TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the field of positioning in communications networks. Optionally, the present disclosure relates to devices and methods for measurement reporting.

BACKGROUND

In some communications networks, such as a cellular network or a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) network, a number of user equipment (UEs) may form a group. The UEs in the group may be required to determine the position(s) of other UE(s) in the group, or to obtain position information of other UEs. The position of a UE may refer to an absolute location of the UE that may be represented by longitude and latitude, or may refer to a relative position of the UE with respect to an anchor UE that may be represented by distance and/or orientation.

A group of UEs normally comprises two or more UEs, for example, UEs within a platoon or UEs in a coordinated maneuver. The group of UEs may have one UE as a group leader configured to coordinate other UEs in the group. The group of UEs may be in network coverage, out of network coverage, or in partial network coverage. Partial network coverage refers to a scenario where only a part of the UEs in the group is in network coverage. In the present disclosure, the group of UEs (or devices) may be simply referred to as “a group”.

The position information may be determined via sidelink (SL) positioning between UEs. The SL positioning refers to the positioning of a UE based on sidelink measurements, e.g., based on measurements made by a UE of one or more positioning reference signals (PRSs) transmitted by one or more other UEs in sidelink. In the present disclosure, a positioning reference signal sent in the sidelink can be referred to as an SL PRS, an S-PRS, or simply a PRS.

After an SL PRS is transmitted by a UE, other UEs can make measurements of the SL PRS. Such measurements can be required by another device, e.g. by the UE that transmitted the SL PRS, or from the network for the position estimation. A UE can send a measurement via a measurement report to another UE in a sidelink channel or to the network in an uplink channel, depending on which entity requires the positioning information or performs the position estimation. When the network performs the position estimation, the network may share the positioning information with UEs requiring the positioning information. When there is no network coverage, the measurement report can be sent to another UE via sidelink for position estimation.

For transmitting a measurement report by sidelink, sidelink resources are required. In mode 1 operation in new radio (NR) vehicle to everything (V2X) networks, resources for data transmissions of UEs in sidelink are managed by the network. That is, the network selects and assigns the resources to the UEs. In mode 2 operation of NR V2X networks, resources for data transmissions in sidelink are selected autonomously by a UE sending the measurement report. Resources for sending a measurement report in the sidelink can then be selected based on the two operation modes in NR V2X, i.e. mode 1 and mode 2.

In this regard, a UE can send a measurement report in a unicast transmission via the sidelink, e.g., in a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) in one subchannel, e.g., in an NR V2X network.

SUMMARY

However, a measurement report can be small in size. It is not efficient for a UE to send a single measurement report in a unicast transmission via the sidelink, since such a sending may use an entire subchannel.

In view of the above, this disclosure aims to provide an efficient manner for measurement reporting via sidelink in a communications network. An objective of this disclosure is to introduce resource configuration for sending measurement reports.

These and other objectives are achieved by the solution of this disclosure as described in the independent claims. Advantageous implementations are further defined in the dependent claims.

A first aspect of this disclosure provides a first device configured to send, to one or more second devices, a configuration of resources for transmitting one or more measurement reports for positioning.

Optionally, the one or more measurement reports may be for sidelink positioning. In the present disclosure, the “configuration of resources for transmitting one or more measurement reports for positioning” may be simply referred to as “a measurement report resource configuration”, “a configuration of measurement reports”, or “a resource configuration”.

Optionally, the resources for transmitting one or more measurement reports for positioning may comprise time and/or frequency radio resources. The time and/or frequency radio resources may comprise one or more resource blocks (RBs). Each RB may comprise one or more slots in the time domain (e.g., OFDM symbol(s)), and one or more subcarriers (or subchannels) in the frequency domain. An RB can also be referred to as a physical RB (PRB). It is noted that in the present disclosure a group of resources can also be seen as a single resource.

Optionally, the one or more second devices may be one or more user devices. Optionally, the one or more second devices may be within a group. Alternatively or additionally, the one or more second devices and the first device may be within a group, when the first device is a user device.

Optionally, with respect to one specific second device, the resource configuration sent by the first device to the specific second device may comprise a reporting configuration of the specific second device for transmitting one or more measurement reports. Optionally, the resource configuration may further comprise a further reporting configuration of a further second device for transmitting one or more further measurement reports. That is, the first device may be configured to send the resource configuration, which is a common message, to all of the one or more second devices. Each second device may be configured to retrieve a reporting configuration of each own from the resource configuration.

An advantage is that each second device can be assigned in a coordinated manner a dedicated configuration for transmitting the one or more measurement reports through the resource configuration. Each second device no longer needs to autonomously select a resource and transmit one or more measurement reports on its own. Hence, measurement reporting for positioning can be flexibly configured and radio resources can be efficiently used. In an implementation form of the first aspect, the resource configuration may comprise a resource allocation of the resources for transmitting the one or more measurement reports.

Optionally, the resource allocation may be represented by one or more information bits indicating the resource allocation.

Optionally, the resource allocation may indicate on which resources a second device shall transmit one or more measurement reports of its own.

