set of candidate paths and incorporate the target path into the path planning information so as to send it to the special vehicle, the ordinary vehicle, a traffic facility and/or other appropriate device. The target path might be selected based on the road congestion avoiding criterion, the shortest distance criterion, the highway priority criterion, etc. It will be appreciated the method performed at 403 may be implemented according to the embodiments shown in Fig. 2, and the foregoing description is merely exemplary and not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[0066] At 404, the MEC device sends the path planning information to the first-type terminal device, i.e. the special vehicle. Subsequently, the special vehicle may extract the target path from the received path planning information and determine a travelling route based on the target path.

[0067] At 405, the MEC device sends a message for avoiding the target path to the second-type terminal device, i.e. the ordinary vehicle. After receiving the message, the ordinary vehicle determines whether itself is on the target path according to its own location information. If yes, the ordinary vehicle avoids the target path.

[0068] At 406, if the target path is rather congested, e.g. a congestion level of the target path reaches a predefined threshold, then the MEC device sends to a traffic facility management device associated with the target path a message for adjusting the time duration and frequency of traffic lights and status of a traffic facility, so that vehicles on the target path can pass fast to alleviate the congestion and further the special vehicle can pass smoothly.

[0069] In the second process, the first-type terminal device has run for a given distance on the target path, and then MEC may update the target path according to updated location information of the first-type terminal device. Specifically, at 411, the first-type terminal device sends updated location information to the MEC device, thereby providing current location information of the special vehicle. At 412, after receiving the updated location information, the MEC device updates the target path based thereon. For example, the MEC device may determine based on the updated location information to which location the special vehicle currently travels, and may subsequently update the target path as a shorter path. At

413, the MEC device sends the updated target path to the second-type second terminal. At

414, the MEC device sends the updated target path to the traffic facility management device.

[0070] In the third process, the first-type terminal device has reached its destination, and then at 412 the first-type terminal device may send to the MEC device a message indicating that the target path has been released, e.g. a route planning ending request. Thus at 422, the MEC device may determine, based on the route planning ending request, the special vehicle no longer needs the target path. In an alternative embodiment, if the first-type terminal device 421 sends its updated location information to the MEC device, then at 422 the MEC device may determine that the special vehicle no longer needs the target path, based on determining the updated location information has been reached or exceeds the destination. At 413, the MEC device sends to the second-type terminal device a message indicating that the target path has been released, so that ordinary vehicles may use the target path freely At 414, the MEC device sends to the traffic facility management device a message indicating that the target path has been released. Hence, the traffic facility management device may restore normal management of traffic facilities associated with the target path.

[0071] Fig. 5 shows a message flow diagram according to other embodiments of the present disclosure. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 5, the second-type terminal device may be a terminal device associated with public transport, e.g. a bus. A predefined path of the second-type terminal device may be a bus lane, for example. The first-type terminal device is a terminal device that is not associated with public transport, e.g. a general vehicle, as in existing solutions typically general vehicles do not use bus lanes. However, where non-bus lanes are congested while the bus lane is idle, there is a need for a solution to properly and reasonably use the bus lane and thus enhance the overall traffic flow of roads. The embodiment of Fig. 5 provides a solution for this technical problem. It will be appreciated the embodiment of Fig. 5 is merely exemplary, without suggesting any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art will fully understand the embodiments of the present disclosure have other more appropriate implementations. [0072] At 501, the first-type terminal device sends location information to the MEC device. At 502, the second-type terminal device sends location information to the MEC device. At both 501 and 502, the location information may be sent periodically or according to a query from the MEC device. Hence, the MEC device may receive location information of both a bus and a general vehicle.

