TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to the technology of wireless technology, and in particular, to a method and an apparatus for material identification.

BACKGROUND

[0002] This section introduces aspects that may facilitate better understanding of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the statements of this section are to be read in this light and are not to be understood as admissions about what is in the prior art or what is not in the prior art.

[0003] Perceiving and recognizing material properties of surfaces and objects is a fundamental aspect of new and emerging use cases, such as robotic perception, virtual reality (VR) applications, digital twins and creating a 3D (three dimensional) digital map of an environment. For example, by identifying the material of surfaces and objects, robots could behave more intelligently by enabling safe human robot collaboration in a factory floor. VR system can use material information to generate realistic sensations for a user’s physical feeling and enable interaction in a virtual environment.

[0004] Some of the approaches rely on haptic recognition to determine the material of the objects. Haptic recognition-based method requires direct contact with the object using haptic sensor that relies on pressing and sliding interactions with the object to determine its material properties. Such conditions of direct contact might be hard to achieved in some practical application.

[0005] Therefore, the manner for material identification needs to be improved.

SUMMARY

[0006] This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0007] The conventional methods, such as haptic-based methods, require a dedicated hardware for material detection, and can’t identify material of an object that is located at a significant distance. However, more than often in new and emerging use cases such as robotic perception, VR applications and 3D mapping of an environment material detection of an object needs to be done from a significant distance to ensure reliable robot-human collaboration in a factory floor for example.

[0008] Certain aspects of the present disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. There are, proposed herein, various embodiments which address one or more of the issues disclosed herein. Improved methods and apparatuses are provided for material identification. For example, a property change of a wireless signal caused by a reflection at a material may be used to identify the material. Therefore, identifying a material from a significant distance without requiring close interaction may be achieved.

[0009] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method performed by a reception apparatus. The method may comprise determining a reflection loss of a power of a wireless signal caused by a reflection at an obj ect, for the purpose of identifying a material of the obj ect. [0010] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the method may further comprise indicating a transmission apparatus to transmit the wireless signal to the object. The wireless signal may be reflected by the object to a reception apparatus. The method may further comprise receiving, from the reception apparatus, information about the wireless signal; determining the reflection loss of the power of the wireless signal caused by the reflection at the object, based at least on the information about the wireless signal; and identifying the material of the object, based on the reflection loss.

[0011] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the information about the wireless signal may include the reflection loss.

[0012] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the information about the wireless signal may include a power of the wireless signal at the reception apparatus; and the identification apparatus may calculate the reflection loss, based on the information about the wireless signal.

[0013] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the reflection loss may be calculated based on a power of the wireless signal at the transmission apparatus, a power of the wireless signal at the reception apparatus, and a propagation loss along a propagation path from the transmission apparatus to the object and then to the reception apparatus.

[0014] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the propagation loss may be calculated, based on a frequency of the wireless signal and a length of the propagation path; or the propagation loss may be measured, when the wireless signal is transmitted along another propagation path being directly from the transmission apparatus to the reception apparatus and having the same length of the propagation path.

[0015] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the length of the propagation path may be calculated based on positions of the transmission apparatus, the object, and the reception apparatus.

[0016] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the material of the object may be identified based on the reflection loss, a frequency of the wireless signal, and an incident angle of the wireless signal to the object.

[0017] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the incident angle of the wireless signal may be calculated based on positions of the transmission apparatus, and the object.

[0018] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the incident angle may be bigger or equal to zero degrees, and may be less than 90 degrees.

[0019] In embodiments of the present disclosure, identifying the material of the object may comprise searching a database to match the reflection loss.

[0020] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the database may record different reflection losses corresponding to different types of materials, different frequencies and different incident angles.

[0021] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the material of the object may be identified as a type corresponding to a matching result, when the matching result is obtained.

[0022] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the identification apparatus may indicate the transmission apparatus to transmit other wireless signal to the object, for identifying the material of the object, when two or more matching results are obtained; the other wireless signal may be reflected by the object to the reception apparatus; and the other wireless signal may have a different frequency with the wireless signal.

[0023] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the other wireless signal and the wireless signal may be transmitted by the same antenna system of the transmission apparatus.

[0024] In embodiments of the present disclosure, a frequency of the wireless signal may comprise at least one of: about 2.6 GHz, about 28 GHz, or about 60 GHz.

[0025] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the identification apparatus may be integrated with the transmission apparatus, or with the reception apparatus, or with both of the reception apparatus and the transmission apparatus.

[0026] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the identification apparatus may comprise a terminal device, or a network node.

[0027] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the network node comprises a base station.

[0028] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method performed by a reception apparatus. The method may comprise receiving a wireless signal transmitted from a transmission apparatus and reflected by an object; and transmitting, to an identification apparatus, information about the wireless signal.

[0029] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the information about the wireless signal may include a reflection loss of a power of the wireless signal caused by a reflection at the object; or the information about the wireless signal may include a power of the wireless signal at the reception apparatus.

[0030] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the method may further comprise receiving, other wireless signal transmitted from the transmission apparatus and reflected by the object. The other wireless signal has a different frequency with the wireless signal.

[0031] In embodiments of the present disclosure, a frequency of the wireless signal may comprise at least one of: about 2.6 GHz, about 28 GHz, or about 60 GHz.

[0032] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the reception apparatus may be integrated with the identification apparatus, or with the transmission apparatus, or with both of the identification apparatus and the transmission apparatus.

[0033] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the reception apparatus may comprise a terminal device, or a network node.

[0034] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the network node may comprise a base station.

[0035] According to a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method performed by a transmission apparatus. The method may comprise receiving an indication for identifying a material of an object; and transmitting a wireless signal reflected by the object to a reception apparatus. [0036] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the method further comprising: transmitting other wireless signal reflected by the object to the reception apparatus for identifying the material of the object. The other wireless signal has a different frequency with the wireless signal.

[0037] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the other wireless signal and the wireless signal may be transmitted by the same antenna system of the transmission apparatus.

[0038] In embodiments of the present disclosure, a frequency of the wireless signal may comprise at least one of: about 2.6 GHz, about 28 GHz, or about 60 GHz.

[0039] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the transmission apparatus may be integrated with the identification apparatus, or with the reception apparatus, or with both of the identification apparatus and the reception apparatus.

[0040] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the transmission apparatus may comprise a terminal device, or a network node.

[0041] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the network node may comprise a base station.

[0042] According to a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an identification apparatus. The identification apparatus may comprise a processor, and a memory. The memory may contain instructions executable by the processor. The identification apparatus may be operative to determine a reflection loss of a power of a wireless signal caused by a reflection at an object, for the purpose of identifying a material of the object.