In this way, each second device no longer needs to autonomously use an entire subchannel to send the one or more measurement reports. Instead, the resources for transmitting the one or more measurement reports may be specifically allocated or assigned. Hence, radio resources may be more efficiently used.

In an implementation form of the first aspect, the resources for transmitting the one or more measurement reports may be multiplexed in time and/or frequency domains.

Optionally, the resources may comprise orthogonal resources in the time domain and/or orthogonal resources in the frequency domain.

This has the advantage that multiple measurement reports from one second device, or multiple measurement reports from different second devices, may be received together in a multiplexed manner. Moreover, this may enable a collision-free allocation of measurement reports. Hence, reporting efficiency can be increased.

In an implementation form of the first aspect, the resources for transmitting the one or more measurement reports may be multiplexed in the code domain.

In an implementation form of the first aspect, wherein resources where a second device of the one or more user devices transmits a measurement report are associated with an identifier (ID) of the second device.

Optionally, the resources assigned to each second device may be associated with an ID of a corresponding second device. Optionally, the ID of a second device may comprise an identifier that can uniquely identify the second device at least in the group. For example, the ID may comprise a member ID of the second device within the group. The member ID may be provided by an application layer when establishing the group, e.g. for the link establishment for groupcast. The application layer may be a V2X application layer. Alternatively, the ID may comprise a communication address or a hardware identifier of the second device. Optionally, the first device may be further configured to assign a member ID to each second device when forming the group. The communication address may comprise an IP address, or MAC address, or radio network temporary identifier (RNTI), or a phone number (e.g., mobile subscriber ISDN Number). The hardware identifier may comprise an international mobile equipment identity (IMEI), or international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI), or a serial number of a second device.

By associating the allocated resources with the ID of each second device, each second device can clearly identify the resources that are assigned for measurement reporting through the resource configuration, which may be a single, common message to all of the one or more second devices. Therefore, signaling overhead may be significantly reduced.

In an implementation form of the first aspect, the resource configuration may indicate that the one or more measurement reports are based on one or more reference signal (RS) resources.

Optionally, the reference signal may be a positioning reference signal (PRS), or a sounding reference signal (SRS). In the present disclosure, PRS may be used to refer to a reference signal. It does not exclude that the reference signal can also be an SRS, or any other types of reference signals that can be used for positioning.

In this way, for each second device, the one or more measurement reports can be associated with one or more PRS transmissions. Moreover, the second device can either send an overall measurement report based on multiple PRS transmissions, for example, measuring differences between the multiple PRS transmissions, or send multiple measurement reports based on multiple PRS transmissions respectively. Thus, a flexible measurement configuration can be achieved. In an implementation form of the first aspect, wherein resources where a second device of the one or more second devices transmits a measurement report are associated with one or more IDs of the one or more RS resources.

Optionally, the resources assigned to each second device may be associated with the one or more IDs of one or more RS resources.

In an implementation form of the first aspect, the first device may be further configured to send reservation information for reserving a part or all of the resources for transmitting the one or more measurement reports.

Optionally, the reservation information may be used for reserving a part or all of the resources that are assigned for the one or more second devices. The reserved resources may refer to a general resource area on a resource grid that covers a part or all of the the resources allocated to the one or more second devices.

Optionally, the first device may be configured to send the reservation information through sidelink control information (SCI). Optionally, the SCI may be a first-stage SCI. The first-stage SCI may be transmitted via physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH).

This may allow resource sensing and may ensure that no other user devices use the reserved resources.

In an implementation form of the first aspect, the first device may be further configured to send to the one or more second devices, a resource reservation indication, wherein the resource reservation indication indicates the one or more second devices to send resource reservation information for reserving a part or all of the resources for transmitting the one or more measurement reports.

This may allow resource sensing, and may ensure that no other user devices use the reserved resources.

In an implementation form of the first aspect, the first device may be a network device, which may be configured to send the configuration of resources by control information. Optionally, the control information may comprise one or more of the following: downlink control information (DCI); higher layer signaling; radio resource control (RRC) signaling; and a positioning protocol for a telecommunications network, such as LTE positioning protocol (LPP) and new radio positioning protocol (NRPP).

In an implementation form of the first aspect, the first device may be a user device, which may be configured to send the configuration of resources by control information.

Optionally, the control information may comprise a dynamic signaling using SCI or a semistatic signaling using higher layer signaling on PC5 interface. Optionally, the SCI may be a second-stage SCI. The second-stage SCI may be transmitted via physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH).

In an implementation form of the first aspect, the first device may be further configured to send the configuration of resources through a transport block.

This may allow a more flexible signaling for configuring a measurement report transmission.

In an implementation form of the first aspect, the configuration of resources may further comprise measurement type information. The measurement type information may indicate one or more of: reference signal received power (RSRP); reference signals received quality (RSRQ);

Rx-Tx time difference; and time difference of arrival, to be included in the one or more measurement reports.

This may allow a more flexible signaling for configuring a measurement report transmission. In an implementation form of the first aspect, the configuration of resources may further comprise quasi-colocation information and/or power control parameters for transmitting the one or more measurement reports.

