WO2025118297A1

WO2025118297A1 - Devices, methods, and medium for communication

Info

Publication number: WO2025118297A1
Application number: PCT/CN2023/137656
Authority: WO
Inventors: Lei Chen; Gang Wang
Original assignee: NEC Corp
Current assignee: NEC Corp
Priority date: 2023-12-08
Filing date: 2023-12-08
Publication date: 2025-06-12
Anticipated expiration: 2026-06-08

Abstract

Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to devices, methods, and computer storage medium for communication. In the solution, an A-IoT device may receive a mobility request from a communication device, and then transmit a mobility response to the communication device based on the mobility request. As such, there is no need for the A-IoT device to initiate a mobility related procedure actively, and thus the procedure is enabled even the A-IoT device has low power or even out-of-power. Accordingly, a mobility issue for the A-IoT device is addressed.

Description

DEVICES, METHODS, AND MEDIUM FOR COMMUNICATION

FIELD

Example embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of communication techniques and in particular, to devices, methods, and a computer readable medium for communication.

BACKGROUND

Recently, a study item on ambient internet of things (ambient-IoT or A-IoT) has been started in new radio (NR) release 18 (Rel-18) , and will be further discussed in release 19 (Rel-19) . A third generation partner project (3GPP) IoT technology is targeted to be studied, which relies on the A-IoT devices. The A-IoT devices may be ultra-low complexity devices with ultra-low power consumption for the very-low end IoT applications. However, some new features should be introduced to support the A-IoT devices in the NR system.

SUMMARY

In general, example embodiments of the present disclosure provide devices, methods, and a computer storage medium for communication.

In a first aspect, there is provided an A-IoT device. The A-IoT device comprises at least one processor configured to cause the A-IoT device at least to: receive, from a communication device, a mobility request comprising a payload, wherein the payload comprises at least one of: an indication for a type of the payload, information of the communication device, information of one or more A-IoT devices, or a resource configuration for a mobility response of the mobility request; and transmit, to the communication device, the mobility response comprising at least one of: a device identifier of the A-IoT device, a type of the A-IoT device, a state of the A-IoT device, an identifier of a device the A-IoT device recently connected to, or an identifier of a cell the A-IoT device recently camped on.

In a second aspect, there is provided a communication device. The communication device comprises at least one processor configured to cause the communication device at least to: transmit a mobility request comprising a payload, wherein the payload comprises at least one of: an indication for a type of the payload, information of the communication device, information of one or more A-IoT devices, or a resource configuration for a mobility response of the mobility request; and receive, from an A-IoT device of the one or more A-IoT devices, the mobility response comprising at least one of: a device identifier of the A-IoT device, a type of the A-IoT device, a state of the A-IoT device, an identifier of a device the A-IoT device recently connected to or an identifier of a cell the A-IoT device recently camped on.

In a third aspect, there is provided a method of communication. The method comprises: receiving, at an A-IoT device from a communication device, a mobility request comprising a payload, wherein the payload comprises at least one of: an indication for a type of the payload, information of the communication device, information of one or more A-IoT devices, or a resource configuration for a mobility response of the mobility request; and transmitting, to the communication device, the mobility response comprising at least one of: a device identifier of the A-IoT device, a type of the A-IoT device, a state of the A-IoT device, an identifier of a device the A-IoT device recently connected to, or an identifier of a cell the A-IoT device recently camped on.

In a fourth aspect, there is provided a method of communication. The method comprises: transmitting, at a communication device, a mobility request comprising a payload, wherein the payload comprises at least one of: an indication for a type of the payload, information of the communication device, information of one or more A-IoT devices, or a resource configuration for a mobility response of the mobility request; and receiving, from an A-IoT device of the one or more A-IoT devices, the mobility response comprising at least one of: a device identifier of the A-IoT device, a type of the A-IoT device, a state of the A-IoT device, an identifier of a device the A-IoT device recently connected to or an identifier of a cell the A-IoT device recently camped on.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when executed on at least one processor, causing the at least one processor to carry out the method according to any of the fifth to the eighth aspects above.

It is to be understood that the summary section is not intended to identify key or essential features of embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become easily comprehensible through the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Through the more detailed description of some example embodiments of the present disclosure in the accompanying drawings, the above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of communication of a tag;

FIGS. 2A-2E illustrate some example communication environment in which some embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example communication environment in which some embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented;

FIG. 4A illustrates an example schematic of the mobility related procedure in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4B illustrates an example schematic of a three-step procedure in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4C illustrates an example schematic of a five-step procedure in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates a signalling chart illustrating communication process in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 illustrates an example schematic of a mobility request in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure

FIG. 7A illustrates an example schematic of a message with OOK-1 or ASK in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7B illustrates an example schematic of a message with FSK in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 8A-8C illustrate example schematics of transmission occasions in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9A illustrates an example schematic of a three-step procedure in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9B illustrates an example schematic of a five-step procedure in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart of an example method implemented at an A-IoT device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 illustrates a flowchart of an example method implemented at a communication device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 12 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device that is suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar element.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Principle of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It is to be understood that these embodiments are described only for the purpose of illustration and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitation as to the scope of the disclosure. Embodiments described herein can be implemented in various manners other than the ones described below.

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.

References in the present disclosure 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.

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 listed terms.

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.

In some examples, values, procedures, or apparatus are referred to as “best, ” “lowest, ” “highest, ” “minimum, ” “maximum, ” or the like. It will be appreciated that such descriptions are intended to indicate that a selection among many used functional alternatives can be made, and such selections need not be better, smaller, higher, or otherwise preferable to other selections.

As used herein, the term “communication network” refers to a network following any suitable communication standards, such as New Radio (NR) , Long Term Evolution (LTE) , LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) , Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) , High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) , Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) and so on. Furthermore, the communications between a terminal device and a network device in the communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocols, including, but not limited to, the first generation (1G) , the second generation (2G) , 2.5G, 2.75G, the third generation (3G) , the fourth generation (4G) , 4.5G, the fifth generation (5G) , 5.5G, 5G-Advanced networks, or the sixth generation (6G) communication protocols, and/or any other protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied in various communication systems. Given the rapid development in communications, there will of course also be future type communication technologies and systems with which the present disclosure may be embodied. It should not be seen as limiting the scope of the present disclosure to only the aforementioned system.

As used herein, the term “terminal device” refers to any device having wireless or wired communication capabilities. Examples of terminal device include, but not limited to, user equipment (UE) , personal computers, desktops, mobile phones, cellular phones, smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) , portable computers, tablets, wearable devices, internet of things (IoT) devices, Ultra-reliable and Low Latency Communications (URLLC) devices, Internet of Everything (IoE) devices, machine type communication (MTC) devices, device on vehicle for V2X communication where X means pedestrian, vehicle, or infrastructure/network, devices for Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) , Space borne vehicles or Air borne vehicles in Non-terrestrial networks (NTN) including Satellites and High Altitude Platforms (HAPs) encompassing Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) , eXtended Reality (XR) devices including different types of realities such as Augmented Reality (AR) , Mixed Reality (MR) and Virtual Reality (VR) , the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) commonly known as a drone which is an aircraft without any human pilot, devices on high speed train (HST) , or image capture devices such as digital cameras, sensors, gaming devices, music storage and playback appliances, or Internet appliances enabling wireless or wired Internet access and browsing and the like. The ‘terminal device’ can further has ‘multicast/broadcast’ feature, to support public safety and mission critical, V2X applications, transparent IPv4/IPv6 multicast delivery, IPTV, smart TV, radio services, software delivery over wireless, group communications and IoT applications. It may also be incorporated one or multiple Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) as known as Multi-SIM. The term “terminal device” can be used interchangeably with a UE, a mobile station, a subscriber station, a mobile terminal, a user terminal or a wireless device.

As used herein, the term “network device” refers to a device which is capable of providing or hosting a cell or coverage where terminal devices can communicate. Examples of a network device include, but not limited to, a satellite, a unmanned aerial systems (UAS) platform, a Node B (NodeB or NB) , an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB) , a next generation NodeB (gNB) , a transmission reception point (TRP) , a remote radio unit (RRU) , a radio head (RH) , a remote radio head (RRH) , an IAB node, a low power node such as a femto node, a pico node, a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) , and the like.

In one embodiment, the terminal device may be connected with a first network device and a second network device. One of the first network device and the second network device may be a master node and the other one may be a secondary node. The first network device and the second network device may use different radio access technologies (RATs) . In one embodiment, the first network device may be a first RAT device and the second network device may be a second RAT device. In one embodiment, the first RAT device is eNB and the second RAT device is gNB. Information related with different RATs may be transmitted to the terminal device from at least one of the first network device and the second network device. In one embodiment, first information may be transmitted to the terminal device from the first network device and second information may be transmitted to the terminal device from the second network device directly or via the first network device. In one embodiment, information related with configuration for the terminal device configured by the second network device may be transmitted from the second network device via the first network device. Information related with reconfiguration for the terminal device configured by the second network device may be transmitted to the terminal device from the second network device directly or via the first network device.

Communications discussed herein may conform to any suitable standards including, but not limited to, New Radio (NR) Access, Long Term Evolution (LTE) , LTE-Evolution, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) , Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) , Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) , cdma2000, and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and the like. Furthermore, the communications may be performed according to any generation communication protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future. Examples of the communication protocols include, but not limited to, the first generation (1G) , the second generation (2G) , 2.5G, 2.85G, the third generation (3G) , the fourth generation (4G) , 4.5G, the fifth generation (5G) , and the sixth (6G) communication protocols. The techniques described herein may be used for the wireless networks and radio technologies mentioned above as well as other wireless networks and radio technologies. The embodiments of the present disclosure may be performed according to any generation communication protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future. Examples of the communication protocols include, but not limited to, the first generation (1G) , the second generation (2G) , 2.5G, 2.75G, the third generation (3G) , the fourth generation (4G) , 4.5G, the fifth generation (5G) communication protocols, 5.5G, 5G-Advanced networks, or the sixth generation (6G) networks.

The terminal device or the network device may have Artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning capability. It generally includes a model which has been trained from numerous collected data for a specific function, and can be used to predict some information.

The terminal device or the network device may work on several frequency ranges, e.g. FR1 (410 MHz –7125 MHz) , FR2 (24.25GHz to 71GHz) , frequency band larger than 100GHz as well as Tera Hertz (THz) . It can further work on licensed/unlicensed/shared spectrum. The terminal device may have more than one connection with the network device under Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity (MR-DC) application scenario. The terminal device or the network device can work on full duplex, flexible duplex and cross division duplex modes.

The embodiments of the present disclosure may be performed in test equipment, e.g., signal generator, signal analyzer, spectrum analyzer, network analyzer, test terminal device, test network device, or channel emulator.