[0043] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the identification apparatus may be further operative to perform the method according to any of embodiments above mentioned.

[0044] According to a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a reception apparatus. The reception apparatus may comprise a processor, and a memory. The memory may contain instructions executable by the processor. The reception apparatus may be operative to receive a wireless signal transmitted from a transmission apparatus and reflected by an object; and transmit, to an identification apparatus, information about the wireless signal.

[0045] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the reception apparatus may be further operative to perform the method according to any of embodiments above mentioned.

[0046] According to a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a transmission apparatus. The transmission apparatus may comprise a processor, and a memory. The memory may contain instructions executable by the processor. The transmission apparatus may be operative to receive an indication for identifying a material of an object; and transmit a wireless signal reflected by the object to a reception apparatus.

[0047] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the transmission apparatus may be further operative to perform the method according to any of embodiments above mentioned.

[0048] According to a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an identification apparatus. The identification apparatus may comprise a determining unit, configured to determine a reflection loss of a power of a wireless signal caused by a reflection at an object, for the purpose of identifying a material of the object.

[0049] According to an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a reception apparatus. The reception apparatus may comprise a receiving unit, configured to receive a wireless signal transmitted from a transmission apparatus and reflected by an object; and a transmitting unit, configured to transmit, to an identification apparatus, information about the wireless signal.

[0050] According to a ninth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a transmission apparatus. The transmission apparatus may comprise a receiving unit, configured to receive an indication for identifying a material of an object; and a transmitting unit, configured to transmit a wireless signal reflected by the object to a reception apparatus. [0051] According to a tenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions which when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the method according to any of embodiments above mentioned.

[0052] Embodiments herein afford many advantages. For example, in embodiments herein, improved manner for identifying the material of an object may be provided. In embodiments of the present disclosure, a material of the object/scatterer may be identified from a significant distance without requiring close interaction with the object/scatterer in and around the radio signal propagation path. A person skilled in the art will recognize additional features and advantages upon reading the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0053] The above and other aspects, features, and benefits of various embodiments of the present disclosure will become more fully apparent, by way of example, from the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals or letters are used to designate like or equivalent elements. The drawings are illustrated for facilitating better understanding of the embodiments of the disclosure and not necessarily drawn to scale, in which: [0054] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing surface scattering at different frequencies.

[0055] FIG. 2A is an exemplary flow chart showing a method performed by an identification apparatus, according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0056] FIG. 2B is an exemplary flow chart showing additional steps of the method performed at the identification apparatus, according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0057] FIG. 2C is another exemplary flow chart showing another additional step of the method performed at the identification apparatus, according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0058] FIG. 3A is an exemplary flow chart showing a method performed by a reception apparatus, according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0059] FIG. 3B is another exemplary flow chart showing another additional step of the method performed at the reception apparatus, according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0060] FIG. 3C is an exemplary flow chart showing a method performed by a transmission apparatus, according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0061] FIG. 3D is another exemplary flow chart showing another additional step of the method performed at the transmission apparatus, according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0062] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing overall schematic of proposed material identification manner.

[0063] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the simulation setups.

[0064] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing reflection losses of different materials at 2.6 GHz.

[0065] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing reflection losses of different materials at 28 GHz.

[0066] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing reflection losses of different materials at 60 GHz.

[0067] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing reflection losses of brick at 2.6 GHz, 28 GHz and 60 GHz.

[0068] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing reflection losses of wood and concrete at 24 GHz and 28 GHz. [0069] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing reflection losses of wood and concrete from the table II.

[0070] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing reflection losses of wood and concrete from the table III. [0071] FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing a procedure at network perspective when the UE processes main identification steps.

[0072] FIG. 14 is a flow chart showing a procedure at UE perspective when the UE processes main identification steps.

[0073] FIG. 15 is a flow chart showing a procedure at network perspective when the network processes main identification steps.

[0074] FIG. 16 is a flow chart showing a procedure at UE perspective when the network processes main identification steps.

[0075] FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing exemplary apparatuses suitable for practicing the identification apparatus, reception apparatus, and transmission apparatus, according to embodiments of the disclosure.

[0076] FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing an apparatus readable storage medium, according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0077] FIG. 19 is a schematic showing units for the identification reception apparatus, reception apparatus, and transmission apparatus, according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0078] The embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that these embodiments are discussed only for the purpose of enabling those skilled persons in the art to better understand and thus implement the present disclosure, rather than suggesting any limitations on the scope of the present disclosure. Reference throughout this specification to features, advantages, or similar language does not imply that all of the features and advantages that may be realized with the present disclosure should be or are in any single embodiment of the disclosure. Rather, language referring to the features and advantages is understood to mean that a specific feature, advantage, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the described features, advantages, and characteristics of the disclosure may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize that the disclosure may be practiced without one or more of the specific features or advantages of a particular embodiment. In other instances, additional features and advantages may be recognized in certain embodiments that may not be present in all embodiments of the disclosure.

[0079] Generally, all terms used herein are to be interpreted according to their ordinary meaning in the relevant technical field, unless a different meaning is clearly given and/or is implied from the context in which it is used. All references to a/an/the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc. are to be interpreted openly as referring to at least one instance of the element, apparatus, component, means, step, etc., unless explicitly stated otherwise. The steps of any methods disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed, unless a step is explicitly described as following or preceding another step and/or where it is implicit that a step must follow or precede another step. Any feature of any of the embodiments disclosed herein may be applied to any other embodiment, wherever appropriate. Likewise, any advantage of any of the embodiments may apply to any other embodiments, and vice versa. Other objectives, features and advantages of the enclosed embodiments will be apparent from the following description.

[0080] As used herein, the term “network” or “communication network” refers to a network following any suitable wireless communication standards. For example, the wireless communication standards may comprise 5 ^th generation (5G), new radio (NR), 4 ^th generation (4G), long term evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced, wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), high-speed packet access (HSPA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Time Division Multiple Address (TDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) and other wireless networks. In the following description, the terms “network” and “system” can be used interchangeably. Furthermore, the communications between two devices in the network may be performed according to any suitable communication protocols, including, but not limited to, the wireless communication protocols as defined by a standard organization such as 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) or the wired communication protocols.