This may allow a more flexible signaling for configuring a measurement report transmission.

A second aspect of this disclosure provides a second device configured to receive, from a first device, a configuration of resources for transmitting one or more measurement reports for positioning. Then, the second device is configured to send one or more measurement reports for positioning according to the configuration of resources.

An advantage is that the second device can be assigned a dedicated configuration, that is coordinated with the configuration of other second devices, for transmitting the one or more measurement reports through the resource configuration. The second device no longer needs to autonomously select a resource and transmit one or more measurement reports on its own. Hence, measurement reporting for positioning can be flexibly configured. Resource collision can be avoided, and radio resources can be efficiently used.

In an implementation form of the second aspect, the resources for transmitting the one or more measurement reports for positioning may be associated with an ID of the second device.

In an implementation form of the second aspect, the second device may be further configured to generate the one or more measurement reports based on one or more RS resources.

In an implementation form of the second aspect, the resources for transmitting the one or more measurement reports for positioning may be associated with one or more IDs of the one or more RS resources.

In an implementation form of the second aspect, the second device may be further configured to send resource reservation information for reserving a part or all of the resources for transmitting the one or more measurement reports. A third aspect of this disclosure provides a system comprising a first device according to the first aspect or any implementation form thereof and one or more second devices, each according to the second aspect or any implementation form thereof.

A fourth aspect of this disclosure provides a method comprising sending, by a first device to one or more second devices, a configuration of resources for transmitting one or more measurement reports for positioning.

In an implementation form of the fourth aspect, the configuration of resources may comprise a resource allocation of the resources for transmitting the one or more measurement reports.

In an implementation form of the fourth aspect, the resources for transmitting the one or more measurement reports may be multiplexed in time and/or frequency domains.

In an implementation form of the fourth aspect, resources where a second device of the one or more user devices transmits a measurement report may be associated with an ID of the second device.

In an implementation form of the fourth aspect, the configuration of resources may indicate that the one or more measurement reports are based on one or more RS resources.

In an implementation form of the fourth aspect, resources where a second device of the one or more second devices transmits a measurement report are associated with one or more IDs of the one or more RS resources.

In an implementation form of the fourth aspect, the method may further comprise sending, by the first device reservation information for reserving a part or all of the resources for transmitting the one or more measurement reports.

In an implementation form of the fourth aspect, the method may further comprise sending, by the first device to one or more second devices, a resource reservation indication, wherein the resource reservation indication indicates the one or more second devices to send resource reservation information for reserving a part or all of the resources for transmitting the one or more measurement reports. In an implementation form of the fourth aspect, the first device may be a network device. The method may further comprise sending, by the first device, the configuration of resources by control information.

In an implementation form of the fourth aspect, the first device may be a user device, The method may further comprise sending, by the first device, the configuration of resources by control information.

In an implementation form of the fourth aspect, the method may further comprise sending, by the first device, the configuration of resources through a transport block.

In an implementation form of the fourth aspect, the configuration of resources may further comprise measurement type information, wherein the measurement type information indicates one or more of:

RSRP;

RSRQ;

Rx-Tx time difference; and time difference of arrival, to be included in the one or more measurement reports.

In an implementation form of the fourth aspect, the configuration of resources may further comprise quasi-colocation information and/or power control parameters for transmitting the at least one measurement report.

The method of the fourth aspect and its implementation forms may achieve the same advantages and effects as described above for the first device of the first aspect and its implementation forms.

A fifth aspect of this disclosure provides a method comprising:

- receiving, by a second device from a first device, a configuration of resources for transmitting one or more measurement reports for positioning; and sending, by the second device, one or more measurement reports for positioning according to the configuration of resources.

In an implementation form of the fifth aspect, the resources for transmitting the one or more measurement reports for positioning may be associated with an ID of the second device.

In an implementation form of the fifth aspect, the method may further comprise generating, by the second device, the one or more measurement reports based on one or more RS resources.

In an implementation form of the fifth aspect, the resources for transmitting the one or more measurement reports for positioning may be associated with the one or more IDs of the one or more RS resources.

In an implementation form of the fifth aspect, the method may further comprise sending, by the second device, resource reservation information for reserving a part or all of the resources for transmitting the one or more measurement reports.

The method of the fifth aspect and its implementation forms may achieve the same advantages and effects as described above for the second device of the second aspect and its implementation forms.

A sixth aspect of this disclosure provides a computer program comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to the fourth aspect or any of its implementation forms.

A seventh aspect of this disclosure provides a computer program comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to the fifth aspect or any of its implementation forms.

A eighth aspect of this disclosure provides a storage medium storing executable program code which, when executed by a processor, causes the method according to the fourth aspect or any of its implementation forms to be performed. An ninth aspect of this disclosure provides a storage medium storing executable program code which, when executed by a processor, causes the method according to the fifth aspect or any of its implementation forms to be performed.