[0073] At 503, the MEC device determines an idle level of a bus lane based on the received location information of the bus and the general vehicle. Then, the MEC device determines availability of the bus lane to the general vehicle based on the idle level of the bus lane and incorporates the availability into path planning information. It will be appreciated the method performed by the MEC device at 503 may be implemented according to the embodiments of Fig. 2, and the foregoing description is merely exemplary and not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[0074] At 504, the MEC device sends the path planning information to the first-type terminal device. Thereby, the general vehicle may learn the bus lane's availability to the general vehicle and use the bus lane in light of the availability. Specifically, if the availability indicates that the predefined path is available to the first-type terminal device, the general vehicle may determine the first-type terminal device is allowed to enter the predefined path. If the availability indicates that the predefined path is limited-available to the first-type terminal device, the general vehicle may determine the first-type terminal device is not allowed to enter the predefined path. If the availability indicates that the predefined path is unavailable to the first-type terminal device, the general vehicle may determine the first-type terminal device needs to get out of the predefined path.

[0075] At 505, if the availability is low, e.g. lower than a predefined threshold, the MEC device may send a message for adjusting status of a traffic facility, such traffic lights, to a traffic facility management device. By increasing the time duration of a green light, reducing the time duration of a red light and/or the frequency of the green light, traffic on the bus lane may be eased as soon as possible, and the passing rate of roads may be increased.

[0076] Fig. 6 shows a block diagram of an apparatus at a MEC device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be appreciated an apparatus 600 may be implemented at the network device 110 shown in Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 6, the apparatus 600 comprises: a receiving unit 610 configured to receive location information of a first-type terminal device and location information of a second-type terminal device; a determining unit 620 configured to determine path planning information for the first-type terminal device based on the location information of the first-type terminal device and the location information of the second-type terminal device; and a sending unit 630 configured to send the path planning information to the first-type terminal device so that the first-type terminal device determines a travelling route based on the path planning information.

[0077] In some embodiments, the first-type terminal device is a terminal device associated with a special event, and the second-type terminal device is a terminal device non-associated with a special event. The determining unit 620 is further configured to: obtain map information of an area where the first-type terminal device and the second-type terminal device are located; determine a set of candidate paths for the first-type terminal device based on the location information of the first-type terminal device, the location information of the second-type terminal device and the map information; select a target path from the set of candidate paths; and incorporate the target path into the path planning information.

[0078] In some embodiments, the receiving unit 610 is further configured to: receive a path planning request from the first-type terminal device, the path planning request comprising at least one of identification, classification, a priority level, location information and a destination of the first-type terminal device.

[0079] In some embodiments, the sending unit 630 is further configured to perform at least one of: sending a message for avoiding the target path to the second-type terminal device; and in response to a congestion level of the target path reaching a predefined threshold, sending a message for adjusting status of a traffic facility to a traffic facility management device associated with the target path.

[0080] In some embodiments, the determining unit 620 is further configured to: in response to receiving updated location information of the first-type terminal device, update the target path based on the updated location information. The sending unit 630 is further configured to: send the updated target path to at least one of the second-type terminal device and the traffic facility management device.

[0081] In some embodiments, the sending unit 630 is further configured to: in response to determining that the first-type terminal device no longer needs the target path, send a message indicating that the target path has been released to at least one of the second-type terminal device and the traffic facility management device.

[0082] In some embodiments, the second-type terminal device is a terminal device associated with public transport, and the first-type terminal device is a terminal device non-associated with public transport. The determining unit 620 is further configured to: determine an idle level of a predefined path of the second-type terminal device based on the location information of the first-type terminal device and the location information of the second-type terminal device; determine availability of the predefined path to the first-type terminal device based on the idle level of the predefined path; and incorporate the availability into the path planning information.

[0083] In some embodiments, the determining unit 620 is further configured to: determine the number of first-type terminal devices and the number of second-type terminal devices on the predefined path based on the location information of the first-type terminal device and the location information of the second-type terminal device; and determine the idle level of the predefined path based on determined number and a predefined idle threshold.