[0081] The term “apparatus” used herein may refer to a network device or network entity or network function or any other devices (physical or virtual) in a communication network, namely, a network node/device. For example, the “apparatus” in the network may include a base station (BS), an access point (AP), a multi-cell/multicast coordination entity (MCE), a server node/function (such as a service capability server/application server, SCS/AS, group communication service application server, GCS AS, application function, AF), an exposure node/function (such as a service capability exposure function, SCEF, network exposure function, NEF), a unified data management, UDM, a home subscriber server, HSS, a session management function, SMF, an access and mobility management function, AMF, a mobility management entity, MME, a controller or any other suitable device in a wireless communication network. The BS may be, for example, a node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), a next generation NodeB (gNodeB or gNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio header (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, a low power node such as a femto, a pico, and so forth.

[0082] Yet further examples of the “apparatus” may comprise multi-standard radio (MSR) radio 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, positioning nodes and/or the like.

[0083] Further, the term “apparatus” may also refer to any suitable function which can be implemented in a network entity (physical or virtual) of a communication network. For example, the 5G system (5GS) may comprise a plurality of NFs such as AMF (Access and mobility Function), SMF (Session Management Function), AUSF (Authentication Service Function), UDM (Unified Data Management), PCF (Policy Control Function), AF (Application Function), NEF (Network Exposure Function), UPF (User plane Function) and NRF (Network Repository Function), RAN (radio access network), SCP (service communication proxy), 0AM (Operation Administration and Maintenance) etc. In other embodiments, the network function may comprise different types of NFs (such as PCRF (Policy and Charging Rules Function), etc.) for example depending on the specific network. [0084] The term “apparatus” may further refer to any end device that can access a communication network and receive services therefrom, namely, a terminal device. By way of example and not limitation, the terminal device refers to a mobile terminal, user equipment (UE), or other suitable devices. The UE may be, for example, a Subscriber Station (SS), a Portable Subscriber Station, a Mobile Station (MS), or an Access Terminal (AT). The terminal device may include, but not limited to, a portable computer, an image capture terminal device such as a digital camera, a gaming terminal device, a music storage and a playback appliance, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a tablet, a wearable device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable computer, a desktop computer, a wearable terminal device, a vehiclemounted wireless terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), a laptop-mounted equipment (LME), a USB dongle, a smart device, a wireless customerpremises equipment (CPE) and the like. In the following description, the terms “terminal device”, “terminal”, “user equipment” and “UE” may be used interchangeably. As one example, a terminal device may represent a UE configured for communication in accordance with one or more communication standards promulgated by the 3GPP, such as 3GPP’ LTE standard or NR standard. As used herein, a “user equipment” or “UE” may not necessarily have a “user” in the sense of a human user who owns and/or operates the relevant device. In some embodiments, a terminal device may be configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a terminal device may be designed to transmit information to a network on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the communication network. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but that may not initially be associated with a specific human user.

[0085] As yet another example, in an Internet of Things (loT) scenario, a terminal device 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 terminal device and/or network equipment. The terminal device may in this case be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as a machine-type communication (MTC) device. As one particular example, the terminal device may be a UE implementing the 3 GPP narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) standard. Particular examples of such machines or devices are sensors, metering devices such as power meters, industrial machinery, or home or personal appliances, for example refrigerators, televisions, personal wearables such as watches etc. In other scenarios, a terminal device may represent a vehicle or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and/or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0086] References in the specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “an example embodiment,” and the like indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but it is not necessary that every embodiment includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

[0087] It shall be understood that although the terms “first” and “second” etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed terms.

[0088] As used herein, the phrase “at least one of A and (or) B” should be understood to mean “only A, only B, or both A and B.” The phrase “A and/or B” should be understood to mean “only A, only B, or both A and B.”

[0089] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “has”, “having”, “includes” and/or “including”, when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and/or components etc., but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and/ or combinations thereof.

[0090] It is noted that these terms as used in this document are used only for ease of description and differentiation among nodes, devices or networks etc. With the development of the technology, other terms with the similar/same meanings may also be used.

[0091] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skills in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0092] Instead of haptic recognition-based method, spectroscopy methods to determine the material of the objects may be considered. However, spectroscopy -based methods use interaction between object and electromagnetic radiation as a function of the wavelength of the radiation to recognize the material, and thus in this approach the test-object should be at a centimeter level distance from the detector.

[0093] Embodiments of the present disclosure consider the radio access technology (RAT), which has been extensively used to provide seamless connectivity between communication devices for high capacity and secure communication by means of wireless radio signal transmission and reception. When a radio signal is transmitted between wireless transmitter and receiver devices, the radio signal is affected by the presence of multiple scatterers in and around the propagation path. The radio signals typically undergo phenomena such as reflection, diffraction and refraction depending on the type and nature of the obstacle it encounters while travelling from a transmitter to a receiver. These phenomena typically result into multipath propagation of the radio signal, where the number and intensity of multipath propagation depends heavily on the number of scatterers and their locations in the propagation path together with the radio signal waveform characteristics such as bandwidth and carrier frequency. Evaluating the strength of the signals that arrive at receiver via scatterer induced multiple paths can therefore be used to establish an understanding of the type of scatterers that are located in and around the radio signal propagation environment. In embodiments of the present disclosure, a method, which exploits the signals received at the receiver via a specular path to identify the material of the scatterer that is located in and around the radio signal propagation path, is disclosed.

[0094] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing surface scattering at different frequencies.

[0095] For example, the surfaces of buildings, walls, and ceilings have usually been assumed to be electrically smooth because their surface height variations are smaller in comparison to the radio signal carrier wavelength at frequencies ranging up to mmWave. At lower frequencies, the reflection process is dominated by a strong specular path at an angle of reflection that is equal to the angle of incidence. The strong specular component virtually turns the surfaces into something that is close to “electrical mirror” suppressing the effect of scattered signal that are weaker in strength. However, in the frequency bands around and above mmWave bands, the roughness of surfaces becomes comparable to the radio signal carrier wavelength due to which the illuminated surface creates scattered signal paths, depending on the angle of incidence, that are as substantial as the reflected paths. Different frequencies exhibit different intensity of specular and/or diffuse scattering from most building surfaces, as depicted in FIG. 1. Most building surfaces appear smooth at lower frequencies resulting in the specular reflections dominating the multipaths (left side in FIG. 1), while same surfaces exhibit significant diffuse scattering and strong specular reflections at mmWave and THz (right side in FIG. 1). (Also see paper “Wireless Communications and Applications Above 100 GHz: Opportunities and Challenges for 6G and Beyond” THEODORE S. RAPPAPORT et. al. IEEE trans. Jun 2019).

[0096] Embodiments of the present disclosure provides specific manner to utilize such phenomena to identify the material of the objects/scatters.

[0097] FIG. 2A is an exemplary flow chart showing a method performed by an identification apparatus, according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0098] As shown in FIG. 2A, there is a method performed at the identification apparatus 100. The method may comprise: S 101 , determining a reflection loss of a power of a wireless signal caused by a reflection at an object, for the purpose of identifying a material of the object.

