RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application serial number U.S.

63/371,323, filed August 12, 2022, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to wireless communications and, more particularly, to measurement assisted sidelink ranging.

BACKGROUND

[0003] The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) comprises standards organizations that develop technical specifications (TS) for New Radio (NR) and other mobile telecommunications technologies. In NR, for example, a user equipment (UE) may support communication in the uplink (UL), downlink (DL), and sidelink (SL). For example, the uplink may be used for transmissions in the direction from the UE toward the network (such as transmissions from the UE to a gNB, the base station in NR), the downlink may be used for transmissions in the direction from the network toward the UE, and the sidelink may be used for transmissions to/from another UE. In general, the transmitting side of a communication may be referred to as “Tx,” and the receiving side of a communication may be referred to as “Rx.”

[0004] The 3GPP standardization activity includes sidelink ranging and positioning, as outlined in the study item description RP-213561. Previous standardization work for sidelink in 3GPP focused on the communication aspects. From a positioning perspective, in previous releases, the network has been catering to the need of positioning for the cellular system. Using sidelink measurements in device positioning is therefore a new paradigm for positioning using 3GPP technology.

[0005] The 3GPP NR standard currently supports the following radio access technology (RAT)-dependent positioning methods: downlink time difference of arrival (DL-TDOA), multiple round trip time (Multi-RTT), uplink time difference of arrival (UL-TDOA), downlink angle of departure (DL-AoD), uplink angle of arrival (UL-AoA), and NR Enhanced Cell ID (NR E-CID). These positioning methods are summarized below.

[0006] DL-TDOA the downlink time difference of arrival positioning method makes use of the downlink reference signal time difference (RSTD) (and optionally downlink position reference signal (PRS) reference signal receive power (RSRP)) of downlink signals received from multiple transmission points (TPs), at the user equipment (UE). The UE measures the DL RSTD (and optionally DL PRS RSRP) of the received signals using assistance data received from a positioning server, and the resulting measurements are used along with other configuration information to locate the UE in relation to neighboring TPs.

[0007] Multi-RTT. the multiple round trip time positioning method uses the UE Rx-Tx measurements and DL PRS RSRP of downlink signals received from multiple transmission-and- reception points (TRPs), measured by the UE and the measured gNB Rx-Tx measurements and uplink (UL) sounding reference signal (SRS) RSRP at multiple TRPs of uplink signals transmitted from UE. Note, further explanation of the UE Rx-Tx measurements and the gNB Rx-Tx measurements is provided below (see the discussion of 3GPP TS 38.215 vl7.0.0).

[0008] UL-TDOA. The uplink time difference of arrival positioning method makes use of the UL TDOA (and optionally UL SRS-RSRP) at multiple reception points (RPs) of uplink signals transmitted from a UE. The RPs measure the UL TDOA (and optionally UL SRS-RSRP) of the received signals using assistance data received from a positioning server, and the resulting measurements are used along with other configuration information to estimate the location of the UE.

[0009] DL-AoD. The downlink angle of departure positioning method uses the measured DL PRS RSRP of downlink signals received from multiple TPs, at the UE. The UE measures the DL PRS RSRP of the received signals using assistance data received from a positioning server, and the resulting measurements are used along with other configuration information to locate the UE in relation to the neighboring TPs.

[0010] UL-AoA. The uplink angle of arrival positioning method uses the measured azimuth (A-) and zenith (Z-) of arrival at multiple RPs of uplink signals transmitted from the UE. The RPs measure A-AoA and Z-AoA of the received signals using assistance data received from a positioning server, and the resulting measurements are used along with other configuration information to estimate the location of the UE.

[0011] NR E-CID. NR Enhanced Cell ID positioning refers to techniques that use additional UE measurements and/or NR radio resource and other measurements to improve the UE location estimate.

[0012] The positioning modes can be categorized according to three areas: UE-Assisted, UE- Based, and Standalone, as summarized below.

[0013] UE-Assisted. The UE performs measurements with or without assistance from the network and sends the measurements to the evolved serving mobile location center (E-SMLC) where the position calculation may take place. [0014] UE-Based. The UE performs measurements and calculates its own position with assistance from the network.

[0015] Standalone. The UE performs measurements and calculates its own without network assistance.

[0016] The 3GPP specified the long term evolution (LTE) device-to-device (D2D) technology, also referred to as ProSe (Proximity Services), in Releases 12 and 13 of LTE. Later, in Releases 14 and 15, the 3GPP specified LTE vehicle-to-everything (V2X) related enhancements targeting the specific characteristics of vehicular communications. The 3GPP started a new work item (WI) in August 2018 within the scope of Release 16 to develop a new radio version of V2X communications.

[0017] The NR V2X mainly targets advanced V2X services, which can be categorized into four use case groups: vehicles platooning, extended sensors, advanced driving, and remote driving. The advanced V2X services require enhancements of the NR system and a new NR sidelink framework may help meet the stringent requirements in terms of latency and reliability. The NR V2X system also expects to have higher system capacity and better coverage and allow for easy extension to support the future development of further advanced V2X services and other services. [0018] Given the targeted services by NR V2X, it is commonly recognized that groupcast/multicast and unicast transmissions are desired, in which the intended receiver of a message consists of only a subset of the vehicles in proximity to the transmitter (groupcast) or of a single vehicle (unicast). For example, in the platooning service there are certain messages that are only of interest of the members of the platoon, making the members of the platoon a natural groupcast. In another example, the see-through use case most likely involves only a pair of vehicles, for which unicast transmissions naturally fit. Therefore, NR sidelink can support broadcast (as in LTE), groupcast and unicast transmissions. Furthermore, NR sidelink is designed for operation with and without network coverage and with varying degrees of interaction between the UEs (and the network), including support for standalone, network-less operation.

[0019] National Security and Public Safety (NSPS) is another important use case that can benefit from the already developed NR sidelink features in Release 16. Therefore, it is likely that the 3GPP will specify enhancements related to the NSPS use case using NR Release 16 sidelink as a baseline.

[0020] In some scenarios, NSPS services need to operate with partial or without network coverage, such as indoor firefighting, forest firefighting, earthquake rescue, sea rescue, etc. where the infrastructure is (partially) destroyed or not available. Therefore, coverage extension is a crucial enabler for NSPS, for both NSPS services communicated between UE and the cellular network and that communicated between UEs over sidelink. In Release 17, a study item description (SID) on NR sidelink relay (RP-193253) was launched that aims to further explore coverage extension for sidelink-based communication, including both UE-to-network relay for cellular coverage extension and UE-to-UE relay for sidelink coverage extension. Now the work has proceeded to normative phase and in the work item description (RP-213561) only UE-to- network relay is considered.

[0021] In the discussions and planning for NR Release 18, sidelink based ranging and positioning has been agreed for standardization. Ranging refers to deriving both distance and angle information about the wireless link between two devices. Distance ranging is today available in other standards, e.g., IEEE 802.4z, where in general, a signal exchange takes place between two devices facilitating calculation of the round-trip-time (RTT).

[0022] 3GPP is currently discussing standardization of a Positioning Reference Unit (PRU). The PRU may be a node/device that can transmit an uplink signal, perform positioning measurements and whose location is known. These devices may identify positioning errors, and thus the information may be used to compensate the positioning error of a UE.

[0023] The PRU may support, at least, some of the 3GPP Release 16 positioning functionalities of a UE. The positioning functionalities may include, but are not limited to, providing the positioning measurements (e.g., RSTD, RSRP, Rx-Tx time differences) and transmitting the UL SRS signals for positioning. A location management function (LMF) may request the PRU to provide its own known location coordinate information to the LMF. If the antenna orientation information of the PRU is known, that information may also be requested by the LMF.

[0024] Transmission timing adjustments are used to keep uplink transmissions from different UEs synchronized upon arrival at the gNB. A goal of the synchronization procedure is to delay or advance the uplink transmission from individual UEs such that when the transmitted signals from the individual UEs are received at the gNB, all incoming radio signals are time aligned. This is required for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) demodulation and securing orthogonality between subcarriers transmitted from different UEs.

[0025] The timing is adjusted as the UE moves to reflect the change in propagation delay. This is achieved by transmission of timing advance (TA) commands from the gNB to the individual UEs over medium access control (MAC) control elements. When in connected mode, the TA commands indicate the adjustment relative to the old timing advance. To obtain the actual value for the TA, accumulation overtime is required in general.

[0026] The uplink and downlink are transmitted with different timing in general. The detailed procedure for transmission timing adjustments is outlined in 3GPP TS 38.213 vl7.0.0. Additional details on architecture are also found in 3GPP TS 38.300 vl6.8.0. [0027] In 3GPP TS 38.215 vl7.0.0, the gNB Rx - Tx time difference measurement is defined as follows. The gNB Rx - Tx time difference is defined as T _§ NB-RX - TgNB-rx, where: T _§ NB-R is the positioning node received timing of uplink subframe #i containing SRS associated with UE, defined by the first detected path in time; and TgNB-rx is the positioning node transmit timing of downlink subframe #j that is closest in time to the subframe #i received from the UE.