It has to be noted that all devices, elements, units, and means described in the present application could be implemented in the software or hardware elements or any kind of combination thereof. All steps which are performed by the various entities described in the present application as well as the functionalities described to be performed by the various entities are intended to mean that the respective entity is adapted to or configured to perform the respective steps and functionalities. Even if, in the following description of specific embodiments, a specific functionality or step to be performed by external entities is not reflected in the description of a specific detailed element of that entity which performs that specific step or functionality, it should be clear for a skilled person that these methods and functionalities can be implemented in respective software or hardware elements, or any kind of combination thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The above described aspects and implementation forms will be explained in the following description of specific embodiments in relation to the enclosed drawings, in which

FIG. 1 shows a first device and one or more second devices according to this disclosure;

FIG. 2 shows an example of a signaling flow according to this disclosure;

FIG. 3 shows an example of a further signaling flow according to this disclosure;

FIG. 4 shows an example of a further signaling flow according to this disclosure;

FIG. 5 shows an example of a further signaling flow according to this disclosure;

FIG. 6 shows an example of a measurement report configuration according to this disclosure;

FIG. 7 shows a further example of a measurement report configuration according to this disclosure;

FIG. 8 shows a further example of a measurement report configuration according to this disclosure;

FIG. 9 shows a diagram of a method of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 10 shows a diagram of a further method of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The present disclosure may be used for various wireless communication systems such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, and other systems. The terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably.

The present disclosure generally relates to measurement report configuration after reference signal transmission. The reference signals may be for positioning. For example, in sidelink positioning, a first UE may transmit reference signals on particular resources. A second UE may detect those reference signals and perform a measurement of the reference signals. Then, the second UE may send a measurement report to the first UE or to a network device. Based on reference signal measurement results comprised in the measurement report, the first UE or the network device may estimate the location of the second UE. In the present disclosure, a general idea is that a sending device may provide a configuration of resources for transmitting a measurement report for positioning to a receiving device. By explicitly providing the configuration of resources to the receiving device, the sending device may efficiently allocate radio resources between multiple devices. For example, the resources of multiple devices for transmitting measurement reports may be multiplexed in time and/or frequency domains.

In the present disclosure, resources may be referred to as radio resources. Radio resources may comprise time-frequency resources, i.e., resources on time and/or frequency domains. Timefrequency resources may be partitioned into physical resource blocks (PRBs), which may also be referred to as resource blocks (RBs). The resources of the present disclosure may refer to the RBs. Each RB may cover a number of subcarriers in one time slot (or one subframe). The number of RBs in each slot may be dependent on system bandwidth. Each RB may comprise a number of resource elements. Each resource element may cover one subcarrier in one symbol period and may be used to transmit one modulation symbol (e.g. an OFDM symbol), which may be a real or complex value. As an example, in a fifth-generation (5G) communications network, the number of subcarriers per PRB is 12, and the number of OFDM symbols per slot may be 14. It is noted that in the present disclosure, a group of resources can be seen as a single resource. Therefore, the term “resources” used in the present disclosure therefore can also be understood as a single resource, and vice versa. Sidelink communication may refer to a device-to-device (D2D) communication through a sidelink channel, without relaying data through the network. Sidelink positioning may refer to a positioning method based on reference signals transmitted through sidelink communications.

Sub-channels are used to transmit data and control information. In sidelink communication, the data may be organized in transport blocks (TBs) that may be carried in a PSSCH. A TB may contain a full packet (e.g. a single complete message). A TB can occupy one or more subchannels depending on the size of the packet, the number of RBs per sub-channel, and the utilized modulation and coding scheme (MCS). TBs can be transmitted using QPSK, 16- QAM64-QAM or 256-QAM modulations and turbo coding or LDPC coding.

V2X communications may be based on uplink/downlink and sidelink communications, and may include vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-network (V2N) or vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-road side unit (V2R), and vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P). A 5G communication system may support V2X communications, which may be referred to as a 5G NR V2X system. Similarly, a legacy communication network may also support V2X communications, such as an LTE V2X system.

Transmitting one or more reference signals may be referred to as “transmitting PRS resources”. Similarly, receiving one or more reference signals may be referred to as “receiving one or more PRS resources”. Measuring one or more PRS sent on corresponding resources may be referred to as “measuring one or more PRS resources” or “measuring one or more PRS transmissions”. For example, a device may need to measure time-frequency resources before it can receive and measure a PRS transmitted on the time-frequency resources. After measuring the resources, the device can measure the PRS, e.g. by correlating a pilot sequence or extracting information from the measured resources. Therefore, transmitting/receiving/measuring a PRS in the present disclosure may be referred to as “transmitting/receiving/measuring PRS resources”.

FIG. 1 shows a first device 110 and one or more second devices 120, 140 according to the present disclosure. The first device 110 on the left-hand side of FIG. 1 is configured to send a configuration 101 of resources for transmitting one or more measurement reports for positioning to the one or more second devices 120, 140 on the right-hand side of FIG. 1. In the present disclosure, the “configuration of resources for transmitting one or more measurement reports for positioning” may be simply referred to “a measurement report resource configuration 101”, “a configuration of measurement report 101”, or “a resource configuration 101”.