[0099] According to embodiment of the present disclosure, by utilizing reflection loss of a power of a wireless signal caused by a reflection at an object, the material of the object/scatterer may be identified from a significant distance without requiring close interaction with the object/scatterer in and around the radio signal propagation path.

[00100] The identification apparatus may comprise any kind of computing device, such as any terminal device, any network node, and/or any kind of server, etc.

[00101] FIG. 2B is an exemplary flow chart showing additional steps of the method performed at the identification apparatus, according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[00102] As shown in FIG. 2B, the method may further comprise SI 02, indicating a transmission apparatus to transmit the wireless signal to the object. The wireless signal may be reflected by the object to a reception apparatus. The method may further comprise S103, receiving, from the reception apparatus, information about the wireless signal; S1011, determining the reflection loss of the power of the wireless signal caused by the reflection at the object, based at least on the information about the wireless signal; and SI 04, identifying the material of the object, based on the reflection loss. [00103] According to embodiment of the present disclosure, the identification apparatus 100 may be implemented in a wireless communication system, including a transmission apparatus and a reception apparatus.

[00104] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the information about the wireless signal may include the reflection loss.

[00105] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the information about the wireless signal may include a power of the wireless signal at the reception apparatus; and the identification apparatus may calculate the reflection loss, based on the information about the wireless signal.

[00106] According to embodiment of the present disclosure, the functions of the identification apparatus 100, the transmission apparatus, and the reception apparatus may be flexibly arranged. For example, the reception apparatus may calculate the reflection loss when receiving the wireless signal and then transmit the reflection loss to the identification apparatus 100. Alternatively, the reception apparatus may transmit relevant information to the identification apparatus 100, and then the identification apparatus 100 may calculate the reflection loss.

[00107] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the reflection loss may be calculated based on a power of the wireless signal at the transmission apparatus, a power of the wireless signal at the reception apparatus, and a propagation loss along a propagation path from the transmission apparatus to the object and then to the reception apparatus.

[00108] According to embodiment of the present disclosure, a propagation loss along a propagation path from the transmission apparatus to the object and then to the reception apparatus may be also considered for a more accurate calculation of the reflection loss at the surface of the object.

[00109] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the propagation loss may be calculated, based on a frequency of the wireless signal and a length of the propagation path; or the propagation loss may be measured, when the wireless signal is transmitted along another propagation path being directly from the transmission apparatus to the reception apparatus and having the same length of the propagation path.

[00110] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the length of the propagation path may be calculated based on positions of the transmission apparatus, the object, and the reception apparatus.

[00111] According to embodiment of the present disclosure, for calculating the propagation loss along a propagation path from the transmission apparatus to the object, either theoretical estimating manner or actually measuring manner may be utilized.

[00112] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the material of the object may be identified based on the reflection loss, a frequency of the wireless signal, and an incident angle of the wireless signal to the object.

[00113] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the incident angle of the wireless signal may be calculated based on positions of the transmission apparatus, and the object.

[00114] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the incident angle may be bigger or equal to zero degrees, and may be less than 90 degrees.

[00115] In different frequencies and/or different incident angles, the reflections at the same material may be different. The frequencies and incident angles may be also considered to provide more accurate identification.

[00116] When the incident angle is equal to zero degrees, the transmission apparatus and the reception apparatus may be arranged in the same normal line of the surface of the object, or even the transmission apparatus and reception apparatus may be integrated as the same device.

[00117] FIG. 2C is another exemplary flow chart showing another additional step of the method performed at the identification apparatus, according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[00118] As shown in FIG. 2C, identifying the material of the object may comprise: S 1041 , searching a database to match the reflection loss.

[00119] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the database may record different reflection losses corresponding to different types of materials, different frequencies and different incident angles.

[00120] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the material of the object may be identified as a type corresponding to a matching result, when the matching result is obtained.

[00121] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, software simulating or actual measuring manner may be used to obtain necessary information (such as reflection loss corresponding to different materials, under different frequencies and/or incident angles, etc.), to previously create the database. Then, the material of the object may be quickly identified by searching such database.

[00122] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the identification apparatus may indicate the transmission apparatus to transmit other wireless signal to the object, for identifying the material of the object, when two or more matching results are obtained; the other wireless signal may be reflected by the object to the reception apparatus; and the other wireless signal may have a different frequency with the wireless signal.

[00123] According to embodiments of the present disclosure, if two materials corresponds to the same or similar reflection loss under a specific frequency, another frequency may be considered. Generally, two different materials cannot always correspond to the same or similar reflection loss, when frequency changes.

[00124] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the other wireless signal and the wireless signal may be transmitted by the same antenna system of the transmission apparatus.

[00125] Two different frequencies may have big difference, such that they may be generated by two different antenna system. However, if different frequencies have small offset with each other, they may be generated by the same antenna system.

[00126] In embodiments of the present disclosure, a frequency of the wireless signal may comprise at least one of about 2.6 GHz, about 28 GHz, or about 60 GHz.

[00127] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the identification apparatus may be integrated with the transmission apparatus, or with the reception apparatus, or with both of the reception apparatus and the transmission apparatus.

[00128] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the identification apparatus may comprise a terminal device, or a network node.

[00129] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the network node comprises a base station.

[00130] It should be understood, any specific frequency may be utilized, as long as enough estimating or measuring data for different materials under such specific frequency exists. Some of frequency may be preferred, if existing or developing wireless communication systems (including any kind of terminal devices, or any kind of network nodes) are chose to implement such method. Such selection may further reduce the implementation cost or extending the application scenarios. Particularly, any terminal device or network node (with transmission, reception, and calculation capability) in the communication systems will be able to implement the method individually.

[00131] FIG. 3 A is an exemplary flow chart showing a method performed by a reception apparatus, according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[00132] As shown in FIG. 3 A, there is provided a method performed by a reception apparatus 200. The method may comprise: S201, receiving a wireless signal transmitted from a transmission apparatus and reflected by an object; and S202, transmitting, to an identification apparatus, information about the wireless signal.

[00133] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the information about the wireless signal may include a reflection loss of a power of the wireless signal caused by a reflection at the object; or the information about the wireless signal may include a power of the wireless signal at the reception apparatus.

[00134] FIG. 3B is another exemplary flow chart showing another additional step of the method performed at the reception apparatus, according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[00135] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the method may further comprise: S203, receiving, other wireless signal transmitted from the transmission apparatus and reflected by the object. The other wireless signal has a different frequency with the wireless signal.