[0028] Multiple SRS resources for positioning may be used to determine the start of one subframe containing SRS.

[0029] The reference point for T _g NB-Rx shall be:

• for type 1-C base station TS 38.104: the Rx antenna connector,

• for type 1-0 or 2-0 base station TS 38.104: the Rx antenna (i.e., the center location of the radiating region of the Rx antenna),

• for type 1 -H base station TS 38. 104 : the Rx Transceiver Array Boundary connector. [0030] The reference point for TgNB-TX shall be:

• for type 1-C base station TS 38.104: the Tx antenna connector,

• for type 1-0 or 2-0 base station TS 38.104: the Tx antenna (i.e., the center location of the radiating region of the Tx antenna),

• for type 1 -H base station TS 38. 104 : the Tx Transceiver Array Boundary connector. [0031] Timing advance (TADV) is defined as the time difference TADV = T _g NB-Rx -T _g NB-Tx, where: T _g NB-R is the Transmission and Reception Point (TRP) received timing of uplink subframe #i containing physical random access channel (PRACH) transmitted from UE, defined by the first detected path in time; T _g NB-Tx is the TRP transmit timing of downlink subframe #j that is closest in time to the subframe #i received from the UE; and the detected PRACH is used to determine the start of one subframe containing the PRACH.

[0032] 3GPP TS 38.215 vl7.0.0 defines the UE Rx - Tx time difference measurement as follows. The UE Rx - Tx time difference is defined as TUE-RX - TUE-TX, where: TUE-R is the UE received timing of downlink subframe #i from a Transmission Point (TP), defined by the first detected path in time. TUE-TX is the UE transmit timing of uplink subframe #j that is closest in time to the subframe #i received from the TP.

[0033] Multiple downlink PRS or channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) for tracking resources, as instructed by higher layers, can be used to determine the start of one subframe of the first arrival path of the TP.

[0034] For frequency range 1, the reference point for TUE-RX measurement shall be the Rx antenna connector of the UE and the reference point for TUE-TX measurement shall be the Tx antenna connector of the UE. For frequency range 2, the reference point for TUE-RX measurement shall be the Rx antenna of the UE and the reference point for TUE-TX measurement shall be the Tx antenna of the UE.

[0035] Figure 1 illustrates an example of sidelink communication in three different scenarios: in-coverage (IC), out-of-coverage (OoC) and partial coverage (PC). UEs that are in coverage of a gNB rely on configuration from the network, for example, through radio resource control (RRC) and/or system information block (SIB). UEs that are out of coverage rely on a (pre-)configuration available in the subscriber interface module (SIM) of the device. Pre-configuration is (semi-)static and updates are possible (when the UE is in coverage).

[0036] The scope of the SID for the release 18 positioning study item encompasses positioning and ranging. This includes both absolute positioning, relative positioning and ranging for different scenarios. In this context, ranging refers to determining the relative distance, and in some scenarios also angle, from one device to another.

[0037] More explicitly, the SID covers the following scope for side link positioning. SID will study solutions for sidelink positioning considering the following scenarios/requirements:

• Coverage scenarios to cover: in-coverage, partial-coverage and out-of-coverage

• Requirements: based on requirements identified in TR38.845 and TS22.261 and TS22.104

• Use cases: V2X (TR38.845), public safety (TR38.845), commercial (TS22.261), Industrial Intemet-of-Things (IIOT) (TS22.104)

• Spectrum: ITS, licensed

[0038] The SID will identify specific target performance requirements to be considered for the evaluation based on existing 3GPP work and inputs from industry forums. The SID will define evaluation methodology with which to evaluate sidelink positioning for the use cases and coverage scenarios, reusing existing methodologies from sidelink communication and from positioning as much as possible.

[0039] The SID will study and evaluate performance and feasibility of potential solutions for sidelink positioning, considering relative positioning, ranging and absolute positioning. For example, the SID may: evaluate bandwidth requirement needed to meet the identified accuracy requirements; study positioning methods (e.g., TDOA, RTT, AoA/AoD, etc.) including combination of sidelink positioning measurements with other RAT-dependent positioning measurements (e.g., Uu based measurements); study sidelink reference signals for positioning purposes from physical layer perspective, including signal design, resource allocation, measurements, associated procedures, etc., reusing existing reference signals, procedures, etc. from sidelink communication and from positioning as much as possible; and study positioning architecture and signaling procedures (e.g., configuration, measurement reporting, etc.) to enable sidelink positioning covering both UE based and network based positioning.

[0040] United States Provisional Application Number 63/363,843, filed April 29, 2022, which is incorporated herein by reference, discloses a method for calculating range between two or more devices using a single sidelink transmission and reception/measurement performed in uplink timing, combining it with timing advance information associated with the two UEs.

[0041] Figure 2 illustrates the basic procedure and range calculations. A first device transmits a signal at time instance tl, which is the start of the uplink symbol for UE1 given timing advance TAI from the gNB. A second UE measures the ToA at t3, which is relative to its uplink timing starting at t2. The relationship between the ToA, time-of-flight (ToF), tl, t2, and t3 is then given by:

(t3 = tl + ToF

It3 = t2 + ToA

[0042] Note that tl=tO-TAl and t2=tO-TA2, with TAI and TA2 being the aggregated timing advances for the first and second device, respectively, and tO being the reference time at the gNB corresponding to the expected start of the UL symbol at the gNB. The ToF can now be solved for, yielding:

ToF = ToA + t2 - tl = ToA - (TA2 - TAI).

[0043] If the second device is served by a different gNB, with the reference time t’O=tO+dt relative the first gNB, the ToF can be computed as:

ToF = ToA + (t'0 - TA2) - (tO - TAI) = ToA - (TA2 - TAI) + dt.

[0044] The range is then given by r = ToF*speed_of_light.

SUMMARY

[0045] There currently exist certain challenges. For example, the examples described with respect to Figure 2 include a method for performing one-way ranging where the signal exchange and measurements over the side link interface use uplink timing. In the current specification, the 3GPP NR sidelink for communication does not operate with uplink timing.

[0046] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. For example, particular embodiments perform ranging using downlink timing. Particular embodiments add the UE Rx-Tx time difference to the measurement set, facilitating computation of the range.

[0047] According to certain embodiments, a method performed by a node comprises requesting performance of a ranging procedure between first and second wireless devices. In response to requesting performance of the ranging procedure, the method receives one or more of: a first Rx-Tx time difference that is associated with the first wireless device, a second Rx-Tx time difference that is associated with the second wireless device, and a ToA measurement. The ToA measurement is based on when the second wireless device receives a signal that is associated with the ranging procedure and that the first wireless device transmits using downlink timing. The method further comprises including one or more of the first Rx-Tx time difference, the second Rx- Tx time difference, and the ToA measurement in a measurement set that facilitates determining a distance between the first wireless device and the second wireless device.

[0048] According to certain embodiments, a method performed by a first wireless device comprises performing a ranging procedure. The ranging procedure assists a node in obtaining a measurement set that facilitates determining a distance between the first wireless device and a second wireless device. The ranging procedure comprises one or more of the following: (a) transmitting, to the node, a first Rx-Tx time difference that is associated with the first wireless device, and (b) transmitting a signal using downlink timing. Transmitting the signal using downlink timing facilitates the second wireless device in sending the node a second Rx-Tx time difference that is associated with the second wireless device and/or a ToA measurement. The ToA measurement is based on when the second wireless device receives the signal transmitted by the first wireless device.

[0049] According to certain embodiments, a method performed by a second wireless device comprises receiving a request for performance of a ranging procedure between a first wireless device and the second wireless device. In response to receiving the request for performance of the ranging procedure, the method further comprises performing steps to assist a node in obtaining a measurement set that facilitates determining a distance between the first wireless device and the second wireless device. The steps include receiving a signal from the first wireless device, wherein the signal uses downlink timing, determining a ToA measurement of the signal and/or a Rx-Tx time difference associated with the second device, and transmitting, to the node, the ToA measurement and/or the Rx-Tx time difference associated with the second device.

[0050] According to certain embodiments, a node comprises power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the node and processing circuitry configured to request performance of a ranging procedure between first and second wireless devices. The processing circuitry is configured to receive one or more of: a first Rx-Tx time difference that is associated with the first wireless device, a second Rx-Tx time difference that is associated with the second wireless device, and a ToA measurement. The ToA measurement is based on when the second wireless device receives a signal that is associated with the ranging procedure and that the first wireless device transmits using downlink timing. The processing circuitry is further configured to include one or more of the first Rx-Tx time difference, the second Rx-Tx time difference, and the ToA measurement in a measurement set that facilitates determining a distance between the first wireless device and the second wireless device.