After receiving the resource configuration 101, the one or more second devices 120, 140 are configured to send one or more measurement reports 102, 104 according to the resource configuration. Optionally, the resource configuration 101 may comprise resource allocation of the one or more second devices 120, 140. The resource allocation may indicate resources where a specific second device shall transmit one or more measurement reports. Optionally, the resource allocation for each second device may be associated with an ID of each second device. The ID may be any identifier that can uniquely identify the second device. The ID may be preconfigured or assigned through the network or a group leader.

Optionally, one second device may be configured to send one measurement report. Alternatively, one second device may be configured to send two or more measurement reports. This may be flexibly configured via the resource configuration 101. That is, each of the one or more measurement reports 102, 104 may comprise one or more measurement reports sent by the corresponding second device 120, 140. Optionally, for sending the one or more measurement reports 102, one second device 120 may be further configured to receive and measure one or more PRSs 103 indicated by the resource configuration 101. Optionally, the resource configuration 101 may further comprise one or more IDs of the one or more PRSs that are to be measured.

An example of the resource configuration 101 sent by the first device 110 to three UEs, UE 11, UE 12, and UE 13, may be as follows:

{ [resource 11, UE ID 11], [resource 12, UE ID 12], [resource 13, UE ID 13]}.

Based on a measurement request, it is configured that the UEs make measurements of PRS 10, which is transmitted by the first device 110. The above resource configuration may indicate that:

- UE 11 is configured to send a measurement report based on PRS 10 on resource 11;

- UE 12 is configured to send a measurement report based on PRS 10 on resource 12;

- UE 13 is configured to send a measurement report based on PRS 10 on resource 13. Optionally, in the present disclosure, the resource configuration 101 can be associated with a measurement request. The measurement request may indicate which RS resources to be measured. Optionally, the resource configuration 101 and the measurement request can be combined.

Another example of the resource configuration 101 sent by the first device 110 to three UEs, UE 21, UE 22, and UE 23, may be as follows:

{ [resource 21, UE ID 21, PRS ID 20], [resource 22, UE ID 22, PRS ID 20], [resource 23, UE ID 23, PRS ID 20]}. PRS ID 20 refers to PRS 20 transmitted by the first device 110.

This resource configuration may indicate that:

- UE 21 is configured to measure PRS 20 and send a measurement report on resource 21;

- UE 22 is configured to measure PRS 20 and send a measurement report on resource 22;

- UE 23 is configured to measure PRS 20 and send a measurement report on resource 23.

A further example of the resource configuration 101 sent by the first device 110 to three UEs, UE 31, UE 32, and UE 33, may be as follows:

{ [resource 31, UE ID 31, PRS ID 32], [resource 32, UE ID 32, PRS ID 31], [resource 33, UE ID 32, PRS ID 33]}.

It is configured that PRS 31 with PRS ID 31 is transmitted by UE 31 with ID 31, PRS 32 with PRS ID 32 is transmitted by UE 32 with ID 32, and PRS 33 with PRS ID 33 is transmitted by UE 33 with ID 33. This resource configuration may indicate that:

- UE 31 is configured to measure PRS 32 and send a measurement report on resource 31 ;

- UE 32 is configured to measure PRS 31 and send a measurement report on resource 32;

- UE 32 is further configured to measure PRS 33 and send a measurement report on resource 33.

It is noted that in this example, no configuration is associated with UE ID 33, which means that UE 33 is not configured to make a measurement. However, UE 33 can be aware that UE 32 is configured to measure PRS 33. Thus, UE 33 can obtain a corresponding measurement report sent by UE 32 on resource 33.

Generally, in the present disclosure, the resource configuration 101 may further allow a particular second device to be aware that its PRS is to be measured. Then, the particular second device may obtain a corresponding measurement report on the allocated resources. That is, optionally, the second device in the present disclosure may be further configured to obtain one or more measurement reports based the resource configuration 101, wherein the one or more measurement reports are generated by one or more other second devices based on one or more PRSs transmitted by the second device.

Alternatively, the resource configuration 101 may indicate that a measurement report shall be sent to a network device. Then, the network device may be configured to forward the measurement report to a corresponding UE.

Optionally, the resource configuration 101 may further comprise measurement type information. The measurement type information may indicate one or more of the following parameters to be included in the one or more measurement reports:

- RSRP;

- RSRQ;

Rx-Tx time difference; and time difference of arrival.

Alternatively or additionally, the measurement type information may indicate an RS with the strongest signal strength to be included in the one or more measurement reports.

Optionally, the resource configuration 101 may further comprise quasi-colocation information and/or power control parameters for transmitting the one or more measurement reports.

The measurement type information, the quasi-colocation information, and the power control parameters may be generally referred to as measurement report parameters. Optionally, when there is no measurement report parameter explicitly comprised in the resource configuration 101, a default set of measurement report parameters may be used. This default set of measurement report parameters may be pre-configured or signaled. The measurement type may be indicated in a measurement request and thus, may not be part of the measurement type information.