The embodiments of the present disclosure may be performed according to any generation communication protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future. Examples of the communication protocols include, but not limited to, the 1G, 2G, 2.5G, 2.75G, 3G, 4G, 4.5G, 5G, 5.5G, 5G-Advanced networks, or 6G networks.

The term “circuitry” used herein may refer to hardware circuits and/or combinations of hardware circuits and software. For example, the circuitry may be a combination of analog and/or digital hardware circuits with software/firmware. As a further example, the circuitry may be any portions of hardware processors with software including digital signal processor (s) , software, and memory (ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a terminal device or a network device, to perform various functions. In a still further example, the circuitry may be hardware circuits and or processors, such as a microprocessor or a portion of a microprocessor, that requires software/firmware for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation. As used herein, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (s) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor (s) and its (or their) accompanying software and/or firmware.

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. The term “includes” and its variants are to be read as open terms that mean “includes, but is not limited to. ” The term “based on” is to be read as “based at least in part on. ” The term “one embodiment” and “an embodiment” are to be read as “at least one embodiment. ” The term “another embodiment” is to be read as “at least one other embodiment. ” The terms “first, ” “second, ” and the like may refer to different or same objects. Other definitions, explicit and implicit, may be included below.

It is proposed to study a deployment of A-IoT devices in 3GPP system, such as in an NR system. To support A-IoT devices in the NR system, some new features should be introduced and studied, such as new waveform, new frame structure, new physical layer and higher layer procedure.

A-IoT devices have ultra-low power consumption. In terms of energy storage, the A-IoT devices may be pure batteryless devices with no energy storage capability at all, and completely be dependent on the availability of an external source of energy; or the A-IoT devices may be devices with limited energy storage capability that do not need to be replaced or recharged manually.

The batteryless devices or devices with limited energy storage capability have already been widely used in many real-world applications, e.g., retail, positioning, highway toll charging, etc. For a batteryless device, such as a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag, backscattering communication may be used. FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of communication 100 of a tag. A reader 110 may transmit a continuous wave to the tag 120, where the reader 110 may also be called as an interrogator and the continuous wave is a pure carrier wave signal without modulated information on it. The tag 120 may harvest the energy from the received continuous wave, and then modulate its information on the wave and transmit it to the reader 110. For a device with energy storage capability (e.g., a device with solar battery) , the continuous wave may not be needed since the device may have enough power to generate the carrier wave by an oscillator module.

Some representative use cases have been discussed, the use cases may relate to inventory, e.g. automated warehousing, medical instruments inventory management and positioning, non-public network for logistics; sensor, e.g. smart homes, base station machine room environmental supervision, forest fire monitoring; positioning, e.g., finding remote lost item, location service, ranging in a home; and/or command, e.g. online modification of medical instruments status, device activation and deactivation, elderly health care. For supporting these use cases, a specific management function of 5GC, e.g., an A-IoT function (AIF) may be defined.

FIGS. 2A-2E illustrate some example communication environments in which some embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. The possible deployment scenarios for an A-IoT device in an NR system may be divided into two categories: a monostatic architecture and a bistatic architecture.

In the present disclosure, a monostatic architecture may involve at least two entities, e.g., a network device and an A-IoT device, or a terminal device and an A-IoT device. A bistatic architecture may involve at least three entities, e.g., a network device, a terminal device and an A-IoT device, or two terminal devices and an A-IoT device.

In the present disclosure, a transmission link to the A-IoT device may be referred to as a forward link (FL) , in this case, the A-IoT device is a receiver of a transmission from a network device or a terminal device. A transmission link from the A-IoT device may be referred to as a backward link (BL) , in this case, the A-IoT device is a transmitter of a transmission to a network device or a terminal device.

As shown in FIG. 2A, which illustrates an example environment 210 of a monostatic architecture, a terminal device 211 may perform a transmission to an A-IoT device 212 through an FL, and the A-IoT device 212 may perform a transmission to the terminal device 211 through a BL, for example, the BL transmission may be a response of the FL transmission. As shown in FIG. 2B, which illustrates an example environment 220 of a monostatic architecture, a network device 221 may perform a transmission to an A-IoT device 222 through an FL, and the A-IoT device 222 may perform a transmission to the network device 221 through a BL, for example, the BL transmission may be a response of the FL transmission.

As shown in FIG. 2C, which illustrates an example environment 230 of a bistatic architecture, a terminal device 231 may perform a transmission to an A-IoT device 232 through an FL, and the A-IoT device 232 may perform a transmission to another terminal device 233 through a BL. As shown in FIG. 2D, which illustrates an example environment 240 of a bistatic architecture, a terminal device 241 may perform a transmission to an A-IoT device 242 through an FL, and the A-IoT device 242 may perform a transmission to a network device 243 through a BL. As shown in FIG. 2E, which illustrates an example environment 230 of a bistatic architecture, a network device 251 may perform a transmission to an A-IoT device 252 through an FL, and the A-IoT device 252 may perform a transmission to a terminal device 253 through a BL.

The example communication environment as shown in FIG. 2B may be regarded as topology 1 for the A-IoT device, in which the A-IoT device may directly and bidirectionally communicate with a base station (such as a gNB) . The communication between the base station and the A-IoT device includes A-IoT data and/or signalling. In some examples, topology 1 includes a possibility that the base station transmitting to the A-IoT device is different from a base station receiving from the A-IoT device.

The A-IoT devices may be characterized according to their energy storage capacity, and capability of generating radio frequency (RF) signals for their transmission. For example, an A-IoT device may have one of the following energy storage capacities: storage capacity 1: No storage at all; storage capacity 2: Up to E1 Joules; and storage capacity 3: Up to E2 Joules. It is to be understood that there may be two capacities in case E1=E2. In this case, an A-IoT device with storage capacity 2/3 may be a device with a limited energy storage.

The following sets of A-IoT devices may be considered by relying on these storage capacities:

- Device type A: No energy storage, no independent signal generation/amplification, i.e. backscattering transmission.

- Device type B: Has energy storage, no independent signal generation, i.e. backscattering transmission. Use of stored energy can include amplification for reflected signals.

- Device type C: Has energy storage, has independent signal generation, i.e., active RF components for transmission.

In some example embodiments, there may be a device which is introduced to charge the A-IoT device. The device may be used to transmit a carrier wave (CW) signal to the A-IoT device, in some examples, the device may be referred to as a CW source device. In some examples, the CW source device may be a terminal device or a network device. For example, the CW source device may be a CW source terminal device, such as a CW source UE.

The CW signal may be called as a CW for brevity, and the CW signal may be transmitted to the A-IoT device. In some examples, the CW may be used for generating a backscattered signal by the A-IoT device. In some examples, the CW may be used for providing energy source to the A-IoT device. In some examples, the CW may be used for both the two purposes: i.e., generating a backscattered signal by the A-IoT device and providing energy source to the A-IoT device. As an example, the CW is a pure sine or cosine wave; as another example, the CW is a modulated signal, e.g., an Orthogonal Frequency Divided Multiple (OFDM) signal or a single carrier signal.

In the present disclosure, a transmission over the FL may be referred to as an FL transmission (or communication) , a forward transmission (or communication) , a forward link transmission (or communication) , or the like. In the present disclosure, a transmission over the BL may be referred to as a backscattering transmission (or communication) , a backscattered transmission (or communication) , a BL transmission (or communication) , a backward transmission (or communication) , a reflected transmission (or communication) , or the like. In the present disclosure, a transmission link from a CW source device to an A-IoT device may be called as a CW link, which may be used for CW signal transmission or CW transmission.

Considering a mobility of an A-IoT device, a mobility related procedure may be needed for the A-IoT device to access to the network. However, continuously measurement and always stand-by for mobility procedure may consume considerable energy, and it is impossible for the A-IoT device (e.g. a type A/B device) to initiate an uplink access without receiving CW signal transmitted from another device. For example, a type A/B A-IoT device may work in a responsive manner, that is, it cannot initiate an uplink access without receiving CW signal transmitted by another device, therefore it is not possible to initiate mobility related procedure itself.

In some cases, the stored energy is very limited and unstable, the A-IoT device may have to enter into a sleep mode or be switched off for a relatively long time, thus it is difficult for the A-IoT device to report its location timely (e.g., even after A-IoT device moving into a new tracking area (TA) , it is very possible that A-IoT device is in sleep mode or powered off) . It is possible that the coverage of the A-IoT service is not continuous, for example, only a small number of gNBs (in some specific environment, e.g., high way, warehouse, retail shop, etc. ) support A-IoT service, thus it is impossible for the A-IoT device to report its location timely. In addition, whether the A-IoT device has a capability of handling complicated mobility related signaling (e.g., store the tacking area identity (TAI) list, generating TA update signaling, etc. ) is still not supported. Thus, an issue about a mobility of an A-IoT device should be studied.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution of communication. In the solution, an A-IoT device may receive a mobility request from a communication device, and then transmit a mobility response to the communication device. As such, there is no need for the A-IoT device to initiate a mobility related procedure actively, and thus the procedure is enabled even the A-IoT device has low power or even out-of-power. Accordingly, a mobility issue for the A-IoT device is addressed. Principles and implementations of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the figures.

In the present disclosure, a mobility related procedure of an A-IoT device may be referred to as a mobility procedure of an A-IoT device, a mobility update procedure of an A-IoT device, a procedure for a random access (RA) of an A-IoT device, a procedure for network access of an A-IoT device, a procedure for mobility management of an A-IoT device, a procedure for inventory of an A-IoT device, a procedure for identification of an A-IoT device, or the like, the present disclosure does not limit this aspect.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example communication environment 300 in which some embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. The communication environment 300 may also be called as a network environment, a network system, a communication system, a communication network, or the like, the present disclosure does not limit this aspect. The communication environment 300 includes an A-IoT device 310, a terminal device 320, a network device 330, and a core network entity 340.

The core network entity 340 may be a function or a network entity in a core network (CN) 350, which may implement as a 5GC or a 6G core network. For example, the core network entity 340 may be implemented as an AIF mentioned above or an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) of a 5GC.

The terminal device 320 may be implemented as an assisting node or an intermediate node between the A-IoT device 310 and the network device 330. It is to be understood that although the terminal device 320 is shown as a smart phone, in some other examples, the terminal device 320 may be implemented as an NR RAN node (such as a gNB, a relay, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node) , an AP, a STA, or the like.

In the environment 300, the A-IoT device 310 may receive a forward link transmission from any one of: the terminal device 320, the network device 330, or the core network entity 340. In some examples, as shown in FIG. 3, there may be an FL from the terminal device 320 to the A-IoT device 310, and/or an FL from the network device 330 to the A-IoT device 310.