[0051] According to certain embodiments, a first wireless device comprises power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the first wireless device and processing circuitry configured to perform a ranging procedure. The ranging procedure assists a node in obtaining a measurement set that facilitates determining a distance between the first wireless device and a second wireless device. The ranging procedure comprises one or more of the following: (a) transmitting, to the node, a first Rx-Tx time difference that is associated with the first wireless device, and (b) transmitting a signal using downlink timing. Transmitting the signal using downlink timing facilitates the second wireless device in sending the node a second Rx-Tx time difference that is associated with the second wireless device and/or a ToA measurement. The ToA measurement is based on when the second wireless device receives the signal transmitted by the first wireless device.

[0052] According to certain embodiments, a second wireless device comprises power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the second wireless device and processing circuitry configured to receive a request for performance of a ranging procedure between a first wireless device and the second wireless device. In response to receiving the request for performance of the ranging procedure, the processing circuitry is further configured to perform steps to assist a node in obtaining a measurement set that facilitates determining a distance between the first wireless device and the second wireless device. The steps include receiving a signal from the first wireless device, wherein the signal uses downlink timing, determining a ToA measurement of the signal and/or a Rx-Tx time difference associated with the second device, and transmitting, to the node, the ToA measurement and/or the Rx-Tx time difference associated with the second device.

[0053] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantages. For example, by reusing the timing mechanisms of the network, using the TA mechanisms and signaling, and additionally using the UE Rx-Tx time difference, particular embodiments achieve scalable and resource efficient sidelink ranging for devices attached to a cellular network, where the SL operates with DL timing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTON OF THE DRAWINGS

[0054] For a more complete understanding of the disclosed embodiments and their features and advantages, reference is now made to the drawings, in which:

[0055] Figure 1 is a network diagram illustrating communication scenarios for sidelink communication and positioning. [0056] Figure 2 is a timing diagram illustrating an example ranging procedure based on uplink timing.

[0057] Figure 3 is a flow chart illustrating steps performed from the perspective of a network in accordance with some embodiments.

[0058] Figure 4 is a flow chart illustrating steps performed from the perspective of a user equipment (UE) in accordance with some embodiments.

[0059] Figure 5 is a network diagram illustrating a system overview with gNBs, UEs, and respective communication interfaces.

[0060] Figure 6 is a timing diagram illustrating an example ranging procedure based on downlink timing in accordance with some embodiments.

[0061] Figure 7 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of network-based ranging with

UE assistance in accordance with some embodiments.

[0062] Figure 8 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of UE-based ranging with network assistance in accordance with some embodiments.

[0063] Figure 9 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of extemal-node-triggered ranging with network assistance in accordance with some embodiments.

[0064] Figure 10 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments.

[0065] Figure 11 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a user equipment (UE) in accordance with some embodiments.

[0066] Figure 12 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a network node in accordance with some embodiments.

[0067] Figure 13 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a host in accordance with some embodiments.

[0068] Figure 14 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a virtualization environment in accordance with some embodiments.

[0069] Figure 15 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a host communicating with a UE via a network node in accordance with some embodiments.

[0070] Figure 16, which consists of Figure 16A and Figure 16B, is a flow chart illustrating steps performed by a node in accordance with some embodiments.

[0071] Figure 17 is a flow chart illustrating steps performed by a first wireless device in accordance with some embodiments.

[0072] Figure 18 is a flow chart illustrating steps performed by a second wireless device in accordance with some embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0073] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0074] In general, particular embodiments use device specific TA information, device specific Rx-Tx time measurements, together with ToA measurements to compute the range between a first device and a set of other devices. The signal transmission and all measurements are performed using downlink timing.

[0075] Figure 3 illustrates an example of steps that may be used to describe particular embodiments from the network perspective. Figure 3 illustrates an example with the LMF as the responsible network node, acknowledging that a different node, e.g., gNB or UE, may be used in implementation. The method begins at step 30 where the LMF receives, or generates, a request for ranging between a first device and a set of other devices. The LMF requests a signal transmission from the first device, ToA measurements from other involved devices, and TA information from the serving gNB. Additionally, UE Rx-Tx time differences from all UEs are collected. The method proceeds to step 32 where the serving gNB records the TA for the involved devices, corresponding to the time of the SL transmission. The TAs are reported to the LMF. The method continues with step 34 where the first device transmits a signal with DL timing of the serving gNB, at a given time instance. At step 36, the set of other devices measure the ToA, relative to the DL timing of the serving gNB, on the resources indicated by the LMF. The measurements are reported to the LMF, along with UE Rx-Tx time difference. At step 38, based on the collected ToA measurements, Rx-Tx and TA information, the LMF computes the ToF between the first device and the other devices, which in turn gives the ranges.

[0076] Figure 4 illustrates an example of steps that may be used to describe particular embodiments from the transmitting UE perspective. In the example shown in Figure 4, the UE has found its ranging counterpart, for example, through an SL discovery procedure or preconfiguration. In other embodiments, the UE, may act according to a request from the network, e.g., from the LMF, in which case step 40 may be omitted. In certain embodiments, the method begins at step 40 with the UE initiating a ranging request towards the LMF (or other UE/node when in OoC). The method proceeds to step 42 with the UE receiving a message from the LMF (or other UE/node when in OoC) with a configuration to perform a ranging transmission or measurement. At step 44, the UE obtains TA values from the serving gNB (or other UE/node when in OoC). At step 46, the UE performs the ranging procedure with one or more second UE(s). The ranging procedure involves either signal transmission or measurement. The method proceeds to step 48 where the UE reports to the LMF (or other UE/node when in OoC) the collected ToA measurements, UE Rx-Tx time difference and, if required, TA information. Certain embodiments (e.g., Out-of-Coverage scenario) may include step 50 where, based on the collected ToA measurements, UE Rx-Tx and TA information, the UE computes the ToF between the first device and the other devices, which in turn gives the ranges.

[0077] Figure 5 illustrates an example of a wireless network with one or several network nodes (e.g., transmission reception point (TRP), base station, gNBs, etc.) connected to a core network (e.g., access and mobility management function (AMF), etc.). The network nodes (e.g., TRP, BS, gNBs, etc.) are assumed to be time synchronized with a tolerable error (what is tolerable depends on accuracy requirement, which is use case dependent).

[0078] Alternatively, the nodes are unsynchronized but capable of estimating the (potentially time varying) timing offsets. A number of devices are attached to the network via the network nodes (e.g., TRP, BS, gNBs, etc.). In some embodiments, devices (e.g., sidelink capable UEs) are in connected mode and have updated timing advance configurations (reflecting their relative distance to the corresponding gNB). In some embodiments, devices (e.g., sidelink capable UEs) may be in low activity RRC state (e.g., RRC inactive, RRC idle, etc.). In this case, the UEs may also have updated timing advance configurations (reflecting their relative distance to the corresponding gNB). The involved UEs are capable of communicating with the gNBs (over the Uu interface), and with each other (over the PC5 interface).

[0079] An entity in the network is responsible for coordinating signals, collecting measurements and TA information, as well as computing the range between devices. The entity may, in general, be a location management function (LMF), but it may be a different node, e.g., a gNB. In the discussion below, the LMF is the responsible entity, but this can be generalized to be any network node.

[0080] Ranging is performed between a first device and any other device connected to the network and configured to measure on signals transmitted from the first device.

[0081] The purpose of the ranging procedure may be to obtain ranging between a specific pair of devices, as per request. The request may be placed by the involved devices or a third party. Alternatively, the ranging procedure may be part of a positioning procedure performed by the network. Other use cases can be envisioned.

[0082] Some embodiments include network-based ranging with UE assistance. A first device is configured to transmit a known signal within a slot, following its downlink slot timing. A second device is configured (or a number of other devices are configured) to measure the time of arrival (ToA) of the known transmitted signal. The measurements may be done relative the devicespecific downlink slot timing. After the measurement is performed, it is reported to and collected by the LMF. The LMF also collects the TA information for the involved devices from the respective gNBs. Additionally, any information regarding timing offset between gNBs is collected. [0083] In some embodiments, the TA value is obtained by aggregating the timing adjustment commands sent to the involved UEs. In particular embodiments, the TA from the aggregated UE commands is reported along with an estimate of the excess delay, the latter being the difference between the expected/configured ToA and the actual ToA at the gNB. The excess delay may be estimated using UL signals, e.g., sounding reference signal (SRS) or demodulation reference signal (DMRS). In one embodiment, the reported TA value is the combination of the aggregated TA and the estimated excess delay. In another embodiment, the TA difference of the first UE and the other UE(s) is reported, i.e., the TA of the first UE is subtracted from the TA of the other UE TAs. This avoids explicit reporting of the TA of the first device.