Another example of the resource configuration 101 sent by the first device 110 to two UEs may be as follows: { [resource 41, ID 41, PRS ID 42], [resource 42, ID 42, PRS ID 40, PRS ID 41, measurement report parameters 2]}. PRS ID 40 refers to PRS 40 sent by the first device 110; PRS ID 41 refers to PRS 41 sent by UE 41; PRS ID 42 refers to PRS 42 sent by UE 42. This resource configuration may indicate that:

- UE 41 is configured to measure PRS 42 and send a measurement report on resource 41 using default measurement report parameters;

- UE 42 is configured to measure PRS 40 and PRS 41, and send a measurement report on resource 2 using measurement report parameters 2. For example, UE 42 may report, among PRS 40 and PRS 41, which PRS has the strongest signal strength (e.g., by measuring RSRP of PRS 40 and PRS 41).

Optionally, the second device 120 may comprise a measurement module 121 adapted to perform the measurement in order to generate one or more measurement reports.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a signaling flow according to this disclosure. In FIG. 2, the first device of the present disclosure may be a user device, which is depicted as UE 1, and one second device of the present disclosure is depicted as UE 2. UE 1 and UE 2 are configured to perform sidelink positioning. In this example, UE 1 is configured to send a configuration of measurement report to UE 2. The configuration of measurement report may indicate a resource associated with a PRS transmission of UE 1. After UE 1 sends its PRS, UE 2 is configured to make a measurement of the PRS according to a configuration of measurement request. Afterwards, UE 2 is configured to send a measurement report on the configured resource according to the configuration of measurement report.

It is noted that the resource allocation of PRS transmission may be indicated by UE 1 to UE 2 separately, or may be pre-configured, or may be notified by using any method commonly known in the field. Alternatively, the resource allocation of PRS transmission may be signaled by UE 1 during or before sending the configuration of measurement report to UE 2. Details about how the resource allocation of PRS transmission is sent is not relevant or essential to the present disclosure.

By sending the configuration of measurement report, UE 2 as a second device may know on which resources to send a measurement report associated with the PRS. Therefore, signaling process for the measurement reporting can be simplified and the efficiency of the measurement reporting can be increased.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a further signaling flow according to this disclosure. In FIG. 3, UE 1 acts as a first device and is configurd to send a configuration of measurement reports to a group UEs comprising UE 2, UE 3, and UE N for performing sidelink positioning. UE 1 may also be a member of the group and may act as a group leader. UE 2, UE 3 and UE N act as one or more second devices.

In this example, a measurement request may indicate PRS sent by UE 2 (e.g. PRS 2) to be measured. Then, UE 3 and UE N are configured to measure PRS 2 and with the configuration of measurement reports, UE 3 and UE N are configured to send a measurement report on indicated resources. Optionally, UE 1 may also perform a measurement of PRS 2 and send a measurement report. Since UE 2 also receives the configuration of measurement reports, UE 2 is aware of the resources that are allocated for the measurement report sent by UE 3 and UE N. UE 2 may thus obtain the measurement reports without further indication. That is, generally, a second device may be further configured to obtain one or more measurement reports that are addressed to the second device based on the configuration of measurement reports.

In this way, there is no need to separately indicate to a measurement report receiving device, e.g., UE 2 in this example, from which second device to receive a measurement report on a given resource. Hence, signaling process for measurement reporting can be further simplified and the efficiency of the measurement reporting can be further increased.

Optionally, UE 1 may be configured to send the configuration of measurement reports via SCI or PC5 interface. The SCI may be a second-stage SCI, which may be transmitted via PSSCH.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a further signaling flow according to this disclosure. In FIG. 4, a network device act as a first device and is configured to send a configuration of measurement reports to a group UEs comprising UE 2, UE 3, and UE N for performing sidelink positioning. Optionally, the network device may be configured to sent the configuration of measurement reports by one or more of the following:

- DCI; - higher layer signaling;

- RRC signaling; and

- a positioning protocol for a telecommunications network, such as LPP and NRPP.

Other aspects of FIG. 4 are the same as in FIG. 3, which are not repeated herein.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a further signaling flow according to this disclosure. In FIG. 5, UE 1 acts as a first device, and UE 2 and UE N act as one or more second devices. UE 1, UE 2, and UE N form a group and perform sidelink positioning.

In this example, UE 1 is configured to send a configuration of measurement reports within the group. The configuration of measurement reports may comprise multiple PRSs associated with multiple UEs. The configuration of measurement reports in this example may be: {[resource 1- 2, ID 1, PRS ID 2], [resource 1-N, ID 1, PRS ID N], [resource 2-1, ID 2, PRS ID 1], [resource 2-N, ID 2, PRS ID N], [resource N-l, ID N, PRS ID 1], [resource N-2, ID N, PRS ID 2]}, which indicates that:

- UE 1 (with ID 1) measures PRS 2 (with PRS ID 2 sent by UE 2) and sends a measurement report on resource 1-2;

- UE 1 measures PRS N (with PRS ID N sent by UE N) and sends a measurement report on resource 1-N;

- UE 2 (with ID 2) measures PRS 1 (with PRS ID 1 sent by UE 1) and sends a measurement report on resource 2-1;

- UE 2 measures PRS N and sends a measurement report on resource 2-N;

- UE N (with ID N) measures PRS 1 and sends a measurement report on resource N-l; and

- UE N measures PRS 2 and sends a measurement report on resource N-2.