Although not shown in FIG. 3, a backward link transmission may be performed by the A-IoT device 310 over a BL from the A-IoT device 310 to any one of: the terminal device 320, the network device 330, another terminal device, another network device, or the core network entity 340.

In some implementations, there may be a further device, which is not shown in FIG. 3, used for transmitting e.g. a CW signal to the A-IoT device 310. In some implementations, the terminal device 320 or the network device 330 may be used for transmitting a CW signal to the A-IoT device 310.

In some implementations, a device which can transmit a forward link transmission to the A-IoT device 310 over an FL may be referred to as a communication device, for example, the communication device may be the terminal device 320, the network device 330, or the core network entity 340 as shown in FIG. 3.

Communications in the environment, between a network device and a terminal device for example, between a network device/a terminal device and an A-IoT device for example, may be implemented according to any proper communication protocol (s) , comprising, but not limited to, cellular communication protocols of the first generation (1G) , the second generation (2G) , the third generation (3G) , the fourth generation (4G) , the fifth generation (5G) , the sixth generation (6G) , and the like, wireless local network communication protocols such as Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 and the like, and/or any other protocols currently known or to be developed in the future. Moreover, the communication may utilize any proper wireless communication technology, comprising but not limited to: Code Divided Multiple Address (CDMA) , Frequency Divided Multiple Address (FDMA) , Time Divided Multiple Address (TDMA) , Frequency Divided Duplexer (FDD) , Time Divided Duplexer (TDD) , Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) , Orthogonal Frequency Divided Multiple Access (OFDMA) and/or any other technologies currently known or to be developed in the future.

Embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to any suitable scenarios. For example, embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented at reduced capability NR devices. Alternatively, embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented in one of the followings: NR multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) , NR sidelink enhancements, NR systems with frequency above 52.6GHz, an extending NR operation up to 71GHz, narrow band-Internet of Thing (NB-IOT) /enhanced Machine Type Communication (eMTC) over non-terrestrial networks (NTN) , NTN, UE power saving enhancements, NR coverage enhancement, NB-IoT and LTE-MTC, Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) , NR Multicast and Broadcast Services, or enhancements on Multi-Radio Dual-Connectivity.

It is to be understood that the numbers of devices and their connection relationships and types shown in FIG. 3 are only for the purpose of illustration without suggesting any limitation. The environment may include any suitable numbers of devices adapted for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

The present disclosure provides a mobility related procedure (or a mobility procedure) for an A-IoT device. For ease of description, the mobility related procedure may involve an A-IoT device 401 and a communication device 402, for example, the A-IoT device 401 may be the A-IoT device 310 as shown in FIG. 3, and the communication device 402 may be the terminal device 320 or the network device 330 as shown in FIG. 3.

The mobility related procedure may be implemented by a three-step procedure. FIG. 4A illustrates an example schematic of the mobility related procedure 410 in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 4A, the procedure 410 may include Msg 1 from the communication device 402 to the A-IoT device 401, Msg 1 from the A-IoT device 401 to the communication device 402, and Msg 2 from the communication device 402 to the A-IoT device 401.

In some implementations, as illustrated in FIG. 4B, Msg 0 may be implemented as a mobility request, Msg 1 may be implemented as a mobility response, and Msg 2 may be implemented as a mobility response confirmation or a mobility request update. In some implementations, the mobility request can be replaced by an access request, an inventory request, or an identification request; the mobility response can be replaced by an access response, an inventory response, or an identification response; the mobility response confirmation can be replaced by an access response confirmation, an inventory response confirmation, or an identification response confirmation; and the mobility request update can be replaced by an access request update, an inventory request update, or an identification request update.

The mobility related procedure may be implemented by a five-step procedure, for example, it may be an extension of the three-step procedure. In some implementations, as illustrated in FIG. 4C, the procedure may further include, besides the steps shown in FIG. 4B, a random access preamble (Msg A) from the A-IoT device 401 to the communication device 402, and a random access response (Msg B) from the communication device 402 to the A-IoT device 401.

It is to be appreciated that the names of the messages/signaling/information in FIGS. 4A-4C are illustrated as examples without any limitation, the mobility related procedure for the A-IoT device may involve messages with other names, the present disclosure does not limit this aspect.

In some implementations, each of the messages involved in the mobility related procedure may be generated based on a modulation, such as an amplitude modulation, a frequency modulation, or the like. For example, each of the messages in the mobility related procedure may be generated based on one or more of: ASK, OOK, or FSK. For example, each of the messages in the mobility related procedure may be generated based on one or more of: OFDM, discrete Fourier transform-spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) , or spread spectrum, where the spread spectrum may include a direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) and/or a frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) .

In some examples, for OOK, an OOK modulation sequence may include at least one OOK ON symbol and at least one OOK OFF symbol. For example, the OOK ON symbol and the OOK OFF symbol may represent symbols with higher and lower amplitude respectively. For example, an OFDM symbol with non-zero values on the subcarriers represents an OOK symbol “1” , and an OFDM symbol with zero values on the subcarriers represents an OOK symbol “0” .

For example, several options for OOK signal generation based on OFDM waveform may be used for generating each of the messages in the mobility related procedure, such as options OOK-1 and OOK-4. For example, a number of SCs used by each of the messages in the mobility related procedure including potential guard-bands may be represented as N, the value of K may represent a number of OFDMs for SSB (such as K=4) .

Option OOK-1: Single-bit in 1 OFDM symbol, SCs of each of the messages in the mobility related procedure are:

● OOK=1 means all SCs are modulated;

● OOK=0 means all SCs are zero power (from base-band point of view) .

Option OOK-4: Transform M-bit OOK in time domain

● N SCs of OOK-1 are generated by a transformation (DFT/Least square)

- N’ samples are generated from M-bits;

- signal modification may or may NOT be used;

- truncation or other additional modification may or may NOT be used, if not used, N is the same as N’;

● N’ can be the same as K.

It is to be noted that, in the present disclosure, if not specified otherwise, the term “OFDM symbol” indicates CP-OFDM symbol, or any variant of OFDM symbol, e.g., DFT-s-OFDM, GI-OFDM, zero CP OFDM, unique word OFDM, etc.

In some examples, for ASK, an OFDM symbol with values with a first level of amplitude on the subcarriers represents a first ASK symbol, and an OFDM symbol with values with a second level of amplitude on the subcarriers represents a second ASK symbol.

In some examples, an OOK ON symbol is equivalent to a non-zero symbol which is transmitted in a frequency component of FSK modulation, and an OOK OFF symbol is equivalent to a symbol with zero power in a frequency component of FSK modulation. For example, for FSK, an OFDM symbol with non-zero values on a first set of subcarriers represents an FSK symbol “1” (meanwhile zero values are mapped on a second set of subcarriers) , and an OFDM symbol with non-zero values on the second set of subcarriers represents an FSK symbol “0” (meanwhile zero values are mapped on the first set of subcarriers) .

Reference is further made to FIG. 5, which illustrates a signalling chart illustrating communication process 500 in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The process 500 may involve an A-IoT device 401 and a communication device 402, for example, the A-IoT device 401 may be the A-IoT device 310 as shown in FIG. 3, and the communication device 402 may be the terminal device 320 or the network device 330 as shown in FIG. 3. The process 500 may further involve a network node 403 which can communicate with the communicate device 402. With reference to FIG. 3, the network node 403 may be the network device 330 if the communication device 402 is the terminal device 320, or the network node 403 may be the core network entity 340 if the communication device 402 is the network device 330. It would be appreciated that the process 500 may be applied to other communication scenarios, which will not be described in detail.

In the process 500, the communication device 402 transmits 510 a mobility request 512. In some implementations, the mobility request 512 may include a payload which is associated with one or more A-IoT devices. It is assumed that the A-IoT device 401 belongs to the one or more A-IoT devices, and as shown in FIG. 5, the A-IoT device 401 receives 514 the mobility request 512.

In some implementations, the communication device 402 may transmit the mobility request 512 periodically. In some implementations, a transmission manner of the mobility request 512 may depend on implementation of the communication device 402, that is, it is up to implementation that whether, when, or how the communication device 402 transmits the mobility request 512.

As mentioned above, the communication device 402 may be the network device 330 or the terminal device 320, that is, the mobility request may be generated by the network device 330 or the terminal device 320. In some implementations, the physical channels to transmit the mobility request by the network device 330 or the terminal device 320 have same waveform (e.g., OOK, ASK, FSK) /modulation/encoding schemes. For ease of description, the mobility request in the present disclosure may be referred to as Msg0.

In some implementations, the mobility request 512 includes payload, optionally, the mobility request 512 may further include a preamble. In some example embodiments, a sequence of the preamble may be predefined or may be preconfigured by a network device. In some example embodiments, the sequence of the preamble may be generated based on one or more of the following: a device identifier of the A-IoT device, a type of the A-IoT device, an identifier of a group the A-IoT device belongs to, a cell identifier of a cell the A-IoT device located in, or a further identifier configured by a core network entity. In other words, the sequence of the preamble may be generated based on: the cell ID, the A-IoT device type, the device ID, the device group ID, or an ID configured by a core network entity (e.g., a tracking area ID) .

In some implementations, the payload may include an indication for a type of the payload. In some example embodiments, the indication for a type of the payload may be a payload type indication with at least one bit, which may indicate that the payload comprises information about mobility request or information about other than mobility request information.

In some implementations, the payload may include information of the communication device 402, which may be regarded as transmitter information. In some example embodiments, the information of the communication device 402 may include an identifier associated with the communication device 402, such as a gNB ID, a UE ID, a cell ID, a TA ID, or the like. In some example embodiments, the information of the communication device 402 may include a type of the communication device 402. For example, the type may be a network device (e.g. gNB) or a terminal device (e.g. UE) .

In some implementations, the payload may include information of one or more A-IoT devices, which may include one or more of: a device identifier of the one or more A-IoT devices, a type of the one or more A-IoT devices, an identifier of a group comprising the one or more A-IoT devices, or a state of the one or more A-IoT devices. In some example embodiments, the device identifier of the one or more A-IoT devices may be one or more device IDs.

In some example embodiments, there may be multiple states for A-IoT devices. In some examples, the payload may indicate at least one state among the multiple states. In some examples, the multiple states may include one or more of: a first state indicating that the one or more A-IoT devices have not responded to any mobility request, a second state indicating that the one or more A-IoT devices have responded for one or more times, a third state indicating that the one or more A-IoT devices have responded to any communication device for a specific time duration, or a fourth state indicating that the one or more A-IoT devices have no information about previous responding. For example, an A-IoT device in a fourth state may have limited information storage capability, so the information about previous responding may be dropped. In some examples, a state of the one or more A-IoT devices indicates that the one or more A-IoT devices have responded for specific times. For example, a state may be associated with how many times that the A-IoT device has responded to a specific communication device (such as the communication device 402) . For example, the state may be represented as a number (e.g., 0, 1, 2, 3, …) which equals to the times that the A-IoT device has responded to the specific communication device (such as the communication device 402) .