[00136] In embodiments of the present disclosure, a frequency of the wireless signal may comprise at least one of: about 2.6 GHz, about 28 GHz, or about 60 GHz.

[00137] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the reception apparatus may be integrated with the identification apparatus, or with the transmission apparatus, or with both of the identification apparatus and the transmission apparatus.

[00138] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the reception apparatus may comprise a terminal device, or a network node.

[00139] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the network node may comprise a base station.

[00140] FIG. 3C is an exemplary flow chart showing a method performed by a transmission apparatus, according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[00141] As shown in FIG. 3C, there is provided a method performed by a transmission apparatus 300. The method may comprise: S301, receiving an indication for identifying a material of an object; and S302, transmitting a wireless signal reflected by the object to a reception apparatus.

[00142] FIG. 3D is another exemplary flow chart showing another additional step of the method performed at the transmission apparatus, according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[00143] As shown in FIG. 3D, the method further comprising: S303, transmitting other wireless signal reflected by the object to the reception apparatus for identifying the material of the object. The other wireless signal has a different frequency with the wireless signal.

[00144] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the other wireless signal and the wireless signal may be transmitted by the same antenna system of the transmission apparatus. [00145] In embodiments of the present disclosure, a frequency of the wireless signal may comprise at least one of: about 2.6 GHz, about 28 GHz, or about 60 GHz.

[00146] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the transmission apparatus may be integrated with the identification apparatus, or with the reception apparatus, or with both of the identification apparatus and the reception apparatus.

[00147] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the transmission apparatus may comprise a terminal device, or a network node.

[00148] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the network node may comprise a base station.

[00149] Implementation embodiments with further details will be described. These embodiments may further present specific manners for material recognition/identification using reflection of the wireless signal (such as radio signal) by objects in and around the propagation path (such as in a wireless communication network).

[00150] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing overall schematic of proposed material identification manner. [00151] As shown in FIG. 4, the specific material may be identified based on comparing measured reflection of an electromagnetic signal from its surface with pre-recorded reflection losses from different materials that are recorded in a database.

[00152] The embodiments present a method for material recognition/identification in a wireless communication network by looking up premeasured reflection loss database. The method mainly comprises following steps.

[00153] Step 1 : Measuring or simulating the reflection losses from different materials and recording them in a database at certain frequency/frequencies and incident angle/angles (database with prerecorded measurements D).

[00154] Step 2: Transmitting a beam at certain frequency/frequencies towards the material from a transmitter at certain angle/angles and measuring reflection loss based on the received signal (S) at a receiver.

[00155] Step 3: Comparing the measured loss (estimated reflection loss, r) with pre-measured reflection losses from different materials that are recorded in a database, by an inferencing algorithm, to identify the material (sensed material, m).

[00156] This material identification method measures accurate reflection loss induced by objects to be recognized. Reflection losses of common materials in the environment are extensively investigated for wireless communication systems.

[00157] To accomplish the first step, extensive measurement campaign is done to record the database for features such as reflection losses at various incident angles for different materials. These measurements may be also simulated for variety of common building materials (plasterboard, thick plasterboard, glass, heavy concrete, medium concrete, brick, metal, wood) with different incident angle 0t ranging from examples of 1.9° to 81.6° and over frequencies at examples of 2.6 GHz, 28 GHz and 60 GHz. The definition of materials in the simulation is summarized in Table I. [00158] Table I. Parameters of common building materials for which simulations were performed.

[00159] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the simulation setups.

[00160] Reflection loss simulations of different common building materials listed in Table I were performed at 2.6 GHz, 28 GHz and 60 GHz. A transmitter (TX) antenna and a receiver (RX) antenna (TX may refer to base station and RX may refer to terminal device in wireless communication system and vice versa) were placed in a free space scenario where only a vertical wall exists. The distance between TX/RX and wall was set to 15 m and TX/RX antenna heights were set to 5 m. By changing the distance between TX and RX, different incident angles, including 1.9°, 9.5°, 20.1°, 29.5°, 39.8°, 45°, 51.7°, 59°, 67.4°, 73.6° and 81.6°, were chosen to present the reflection performance with wall made by different materials. A radio wave transmitted by TX incidents at an angle with respect to the normal of the wall surface. 0 _r is reflected angle such that = 0 _r , following Snell’s law.

[00161] d _t and d _r are the distances between the wall and the TX/RX, respectively, d is the overall propagation length of specular path between TX/RX and d = d _t + d _r .

[00162] Black fold line in FIG. 5 from the TX to wall and then to RX is the specular path and is the incident angle.

[00163] To obtain reflection loss data, two-step simulation was performed. The first step was used to measure the amount of the received power reflected from surface of the wall with an incident angle 0t determined by the TX/RX distance.

[00164] The path loss (PL) over specular path is calculated as: PL = P _TX — P _RX , where P _TX is the transmit power over specular path, P _RX is the received power over specular path.

[00165] The second step presented a LoS (line-of-sight) transmission of the same signal over the equal distance d of specular path between TX/RX but without any obstacle on the propagation way. Friis’ equation is used to calculate the free space path loss (FSPL) over distance d: FSPL(f, d) = 32.4 + 20Zo^ ₁₀ ( ) + 20Zo^ ₁₀ (d); where f is the carrier frequency in GHz.

[00166] Finally, the received power coming from the first simulation was normalized with the data from the second step to eliminate the propagation effects. As a result, the reflection loss (RL) including absorption loss plus scattering loss is calculated as: RL = PL — FSPL f, d).

[00167] FIG. 6 to FIG. 8 show simulated reflection losses with different incident angle 0t at 2.6 GHz, 28 GHz and 60 GHz.

[00168] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing reflection losses of different materials at 2.6 GHz. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing reflection losses of different materials at 28 GHz. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing reflection losses of different materials at 60 GHz.

[00169] It is apparently observed that the reflection losses of a variety of materials are different in most cases with same incident angle at 2.6 GHz, 28 GHz and 60 GHz, showing that different materials could be properly identified based on reflection loss and incident angle information.

[00170] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing reflection losses of brick at 2.6 GHz, 28 GHz and 60 GHz.

[00171] The simulation shows that as the frequency increases, the reflection loss increases, which can be expected since the surfaces tend to be rough as the frequency increases and rougher surfaces cause higher scattered power. Take brick as an example, as shown in FIG. 9, brick (typical exterior surfaces of urban buildings) has reflection loss of less than 10 dB at 2.6 GHz, high reflection loss of approximately 30 dB and 115 dB at 28 GHz and 60 GHz, respectively. This illustrates the fact that brick surface is electrically smooth at lower frequency but rough for higher frequency, reflection losses of brick surface are different for different frequencies, thus providing reflection loss isolation between multiple frequencies.