The above steps are illustrated in FIG. 5. It is noted that there is no strict order among the signalings illustrated in FIG. 5. For example, PRS N may be sent before PRS 1 and PRS 2. The measurement reports may be sent in any order after the measurements are done, optionally depending on the configuration of the measurement reports. In this way, PRS measurements based on a plurality of PRSs sent by a plurality of UEs can be simply indicated through the configuration of measurement reports. Signaling overhead can be reduced and the efficiency of measurement reporting can be further increased.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a measurement report configuration according to this disclosure. In this example, UE A acts as a first device, UE B, UE C, and UE D act as one or more second devices. In this example, UE A sends a configuration of measurement reports associated with PRS 1 in the PSSCH at resource RO. UE A sends PRS 1 in resource Rl, of which the location is known by other UEs. The configuration of the measurement reports comprises resource allocation represented by the table of FIG. 6, where resources for sending a measurement report are based on UE ID. The configuration of the resources is such that measurement reports of UE B, UE C and UE D are multiplexed in the frequency domain within resource R3. UE B is configured to send its measurement report in resource R2-1, UE C is configured to send its measurement report in resource R2-2, UE D is configured to send its measurement report in resource R2-3. Alternatively or additionally, the allocated resources among UEs may also be multiplexed in the time domain, which is not shown in FIG. 6. The group resource reservation for the resources of the measurement reports is sent by UE A in the PSCCH in resource RO. The group reservation may indicate that the resources R2-1, R2-2 and R2-3 are reserved for transmitting measurement reports of the group, in order to avoid resource collision. After UE A transmits PRS 1, UE B, UE C and UE D send their measurement reports on the configured resources. UE A then receives the measurement reports of the different UEs in resources R2-1, R2-2 and R2-3. Optionally, each of UE B-D may be configured to send the measurement report with beamforming targeting UE A.

Fig. 7 illustrates a further example of a measurement report configuration according to this disclosure. In this example, UE A acts as a first device, UE B, UE C, and UE D act as one or more second devices. UE A sends to UE B, UE C and UE D a configuration of measurement reports associated with multiple PRS transmissions, e.g. PRS 1, PRS 2 and PRS 3 from a single UE, e.g. UE A. UE A sends the configuration of measurement reports in the PSSCH at resource RO, while UE A sends PRS 1, PRS 2 and PRS 3 in resource Rl, of which the locations are known by other UEs. The configuration of measurement reports comprises resource allocation represented by the table of FIG. 7, where the UE that shall send a measurement on a given resource is indicated based on a UE ID. The configuration of the resources in this example is such that the measurement reports of UE B, UE C and UE D are multiplexed in the frequency domain within a set of common symbols in resource R3, i.e. on resources R2-1, R2-2 and R2- 3, respectively. Depending on the optional parameters comprised in the configuration of measurement reports, the measurement report of a UE may comprise a measurement of the multiple PRSs sent by UE A. For instance, the measurement report may comprise an RSRP of the PRS 1, PRS 2 and PRS 3. The group resource reservation for reserving the resources of the measurement reports is sent by UE A in the PSCCH in resource RO. Alternatively, the group resource reservation may also be sent in the PSCCH in resource Rl. After UE A has sent the multiple PRS transmissions, UE B, UE C and UE D send their measurement reports of the multiple PRSs on the allocated resources. UE A then receives the measurement reports of the different UEs on resources R2-1, R2-2 and R2-3.

FIG. 8 illustrates a further example of a measurement report configuration according to this disclosure. In this example, UE A acts as a first device, UE B, UE C, and UE D act as one or more second devices. UE A sends to UE B, UE C and UE D a configuration of measurement reports associated with multiple PRS transmissions sent by multiple UEs. For example, PRS 1, PRS 2, PRS 3 and PRS 4 are sent by UE A, UE B, UE C and UE D, respectively. UE A sends the configuration of measurement reports in the PSSCH at resource RO, while UE A, UE B, UE C and UE D send PRS 1, PRS 2, PRS 3 and PRS 4, respectively, in resource Rl. The configuration of measurement reports comprises resource allocation represented by the table of FIG. 8, where each UE that shall send a measurement on a given resource is indicated based on a UE ID, as well as the association of the measurement report with a given PRS. For example, UE B is configured to send a measurement report associated with PRS 3 in resource R2-8. Optionally, the resource allocation may be such that measurement reports associated with one PRS are multiplexed in the frequency domain at a same time, i.e. within a set of common symbols in resource R2. For example, the set of resources R2-7, R2-8 and R2-9 associated with PRS 3 are multiplexed in the frequency domain within a certain common set of symbols in the time domain. The transmitted measurement configuration associating measurement reports with a PRS also indicates to a particular UE on which resources it shall receive the measurement reports from other UEs, depending on which PRS was sent by the particular UE. For example, as PRS 3 is sent by UE C, UE C may be configured to receive the measurement reports of the other UEs in the set of resources R2-7, R2-8 and R2-9. After the UEs send the PRS transmissions in resource Rl, the UEs send their measurement reports on the configured resources in resource R2 accordingly. UE A, UE B, UE C and UE D then receive the measurement reports from the other UEs in the configured multiplexed resources in resource R2. The group resource reservation for the resources of the measurement reports can be optionally sent by UE A via the PSCCH in resource RO.