[0084] In some embodiments, the determining unit 620 is further configured to: in response to the idle level of the predefined path being high, determine the predefined path is available to the first-type terminal device, wherein the first-type terminal device is allowed to enter the predefined path; in response to the idle level of the predefined path being medium, determine the predefined path is limited-available to the first-type terminal device, wherein new first-type terminal device is not allowed to enter the predefined path; and in response to the idle level of the predefined path being low, determine the predefined path is unavailable to the first-type terminal device, wherein existing and new first-type terminal devices are not allowed to be on the predefined path.

[0085] In some embodiments, the sending unit 630 is further configured to: in response to the availability being lower than a predefined threshold, send a message for adjusting status of a traffic facility to a traffic facility management device. [0086] In some embodiments, the location information comprises at least one of location coordinates, speed, movement direction, road identification and lane identification of a terminal device.

[0087] Fig. 7 shows a block diagram of an apparatus at the first-type terminal device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in Fig. 7, an apparatus 700 comprises: a sending unit 710 configured to send location information of the first-type terminal device to a Mobile Edge Computing device so that the Mobile Edge Computing device determines path planning information for the first-type terminal device based on the location information of the first-type terminal device and location information of a second-type terminal device; a receiving unit 720 configured to receive the path planning information from the Mobile Edge Computing device; and a determining unit 730 configured to determine a travelling route based on the path planning information. [0088] In some embodiments, the first-type terminal device is a terminal device associated with a special event, and the second-type terminal device is a terminal device non-associated with a special event. The determining unit 730 is further configured to: extract a target path from the path planning information, wherein the target path is selected by the Mobile Edge Computing device from a set of candidate paths which are determined based on the location information of the first-type terminal device, the location information of the second-type terminal device and map information of an area where the terminal devices are located; and determine a travelling route based on the target path.

[0089] In some embodiments, the sending unit 710 is further configured to: send a path planning request to the Mobile Edge Computing device, the path planning request comprising at least one of identification, classification, a priority level, location information and a destination of the first-type terminal device.

[0090] In some embodiments, the second-type terminal device is a terminal device associated with public transport, and the first-type terminal device is a terminal device non-associated with public transport. The determining unit 730 is further configured to: extract from the path planning information availability of a predefined path of the second-type terminal device to the first-type terminal device; and use the predefined path based on the availability.

[0091] In some embodiments, the availability is determined by the Mobile Edge Computing device based on an idle level of the predefined path, and the idle level of the predefined path is determined based on the location information of the first-type terminal device and the second-type terminal device.

[0092] In some embodiments, the determining unit 730 is further configured to: in response to the availability indicating the predefined path is available to the first-type terminal device, determine the first-type terminal device is allowed to enter the predefined path; in response to the availability indicating the predefined path is limited-available to the first-type terminal device, determine the first-type terminal device is not allowed to enter the predefined path; and in response to the availability indicating the predefined path is unavailable to the first-type terminal device, determine the first-type terminal device needs to get out of the predefined path.

[0093] It will be appreciated each unit of the apparatus 600 and the apparatus 700 corresponds to each step of the methods 200 and 300 described with reference to Figs. 2 and 3. Therefore, operations and features described above with reference to Figs. 2 and 3 are also applicable to the apparatus 600, the apparatus 700 as well as units included in them, and meanwhile have the same effect, details of which are ignored here.

[0094] The units included in the apparatus 600 and the apparatus 700 may be implemented in various manners, including software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. In one embodiment, one or more units may be implemented using software and/or firmware, for example, machine-executable instructions stored on the storage medium. In addition to or instead of machine-executable instructions, parts or all of the units in the apparatus 1000 and the apparatus 1100 may be implemented, at least in part, by one or more hardware logic components. For example, and without limitation, illustrative types of hardware logic components that can be used include Field-programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Application-specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Application-specific Standard Products (ASSPs), System-on-a-chip systems (SOCs), Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs), etc.