[0084] In some embodiments, the devices are configured to measure the angle of arrival (Ao A) of the known signal. Additional information on device orientation may also be provided, for example, to translate the AoA measurements to a global reference system. The additional information may be used as part of positioning calculations, or to enable a service requiring directional information.

[0085] Some embodiments include UE based ranging with network assistance. In particular embodiments, the measurements and signal exchange are made without network involvement. Assume two devices, both connected to a network and having their TA recorded. A SL transmission is made from one device to the other, following the DL timing. The ToA is measured at the second device. Additionally, Rx-Txtime difference is computed. The measurements are then shared amongst the devices, or with a third entity. Note that any spectrum resources accessible to the devices for SL transmissions with given timing may be used, e.g., unlicensed spectrum.

[0086] In some embodiments, the UE may request a report from the serving gNB, or in some embodiments the LMF, on any excess delay at the gNB.

[0087] In some embodiments, the devices report the cell ID for which their TA is valid along with the TA, Rx-Tx time difference and ToA measurement. This is done to verify that the two devices are sharing the same TRP as reference for TA.

[0088] In some embodiments, if the two UEs belong to different cells/gNBs with a (known/estimated) difference in UL timing, the UEs may request a report on this difference. Alternatively, the reported TA values may be adjusted as to correspond to the timing at the gNB serving the first device that is performing the SL transmission.

[0089] Note that the above procedures can easily be extended to involve multiple receiving UEs, thus achieving ranging between one UE to a multiple of other UEs. [0090] Some embodiments include range calculations. After the measurements have been collected by the LMF, the ranges between the first device and the other devices may be computed. [0091] Figure 6 is a timing diagram illustrating an example ranging procedure according to some embodiments. In Figure 6, the first device transmits a signal at time instance tl, which is the start of the DL symbol for UE1 given timing from the gNB. A second UE measures the ToA at t3, which is relative to its DL timing starting at t2. Additionally, the Tx-Rx time difference, RxTxl and RxTx2, for the two devices is made available, potentially requiring additional procedures. The relationship between the ToA, ToF, RxTxl, RxTx2, tl, t2, and t3 is then given by:

(t3 = tl + ToF

It3 = t2 + ToA

[0092] Note that approximately tl=t0+0.5*RxTxl and t2=t0+0.5*RxTx2, with tO being the reference time at the gNB corresponding to the expected start of the DL symbol at the gNB. The ToF can now be solved for, yielding:

ToF = ToA + t2 — tl = ToA + 0.5 * (RxTx2 — RxTxl).

[0093] If the second device is served by a different gNB, with the reference time t’O=tO+dt relative the first gNB, the ToF can be computed as:

ToF = ToA + 0.5 * (RxTx2 — RxTxl) + dt.

The same calculations can be performed by replacing RxTx with (aggregated) TA.

[0094] The range is then given by r = ToF*speed_of_light.

[0095] Some embodiments include configuration and signaling procedures. The procedures required for the ranging solution may be implemented in different ways. The description below provides example procedures for three scenarios: network-based ranging with UE assistance, UE- based ranging with network assistance, and extemal-node-triggered ranging with network assistance. The configuration and signaling procedures may each be used with the ranging procedure described with respect to Figure 6, for example.

[0096] Figure 7 illustrates an example procedure for network-based ranging with UE assistance. In the example, the ranging may be initiated by a first UE and may involve a second UE. A generalization to multiple UEs is straight forward. Additionally, the ranging may equally be initiated by a third UE, network node, or a network external entity.

[0097] The first UE initiates the procedures by sending a ranging request to the LMF. The request may contain, but is not restricted to contain, information about which UE(s) are requested to be part of the ranging procedure, quality of service information (e.g., accuracy requirements), serving gNB.

[0098] The LMF may, if required, perform a ranging resource request procedure with serving gNBs as to secure SL resources to be used. [0099] The LMF then sends a ranging measurement request to the second UE, which may send an acknowledgement message to accept participation. The request includes which resources to measure the ToA on, and any other required configuration data.

[0100] As a response to the UE1 ranging request, the LMF responds with a ranging response. The response provides an acknowledgement for the requested event (or refusal of the same), along with transmission configuration.

[0101] During the course of events, the TA procedures make sure the timing information is up to date. Potentially, in some embodiment, the gNB will take extra measures as part of the ranging event as to make use TA is accurate.

[0102] Once the involved UEs have received the resource configuration the ranging event can take place with transmission of a signal from UE1 and TOA measurements at the other device.

[0103] In parallel the SL transmission, the serving gNBs will collect the timing advance information and report to the LMF in the form of a TA report. Depending on configuration, the report may be a response to an explicit TA request from LMF.

[0104] Unless RxTx time difference is already known at UE, additional procedures may be required to acquire it.

[0105] Once UE2 has collected the measurements based on the SL signal from the first UE, a report is sent to the LMF which then computes the range information and shares with the UE1, and or other requesting entities.

[0106] Figure 8 illustrates an example of UE-based ranging with network assistance. Although the example shown in Figure 8 uses two UEs, an extension to multiple receiving UEs is straightforward.

[0107] The first UE transmits a ranging request to the second UE. The two UEs may have performed a discovery procedure to facilitate a direct unicast transmission, or the request may be part of a discovery procedure.

[0108] Depending on configuration or implementation, the second UE provides a ranging response acknowledging the participation in the event, potentially providing additional information to support the ranging event, e.g., device capabilities.

[0109] Figure 9 illustrates an example procedure for extemal-node-triggered ranging with network assistance. Depending on implementation, network support, or required accuracy of the ranging event, the UEs may request a TA report from the LMF, which in turn may trigger a request to the involved gNBs to update TA, acquire additional TA information, and/or report the current TA information. This information is then reported to the devices.

[0110] In some embodiments, the first UE may request TA information for all involved UEs. [0111] Following the updated TA information as a result of the TA procedures, the first UE1 transmits a signal and the other UE2 perform measurements. Depending on the system used for SL measurements, additional procedures for channel access may be required.

[0112] After the second UE2 has performed the required/agreed measurements, a ranging measurement report is provided to the first UE1 also containing the TA information and/or RxTx time difference, unless already provided by other means.

[0113] Unless RxTx time difference is already known at UE, additional procedures may be required to acquire it.

[0114] Some embodiments include external-node -triggered ranging, with network assistance. An external node may send the request to network for the ranging of at least two UEs, or the ranging of one UE and at least one another UE. The AMF in the network receives this ranging measurement request and then forwards this measurement request to LMF.

[0115] Figure 10 shows an example of a communication system 100 in accordance with some embodiments. In the example, the communication system 100 includes a telecommunication network 102 that includes an access network 104, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 106, which includes one or more core network nodes 108. The access network 104 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 110a and 110b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 110), or any other similar 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access node or non-3GPP access point. The network nodes 110 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 112a, 112b, 112c, and 112d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 112) to the core network 106 over one or more wireless connections.

[0116] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 100 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and/or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and/or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 100 may include and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and/or other similar type of system.

[0117] The UEs 112 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 110 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 110 are arranged, capable, configured, and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 112 and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 102 to enable and/or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and/or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 102.

[0118] In the depicted example, the core network 106 connects the network nodes 110 to one or more hosts, such as host 116. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 106 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 108) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and/or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 108. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and/or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0119] The host 116 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 104 and/or the telecommunication network 102, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 116 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio/video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0120] As a whole, the communication system 100 of Figure 10 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and/or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and/or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and/or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0121] In some examples, the telecommunication network 102 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 102 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 102. For example, the telecommunications network 102 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and/or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC)ZMassive loT services to yet further UEs.

[0122] In some examples, the UEs 112 are configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 104 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 104. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e., being configured for multi -radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0123] In the example, the hub 114 communicates with the access network 104 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 112c and/or 112d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 110b). In some examples, the hub 114 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 114 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 106 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 114 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 110, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 114. As another example, the hub 114 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 114 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 114 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 114 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and/or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 114 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular in if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0124] The hub 114 may have a constant/persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 110b. The hub 114 may also allow for a different communication scheme and/or schedule between the hub 114 and UEs (e.g., UE 112c and/or 112d), and between the hub 114 and the core network 106. In other examples, the hub 114 is connected to the core network 106 and/or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 114 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 104 and/or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 110 while still connected via the hub 114 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 114 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to/from the UEs from/to the network node 110b. In other embodiments, the hub 114 may be a nondedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 110b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and/or end point for certain data channels.