In some implementations, the payload may include a resource configuration for a response (such as the mobility response in FIG. 4B or the RA preamble in FIG. 4C) of the mobility request 512. In some example embodiments, the resource configuration may include a time/frequency resource indication. In some example embodiments, the resource configuration may include a contention factor, for example, the contention factor may be an integer number, represented as N. In some examples, the resource configuration may indicate multiple transmission occasions (TOs) , which may be used by the A-IoT device 401 for determining or selecting a transmission occasion for the response (such as the mobility response in FIG. 4B or the RA preamble in FIG. 4C) of the mobility request 512. For example, the contention factor (such as N) may represent a number of the multiple transmission occasions.

It is noted that some information included in the payload is discussed above, in some other implementations, the payload may include more or less information associated with the mobility request. In some other implementations, part information included in the payload may omitted, and the part information may be indicated in an implicit way. For example, one of the following may be used for implicitly indicating the part information: different parameters of physical channel, the modulation/coding schemes, different sequences of preamble, etc.

On the other side of communication, the A-IoT device 401 receives 514 the mobility request 512. In some implementations, after the A-IoT device 401has been switched on (e.g., obtain sufficient power by energy harvesting) , it may monitor a mobility request continuously or periodically. As mentioned above, the communication device 402 may be a network device 330 or a terminal device 320, that is, the mobility request may be sent by the network device 330 (e.g., a gNB) or the terminal device 320 (e.g., a UE) . In some examples, if the A-IoT device 401 monitors the mobility request in a FDD band, it may monitor it in the DL band (sent by the network device 330) and/or UL band (sent by the terminal device 320) . In some other examples, if the A-IoT device 401 monitors the mobility request in a TDD band, it may monitor it in the DL subframe/slot (sent by the network device 330) and/or UL subframe/slot (sent by the terminal device 320) .

In some examples, it is not required for the A-IoT device 401 to get synchronized with the communication device 402 before it detects the mobility request.

After receiving the mobility request 512, the A-IoT device 401 may determine to respond to the mobility request 512, e.g., if at least one of the following conditions is met: a time duration since a specific time point equals to or exceeds a time threshold, a number of received FL transmissions since a specific time point equals to or exceeds a number threshold, the mobility request is a first received transmission which comprises the payload from the communication device, or the A-IoT device belongs to the one or more A-IoT devices indicated by the mobility request. For example, the specific time point may be a time for receiving a most recent mobility request or a time for transmitting a most recent mobility response.

In some examples, assuming the A-IoT device 401 has an internal clock, if the time duration from the most recent time that the A-IoT device 401 successfully sent a mobility response to the time that the A-IoT device 401 received the mobility request 512 is larger than (or equal to) a threshold, then the A-IoT device 401 may determine to respond the mobility request 512.

In some examples, the A-IoT device 401 may start a timer when it received a first mobility request information (or successfully responded to the first mobility request information, i.e., transmitted the corresponding mobility response successfully) , and may determine to respond a second mobility request (such as the mobility request 512) if the timer expired or a remaining time length of the timer is smaller than (or equal to) a value.

In some examples, the A-IoT device 401 may have a counter which counts the number of FL transmissions (e.g., Msg 0 and/or Msg 2, or a reference/synchronization signal) it received after it has received the mobility request, if the counter equals to or smaller/larger than a value, the A-IoT device 401 may determine to respond the mobility request 512. For example, the counter may be set to 0 (or M) when the A-IoT device 401 received a Msg 0 sent by a specific communication device (such as the communication device 402) at the first time, and then be increased by 1 (or decreased by 1) if the A-IoT device 401 received another Msg 0 sent by the same communication device (such as the communication device 402) .

In some examples, if it is the first time that the A-IoT device 401 receive the Msg 0 (the mobility request 512) from a specific communication device (such as the communication device 402) , e.g., the transmitter information in the Msg 0 is different from the transmitter information that the A-IoT previously received (e.g. received last time) , then the A-IoT device 401 may determine to respond the mobility request 512.

In some examples, if information of the A-IoT device 401 is coincide with the information of the one or more A-IoT devices in the mobility request 512 (e.g. in the payload) , then the A-IoT device 401 may determine to respond the mobility request 512. For example, the device ID or the device group ID in the payload of the mobility request 512 is the same as that of the A-IoT device 401. For example, a state indicated by the payload of the mobility request 512 is the same as a current state of the A-IoT device 401.

After determining to respond, the A-IoT device 401 may further determine a transmission occasion (TO) for the response, such as a mobility response (as shown in FIG. 4B) or a RA preamble (as shown in FIG. 4C) .

In some implementations, the payload may include a resource configuration, as discussed above, and the A-IoT device 401 may determine the TO based on the resource configuration. In some example embodiments, the resource configuration may indicate multiple transmission occasions (such as N TOs) , and the A-IoT device 401 may select one from the multiple transmission occasions.

In some examples, the TO is a set of time domain resources used to transmit the Msg 1 or Msg A. In some examples, the TO is a set of time and frequency resources used to transmit the Msg 1 or Msg A. In some examples, the TO is associated with a preamble of a response (Msg A or Msg 1) , e.g., a first TO and a second TO may have same time and frequency resource, but with different preambles.

In some examples, if N TOs are indicated by the resource configuration, the A-IoT device 401 may generate a first random number in a range of [0, N-1] (or [1, N] ) , and select the TO based on the first random number. For example, the first random number may be a number i, and the i-th TO in the N TOs may be selected. In some examples, each number in the range of [0, N-1] (or [1, N] ) may have an equal probability being selected.

In some examples, if N TOs are indicated by the resource configuration, the N TOs may be divided into multiple subsets, and the A-IoT device 401 may select one subset from the multiple subsets based on a state of the A-IoT device 401 and/or whether the Msg 1 or Msg A to be transmitted is a retransmitted message. For example, the multiple subsets may include: a subset 1 from TO_1 to TO_i, and a subset 2 from TO_ (i+1) to TO_N. It is to be understood that the division of the subsets are only for illustration without any limitation. For example, if it is a re-transmission of msg1, or if it is the first time for transmitting msg1, the A-IoT device 401 may select the subset 1. In some examples, the A-IoT device 401 may generate a second random number based on the selected subset. For example, if the selected subset 1 is TO_1 to TO_i, then the second random number may be generated from the range of [1, i] .

In some examples, the time domain position of a TO may be associated with a Msg 0, optionally, the N TOs are started from the end of the Msg 0, or started from a first time gap after the end of the Msg 0.

In some examples, a second time gap may be reserved between two adjacent TOs in time domain. For example, there may be another FL transmission (e.g., another Msg 0 transmission, or a synchronization signal) in-between two TOs, optionally, the A-IoT device 401 may determine that each TO of the N TOs is started from the end of an FL transmission, or from a third time gap after the end of an FL transmission. For instance, for type A/B A- IoT device, it may has no internal clock, therefore it can only determine the start of a TO based on the end of a received FL transmission.

In addition or alternatively, the A-IoT device 401 may transmit 520 a random access preamble 522 to the communication device 402, and accordingly the communication device 402 may receive 524 the random access preamble 522.

In some implementations, the random access preamble 522 (i.e. Msg A) may be selected by the A-IoT device 401, or may be generated by the A-IoT device 401 based on a device ID of the A-IoT device 401.

In some implementations, the random access preamble 522 may be generated based on a temporary ID, for example, the temporary ID may be randomly generated by the A-IoT device 401. In some implementations, the random access preamble 522 may be associated with a TO that the A-IoT device 401 selected, in other words, associated with a random number (such as the first or the second random number discussed above) that the A-IoT device 401 generated for the TO selection.

In some implementations, the random access preamble 522 (i.e. Msg A) may be transmitted on the TO selected by the A-IoT device 401 discussed above.

In addition or alternatively, the communication device 402 may transmit 530 a random access response 532 to the A-IoT device 401. For the A-IoT device 401, it may start monitoring Msg B after transmitting Msg A, e.g. in a time window. For example, the A-IoT device 401 may receive 534 the random access response 532 (i.e. Msg B) in a time window. The A-IoT device 401 may determine that the random access preamble (i.e. Msg A) has been successfully received by the communication device 402.

In some implementations, the random access response 532 (i.e. Msg B) may indicate an acknowledgement of the random access preamble 522 (i.e. Msg A) . For example, the random access response 532 (i.e. Msg B) may include the device ID of the A-IoT device 401.

In some implementations, the random access response 532 (i.e. Msg B) may include information of at least one RA preamble. In some implementations, if the random access preamble 522 (i.e. Msg A) transmitted by the A-IoT device 401 is included in the random access response 532 (i.e. Msg B) , then the A-IoT device 401 may determine to transmit a mobility response (i.e. Msg 1) .

In some implementations, the random access response 532 (i.e. Msg B) may include information of updated mobility request. In some examples, the A-IoT device 401 may re-transmit the random access preamble 522 (i.e. Msg A) or transmit a mobility response based on the updated mobility request.

In some other implementations, if the random access response 532 (i.e. Msg B) is not received in a time window, the A-IoT device 401 may consider that the transmission of random access preamble 522 (i.e. Msg A) is failed. In some examples, the A-IoT device 401 may determine a different TO (referred to as a first TO) , e.g. by generating a different random value or by choosing a nearest TO; and the A-IoT device 401 may re-transmit the random access preamble 522 (i.e. Msg A) in the first TO.

In the process 500, the A-IoT device 401 transmits 540 a mobility response 542 to the communication device 402.

In some implementations, the A-IoT device 401 may determine at least one transmission parameter of the mobility response 542, e.g. based on the mobility request 512. In some example embodiments, the at least one transmission parameter may be associated with the information of the communication device 402, such as a type of the communication device 402. For example, the at least one transmission parameter may be different for gNB and UE as a transmitter of msg0. In some examples, the at least one transmission parameter may include one or more of: transmission timing (such as FL or BL timing) , transmission power, a physical channel format, modulation or coding schemes, or a physical resource.

In some implementations, the mobility response 542 may include one or more of the following: a device identifier of the A-IoT device 401, a type of the A-IoT device 401, a state of the A-IoT device 401, an identifier of a device the A-IoT device 401 recently connected to, or an identifier of a cell the A-IoT device 401 recently camped on. For example, the device identifier of the A-IoT device 401 may be a physical ID, a medium access control (MAC) address, or an ID assigned by gNB/network/operator such as a UE-ID, a globally unique temporary UE identity (GUTI) , or a temporary mobile subscriber identity (TMSI) . For example, one or more of the following may be included in the mobility response 542: a UE ID, a cell ID, a gNB ID, or a TA ID associated with the last communication device it connected or the last cell it camped on.