[0095] The units shown in Figs. 6 and 7 may be implemented, partially or entirely, as hardware modules, software modules, firmware modules or any combination thereof. In particular, in some embodiments, the flows, methods or processes described above may be implemented by hardware in a base station or terminal device. For example, the base station or terminal device may implement the methods 200 and 300 by means of its transmitter, receiver, transceiver and/or processor. [0096] Fig. 8 shows a block diagram of a device 800 which is applicable to implement the embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 800 may be used for implementing a network device or a terminal device, e.g. the network device and the terminal device shown in Fig. 1.

[0097] As depicted, the device 800 comprises a controller 810. The controller 810 controls operations and functions of the device 800. For example, in some embodiments, the controller 810 may execute various operations by means of instructions 830 stored in a memory 820 coupled to the controller 810. The memory 820 may be of any appropriate type that is applicable to a local technical environment, and may be implemented using any appropriate data storage techniques, including without limitation to, semiconductor based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems. Though only one memory unit is shown in Fig. 8, there may be a plurality of physically different memory units in the device 800.

[0098] The controller 810 may be of any appropriate type that is applicable to a local technical environment, and may include without limitation to, a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), as well as one or more processors in a processor based multi-core processor architecture. The device 800 may also comprise multiple controllers 810. The controller 810 is coupled to a transceiver 840 that may realize information receiving and transmitting by means of one or more antennas 850 and/or other component.

[0099] When the device 800 acts as a MEC device, the controller 810 and the transceiver 840 may operate in cooperation to implement the method 200 described with reference to Fig. 2. The transceiver 840 is configured to receive location information of a first-type terminal device and location information of a second-type terminal device. The controller 810 is configured to determine path planning information for the first-type terminal device based on the location information of the first-type terminal device and the location information of the second-type terminal device. The transceiver is further configured to send the path planning information to the first-type terminal device so that the first-type terminal device determines a travelling route based on the path planning information.

[00100] In some embodiments, the first-type terminal device is a terminal device associated with a special event, and the second-type terminal device is a terminal device non-associated with a special event. The controller 810 is further configured to: obtain map information of an area where the first-type terminal device and the second-type terminal device are located; determine a set of candidate paths for the first-type terminal device based on the location information of the first-type terminal device, the location information of the second-type terminal device and the map information; select a target path from the set of candidate paths; and incorporate the target path into the path planning information. [00101] In some embodiments, the transceiver 840 is further configured to: receive a path planning request from the first-type terminal device, the path planning request comprising at least one of identification, classification, a priority level, location information and a destination of the first-type terminal device.

[00102] In some embodiments, the transceiver 840 is further configured to perform at least one of: sending a message for avoiding the target path to the second-type terminal device; and in response to a congestion level of the target path reaching a predefined threshold, sending a message for adjusting status of a traffic facility to a traffic facility management device associated with the target path.

[00103] In some embodiments, the controller 810 is further configured to: in response to receiving updated location information of the first-type terminal device, update the target path based on the updated location information. The transceiver 840 is further configured to: send the updated target path to at least one of the second-type terminal device and the traffic facility management device.

[00104] In some embodiments, the transceiver 840 is further configured to: in response to determining that the first-type terminal device no longer needs the target path, send a message indicating that the target path has been released to at least one of the second-type terminal device and the traffic facility management device.

[00105] In some embodiments, the second-type terminal device is a terminal device associated with public transport, and the first-type terminal device is a terminal device non-associated with public transport. The controller 810 is further configured to: determine an idle level of a predefined path of the second-type terminal device based on the location information of the first-type terminal device and the location information of the second-type terminal device; determine availability of the predefined path to the first-type terminal device based on the idle level of the predefined path; and incorporate the availability into the path planning information.

[00106] In some embodiments, the controller 810 is further configured to: determine the number of first-type terminal devices and the number of second-type terminal devices on the predefined path based on the location information of the first-type terminal device and the location information of the second-type terminal device; and determine the idle level of the predefined path based on determined number and a predefined idle threshold.