[0125] Figure 11 shows a UE 200 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and/or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded/integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and/or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0126] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to- everything (V2X) . In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and/or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0127] The UE 200 includes processing circuitry 202 that is operatively coupled via a bus 204 to an input/output interface 206, a power source 208, a memory 210, a communication interface 212, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 11. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0128] The processing circuitry 202 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 210. The processing circuitry 202 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field- programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 202 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0129] In the example, the input/output interface 206 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and/or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 200. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, atrackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0130] In some embodiments, the power source 208 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source 208 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 208 itself, and/or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 200 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 208. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 208 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 200 to which power is supplied.

[0131] The memory 210 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 210 includes one or more application programs 214, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 216. The memory 210 may store, for use by the UE 200, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0132] The memory 210 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and/or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory 210 may allow the UE 200 to access instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 210, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0133] The processing circuitry 202 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 212. The communication interface 212 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 222. The communication interface 212 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 218 and/or a receiver 220 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 218 and receiver 220 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 222) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0134] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 212 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short- range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and/or standards, such as IEEE 802. 11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol/intemet protocol (TCP/IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0135] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 212, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient). [0136] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0137] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door/window sensor, a flood/moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or itemtracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and/or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 200 shown in Figure 11.

[0138] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and/or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and/or measurements to another UE and/or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and/or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0139] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g., by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and/or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0140] Figure 12 shows a network node 300 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and/or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NRNodeBs (gNBs)).

[0141] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units and/or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0142] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell/multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and/or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[0143] The network node 300 includes a processing circuitry 302, a memory 304, a communication interface 306, and a power source 308. The network node 300 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 300 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 300 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 304 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 310 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 300 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 300, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 300.

[0144] The processing circuitry 302 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and/or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 300 components, such as the memory 304, to provide network node 300 functionality.

[0145] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 302 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 302 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 312 and baseband processing circuitry 314. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 312 and the baseband processing circuitry 314 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 312 and baseband processing circuitry 314 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units. [0146] The memory 304 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and/or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 302. The memory 304 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and/or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 302 and utilized by the network node 300. The memory 304 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 302 and/or any data received via the communication interface 306. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 302 and memory 304 is integrated.

[0147] The communication interface 306 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and/or data between a network node, access network, and/or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 306 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) 316 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 306 also includes radio front-end circuitry 318 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 310. Radio front-end circuitry 318 comprises filters 320 and amplifiers 322. The radio front-end circuitry 318 may be connected to an antenna 310 and processing circuitry 302. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 310 and processing circuitry 302. The radio front-end circuitry 318 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 318 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 320 and/or amplifiers 322. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 310. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 310 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 318. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 302. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components.

[0148] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 300 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 318, instead, the processing circuitry 302 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 310. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 312 is part of the communication interface 306. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 306 includes one or more ports or terminals 316, the radio front-end circuitry 318, and the RF transceiver circuitry 312, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 306 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 314, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0149] The antenna 310 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals. The antenna 310 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 318 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 310 is separate from the network node 300 and connectable to the network node 300 through an interface or port.

[0150] The antenna 310, communication interface 306, and/or the processing circuitry 302 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and/or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and/or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 310, the communication interface 306, and/or the processing circuitry 302 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and/or any other network equipment.

[0151] The power source 308 provides power to the various components of network node 300 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 308 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 300 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 300 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 308. As a further example, the power source 308 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[0152] Embodiments of the network node 300 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 12 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and/or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 300 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 300 and to allow output of information from the network node 300. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 300. [0153] Figure 13 is a block diagram of a host 400, which may be an embodiment of the host 116 of Figure 10, in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, the host 400 may be or comprise various combinations hardware and/or software, including a standalone server, a blade server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, a virtual machine, container, or processing resources in a server farm. The host 400 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0154] The host 400 includes processing circuitry 402 that is operatively coupled via a bus 404 to an input/output interface 406, a network interface 408, a power source 410, and a memory 412. Other components may be included in other embodiments. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the devices of previous figures, such as Figures 11 and 12, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of host 400.

[0155] The memory 412 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 414 and data 416, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for the host 400 or data generated by the host 400 for a UE. Embodiments of the host 400 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs 414 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., FLAC, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for multiple different classes, types, or implementations of UEs (e.g., handsets, desktop computers, wearable display systems, heads-up display systems). The host application programs 414 may also provide for user authentication and licensing checks and may periodically report health, routes, and content availability to a central node, such as a device in or on the edge of a core network. Accordingly, the host 400 may select and/or indicate a different host for over-the-top services for a UE. The host application programs 414 may support various protocols, such as the HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol, Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH), etc.

[0156] Figure 14 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 500 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 500 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized.

[0157] Applications 502 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and/or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0158] Hardware 504 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and/or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and/or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input/output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 506 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 508a and 508b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 508), and/or perform any of the functions, features and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 506 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 508.

[0159] The VMs 508 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 506. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 502 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 508, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

[0160] In the context of NFV, a VM 508 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine . Each of the VMs 508, and that part of hardware 504 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and/or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 508 on top of the hardware 504 and corresponds to the application 502.

[0161] Hardware 504 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 504 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 504 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g., such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 510, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 502. In some embodiments, hardware 504 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 512 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0162] Figure 15 shows a communication diagram of a host 602 communicating via a network node 604 with a UE 606 over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments. Example implementations, in accordance with various embodiments, of the UE (such as a UE 112a of Figure 10 and/or UE 200 of Figure 11), network node (such as network node 110a of Figure 10 and/or network node 300 of Figure 12), and host (such as host 116 of Figure 10 and/or host 400 of Figure 13) discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to Figure 15.

[0163] Like host 400, embodiments of host 602 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. The host 602 also includes software, which is stored in or accessible by the host 602 and executable by the processing circuitry. The software includes a host application that may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as the UE 606 connecting via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 650 extending between the UE 606 and host 602. In providing the service to the remote user, a host application may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 650.

[0164] The network node 604 includes hardware enabling it to communicate with the host 602 and UE 606. The connection 660 may be direct or pass through a core network (like core network 106 of Figure 10) and/or one or more other intermediate networks, such as one or more public, private, or hosted networks. For example, an intermediate network may be a backbone network or the Internet.

[0165] The UE 606 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by UE 606 and executable by the UE’s processing circuitry. The software includes a client application, such as a web browser or operator-specific “app” that may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via UE 606 with the support of the host 602. In the host 602, an executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via the OTT connection 650 terminating at the UE 606 and host 602. In providing the service to the user, the UE's client application may receive request data from the host's host application and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 650 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The UE's client application may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides to the host application through the OTT connection 650.

[0166] The OTT connection 650 may extend via a connection 660 between the host 602 and the network node 604 and via a wireless connection 670 between the network node 604 and the UE 606 to provide the connection between the host 602 and the UE 606. The connection 660 and wireless connection 670, over which the OTT connection 650 may be provided, have been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host 602 and the UE 606 via the network node 604, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices.

[0167] As an example of transmitting data via the OTT connection 650, in step 608, the host 602 provides user data, which may be performed by executing a host application. In some embodiments, the user data is associated with a particular human user interacting with the UE 606. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with a UE 606 that shares data with the host 602 without explicit human interaction. In step 610, the host 602 initiates a transmission carrying the user data towards the UE 606. The host 602 may initiate the transmission responsive to a request transmitted by the UE 606. The request may be caused by human interaction with the UE 606 or by operation of the client application executing on the UE 606. The transmission may pass via the network node 604, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Accordingly, in step 612, the network node 604 transmits to the UE 606 the user data that was carried in the transmission that the host 602 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 614, the UE 606 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executed on the UE 606 associated with the host application executed by the host 602.

[0168] In some examples, the UE 606 executes a client application which provides user data to the host 602. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to the data received from the host 602. Accordingly, in step 616, the UE 606 may provide user data, which may be performed by executing the client application. In providing the user data, the client application may further consider user input received from the user via an input/output interface of the UE 606. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE 606 initiates, in step 618, transmission of the user data towards the host 602 via the network node 604. In step 620, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the network node 604 receives user data from the UE 606 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards the host 602. In step 622, the host 602 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the UE 606.

[0169] In an example scenario, factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host 602. As another example, the host 602 may process audio and video data which may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating maps. As another example, the host 602 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights). As another example, the host 602 may store surveillance video uploaded by a UE. As another example, the host 602 may store or control access to media content such as video, audio, VR or AR which it can broadcast, multicast or unicast to UEs. As other examples, the host 602 may be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time critical electrical load to balance power generation needs, location services, presentation services (such as compiling diagrams etc. from data collected from remote devices), or any other function of collecting, retrieving, storing, analyzing and/or transmitting data.