In some scenarios, it may take some time for the A-IoT device 401 prepare or generate the mobility response 542, in some examples, the A-IoT device 401 may continue monitoring msg0 before transmitting the mobility response 542. In some implementations, the A-IoT device 401 may monitor updated mobility request from the communication device 402 before transmitting the mobility response 542. In some implementations, if the updated mobility request is received from the communication device 402, the mobility response 542 may be transmitted based on the updated mobility request. In some example embodiments, the A-IoT device 401 may determine a further TO based on the updated mobility request, and transmit the mobility response 542 at the further TO. In some example embodiments, a TO may have been determined based on the mobility request 512, and the further TO determined based on the updated mobility request may be regarded as an updated TO for transmitting the mobility response 542.

The updated mobility request may be another mobility request (i.e. another Msg 0 or Msg 2) different from the mobility request 512, and the updated mobility request may include information similar with that in the mobility request 512. For example, information of one or more A-IoT devices included in the updated mobility request is coincide with the information of the A-IoT device 401.

In some instances, the A-IoT device 401 receives the updated mobility request, if the resource configuration in the updated mobility request is different from that in the mobility request 512 previously received, or the resource configuration in the updated mobility request include an update indication (relative to the resource configuration in the mobility request 512 previously received) , then the A-IoT device 401 should update the TO for Msg 1 or Msg A based on the resource configuration indicated by the updated mobility request.

For example, the resource configuration in the mobility request 512 previously received may indicate N TOs, while the resource configuration indicated by the updated mobility request may indicate K TOs, then the A-IoT device 401 may generate a further first random value in a range of [0, K-1] (or [1, K] ) , and select the further TO based on the further first random value. As an example, the A-IoT device 401 may select the further TO based on: the further first random value in a range of [0, K-1] or [1, K] ; or a sum of the first random value in a range of [0, N-1] or [1, N] and the further first random value in a range of [0, K-1] or [1, K] .

In the process 500, the communication device 402 receives 544 the mobility response 542. In some implementations, the communication device 402 may transmit Msg 2 (such as mobility response confirmation or a mobility request update) to the A-IoT device 401.

In some example embodiments, if the mobility response 542 is successfully detected by the communication device 402, the communication device 402 may transmit a mobility response confirmation to the A-IoT device 401, and the A-IoT device 401 may determine that the mobility related procedure is completed. In some other example embodiments, if the mobility response 542 is not detected by the communication device 402, the communication device 402 may transmit a mobility request update to the A-IoT device 401, and the A-IoT device 401 may re-transmit the mobility response based on the mobility request update.

For the A-IoT device 401, the A-IoT device 401 may start monitoring a further message (such as Msg 2) after transmitting the mobility response 542. In some implementations, the Msg 2 may be received in a time window, e.g., the time window may be predefined or be preconfigured or determined by the A-IoT device 401.

In some implementations, the further message may include a mobility response confirmation, indicating an acknowledgement of the mobility response 542 (Msg 1) . In some implementations, the further message may include one or more device IDs or temporary device IDs. For example, if a device ID or a temporary device ID that the A-IoT device 401 used in the mobility response 542 (Msg 1) is included in the one or more device IDs or temporary device IDs, the A-IoT device 401 may determine that the mobility response 542 (Msg 1) has been successfully received by the communication device 402.

In some implementations, the further message may include a mobility request update, which may be regarded as an updated mobility request. In some example embodiments, the A-IoT device 401 may determine another TO based on the updated mobility request, and further perform a retransmission of the mobility response.

In some implementations, the further message may include a further resource configuration, which may be used by the A-IoT device 401 to transmit further information. In some implementations, if the A-IoT device 401 receives the further message and the further message does not include a further resource configuration, the A-IoT device 401 may consider that the mobility related procedure is completed, in some implementations, the A-IoT device 401 may then enter into an idle mode. For example, the further message may be a mobility response confirmation.

Accordingly, a resource for transmitting the mobility response (Msg 1) may be dynamically configured in Msg 0, and may be updated in Msg 2, it is beneficial for the tradeoff between capacity and overhead. For example, the communication device 402 may allocate relatively little resource in Msg 0, and increase the resource in Msg 2 (or updated mobility request) e.g. if there are a large number of A-IoT devices (if severe collision of Msg 1 occurred) .

In some other implementations, the further message is not received in a time window, and the A-IoT device 401 may consider that the transmission of the mobility response 542 is failed or the mobility related procedure is failed. In some example embodiments, the A-IoT device 401 may start monitoring another mobility request (Msg 0) . In some example embodiments, the A-IoT device 401 may generate a third random value, determine a third TO based on the third random value, and then retransmit the mobility response in the third TO. In some example embodiments, the A-IoT device 401 may retransmit the mobility response in a nearest TO of the previous TO.

In the process 500, after receiving a mobility response 542 from the A-IoT device 401, the communication device 402 may determine 550 whether a trigger condition is met. If the communication device 402 determines a trigger condition is met, it transmits 560 a mobility report 562 for the A-IoT device 401 to a network node 403. Accordingly, the network node 403 receives 564 the mobility report 562. In some implementations, the mobility report can be replaced by an access report, an inventory report, or an identification report.

In some implementations, the trigger condition may be referred to as a condition for triggering of transmitting the mobility report 562 for the A-IoT device 401.

In some example embodiments, the trigger condition may include: it is the first time that the communication device 402 receives the mobility response from the A-IoT device 401. In some example embodiments, the trigger condition may include: it is the first time that the communication device 402 receives a device ID of the A-IoT device 401 from the A-IoT device 401. For example, it is the first time for the A-IoT device 401 to transmit a mobility response to the communication device 402.

In some example embodiments, the trigger condition may include: the state of the A-IoT device 401 is a specific state. In some examples, the mobility response 542 may indicate the state of the A-IoT device 401, and the communication device 402 may determine whether it is a specific state. For example, the specific state may be the first state, the third state, or the fourth state. For example, the first state indicates that the A-IoT device 401 has not responded to any mobility request, the third state indicates that the A-IoT device 401 has responded to any communication device for a specific time duration, and the fourth state indicates that the A-IoT device 401 has no information about previous responding.

In some example embodiments, the trigger condition may include: the identifier of a device the A-IoT device 401 recently connected to is different from the communication device 402. In some example embodiments, the trigger condition may include: the identifier of a cell the A-IoT device recently camped on is different from a current cell associated with the communication device. In some examples, the mobility response 542 may include a cell ID, a gNB ID, or a TA ID associated with another communication device to which the A-IoT device 401 most recently connected (connected last time) or associated with a cell which the A-IoT device 401 most recently camped on, and the cell ID, the gNB ID, or the TA ID included in the mobility response 542 is different from that of the communication device 402.

In some implementations, the mobility report 562 may include a device ID of the A-IoT device 401, and/or an identifier associated with the communication device 402 (such as, a cell ID, a gNB ID, or a TA ID) .

In some implementations, the communication device 402 may start a timer upon transmitting the mobility report 562. In some example embodiments, if another mobility response is received from the A-IoT device 401 (i.e. the same A-IoT device) , the communication device 402 may perform one or more of: stopping the timer, determining that the timer is expired, or determining a length value for the timer associated with the A-IoT device 401. For example, the communication device 402 may determine that the length value set for the timer equals to (or larger than, or smaller than) a specific value.

Accordingly, the communication device 402 may acquire the device ID of the A-IoT device 401, and may further determine whether to transmit a mobility report of the A-IoT device 401 to a network node 403 (a gNB or a core network entity) . In this way, the communication device 402 may initiate an A-IoT position update procedure to inform core network when necessary. Therefore, it is not necessary to establish a connection between the A-IoT device and a core network, and considerable signalling overhead and power consumption can be saved. Since the network can control the periodicity of A-IoT position updating, this solution may provide the flexibility for satisfying the requirements for diverse device types and service types of A-IoT devices.

Some example embodiments of the present disclosure are discussed with reference to FIG. 5, it is to be understood that the operations shown in FIG. 5 are only illustrative without any limitation. For example, there may be more operations, e.g. a transmission of Msg 2 may be included, a transmission of updated mobility request may be included. For example, there may be less operations, e.g., the transmission of Msg A and Msg B may be omitted, a transmission of the mobility report may be omitted (and operation 550 may be omitted) .

FIG. 6 illustrates an example schematic of a mobility request 600 in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in the FIG. 6, the mobility request 600 includes a preamble 610 and a payload 620. In some examples, the payload 610 may include one or more of the following: an indication for a type of the payload, information of the communication device, information of one or more A-IoT devices, or a resource configuration for a mobility response of the mobility request.

In some implementations, in case the mobility request 600 includes both the preamble 610 and the payload 620, the A-IoT device 401 may firstly detect the preamble 610 and get time synchronization, and then the A-IoT device 401 may receive the payload 620.

In some implementations, the payload 620 may include an indication for a type of the payload. In some example embodiments, only if the payload includes the indication indicating that the payload includes information about mobility request, the A-IoT device 401 may transmit a mobility response.

FIG. 7A illustrates an example schematic 710 of a message (such as Msg 0, Msg 1, Msg 2, Msg A, or Msg B) with OOK-1 or ASK in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. It is assumed that a reference CSC is 15kHz and an SCS of the message is 60kHz. Since OOK-1 or ASK is used, one OFDM symbol for the message (OOK/ASK signal in FIG. 7A) may convey one bit (such as an OOK bit) .

FIG. 7B illustrates an example schematic 720 of a message (such as Msg 0, Msg 1, Msg 2, Msg A, or Msg B) with FSK in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. It is assumed that a reference CSC is 15kHz and an SCS of the message is 60kHz. Since FSK is used, one OFDM symbol for the message (FSK signal in FIG. 7B) has convey a value on a first set of subcarriers (F1) and a value on a second set of subcarriers (F2) . For example, an OFDM symbol with a non-zero value on F1 and a zero value on F2 may represent an FSK symbol “1” .

FIG. 8A illustrates an example schematic 810 of transmission occasions. As shown in FIG. 8A, there are 4 TOs after the end of msg 0 with a same frequency. FIG. 8B illustrates an example schematic 820 of transmission occasions. As shown in FIG. 8B, there are 4 TOs after the end of msg 0, where TO 1 and TO 3 have a same frequency resource, and TO 2 and TO 4 have a same frequency resource. FIG. 8C illustrates an example schematic 830 of transmission occasions. As shown in FIG. 8C, TO 1 is after the end of msg 0 (832) , where TO 2 is after the end of msg 0 (834) , where the msg 0 (832) and the msg 0 (834) are used for different A-IoT devices. For example, a payload of the msg 0 (832) may include a device ID of a specific A-IoT device, and a payload of the msg 0 (834) may include other device ID of other A-IoT device.