[00172] The rough brick has significantly different properties than the other materials. We can see from FIG. 9 that only at 2.6 GHz brick has a significant reflected component (less reflection loss).

[00173] A rough brick wall has very high reflection loss, more than 110 dB at 60 GHz, indicating that the effect of reflection loss from the rough surface was significantly larger than the effect from other smoother materials.

[00174] Moreover, for all simulated frequencies, the reflection loss falls off sharply when the incident angle 0 _; increases, the minimum reflection loss of certain material was simulated at incident angle 0j=81.6° (maximum 0 _£ was simulated). When the incident angle 0 _; is large, reflection loss (absorption loss plus the scattering loss) is small, and the scattering loss is negligible, most of the energy is due to reflection and not scattring at large incident angle. However, when the incident angle is small (e.g., incident ray impinges the surface perpendicularly), the scattering loss is not negligible. The scattered power is higher at small incident angles than at large incident angles. This is the reason why reflection loss decreases when increasing the incident angle.

[00175] It is also observed from FIG. 6 to FIG. 8 that at 2.6 GHz, the reflection loss differences between most materials are quite small, especially when incident angle is large. For higher frequencies (28 GHz and 60 GHz), the reflection loss differences between most materials are pronounced, the curves are almost horizontal and most of them don’t intersect each other when incident angle is small, which means the materials of the wall can be determined by reflection loss and approximate incident angle. When incident angle is large, reflection loss of materials declines with different rate, some reflection loss curves intersect with each other. Therefore, the materials of the wall can’t be determined by reflection loss and approximate incident angle information at certain frequency.

[00176] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing reflection losses of wood and concrete at 24 GHz and 28 GHz. [00177] For example, FIG. 10 shows reflection losses of wood and concrete at 24 GHz and 28 GHz, the top right subfigure zooms in the area where the incident angle is about 53° and wood curve and concrete curve intersect in FIG 7. At incident angle 53°, wood and concrete have same reflection loss 13.45 dB, thus the material of the wall can’t be determined by reflection loss and incident angle, the material could be either wood or concrete. If a radio wave at 24 GHz is transmitted with exactly the same propagation path as 28 GHz, wood and concrete have different reflection losses with incident angle 53° at 24 GHz, then the material can be identified. Moreover, reflection loss of wood changes less over frequency, reflection loss of concrete changes more over frequency. The reflection loss difference for wood is found to be about 0.2 dB between 24 GHz and 28 GHz when incident angle is between 45° and 59°. Under similar condition, the reflection loss difference for concrete is about 1.58 dB.

[00178] The simulation result also shows that the material thickness can’t be identified by reflection loss and incident angle information. For example, from FIG. 7, reflection loss curves of medium concrete (thickness 10 cm) and heavy concrete (thickness 20 cm) are completely overlapping.

[00179] As observed from FIG. 6 to Fig. 8, the smoother the material is, the lower is the reflection loss that can be measured from the specular path. A smoother surface decrease diffuse scattering loss significantly, it can be seen that metal plane is the best reflector among the considered materials, and glass is not much worse also. A smooth metal plate is shown to attenuate very little from specular reflection at any incident angle, even at 60 GHz. That is why antenna’s ground plane for back lobe reflection is made of metal plate.

[00180] Based on the premeasured data, a reflection loss-based material identification method for fast and accurate material identification in a multipath environment is developed.

[00181] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the above method may be performed by a material identification apparatus. The material identification apparatus may be any node/entity/function having a reflection loss database for different materials at different frequencies and incident angles.

[00182] The transmission apparatus or the reception apparatus may refer to a network node that can transmit or receive radio signals in a wireless communication network.

[00183] The transmission apparatus or the reception apparatus may refer to a base station (BS), a mobile phone or any other suitable device in a wireless communication network.

[00184] In a wireless communication network, the transmission apparatus or the reception apparatus may transmits data or signals in a multipath environment.

[00185] Pre-knowledge of TX/RX and reflection point locations may be obtained, assuming that they are pre-calculated by exploiting appropriate positioning method.

[00186] Assuming that the coordinates of TX (xl,yl,zl), reflection point (x2,y2,z2) and RX (x3,y3,z3) are determined by appropriate positioning method, as shown in FIG. 5.

[00187] The incident angle can be calculated as:

[00188] ^{X2 X1} - ⁾⁽ - ^{X3 X2} H ^y ₂ yi)( j_y ₂ ) ⁺ ( ^z 2 ^z i)( ^z 3 z ₂ )| _ \ (x2-xi) ² +(y ₂ -y ₁ ) ² +(z ₂ -zi) ² ^ (x ₃ -x ₂ ) ² +(y ₃ -y ₂ ) ² +(z ₃ -z ₂ ) ²

[00189] The overall propagation length of specular path between TX and RX can be calculated as: [00190] d = d _t + d _r = (x ₂ - xj) ² + (y ₂ - y ² + (z ₂ - zj ² + (x ₃ - x ₂ ) ² + (y ₃ - y ₂ ) ² + (z ₃ - z ₂ ) ² .

[00191] A reflection loss lookup database for different materials is premeasured. The lookup database is an array including materials, frequencies, incident angles and reflection losses information, and runtime material identification procedure is replaced with a simpler array indexing operation.

[00192] Premeasurement is the act of performing an initial reflection loss measurement to generate a lookup database that can be used by proposed material identification method to avoid repeated computation each time. The reflection losses of multiple incident angles are measured by changing the distance between TX and RX as shown in FIG. 5.

[00193] A lookup database example generated by premeasurement is shown in Table II. For simplicity of the disclosure, only reflection losses of materials wood and concrete at 28 GHz and 60 GHz are listed with 11 different incident angles.

[00194] TABLE II: Reflection losses of wood and concrete at 28 GHz and 60 GHz

[00195] The proposed method can be implemented in Radar system also. When the transmission power is big enough, the distance may be extended greatly, as long as the reception apparatus can receive the wireless signals and calculate the reflection loss.

[00196] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing reflection losses of wood and concrete from the table II.

[00197] Using data in Table II, the reflection losses of wood and concrete is plotted and shown in FIG. 11.

[00198] Below is an example to show how the material is identified. In this example, because there are only data of two materials in Table II, it is assumed that the materials could be concrete or wood only.