[00107] In some embodiments, the controller 810 is further configured to: in response to the idle level of the predefined path being high, determine the predefined path is available to the first-type terminal device, wherein the first-type terminal device is allowed to enter the predefined path; in response to the idle level of the predefined path being medium, determine the predefined path is limited-available to the first-type terminal device, wherein new first-type terminal device is not allowed to enter the predefined path; and in response to the idle level of the predefined path being low, determine the predefined path is unavailable to the first-type terminal device, wherein existing and new first-type terminal devices are not allowed to be on the predefined path.

[00108] In some embodiments, the transceiver 840 is further configured to: in response to the availability being lower than a predefined threshold, send a message for adjusting status of a traffic facility to a traffic facility management device.

[00109] In some embodiments, the location information comprises at least one of location coordinates, speed, movement direction, road identification and lane identification of a terminal device.

[00110] When the device 800 acts as a first-type terminal device, the controller 810 and the transceiver 840 may operate in cooperation to implement the method 300 described with reference to Fig. 3. The transceiver 840 is configured to: send location information of the first-type terminal device to a Mobile Edge Computing device so that the Mobile Edge Computing device determines path planning information for the first-type terminal device based on the location information of the first-type terminal device and location information of a second-type terminal device, and receive the path planning information from the Mobile Edge Computing device. The controller 810 is configured to determine a travelling route based on the path planning information.

[00111] In some embodiments, the first-type terminal device is a terminal device associated with a special event, and the second-type terminal device is a terminal device non-associated with a special event. The controller 810 is further configured to: extract a target path from the path planning information, wherein the target path is selected by the Mobile Edge Computing device from a set of candidate paths which are determined based on the location information of the first-type terminal device, the location information of the second-type terminal device and map information of an area where the terminal devices are located; and determine a travelling route based on the target path.

[00112] In some embodiments, the transceiver 840 is further configured to: send a path planning request to the Mobile Edge Computing device, the path planning request comprising at least one of identification, classification, a priority level, location information and a destination of the first-type terminal device. [00113] In some embodiments, the second-type terminal device is a terminal device associated with public transport, and the first-type terminal device is a terminal device non-associated with public transport. The controller 810 is further configured to: extract from the path planning information availability of a predefined path of the second-type terminal device to the first-type terminal device; and use the predefined path based on the availability.

[00114] In some embodiments, the availability is determined by the Mobile Edge Computing device based on an idle level of the predefined path, and the idle level of the predefined path is determined based on the location information of the first-type terminal device and the second-type terminal device.

[00115] In some embodiments, the controller 810 is further configured to: in response to the availability indicating the predefined path is available to the first-type terminal device, determine the first-type terminal device is allowed to enter the predefined path; in response to the availability indicating the predefined path is limited-available to the first-type terminal device, determine the first-type terminal device is not allowed to enter the predefined path; and in response to the availability indicating the predefined path is unavailable to the first-type terminal device, determine the first-type terminal device needs to get out of the predefined path.

[00116] All features described with reference to Figs. 2 and 3 are applicable to the device 800, which is ignored here.

[00117] Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. While various aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other pictorial representation, it will be appreciated that the blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[00118] For example, embodiments of the present disclosure can be described in the general context of machine-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, being executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, or the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired in various embodiments. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules may be located both local and remote storage media.

[00119] Program code for carrying out methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes may be provided to a processor or controller of a general purpose computer, specific purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that the program codes, when executed by the processor or controller, cause the functions/operations specified in the flowcharts and/or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may execute entirely on a machine, partly on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine or entirely on the remote machine or server.

[00120] In the context of this disclosure, a machine readable medium may be any tangible medium that may contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. The machine readable medium may be a machine readable signal medium or a machine readable storage medium. A machine readable medium may include but is not limited to an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of the machine readable storage medium would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[00121] Further, while operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Likewise, while several specific implementation details are contained in the above discussions, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination.

[00122] Although the subject matter has been described in a language that is specific to structural features and/or method actions, it is to be understood the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not limited to the specific features or actions described above. On the contrary, the above-described specific features and actions are disclosed as an example of implementing the claims.