FIG. 9A illustrates an example schematic of a three-step procedure 910 in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 9A, a mobility request update 912 may be transmitted before a transmission of the mobility response (Msg 1) . In this case, a transmission occasion for the mobility response may be determined based on the mobility request update 912, e.g. a resource configuration indicated by the mobility request update 912.

FIG. 9B illustrates an example schematic of a five-step procedure 920 in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 9B, a mobility request update 922 may be transmitted before a transmission of the RA preamble (Msg A) . In this case, a transmission occasion for the RA preamble may be determined based on the mobility request update 922, e.g. a resource configuration indicated by the mobility request update 922.

According to some embodiments discussed with reference to FIGS. 4-9B, the A-IoT device may determine to respond with a mobility response after receiving a mobility request from a communication device. Specifically, the A-IoT device will perform mobility update procedure after it received a mobility request sent by a communication device (could be gNB or UE) . This solution may be regarded as a passive mobility mechanism, there is no need for the A-IoT device to perform RRM measurement or cell re-selection, and the A-IoT device will not initiate registration update or TA update to the core network. The A-IoT device may only need to monitor Msg 0, e.g. based on a low power wake up signal (LP-WUS) receiver of based on a RFID like receiver, thus power consumption is extremely low, and the power used is largely saved.

In this solution, it is not required for the network to always know the location of the A-IoT device, e.g., when the device is out-of-power, or when it is in a cell does not support A-IoT service, anyway network will loss the tracking of the A-IoT device. In the solution, tradeoff of power consumption for mobility update reporting may be addressed and an efficient contention mechanism and potential collision among multiple A-IoT devices will be addressed.

FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 1000 implemented at an A-IoT device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the A-IoT device which may perform the method 1000 can be the A-IoT device 401 mentioned above, which may be the A-IoT device 310 as shown in FIG. 3.

At block 1010, the A-IoT device receives, from a communication device, a mobility request comprising a payload, wherein the payload comprises at least one of: an indication for a type of the payload, information of the communication device, information of one or more A-IoT devices, or a resource configuration for a mobility response of the mobility request. At block 1020, the A-IoT device transmits, to the communication device, the mobility response comprising at least one of: a device identifier of the A-IoT device, a type of the A-IoT device, a state of the A-IoT device, an identifier of a device the A-IoT device recently connected to, or an identifier of a cell the A-IoT device recently camped on.

In some example embodiments, the A-IoT device determines to respond to the mobility request if at least one of the following conditions is met: a time duration since a specific time point equals to or exceeds a time threshold, a number of received FL transmissions since a specific time point equals to or exceeds a number threshold, the mobility request is a first received transmission which comprises the payload from the communication device, or the A-IoT device belongs to the one or more A-IoT devices indicated by the mobility request.

In some example embodiments, the specific time point is a time for receiving a recent mobility request or a time for transmitting a recent mobility response.

In some example embodiments, if the mobility request comprises the resource configuration and the resource configuration indicates a plurality of time occasions, the A-IoT device selects one of the plurality of time occasions as a transmission occasion for the mobility response.

In some example embodiments, the A-IoT device generates a first random number based on a number of the plurality of time occasions; and selects the time occasion based on the first random number.

In some example embodiments, the A-IoT device selects a subset from a plurality of subsets of the plurality of time occasions based on at least one of: the state of the A-IoT device, or whether the mobility response is a retransmitted response; the A-IoT device generates a second random number based on the subset; and the A-IoT device selects, from the subset, the time occasion based on the second random number.

In some example embodiments, the A-IoT device determines that the plurality of time occasions is started from an end of the mobility request, or a first time gap after the end of the mobility request.

In some example embodiments, the A-IoT device determines that there is a second time gap between two adjacent time occasions in the plurality of time occasions.

In some example embodiments, the A-IoT device determines that two adjacent time occasions in the plurality of time occasions comprise a first time occasion and a second occasion and the first time occasion is followed by a forward link transmission; and the A-IoT device determines that the second occasion is started from an end of the forward link transmission or a third time gap after the end of the forward link transmission.

In some example embodiments, the information of the communication device comprises at least one of: an identifier associated with the communication device, or a type of the communication device.

In some example embodiments, the A-IoT device determines, based on the type of the communication device, transmission parameters of the mobility response comprising at least one of: transmission timing, transmission power, a physical channel format, modulation or coding schemes, or a physical resource.

In some example embodiments, the information of the one or more A-IoT devices comprises at least one of: a device identifier of the one or more A-IoT devices, a type of the one or more A-IoT devices, an identifier of a group comprising the one or more A-IoT devices, or a state of the one or more A-IoT devices.

In some example embodiments, the state of the one or more A-IoT devices comprises one of: a first state indicating that the one or more A-IoT devices have not responded to any mobility request, a second state indicating that the one or more A-IoT devices have responded for one or more times, a third state indicating that the one or more A-IoT devices have responded to any communication device for a specific time duration, or a fourth state indicating that the one or more A-IoT devices have no information about previous responding.

In some example embodiments, the state of the one or more A-IoT devices indicates that the one or more A-IoT devices have responded for specific times.

In some example embodiments, the mobility request further comprises a sequence of a preamble, wherein the sequence of the preamble is predefined or preconfigured by a network device, and wherein the sequence of the preamble is generated based on at least one of: the device identifier of the A-IoT device, the type of the A-IoT device, an identifier of a group the A-IoT device belongs to, a cell identifier of a cell the A-IoT device located in, or a further identifier configured by a core network entity.

In some example embodiments, the A-IoT device further monitors an updated mobility request from the communication device before transmitting the mobility response; and if an updated mobility request is received, the A-IoT device transmits the mobility response based on the updated mobility request.

In some example embodiments, if the updated mobility request is received, the A-IoT device further determines, based on the updated mobility request, an updated transmission occasion for transmitting the mobility response.

In some example embodiments, the A-IoT device further monitors a further message from the communication device within a time window after transmitting the mobility response.

In some example embodiments, if the further message is detected, the A-IoT device further receives the further message comprising at least one of: an acknowledgement of the mobility response, updated information of the mobility request, or a further source configuration for further transmission of the A-IoT device.

In some example embodiments, if the further message is not detected, the A-IoT device determines a further transmission occasion; and retransmits the mobility response in the further transmission occasion.

In some example embodiments, in response to receiving the mobility request, the A-IoT device transmits, to the communication device, a preamble associated with the A-IoT device. In some example embodiments, the A-IoT device receives, from the communication device, a response to the preamble; and if the response comprises information of the preamble, the A-IoT device determines to respond to the mobility request with the mobility response.

FIG. 11 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 1100 implemented at a communication device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the communication device which may perform the method 1100 can be the communication device 402 mentioned above, which may be the terminal device 320 or the network device 330 as shown in FIG. 3.

At block 1110, the communication device transmits a mobility request comprising a payload, wherein the payload comprises at least one of: an indication for a type of the payload, information of the communication device, information of one or more A-IoT devices, or a resource configuration for a mobility response of the mobility request. At block 1120, the communication device receives, from an A-IoT device of the one or more A-IoT devices, the mobility response comprising at least one of: a device identifier of the A-IoT device, a type of the A-IoT device, a state of the A-IoT device, an identifier of a device the A-IoT device recently connected to, or an identifier of a cell the A-IoT device recently camped on.

In some example embodiments, the resource configuration indicates a plurality of time occasions.

In some example embodiments, the state of the one or more A-IoT devices comprises one of: a first state indicating that the one or more A-IoT devices have not respond any mobility request, a second state indicating that the one or more A-IoT devices have respond for one or more times, a third state indicating that the one or more A-IoT devices have respond any communication device for a specific time duration, or a fourth state indicating that the one or more A-IoT devices have no information about previous responding.

In some example embodiments, the state of the one or more A-IoT devices indicates that the one or more A-IoT devices have respond for specific times.

In some example embodiments, the communication device further determines an updated mobility request; and transmits the updated mobility request prior to receiving the mobility response.

In some example embodiments, the communication device further transmits, to the A-IoT device, a further message within a time window after receiving the mobility response, wherein the further message comprises at least one of: an acknowledgement of the mobility response, updated information of the mobility request, or a further source configuration for further transmission of the A-IoT device.

In some example embodiments, the communication device transmits, to a network node, a mobility report for the A-IoT device if at least one of the following conditions is met: it is a first time that the communication device receives the mobility response from the A-IoT device, the state of the A-IoT device is a specific state, the identifier of a device the A-IoT device recently connected to is different from the communication device, or the identifier of a cell the A-IoT device recently camped on is different from a current cell associated with the communication device.

In some example embodiments, if the communication device is a terminal device, the network node comprises an access network device or a core network entity. In some example embodiments, if the communication device is an access network device, the network node comprises a core network entity.

In some example embodiments, the communication device starts a timer for a further mobility response from the A-IoT device.

In some example embodiments, the mobility report comprises at least one of: the device identifier of the A-IoT device, or the information of the communication device.

Details of some embodiments according to the present disclosure have been described with reference to FIGS. 3-11. Now an example implementation of the A-IoT device and the communication device will be discussed below.

In some example embodiments, an A-IoT device comprises circuitry configured to: receive, from a communication device, a mobility request comprising a payload, wherein the payload comprises at least one of: an indication for a type of the payload, information of the communication device, information of one or more A-IoT devices, or a resource configuration for a mobility response of the mobility request; and transmit, to the communication device, the mobility response comprising at least one of: a device identifier of the A-IoT device, a type of the A-IoT device, a state of the A-IoT device, an identifier of a device the A-IoT device recently connected to, or an identifier of a cell the A-IoT device recently camped on.

In some example embodiments, the A-IoT device comprises circuitry configured to: in accordance with a determination that at least one of the following conditions is met, determine to respond to the mobility request: a time duration since a specific time point equals to or exceeds a time threshold, a number of received FL transmissions since a specific time point equals to or exceeds a number threshold, the mobility request is a first received transmission which comprises the payload from the communication device, or the A-IoT device belongs to the one or more A-IoT devices indicated by the mobility request.

In some example embodiments, the A-IoT device comprises circuitry configured to: in accordance with a determination that the mobility request comprises the resource configuration and the resource configuration indicates a plurality of time occasions, selecting one of the plurality of time occasions as a transmission occasion for the mobility response.

In some example embodiments, the A-IoT device comprises circuitry configured to select the transmission occasion by: generating a first random number based on a number of the plurality of time occasions; and selecting the time occasion based on the first random number.

In some example embodiments, the A-IoT device comprises circuitry configured to select the transmission occasion by: selecting a subset from a plurality of subsets of the plurality of time occasions based on at least one of: the state of the A-IoT device, or whether the mobility response is a retransmitted response; generating a second random number based on the subset; and selecting, from the subset, the time occasion based on the second random number.