[00199] For example, a reflection loss lookup database is premeasured and recorded as shown in Table II. The TX antenna transmits a beam at premeasured frequency towards the material. The identification apparatus calculates the reflection loss according to transmit power, received power, incident angle and frequency. It is assumed from one measurement, a dataset (RL=14 dB, 0;=4O°, f=28 GHz) is collected by the identification apparatus. If it is wanted to identify the material from this measurement, the identification apparatus rounds up to incident angle 39.8°, and then look up reflection losses of every material in Table II. The reflection losses of wood and concrete are 15.14 dB and 13.88 dB, respectively. Therefore, it might be concluded that the material is concrete.

[00200] There will be uncertainty in the positioning and angle measurements, however at low incident angles and at high frequencies the reflection losses separate well. The performance of the material identification also depends on the resolution of incident angles and reflection losses maintained in the database. For example, by looking up database shown in Table II, the accuracy might be low due to dataset with only 11 incident angles were premeasured. If the incident angle to be looked up is not in the database, maybe the material cannot be accurately identified. For example, incident angle 35° is between premeasured incident angle 29.5° and 39.8°, due to limited dataset in the database, maybe the identification apparatus can’t identify the material correctly.

[00201] The mathematic manner of (linear) interpolation etc. may be used to try to solve such problem. However, premeasurement should be performed with higher incident angle resolution to improving the accuracy. A lookup database with higher resolution is illustrated in Table III, the resolution of incident angle is about 1.5°. For database with better precision (more incident angles are premeasured), higher material recognition accuracy might be obtained from multiple premeasured materials.

[00202] TABLE III: Reflection losses of wood and concrete at 24 GHz and 28 GHz

[00204] Using data in Table III, the reflection losses of wood and concrete with higher resolution is plotted and shown in FIG. 12.

[00205] In FIG. 12, we can see that wood curve and concrete curve intersect with incident angle 53° at 28 GHz, which means wood and concrete have same reflection losses of approximately 13.45 dB at 28 GHz, thus the material can’t be determined by looking up database at 28 GHz, the material could be either wood or concrete. If a radio wave at 24 GHz is transmitted with exactly the same propagation path as 28 GHz, wood and concrete have different reflection losses with incident angle 53° at 24 GHz, then the material can be identified.

[00206] It should be understood, any other frequency may be utilized. However, 24 GHz (close to 28GHz) may be selected since it can be generated with the same antenna system as the 28GHz.

[00207] In embodiments of the present disclosure, material identification is based on measurement of the reflection loss at different incident angles and comparing the reflection loss pattern at different incident angles with those of pre-recorded measurements to find a matching pattern. As an example, in FIG. 12, by measuring the reflection loss at frequency 24 GHz with incident angles 45 and 55 degrees, one can form a reflection loss profile and by comparing the profile to the ones in the database, a matching profile can be found. The advantage of this method is that it does not depend on the absolute measurement and it works as long as relative reflection losses at different incident angles is measured with enough accuracy.

[00208] In embodiments, it is further provided that the signaling as shown in FIG. 13 to FIG. 16 take place between the network nodes and terminal device (including UE) during material identification procedure.

[00209] FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing a procedure at network perspective when the UE processes main identification steps.

[00210] As shown in FIG. 13, the network side (such as any network node) may indicate initialization of material identification procedure. Then, the network side may provide assistance information for reflection loss measurement. The network side may request reflection loss measurement (including angle of incidence) and UE location information. At last, network side may receive material identity information along with object location information, from the UE.

[00211] In one of the embodiments it is provided that the network node provides assistance information to UE. The assistance information contains, not limited to, network node location, radio signal configuration (including beam IDs and angle of departure), and TRP (Transmission/Reception Point) orientation.

[00212] In embodiments it is provided that the UE node provides assistance information to the network node. The assistance information contains, not limited to, UE location, radio signal configuration (including beam IDs and angle of departure), and antenna panel orientation.

[00213] In embodiments it is provided that the steps in solid line boxes are mandatory steps to be conducted for the material detection and the steps in non-solid line boxes are complementary or nonmandatory steps that can be skipped depending on the apparatus that is the consumer of the material detection information.

[00214] FIG. 14 is a flow chart showing a procedure at UE perspective when the UE processes main identification steps.

[00215] As shown in FIG. 14, the UE receives material identification procedure initialization indication. Then, the UE receives assistance information for reflection loss measurement. The UE calculates reflection loss, angle of incidence, and location of scatterer. The UE determines object/scatterer material. Then, the UE reports reflection loss measurement and UE location information. The UE may further report material identity information along with their locations.

[00216] FIG. 15 is a flow chart showing a procedure at network perspective when the network processes main identification steps.

[00217] As shown in FIG. 15, the network side (such as any network node) indicates initialization of material identification procedure. Then, the network node indicates initialization of material identification procedure. The network node calculates reflection loss, angle of incidence, and location of scatterer. At last, the network node may report material identity information along with their locations.

[00218] FIG. 16 is a flow chart showing a procedure at UE perspective when the network processes main identification steps.

[00219] As shown in FIG. 16, the UE receives material identification procedure initialization indication. Then, the UE provides assistance information (including UE position) for reflection loss measurement. At last, the UE may receive material identity information along with their locations.

[00220] One of the advantages of the proposed solution is its capability of identifying a material of the object/scatterer from a significant distance without requiring close interaction with the object/scatterer in and around the radio signal propagation path.

[00221] Another advantage of the proposed solution is the method that corroborates on the fact that the radio signals are affected on a specific way by type, dimension, and texture of the scatterer, and may make use of the hardware and software in a typical wireless communication network and does not require any change from infrastructure point of view.

[00222] FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing exemplary apparatuses suitable for practicing the identification apparatus, reception apparatus, and transmission apparatus, according to embodiments of the disclosure.

[00223] As shown in FIG. 17, the identification apparatus 100 may comprise a processor 101, and a memory 102. The memory may contain instructions executable by the processor. The identification apparatus may be operative to determine a reflection loss of a power of a wireless signal caused by a reflection at an object, for the purpose of identifying a material of the object.

[00224] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the identification apparatus may be further operative to perform the method according to any of embodiments above mentioned, such as shown in FIG. 2A-2C.

[00225] As shown in FIG. 17, the reception apparatus 200 may comprise a processor 201, and a memory 202. The memory may contain instructions executable by the processor. The reception apparatus may be operative to receive a wireless signal transmitted from a transmission apparatus and reflected by an object; and transmit, to an identification apparatus, information about the wireless signal.

[00226] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the reception apparatus may be further operative to perform the method according to any of embodiments above mentioned, such as shown in FIG. 3 A- 3B.

[00227] As shown in FIG. 17, the transmission apparatus 300 may comprise a processor 301, and a memory 302. The memory may contain instructions executable by the processor. The transmission apparatus may be operative to receive an indication for identifying a material of an object; and transmit a wireless signal reflected by the object to a reception apparatus.