[0170] In some examples, a measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve. There may further be an optional network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 650 between the host 602 and UE 606, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection may be implemented in software and hardware of the host 602 and/or UE 606. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection 650 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or supplying values of other physical quantities from which software may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection 650 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly alter the operation of the network node 604. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like, by the host 602. The measurements may be implemented in that software causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 650 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.

[0171] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and/or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and/or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and/or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0172] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and/or by end users and a wireless network generally.

EMBODIMENTS

Group A Embodiments

[0173] A method performed by a wireless device, the method comprising: receiving from a location function an indication to perform a ranging procedure; transmitting a reference signal to one or more wireless devices; and reporting a Rx-Tx time difference of the wireless device to the location function.

[0174] A method performed by a wireless device, the method comprising: receiving from a location function an indication to perform a ranging procedure; measuring a time of arrival (ToA) of reference signal from another wireless device; and reporting a Rx-Tx time difference of the wireless device to the location function.

[0175] A method performed by a wireless device, the method comprising: any of the wireless device steps, features, or functions described above, either alone or in combination with other steps, features, or functions described above.

[0176] The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising one or more additional wireless device steps, features or functions described above.

[0177] The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: providing user data; and forwarding the user data to a host computer via the transmission to the base station.

Group B Embodiments

[0178] A method performed by a network node (e.g., LMF or base station), the method comprising: transmitting an indication to perform a ranging procedure between a first wireless device and a second wireless device to the first wireless device; transmitting an indication to perform the ranging procedure between the first wireless device and the second wireless device to the second wireless device; receiving a Rx-Tx time difference from the first wireless device; receiving a Rx-Tx time difference and a time of arrival (ToA) measurement for a reference signal transmitted from the first wireless device to the second wireless device from the second wireless device; and determining a distance between the first wireless device and the second wireless device based on the Rx-Tx time difference from the first wireless device and the Rx-Tx time difference and the ToA measurement from the second wireless device.

[0179] A method performed by a network node, the method comprising: any of the steps, features, or functions described above with respect to a network node, either alone or in combination with other steps, features, or functions described above.

[0180] The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising one or more additional network node steps, features or functions described above.

[0181] The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: obtaining user data; and forwarding the user data to a host computer or a wireless device.

Group C Embodiments

[0182] A mobile terminal comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the wireless device. [0183] A network node comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the network node.

[0184] A user equipment (UE) comprising: an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals; radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry; the processing circuitry being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments; an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry; an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; and a battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE.

[0185] A communication system including a host computer comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a communication interface configured to forward the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), wherein the cellular network comprises a base station having a radio interface and processing circuitry, the base station’s processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments.

[0186] The communication system of the pervious embodiment further including the base station.

[0187] The communication system of the previous 2 embodiments, further including the UE, wherein the UE is configured to communicate with the base station.

[0188] The communication system of the previous 3 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the UE comprises processing circuitry configured to execute a client application associated with the host application.

[0189] A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: at the host computer, providing user data; and at the host computer, initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the base station, wherein the base station performs any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments.

[0190] The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising, at the base station, transmitting the user data.

[0191] The method of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein the user data is provided at the host computer by executing a host application, the method further comprising, at the UE, executing a client application associated with the host application. [0192] A user equipment (UE) configured to communicate with a base station, the UE comprising a radio interface and processing circuitry configured to performs any of the previous 3 embodiments.

[0193] A communication system including a host computer comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a communication interface configured to forward user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), wherein the UE comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry, the UE’s components configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

[0194] The communication system of the previous embodiment, wherein the cellular network further includes a base station configured to communicate with the UE.

[0195] The communication system of the previous 2 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the UE’s processing circuitry is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application.

[0196] A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: at the host computer, providing user data; and at the host computer, initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the base station, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

[0197] The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising at the UE, receiving the user data from the base station.

[0198] A communication system including a host computer comprising: communication interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a user equipment (UE) to a base station, wherein the UE comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry, the UE’s processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

[0199] The communication system of the previous embodiment, further including the UE.

[0200] The communication system of the previous 2 embodiments, further including the base station, wherein the base station comprises a radio interface configured to communicate with the UE and a communication interface configured to forward to the host computer the user data carried by a transmission from the UE to the base station.

[0201] The communication system of the previous 3 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application; and the UE’s processing circuitry is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing the user data. [0202] The communication system of the previous 4 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing request data; and the UE’s processing circuitry is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing the user data in response to the request data.

[0203] A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: at the host computer, receiving user data transmitted to the base station from the UE, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments.

[0204] The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising, at the UE, providing the user data to the base station.

[0205] The method of the previous 2 embodiments, further comprising: at the UE, executing a client application, thereby providing the user data to be transmitted; and at the host computer, executing a host application associated with the client application.

[0206] The method of the previous 3 embodiments, further comprising: at the UE, executing a client application; and at the UE, receiving input data to the client application, the input data being provided at the host computer by executing a host application associated with the client application, wherein the user data to be transmitted is provided by the client application in response to the input data.

[0207] A communication system including a host computer comprising a communication interface configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a user equipment (UE) to a base station, wherein the base station comprises a radio interface and processing circuitry, the base station’s processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B embodiments.

[0208] The communication system of the previous embodiment further including the base station.

[0209] The communication system of the previous 2 embodiments, further including the UE, wherein the UE is configured to communicate with the base station.

[0210] The communication system of the previous 3 embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host computer is configured to execute a host application; the UE is configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, thereby providing the user data to be received by the host computer.

[0211] A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: at the host computer, receiving, from the base station, user data originating from a transmission which the base station has received from the UE, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the Group A embodiments. [0212] The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising at the base station, receiving the user data from the UE.

[0213] The method of the previous 2 embodiments, further comprising at the base station, initiating a transmission of the received user data to the host computer.

[0214] Figure 16, which consists of Figure 16A (steps 1602-1608) and Figure 16B (steps 1610-1620), illustrates an example of a method 1600 that may be performed by anode. In general, the node performing method 1600 may support location management. For example, the node may be an LMF node, the node may comprise an LMF, or the node may support functionality analogous to that of an LMF for performing method 1600. Examples of an LMF are described, for example, with respect to Figures 3-5 and 7-9. In certain embodiments, the node performing method 1600 may be a network node, such as a radio access node (e.g., TRP, BS, gNB, etc.) or a core network node, or a wireless device (such as a UE that supports location management for one or more other UEs). Examples of a network node include network node 110 or core network node 108 in Figure 10, network node 300 in Figure 12, and network node 604 in Figure 15. Examples of a wireless device include UE 112 in Figure 10, UE 200 in Figure 11, and UE 606 in Figure 15. In certain embodiments, the node comprises at least one processor (such as processing circuitry 202 or 302) configured to perform one or more steps of method 1600. In certain embodiments, the node comprises a computer-readable medium (such as memory 210 or 304) comprising instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform any of the steps of method 1600.

[0215] In certain embodiments, method 1600 begins at step 1602 with receiving a request for ranging from a first wireless device. The ranging may facilitate determining information about a distance between the first wireless device and a second wireless device. Additionally, the ranging may facilitate determining information about an angle between the first wireless device and the second wireless device. Examples of a request for ranging from a wireless device include those described above, for example, with respect to Figure 3 (step 30), Figure 4 (step 40), and Figure 7 (ranging request from UE1 to LMF).

[0216] At step 1604, method 1600 requests performance of a ranging procedure between the first wireless device and a second wireless device . In certain embodiments, requesting performance of the ranging procedure in step 1604 may be in response to receiving the request for ranging from the first wireless device in step 1602. In other embodiments, requesting performance of the ranging procedure in step 1604 may be in response to receiving a request for ranging from another source, such as a third wireless device, a network node, or a network external entity (see, e.g., Figure 9). In other embodiments, requesting performance of the ranging procedure in step 1604 may be initiated or generated by the node performing method 1600 itself (e.g., independently of a request from a wireless device or another node). Figure 3, step 30 includes an example of this option.

[0217] The request for performance of the ranging procedure may comprise any suitable form.

In certain embodiments, requesting performance of the ranging procedure comprises transmitting one or more messages to the first wireless device and/or to the second wireless device indicating a request for performance of the ranging procedure (or for performance of one or more steps thereof).