In some example embodiments, the A-IoT device comprises circuitry configured to: determine that the plurality of time occasions is started from an end of the mobility request, or a first time gap after the end of the mobility request.

In some example embodiments, the A-IoT device comprises circuitry configured to: determine that there is a second time gap between two adjacent time occasions in the plurality of time occasions.

In some example embodiments, the A-IoT device comprises circuitry configured to: determine that two adjacent time occasions in the plurality of time occasions comprise a first time occasion and a second occasion and the first time occasion is followed by a forward link transmission; and determine that the second occasion is started from an end of the forward link transmission or a third time gap after the end of the forward link transmission.

In some example embodiments, the A-IoT device comprises circuitry configured to: determine, based on the type of the communication device, transmission parameters of the mobility response comprising at least one of: transmission timing, transmission power, a physical channel format, modulation or coding schemes, or a physical resource.

In some example embodiments, the A-IoT device comprises circuitry configured to: monitor an updated mobility request from the communication device before transmitting the mobility response; and in accordance with a determination that an updated mobility request is received, transmit the mobility response based on the updated mobility request.

In some example embodiments, the A-IoT device comprises circuitry configured to: in accordance with a determination that the updated mobility request is received, determine, based on the updated mobility request, an updated transmission occasion for transmitting the mobility response.

In some example embodiments, the A-IoT device comprises circuitry configured to: monitor a further message from the communication device within a time window after transmitting the mobility response.

In some example embodiments, the A-IoT device comprises circuitry configured to: in accordance with a determination that the further message is detected, receive the further message comprising at least one of: an acknowledgement of the mobility response, updated information of the mobility request, or a further source configuration for further transmission of the A-IoT device.

In some example embodiments, the A-IoT device comprises circuitry configured to: in accordance with a determination that the further message is not detected, determine a further transmission occasion; and retransmit the mobility response in the further transmission occasion.

In some example embodiments, the A-IoT device comprises circuitry configured to: in response to receiving the mobility request, transmit, to the communication device, a preamble associated with the A-IoT device; receive, from the communication device, a response to the preamble; and in accordance with a determination that the response comprises information of the preamble, determine to respond to the mobility request with the mobility response.

In some example embodiments, a communication device (such as a network device or a terminal device) comprises circuitry configured to: transmit a mobility request comprising a payload, wherein the payload comprises at least one of: an indication for a type of the payload, information of the communication device, information of one or more A-IoT devices, or a resource configuration for a mobility response of the mobility request; and receive, from an A-IoT device of the one or more A-IoT devices, the mobility response comprising at least one of: a device identifier of the A-IoT device, a type of the A-IoT device, a state of the A-IoT device, an identifier of a device the A-IoT device recently connected to, or an identifier of a cell the A-IoT device recently camped on.

In some example embodiments, the communication device comprises circuitry configured to: determine an updated mobility request; and transmit the updated mobility request prior to receiving the mobility response.

In some example embodiments, the communication device comprises circuitry configured to: transmit, to the A-IoT device, a further message within a time window after receiving the mobility response, wherein the further message comprises at least one of: an acknowledgement of the mobility response, updated information of the mobility request, or a further source configuration for further transmission of the A-IoT device.

In some example embodiments, the communication device comprises circuitry configured to: in accordance with a determination that at least one of the following conditions is met, transmit, to a network node, a mobility report for the A-IoT device: it is a first time that the communication device receives the mobility response from the A-IoT device, the state of the A-IoT device is a specific state, the identifier of a device the A-IoT device recently connected to is different from the communication device, or the identifier of a cell the A-IoT device recently camped on is different from a current cell associated with the communication device.

In some example embodiments, in accordance with a determination that the communication device is a terminal device, the network node comprises an access network device or a core network entity, or in accordance with a determination that the communication device is an access network device, the network node comprises a core network entity.

In some example embodiments, the communication device comprises circuitry configured to: start a timer for a further mobility response from the A-IoT device.

FIG. 12 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device 1200 that is suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 1200 can be considered as a further example implementation of the A-IoT device and the communication device as described above. Accordingly, the device 1200 can be implemented at or as at least a part of the A-IoT device or the communication device.

As shown, the device 1200 includes a processor 1210, a memory 1220 coupled to the processor 1210, a suitable transceiver 1240 coupled to the processor 1210, and a communication interface coupled to the transceiver 1240. The memory 1220 stores at least a part of a program 1230. The transceiver 1240 may be for bidirectional communications or a unidirectional communication based on requirements. The transceiver 1240 may include at least one of a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter and the receiver may be functional modules or physical entities. The transceiver1240 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication, though in practice an Access Node mentioned in this application may have several ones. The communication interface may represent any interface that is necessary for communication with other network elements, such as X2/Xn interface for bidirectional communications between eNBs/gNBs, S1/NG interface for communication between a Mobility Management Entity (MME) /Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) /SGW/UPF and the eNB/gNB, Un interface for communication between the eNB/gNB and a relay node (RN) , or Uu interface for communication between the eNB/gNB and a terminal device.

The program 1230 is assumed to include program instructions that, when executed by the associated processor 1210, enable the device 1200 to operate in accordance with the embodiments of the present disclosure, as discussed herein with reference to FIGS. 3-11. The embodiments herein may be implemented by computer software executable by the processor 1210 of the device 1200, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. The processor 1210 may be configured to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure. Furthermore, a combination of the processor 1210 and memory 1220 may form processing means 1250 adapted to implement various embodiments of the present disclosure.

The memory 1220 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and removable memory, as non-limiting examples. While only one memory 1220 is shown in the device 1200, there may be several physically distinct memory modules in the device 1200. The processor 1210 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network, and may include one or more of general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The device 1200 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock which synchronizes the main processor.

In summary, embodiments of the present disclosure may provide the following solutions.

The present disclosure provides an A-IoT device, comprising at least one processor configured to cause the A-IoT device at least to: receive, from a communication device, a mobility request comprising a payload, wherein the payload comprises at least one of: an indication for a type of the payload, information of the communication device, information of one or more A-IoT devices, or a resource configuration for a mobility response of the mobility request; and transmit, to the communication device, the mobility response comprising at least one of: a device identifier of the A-IoT device, a type of the A-IoT device, a state of the A-IoT device, an identifier of a device the A-IoT device recently connected to, or an identifier of a cell the A-IoT device recently camped on.

In one embodiment, the A-IoT device as above, the at least one processor is further configured to cause the A-IoT device to: in accordance with a determination that at least one of the following conditions is met, determine to respond to the mobility request: a time duration since a specific time point equals to or exceeds a time threshold, a number of received forward link (FL) transmissions since a specific time point equals to or exceeds a number threshold, the mobility request is a first received transmission which comprises the payload from the communication device, or the A-IoT device belongs to the one or more A-IoT devices indicated by the mobility request.

In one embodiment, the A-IoT device as above, the specific time point is a time for receiving a recent mobility request or a time for transmitting a recent mobility response.

In one embodiment, the A-IoT device as above, the at least one processor is further configured to cause the A-IoT device to: in accordance with a determination that the mobility request comprises the resource configuration and the resource configuration indicates a plurality of time occasions, selecting one of the plurality of time occasions as a transmission occasion for the mobility response.

In one embodiment, the A-IoT device as above, the at least one processor is configured to cause the A-IoT device to select the transmission occasion by: generating a first random number based on a number of the plurality of time occasions; and selecting the time occasion based on the first random number.

In one embodiment, the A-IoT device as above, the at least one processor is configured to cause the A-IoT device to select the transmission occasion by: selecting a subset from a plurality of subsets of the plurality of time occasions based on at least one of: the state of the A-IoT device, or whether the mobility response is a retransmitted response; generating a second random number based on the subset; and selecting, from the subset, the time occasion based on the second random number.

In one embodiment, the A-IoT device as above, the at least one processor is further configured to cause the A-IoT device to: determine that the plurality of time occasions is started from: an end of the mobility request, or a first time gap after the end of the mobility request.

In one embodiment, the A-IoT device as above, the at least one processor is further configured to cause the A-IoT device to: determine that there is a second time gap between two adjacent time occasions in the plurality of time occasions.

In one embodiment, the A-IoT device as above, the at least one processor is further configured to cause the A-IoT device to: determine that two adjacent time occasions in the plurality of time occasions comprise a first time occasion and a second occasion and the first time occasion is followed by a forward link transmission; and determine that the second occasion is started from an end of the forward link transmission or a third time gap after the end of the forward link transmission.

In one embodiment, the A-IoT device as above, the information of the communication device comprises at least one of: an identifier associated with the communication device, or a type of the communication device.

In one embodiment, the A-IoT device as above, the at least one processor is further configured to cause the A-IoT device to: determine, based on the type of the communication device, transmission parameters of the mobility response comprising at least one of: transmission timing, transmission power, a physical channel format, modulation or coding schemes, or a physical resource.

In one embodiment, the A-IoT device as above, the information of the one or more A-IoT devices comprises at least one of: a device identifier of the one or more A-IoT devices, a type of the one or more A-IoT devices, an identifier of a group comprising the one or more A-IoT devices, or a state of the one or more A-IoT devices.

In one embodiment, the A-IoT device as above, the state of the one or more A-IoT devices comprises one of: a first state indicating that the one or more A-IoT devices have not responded to any mobility request, a second state indicating that the one or more A-IoT devices have responded for one or more times, a third state indicating that the one or more A-IoT devices have responded to any communication device for a specific time duration, or a fourth state indicating that the one or more A-IoT devices have no information about previous responding.

In one embodiment, the A-IoT device as above, the state of the one or more A-IoT devices indicates that the one or more A-IoT devices have responded for specific times.

In one embodiment, the A-IoT device as above, the mobility request further comprises a sequence of a preamble, wherein the sequence of the preamble is predefined or preconfigured by a network device, and wherein the sequence of the preamble is generated based on at least one of: the device identifier of the A-IoT device, the type of the A-IoT device, an identifier of a group the A-IoT device belongs to, a cell identifier of a cell the A-IoT device located in, or a further identifier configured by a core network entity.

In one embodiment, the A-IoT device as above, the at least one processor is further configured to cause the A-IoT device to: monitor an updated mobility request from the communication device before transmitting the mobility response; and in accordance with a determination that an updated mobility request is received, transmit the mobility response based on the updated mobility request.

In one embodiment, the A-IoT device as above, the at least one processor is further configured to cause the A-IoT device to: in accordance with a determination that the updated mobility request is received, determine, based on the updated mobility request, an updated transmission occasion for transmitting the mobility response.

In one embodiment, the A-IoT device as above, the at least one processor is further configured to cause the A-IoT device to: monitor a further message from the communication device within a time window after transmitting the mobility response.