FIG. 8 shows a resource allocation where the measurement reports associated with multiple PRS are multiplexed in the time domain. In this example, UE A, UE B, UE C, and UE D are configured to send PRS 1, PRS 2, PRS 3, and PRS 4, respectively. Each UE is configured, by a measurement resource configuration, to send measurement reports of different PRSs to other UEs. Resource R2-X indicates resource X on R2. In this example, the set of resources R2-4, R2-7 and R2-10 are configured to be multiplexed in the time domain, so that UE A is able to send measurement reports to UE B, UE C and UE D, respectively, over different symbols in the time domain. Since the UEs need to switch from transmission to reception within the resource R2, automatic gain control (AGC) symbol and guard symbols may be used between the measurement reports associated with different PRS transmissions. The AGC symbol may comprise a duplication of symbol following the AGC symbol.

Optionally, the measurement resource configuration in this example can be sent by a group leader among UE A-D, or by a network device.

Optionally, a measurement report of a UE may comprise a measurement based on multiple PRS sent by different UEs. For example, the measurement report sent by UE B on resource R2-8 may comprise a measurement of PRS 3 and PRS 2, e.g. an Rx-Tx time difference between PRS 2 and PRS 3. This may be configurable through the measurement resource configuration and/or a measurement request.

In the examples of FIG. 6-7, a UE being configured for the measurement report may not need to know whether the multiple PRS transmissions are sent by multiple UEs or not, depending on the configuration of measurement reports. If the UEs are aware that the PRS transmissions are sent by different UEs, the resources for the measurement reports can be configured based on a UE ID, e.g., instead of associating a measurement report with a PRS ID. There may be no need to associate the resources further with a PRS ID. For example, instead of configuring UE B to send a measurement report associated with PRS 3 on resource R2-8, UE B can be configured to send on resource R2-8 a measurement report associated with a PRS sent by UE C. It is noted that each optional feature or function that is mentioned with respect to the examples in FIG. 2-8 can be separately applied to the first device and the second device of FIG. 1 accordingly.

FIG. 9 shows a diagram of a method 900 of the present disclosure. The method 900 is performed by a first device for positioning. The method 900 comprises step 901 : sending, by a first device to one or more second devices a configuration of resources for transmitting one or more measurement reports for positioning.

The steps of the method 900 may share the same functions and details from the perspective of FIG. 1-8 described above for the first device. Therefore, the corresponding method implementations are not described again at this point.

FIG. 10 shows a diagram of a method 1000 of the present disclosure. The method 1000 is performed by a second device for positioning. The method 1000 comprises the following steps: step 1001 : receiving, by the second device from a first device, a group configuration of one or more RS resources for transmitting one or more RSs for positioning; and step 1002: transmitting, by the second device, one or more RSs according to the configuration.

The steps of the method 1000 may share the same functions and details from the perspective of FIG. 1-8 described above for the second device. Therefore, the corresponding method implementations are not described again at this point.

In the present disclosure, the device (including the first device and the second device) may comprise a processor or processing circuitry (not shown) configured to perform, conduct or initiate the various operations of the device described herein. The processing circuitry may comprise hardware and/or the processing circuitry may be controlled by software. The hardware may comprise analog circuitry or digital circuitry, or both analog and digital circuitry. The digital circuitry may comprise components such as application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), or multipurpose processors. The device may further comprise memory circuitry, which stores one or more instruction(s) that can be executed by the processor or by the processing circuitry, in particular under control of the software. For instance, the memory circuitry may comprise a non-transitory storage medium storing executable software code which, when executed by the processor or the processing circuitry, causes the various operations of the device to be performed. In one embodiment, the processing circuitry comprises one or more processors and a non-transitory memory connected to the one or more processors. The non-transitory memory may carry executable program code which, when executed by the one or more processors, causes the device to perform, conduct or initiate the operations or methods described herein. When the first device is a network device, the first device may be a network access device, a base station, a router, a roadside unit (RSU) and the like. When the first device is a user device, the first device may be a mobile terminal, a tablet, a wearable device, a drone, a positioning module, a vehicle, an on-board unit (OBU) of a vehicle for V2X and the like. The second device may be a user device such as but not limited to a mobile terminal, a tablet, a wearable device, a drone, a positioning module, a vehicle, and an on-board unit (OBU) of a vehicle for V2X and the like.

The present disclosure has been described in conjunction with various embodiments as examples as well as implementations. However, other variations can be understood and effected by those persons skilled in the art and practicing the claimed matter, from the studies of the drawings, this disclosure and the independent claims. In the claims as well as in the description the word “comprising” does not exclude other elements or steps and the indefinite article “a” or “an” does not exclude a plurality. A single element or other unit may fulfill the functions of several entities or items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain measures are recited in the mutual different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these measures cannot be used in an advantageous implementation.