[0218] In certain embodiments, requesting performance of the ranging procedure in step 1604 comprises: (a) transmitting an indication for the first wireless device to transmit a signal associated with the ranging procedure, and/or (b) transmitting an indication for the second wireless device to provide a ToA measurement of said signal. In certain embodiments, the signal transmitted by the first wireless device/received by the second wireless device may use downlink timing. For example, using downlink timing may benefit embodiments based on 3GPP NR sidelink communication that operates using downlink timing. Figure 6 illustrates one example of determining a ToA measurement for a signal transmitted using downlink timing. In certain embodiments, requesting performance of the ranging procedure in step 1604 further comprises indicating one or more resources to use for transmitting the signal from the first wireless device and/or one or more resources for performing the ToA measurement by the second wireless device. [0219] In addition, or in the alternative, in certain embodiments, requesting performance of the ranging procedure in step 1604 comprises: (a) transmitting a request for the first wireless device to provide an Rx-Tx time difference associated with the first wireless device (the first Rx-Tx time difference), and/or (b) transmitting a request for the second wireless device to provide an Rx-Tx time difference associated with the second wireless device (the second Rx-Tx time difference). In certain embodiments, the first Rx-Tx time difference is based on a time of reception (TRX) by the first wireless device minus a time of transmission (Trx) by the first wireless device. Similarly, in certain embodiments, the second Rx-Tx time difference is based on a TRX by the second wireless device minus a Trx by the second wireless device. In certain embodiments, TRX indicates the received timing of downlink subframe #i from a TP, defined by a first detected path in time, and Trx indicates the transmit timing of uplink subframe #j that is closest in time to the subframe #i received from the TP.

[0220] In addition, or in the alternative, in certain embodiments, requesting performance of the ranging procedure in step 1604 comprises: (a) transmitting a request for the first wireless device to provide a TA of the first wireless device (first TA), and/or (b) transmitting a request for the second wireless device to provide a TA of the second wireless device (second TA). In general, a TA may indicate a propagation delay or a change in propagation delay between a respective wireless device and a cell/TRP. The TA is updated, for example, if radio conditions change in a manner that affects the propagation delay, such as when the wireless device moves. A TA may be indicated as an adjustment relative to a previous TA or as an actual value (e.g., based on an accumulation of TA adjustments over time).

[0221] The method proceeds to step 1606 where, in response to requesting the performance of the ranging procedure, the node performing method 1600 receives one or more of: the ToA measurement (the measurement based on when the second wireless device receives the signal associated with the ranging procedure and transmitted by the first wireless device using downlink timing), the first Rx-Tx time difference associated with the first wireless device, the second Rx- Tx time difference associated with the second wireless device, the first TA from the first wireless device, and/or the second TA from the second wireless device. In certain examples of an embodiment that receives the first/second TA from the first/second wireless device, the first wireless device reports the cell ID for which the first TA is valid, and the second wireless device reports the cell ID for which the second TA is valid. In this manner, it may be verified that the first and second wireless devices are sharing the same TRP as reference for TA.

[0222] At step 1608, method 1600 proceeds with including one or more of the values received in step 1606 (e.g., the ToA measurement, the first Rx-Tx time difference, the second Rx-Tx time difference, the first TA, and/or the second TA) in a measurement set that facilitates determining a distance between the first wireless device and the second wireless device.

[0223] Optionally, certain embodiments may further comprise one or more steps for obtaining TA information from a base station, such as a gNB or network node 110. Examples of obtaining TA information from a base station include Figure 3 (steps 30 and 32) and Figures 7, 8, and 9 (where the LMF send a TA request to the gNB, and where the gNB responds with a TA report to the LMF). Obtaining the TA information may be performed before, during (in parallel with or as part of), or after requesting performance of the ranging procedure in step 1604. For example, in certain embodiments, method 1600 comprises: transmitting a request for a first TA and a second TA to a base station (the first TA is associated with the first wireless device, and the second TA is associated with the second wireless device) (step 1610); receiving the first TA and the second TA from the base station (step 1612); and including the first TA and the second TA in the measurement set (step 1614). During the course of events, the TA procedures make sure the timing information is up to date. Potentially, in some embodiments, when preparing the response to the request of step 1610, the base station may take extra measures to update the TA or otherwise ensure its accuracy. Depending on the embodiment, method 1600 may obtain TA information from only the wireless device(s), from only the base station, or from both the base station and the wireless device(s). Moreover, in some embodiments, method 1600 need not obtain TA information (e.g., for embodiments that determine ranging based on values other than the first TA and the second TA). [0224] Optionally, in certain embodiments, the node performing method 1600 may facilitate determining ranging information (e.g., distance, angle) based on the measurement set obtained in step 1608 and/or step 1612 (if the embodiment includes step 1612). For example, the node itself may perform a computation based on measurements in the measurement set in order to determine the ranging information. Or, the node may provide another node/device with the measurement set, or information derived from the measurement set, so that the other node/device may determine the ranging information.

[0225] As an example, Figure 16 optionally includes step 1616, where method 1600 determines a time-of-flight (ToF) based on the measurement set. The ToF is associated with the signal that the second wireless device received from the first wireless device during the performance of the ranging procedure between the first wireless device and the second wireless device. As an example, in certain embodiments, method 1600 determines the ToF between the first wireless device and the second wireless device based on the ToA measurement, the first TA, and the second TA. As another example, in certain embodiments, method 1600 determines the ToF between the first wireless device and the second wireless device based on the ToA measurement, the first Rx-Tx time difference, and the second Rx-Tx time difference. Figure 6 illustrates an example of determining the ToF. Certain embodiments determine the distance between the first wireless device and the second wireless device based on the ToF (step 1618).

[0226] In certain embodiments, method 1600 further comprises step 1620, which transmits a ranging report to the first wireless device. The ranging report indicates the distance between the first wireless device and the second wireless device. The ranging report can be requested by the first wireless device, for example, via the request of step 1602 or via a different request. Or, the ranging report can be provided to the first wireless device independently of a request. The ranging report can be used to facilitate determining a location/position of the first wireless device. For example, information indicating a relative location of the first wireless device (relative to the second wireless) may improve the accuracy of a location/position determined for the first wireless device. The location/position may be determined by the first wireless device itself or by another node (such as an E-SMLC that receives information about the relative location of the first wireless device relative to the second wireless device).

[0227] As can be appreciated from the foregoing, some embodiments of method 1600 use downlink timing to perform ranging. Some embodiments of method 1600 use Rx-Tx time differences in the measurement set. One or both of these options may address certain challenges associated with prior solutions, for example, as discussed above with respect to the background and summary sections.

[0228] Figure 17 illustrates an example of a method 1700 that may be performed by a first wireless device, such as the first device (e.g., UE1) described with respect to any of Figures 3-9, UE 112 of Figure 10, UE 200 of Figure 11, UE 606 of Figure 15, or the first wireless device involved in any of the methods of Figure 16 or Figure 18. In certain embodiments, the wireless device comprises at least one processor (such as processing circuitry 202) configured to perform one or more steps of method 1700. In certain embodiments, the wireless device comprises a computer-readable medium (such as memory 210) comprising instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform any of the steps of method 1700.

[0229] In certain embodiments, method 1700 begins with sending a node a request for ranging in step 1702. As an example, in step 1702, the first wireless device may send the request that the node of method 1600 receives in step 1602 of Figure 16. Examples of a request for ranging from the first wireless device include those described above, for example, with respect to Figure 3 (step 30), Figure 4 (step 40), and Figure 7 (ranging request from UE1 to LMF).

[0230] In certain embodiments, in step 1704, method 1700 receives a request for performance of a ranging procedure between the first wireless device and a second wireless device. As an example, in step 1704, the first wireless device may receive the request that the node of method 1600 transmits in step 1604. The request of step 1704 may be received in response to the first wireless device sending the prior request of step 1702, or the request of step 1704 may be received independently of any prior request by the first wireless device (such as when the node generates the request received in step 1704 of its own accord). Examples of requests for performance of ranging include those described with respect to Figure 3 (step 30), Figure 4 (step 42), Figure 7 (ranging response from LMF to UE1), and Figure 9 (TA and ranging measurement request from LMF to UEl).

[0231] The request for performance of the ranging procedure received in step 1704 may comprise any suitable form. For example, the request received in step 1704 may comprise one or more messages requesting performance of the ranging procedure (or one or more steps thereof). In certain embodiments, the request received in step 1704 requests the first wireless device to provide an Rx-Tx time difference associated with the first wireless device (first Rx-Tx time difference). In addition, or in the alternative, in certain embodiments, the request received in step 1704 comprises an indication for the first wireless device to transmit a signal associated with the ranging procedure. The signal associated with the ranging procedure uses downlink timing, and transmitting the signal using downlink timing facilitates the second wireless device in sending the node one or more of an Rx-Tx time difference associated with the second wireless device (second Rx-Tx time difference) and a ToA measurement (a measurement based on when the second wireless device receives the signal transmitted by the first wireless device). Optionally, the request received in step 1704 indicates one or more resources for the first wireless device to use when transmitting the signal. In addition, or in the alternative, in certain embodiments, the request received in step 1704 requests the first wireless device to provide a TA of the first wireless device (first TA).