[00228] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the transmission apparatus may be further operative to perform the method according to any of embodiments above mentioned, such as shown in FIG. 3C-3D.

[00229] The processors 101, 201, 301 may be any kind of processing component, such as one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include digital signal processors (DSPs), special-purpose digital logic, and the like. The memories 102, 202, 302 may be any kind of storage component, such as read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory, cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc.

[00230] FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing an apparatus readable storage medium, according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[00231] As shown in FIG. 18, the computer-readable storage medium 700, or any other kind of product, storing instructions 701 which when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the method according to any one of the above embodiments, such as these shown in FIG. 2A-3D.

[00232] In addition, the present disclosure may also provide a carrier containing the computer program as mentioned above, wherein the carrier is one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or computer readable storage medium. The computer readable storage medium can be, for example, an optical compact disk or an electronic memory device like a RAM (random access memory), a ROM (read only memory), Flash memory, magnetic tape, CD-ROM, DVD, Blue-ray disc and the like.

[00233] FIG. 19 is a schematic showing units for the identification reception apparatus, reception apparatus, and transmission apparatus, according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[00234] As shown in FIG. 19, the identification apparatus 100 may comprise a determining unit 8101, configured to determine a reflection loss of a power of a wireless signal caused by a reflection at an object, for the purpose of identifying a material of the object.

[00235] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the identification apparatus may be further operative to perform the method according to any of embodiments above mentioned, such as shown in FIG. 2A-2C.

[00236] As shown in FIG. 19, the reception apparatus 200 may comprise a receiving unit 8201, configured to receive a wireless signal transmitted from a transmission apparatus and reflected by an object; and a transmitting unit 8202, configured to transmit, to an identification apparatus, information about the wireless signal.

[00237] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the reception apparatus 200 may be further operative to perform the method according to any of embodiments above mentioned, such as shown in FIG. 3A-3B.

[00238] As shown in FIG. 19, the transmission apparatus 300 may comprise a receiving unit 8301, configured to receive an indication for identifying a material of an object; and a transmitting unit 8302, configured to transmit a wireless signal reflected by the object to a reception apparatus.

[00239] In embodiments of the present disclosure, the transmission apparatus may be further operative to perform the method according to any of embodiments above mentioned, such as shown in FIG. 3C-3D.

[00240] The term ‘unit’ may have conventional meaning in the field of electronics, electrical devices and/or electronic devices and may include, for example, electrical and/or electronic circuitry, devices, modules, processors, memories, logic solid state and/or discrete devices, computer programs or instructions for carrying out respective tasks, procedures, computations, outputs, and/or displaying functions, and so on, as such as those that are described herein.

[00241] With these units, the identification apparatus 100, the reception apparatus 200 and transmission apparatus 300 may not need a fixed processor or memory, any computing resource and storage resource may be arranged from at least one network node/device/entity/apparatus relating to the communication system. The virtualization technology and network computing technology (e.g. cloud computing) may be further introduced, so as to improve the usage efficiency of the network resources and the flexibility of the network.

[00242] The techniques described herein may be implemented by various means so that an apparatus implementing one or more functions of a corresponding apparatus described with an embodiment comprises not only prior art means, but also means for implementing the one or more functions of the corresponding apparatus described with the embodiment and it may comprise separate means for each separate function, or means that may be configured to perform two or more functions. For example, these techniques may be implemented in hardware (one or more apparatuses), firmware (one or more apparatuses), software (one or more modules), or combinations thereof. For a firmware or software, implementation may be made through modules (e.g., procedures, functions, and so on) that perform the functions described herein.

[00243] Particularly, these function units may be implemented either as a network element on a dedicated hardware, as a software instance running on a dedicated hardware, or as a virtualized function instantiated on an appropriate platform, e.g. on a cloud infrastructure.

[00244] In general, the various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. For example, some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device, although the disclosure is not limited thereto. While various aspects of the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure may be illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other pictorial representation, it is well understood that these blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[00245] As such, it should be appreciated that at least some aspects of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure may be practiced in various components such as integrated circuit chips and modules. It should thus be appreciated that the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure may be realized in an apparatus that is embodied as an integrated circuit, where the integrated circuit may include circuitry (as well as possibly firmware) for embodying at least one or more of a data processor, a digital signal processor, baseband circuitry and radio frequency circuitry that are configurable so as to operate in accordance with the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure.

[00246] It should be appreciated that at least some aspects of the exemplary embodiments of the disclosure may be embodied in computer-executable instructions, such as in one or more program modules, executed by one or more computers or other devices. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types when executed by a processor in a computer or other device. The computer executable instructions may be stored on a computer readable medium such as a hard disk, optical disk, removable storage media, solid state memory, RAM, etc. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the functionality of the program modules may be combined or distributed as desired in various embodiments. In addition, the functionality may be embodied in whole or in part in firmware or hardware equivalents such as integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), and the like.

[00247] The present disclosure includes any novel feature or combination of features disclosed herein either explicitly or any generalization thereof. Various modifications and adaptations to the foregoing exemplary embodiments of this disclosure may become apparent to those skilled in the relevant arts in view of the foregoing description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, any and all modifications will still fall within the scope of the non-limiting and exemplary embodiments of this disclosure.

[00248] Exemplary embodiments herein have been described above with reference to block diagrams and flowchart illustrations of methods and apparatuses. It will be understood that each block of the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, respectively, can be implemented by various means including computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be loaded onto a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus create means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart block or blocks.

[00249] Further, while operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Likewise, while several specific implementation details are contained in the above discussions, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the subject matter described herein, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination.

[00250] While this specification contains many specific implementation details, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of any implementation or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments of particular implementations. Certain features that are described in this specification in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination. Moreover, although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a sub-combination or variation of a sub-combination.

[00251] It will be obvious to a person skilled in the art that, as the technology advances, the inventive concept can be implemented in various ways. The above described embodiments are given for describing rather than limiting the disclosure, and it is to be understood that modifications and variations may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as those skilled in the art readily understand. Such modifications and variations are considered to be within the scope of the disclosure and the appended claims. The protection scope of the disclosure is defined by the accompanying claims. [00252] Abbreviation Explanation

[00253] 5G 5th Generation Wireless Systems

[00254] 6G 6th Generation Wireless Systems

[00255] TX transmitter

[00256] RX receiver

[00257] LoS Line of sight

[00258] NLoS non-line of sight

[00259] PL path loss

[00260] FSPL free space path loss

[00261] RL reflection loss

[00262] VR virtual reality

[00263] RAT radio access technology