In one embodiment, the A-IoT device as above, the at least one processor is further configured to cause the A-IoT device to: in accordance with a determination that the further message is detected, receive the further message comprising at least one of: an acknowledgement of the mobility response, updated information of the mobility request, or a further source configuration for further transmission of the A-IoT device.

In one embodiment, the A-IoT device as above, the at least one processor is further configured to cause the A-IoT device to: in accordance with a determination that the further message is not detected, determine a further transmission occasion; and retransmit the mobility response in the further transmission occasion.

In one embodiment, the A-IoT device as above, the at least one processor is further configured to cause the A-IoT device to: in response to receiving the mobility request, transmit, to the communication device, a preamble associated with the A-IoT device; receive, from the communication device, a response to the preamble; and in accordance with a determination that the response comprises information of the preamble, determine to respond to the mobility request with the mobility response.

The present disclosure provides a communication device, comprising at least one processor configured to cause the communication device at least to: transmit a mobility request comprising a payload, wherein the payload comprises at least one of: an indication for a type of the payload, information of the communication device, information of one or more ambient internet of things (A-IoT) devices, or a resource configuration for a mobility response of the mobility request; and receive, from an A-IoT device of the one or more A-IoT devices, the mobility response comprising at least one of: a device identifier of the A-IoT device, a type of the A-IoT device, a state of the A-IoT device, an identifier of a device the A-IoT device recently connected to, or an identifier of a cell the A-IoT device recently camped on.

In one embodiment, the communication device as above, the resource configuration indicates a plurality of time occasions.

In one embodiment, the communication device as above, the information of the communication device comprises at least one of: an identifier associated with the communication device, or a type of the communication device.

In one embodiment, the communication device as above, the information of the one or more A-IoT devices comprises at least one of: a device identifier of the one or more A-IoT devices, a type of the one or more A-IoT devices, an identifier of a group comprising the one or more A-IoT devices, or a state of the one or more A-IoT devices.

In one embodiment, the communication device as above, the state of the one or more A-IoT devices comprises one of: a first state indicating that the one or more A-IoT devices have not respond any mobility request, a second state indicating that the one or more A-IoT devices have respond for one or more times, a third state indicating that the one or more A-IoT devices have respond any communication device for a specific time duration, or a fourth state indicating that the one or more A-IoT devices have no information about previous responding.

In one embodiment, the communication device as above, the state of the one or more A-IoT devices indicates that the one or more A-IoT devices have respond for specific times.

In one embodiment, the communication device as above, the mobility request further comprises a sequence of a preamble, wherein the sequence of the preamble is predefined or preconfigured by a network device, and wherein the sequence of the preamble is generated based on at least one of: the device identifier of the A-IoT device, the type of the A-IoT device, an identifier of a group the A-IoT device belongs to, a cell identifier of a cell the A-IoT device located in, or a further identifier configured by a core network entity.

In one embodiment, the communication device as above, the at least one processor is further configured to cause the communication device to: determine an updated mobility request; and transmit the updated mobility request prior to receiving the mobility response.

In one embodiment, the communication device as above, the at least one processor is further configured to cause the communication device to: transmit, to the A-IoT device, a further message within a time window after receiving the mobility response, wherein the further message comprises at least one of: an acknowledgement of the mobility response, updated information of the mobility request, or a further source configuration for further transmission of the A-IoT device.

In one embodiment, the communication device as above, the at least one processor is further configured to cause the communication device to: in accordance with a determination that at least one of the following conditions is met, transmit, to a network node, a mobility report for the A-IoT device: it is a first time that the communication device receives the mobility response from the A-IoT device, the state of the A-IoT device is a specific state, the identifier of a device the A-IoT device recently connected to is different from the communication device, or the identifier of a cell the A-IoT device recently camped on is different from a current cell associated with the communication device.

In one embodiment, the communication device as above, in accordance with a determination that the communication device is a terminal device, the network node comprises an access network device or a core network entity.

In one embodiment, the communication device as above, the at least one processor is further configured to cause the communication device to: in accordance with a determination that the communication device is an access network device, the network node comprises a core network entity.

In one embodiment, the communication device as above, the at least one processor is further configured to cause the communication device to: start a timer for a further mobility response from the A-IoT device.

In one embodiment, the communication device as above, the mobility report comprises at least one of: the device identifier of the A-IoT device, or the information of the communication device.

The present disclosure provides a method of communication, comprising the operations implemented at the A-IoT device discussed above.

The present disclosure provides a method of communication, comprising the operations implemented at the communication device discussed above.

The present disclosure provides an A-IoT device, comprising: a processor; and a memory storing computer program codes; the memory and the computer program codes configured to, with the processor, cause the A-IoT device to perform the method implemented at the A-IoT device discussed above.

The present disclosure provides a communication device, comprising: a processor; and a memory storing computer program codes; the memory and the computer program codes configured to, with the processor, cause the communication device to perform the method implemented at the communication device discussed above.

The present disclosure provides a computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions, when executed by a processor of an apparatus, causing the apparatus to perform the method implemented at an A-IoT device or a communication device discussed above.

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

The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, being executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor, to carry out the process or method as described above. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, or the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired in various embodiments. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

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

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

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

Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the present disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

An ambient internet of things (A-IoT) device comprising at least one processor configured to cause the A-IoT device at least to:

receive, from a communication device, a mobility request comprising a payload, wherein the payload comprises at least one of:

an indication for a type of the payload,

information of the communication device,

information of one or more A-IoT devices, or

a resource configuration for a mobility response of the mobility request; and

transmit, to the communication device, the mobility response comprising at least one of:

a device identifier of the A-IoT device,

a type of the A-IoT device,

a state of the A-IoT device,

an identifier of a device the A-IoT device recently connected to, or

an identifier of a cell the A-IoT device recently camped on.
The A-IoT device of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the A-IoT device to:

in accordance with a determination that at least one of the following conditions is met, determine to respond to the mobility request:

a time duration since a specific time point equals to or exceeds a time threshold,

a number of received forward link (FL) transmissions since a specific time point equals to or exceeds a number threshold,

the mobility request is a first received transmission which comprises the payload from the communication device, or

the A-IoT device belongs to the one or more A-IoT devices indicated by the mobility request.
The A-IoT device of claim 2, wherein the specific time point is a time for receiving a recent mobility request or a time for transmitting a recent mobility response.
The A-IoT device of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the A-IoT device to:

in accordance with a determination that the mobility request comprises the resource configuration and the resource configuration indicates a plurality of time occasions, selecting one of the plurality of time occasions as a transmission occasion for the mobility response.
The A-IoT device of claim 4, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the A-IoT device to select the transmission occasion by:

generating a first random number based on a number of the plurality of time occasions; and

selecting the time occasion based on the first random number.
The A-IoT device of claim 4, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the A-IoT device to select the transmission occasion by:

selecting a subset from a plurality of subsets of the plurality of time occasions based on at least one of:

the state of the A-IoT device, or

whether the mobility response is a retransmitted response;

generating a second random number based on the subset; and

selecting, from the subset, the time occasion based on the second random number.
The A-IoT device of claim 4, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the A-IoT device to:

determine that two adjacent time occasions in the plurality of time occasions comprise a first time occasion and a second occasion and the first time occasion is followed by a forward link transmission; and

determine that the second occasion is started from an end of the forward link transmission or a third time gap after the end of the forward link transmission.
The A-IoT device of claim 1, wherein the information of the communication device comprises at least one of:

an identifier associated with the communication device, or

a type of the communication device.
The A-IoT device of claim 8, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the A-IoT device to:

determine, based on the type of the communication device, transmission parameters of the mobility response comprising at least one of:

transmission timing,

transmission power,

a physical channel format,

modulation or coding schemes, or

a physical resource.
The A-IoT device of claim 1, wherein the information of the one or more A-IoT devices comprises at least one of:

a device identifier of the one or more A-IoT devices,

a type of the one or more A-IoT devices,

an identifier of a group comprising the one or more A-IoT devices, or

a state of the one or more A-IoT devices.
The A-IoT device of claim 10, wherein the state of the one or more A-IoT devices comprises one of:

a first state indicating that the one or more A-IoT devices have not responded to any mobility request,

a second state indicating that the one or more A-IoT devices have responded for one or more times,

a third state indicating that the one or more A-IoT devices have responded to any communication device for a specific time duration, or

a fourth state indicating that the one or more A-IoT devices have no information about previous responding.
The A-IoT device of claim 10, wherein the state of the one or more A-IoT devices indicates that the one or more A-IoT devices have responded for specific times.
The A-IoT device of claim 1, wherein the mobility request further comprises a sequence of a preamble,

wherein the sequence of the preamble is predefined or preconfigured by a network device, and wherein the sequence of the preamble is generated based on at least one of:

the device identifier of the A-IoT device,

the type of the A-IoT device,

an identifier of a group the A-IoT device belongs to,

a cell identifier of a cell the A-IoT device located in, or

a further identifier configured by a core network entity.
The A-IoT device of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the A-IoT device to:

monitor an updated mobility request from the communication device before transmitting the mobility response; and

in accordance with a determination that an updated mobility request is received, transmit the mobility response based on the updated mobility request.
The A-IoT device of claim 14, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the A-IoT device to:

in accordance with a determination that the updated mobility request is received, determine, based on the updated mobility request, an updated transmission occasion for transmitting the mobility response.
The A-IoT device of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the A-IoT device to:

monitor a further message from the communication device within a time window after transmitting the mobility response.
The A-IoT device of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the A-IoT device to:

in response to receiving the mobility request, transmit, to the communication device, a preamble associated with the A-IoT device;

receive, from the communication device, a response to the preamble; and

in accordance with a determination that the response comprises information of the preamble, determine to respond to the mobility request with the mobility response.
A communication device comprising at least one processor configured to cause the communication device at least to:

transmit a mobility request comprising a payload, wherein the payload comprises at least one of:

an indication for a type of the payload,

information of the communication device,

information of one or more ambient internet of things (A-IoT) devices, or

a resource configuration for a mobility response of the mobility request; and

receive, from an A-IoT device of the one or more A-IoT devices, the mobility response comprising at least one of:

a device identifier of the A-IoT device,

a type of the A-IoT device,

a state of the A-IoT device,

an identifier of a device the A-IoT device recently connected to, or

an identifier of a cell the A-IoT device recently camped on.
The communication device of claim 18, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause the communication device to:

in accordance with a determination that at least one of the following conditions is met, transmit, to a network node, a mobility report for the A-IoT device:

it is a first time that the communication device receives the mobility response from the A-IoT device,

the state of the A-IoT device is a specific state,

the identifier of a device the A-IoT device recently connected to is different from the communication device, or

the identifier of a cell the A-IoT device recently camped on is different from a current cell associated with the communication device.
The communication device of claim 19, wherein the mobility report comprises at least one of:

the device identifier of the A-IoT device, or

the information of the communication device.