[0232] In step 1706, method 1700 performs the ranging procedure. Certain embodiments perform the ranging procedure in response to receiving the request of step 1704. In other embodiments, the first wireless device may initiate at least a portion of the ranging procedure itself (independently of receiving a request such as that of step 1704). See Figure 8 for an example that begins with UE1 sending a ranging request to UE2. In certain embodiments, performing the ranging procedure in step 1706 assists the node in obtaining a measurement set. The measurement set facilitates determining a distance between the first wireless device and the second wireless device. In certain embodiments, performing the ranging procedure in step 1706 comprises one or more of the following: transmitting the first Rx-Tx time difference to the node (step 1706a) and/or transmitting the signal using downlink timing (step 1706b). As discussed above, transmitting the signal using downlink timing facilitates the second wireless device in sending the node one or more of the second Rx-Tx time difference and/or the ToA measurement. Optionally, in certain embodiments, performing the ranging procedure may further comprise transmitting the first TA to the node.

[0233] In certain embodiments, method 1700 may continue with receiving a ranging report in step 1708. The ranging report indicates ranging information, such as the distance and/or angle between the first wireless device and the second wireless device. As an example, in certain embodiments, the ranging report received in step 1708 corresponds to the ranging report sent by the node in step 1620 of Figure 16. Other examples include the ranging report from the LMF to UE1 in Figure 7 and the ranging measurement report from the LMF to UE1 in Figure 9. The ranging report may be received in response to a request from the first wireless device to the node (which may be the same or different than the request of step 1702), or the ranging report may be received based on a decision of the node (independently of a request from the first wireless device). In certain other embodiments, the first wireless device may receive at least a portion of the measurement set from the node and the first wireless device may determine (or may facilitate another node/device in determining) the distance to the second wireless device based at least in part on the received portion of the measurement set. [0234] In certain embodiments, method 1700 proceeds to step 1710 with facilitating determining a location of the first wireless device based on the distance between the first wireless device and the second wireless device. As an example, the first wireless device may itself determine its location/position based on the distance between the first wireless device and the second wireless device. As another example, the first wireless device may involve another node/device (such as an E-SMLC) in order to determine the location/position of the first wireless device.

[0235] Certain embodiments of method 1700 may be adapted to the case where the first wireless device is in an out-of-coverage (OoC) scenario, for example, according to the principles of the OoC solution discussed above with respect to Figure 4.

[0236] As discussed above with respect to Figure 5, in particular embodiments, one or more measurements (e.g., ToA, Rx-Tx time difference(s), and/or TA(s)) may be shared/exchanged amongst wireless devices or with a third entity. In certain embodiments, the wireless devices share the measurements without network involvement. This can be done in OoC or other coverage scenarios. To facilitate obtaining one or more of the measurements, a side link transmission can be made from the first wireless device to the second wireless device following the DL timing. The sidelink transmission can use any spectrum resources accessible to the wireless devices for sidelink transmissions with the given timing. As an example, unlicensed spectrum may be used.

[0237] In some embodiments, such as when wireless devices share/exchange measurements, the node that collects one or more of the measurements may be the first wireless device (e.g., UE1), the second wireless device (e.g., UE2), or a third wireless device (e.g., UE3). If a transmitting step comprises a wireless device transmitting a measurement to itself as the node, that aspect of the transmitting step may be understood to occur implicitly within the wireless device based on the wireless device obtaining the measurement for itself. Optionally, a wireless device transmitting a measurement to itself as the node may comprise transmitting the measurement internally between components of the wireless device, e.g., via a bus. Example internal components may include memory and/or processing circuitry associated with performing measurements, memory and/or processing circuitry associated with location management, etc. In certain embodiments, if the node that collects measurements is the first wireless device, collecting the measurements may comprise (a) implicit transmitting of the first Rx-Tx time difference and/or the first TA to/from the first wireless device (based on obtaining the measurement s) for itself as the node), and (b) receiving, by the first wireless device, at least one of the ToA, the second Rx- Tx time difference, and/or the second TA from the second wireless device. If the node that collects the measurements is the second wireless device, collecting the measurements may comprise (a) receiving, by the second wireless device, at least one of the first Rx-Tx time difference and/or the first TA from the first wireless device, and (b) implicitly transmitting the ToA, the second Rx-Tx time difference, and/or the second TA to/from the second wireless device (based on obtaining the measurement(s) for itself as the node). In some embodiments, a wireless device may collect measurements from one or more other wireless devices and may transmit the collected measurements (or ranging, location, or other information derived from the collected measurements) to a network node, such as a gNB, LMF, or E-SMLC.

[0238] Figure 18 illustrates an example of a method 1800 that may be performed by a second wireless device, such as the second device (e.g., UE2) described with respect to any of Figures 3- 9, UE 112 of Figure 10, UE 200 of Figure 11, UE 606 of Figure 15, or the second wireless device involved in any of the methods of Figure 16 or Figure 17. In certain embodiments, the wireless device comprises at least one processor (such as processing circuitry 202) configured to perform one or more steps of method 1800. In certain embodiments, the wireless device comprises a computer-readable medium (such as memory 210) comprising instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform any steps of method 1800. [0239] Method 1800 begins at step 1802 with receiving a request for performance of a ranging procedure between a first wireless device and the second wireless device. Examples of requests for performance of ranging include those described with respect to Figure 3 (step 30), Figure 7 (ranging measurement request from LMF to UE2), Figure 8 (ranging request from UE1 to UE2), and Figure 9 (TA and ranging measurement request from LMF to UE2). In certain embodiments, the request received by the second wireless device in step 1802 may correspond to the request sent from the node to the second wireless device in step 1604 of Figure 16.

[0240] The request for performance of the ranging procedure received in step 1802 may comprise any suitable form. For example, the request received in step 1802 may comprise one or more messages requesting performance of the ranging procedure (or one or more steps thereof). In certain embodiments, the request received in step 1802 requests the second wireless device to provide an Rx-Tx time difference associated with the second wireless device (e.g., the second Rx- Tx time difference). In addition, or in the alternative, in certain embodiments, the request received in step 1802 comprises an indication for the second wireless device to perform a ToA measurement of a signal associated with the ranging procedure and transmitted by the first wireless device using downlink timing. Optionally, the request received in step 1802 indicates one or more resources for the second wireless device to use when receiving the signal/performing the ToA measurement. In addition, or in the alternative, in certain embodiments, the request received in step 1802 requests the second wireless device to provide a TA of the second wireless device (second TA).

[0241] In response to receiving the request for performance of the ranging procedure in step 1802, method 1800 proceeds to step 1804 with performing steps to assist a node in obtaining a measurement set. The measurement set facilitates determining a distance between the first wireless device and the second wireless device. The steps/sub-steps performed for step 1804 include receiving a signal using downlink timing from the first wireless device (step 1804a); determining the ToA measurement of the signal and/or the Rx-Tx time difference associated with the second device (step 1804b); and transmitting the ToA measurement and/or the Rx-Tx time difference to the node. The downlink timing for receiving the signal/determining the ToA measurement may depend on one or more of: a downlink timing of a serving base station, the TA associated with the second wireless device, and/or the Rx-Tx time difference associated with the second wireless device. Optionally, in certain embodiments, step 1804 further comprises transmitting the TA associated with the second wireless device to the node. As discussed above, the node that receive s/collects one or more measurements of the measurement set may be an LMF node, a network node (e.g., radio access node or core network node), or a wireless device, for example. [0242] The methods shown in any of Figures 16-18 may optionally be extended to multiple second wireless devices, for example, in order to facilitate determining a respective range (e.g., distance and angle) between the first wireless device and each second wireless device . Determining a respective range between the first wireless device and each second wireless device may allow for determining the location of the first wireless device with improved accuracy. In certain embodiments, one or more of the second wireless devices may be associated with a known location. The known location may be known or obtained by the LMF or other node that facilitates the ranging. For example, the second wireless device may provide its own known location coordinate information to the LMF or other node. In some embodiments, the second wireless device with a known location may be a PRU that supports (some) UE positioning functionalities. [0243] In certain embodiments, components described herein may perform reciprocal operations. For example, a message sent from one component (e.g., node or device) may be received by another component, and vice versa. Thus, the description of steps performed by one component may provide context for reciprocal steps performed by the other component.

[0244] Modifications, additions, or omissions may be made to the methods herein without departing from the scope of the disclosure. The methods may include more, fewer, or other steps. As an example, in certain embodiments, a method may omit one or more of the steps indicated by a dashed-line box in the figures. Additionally, steps may be performed in any suitable order.

[0245] Although this disclosure has been described in terms of certain embodiments, alterations and permutations of the embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the description of the embodiments does not constrain this disclosure . Other changes, substitutions, and alterations are possible without departing from the scope of this disclosure.