WO2026056696A1 - Communication method and apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of communications. Provided are a communication method and apparatus. The method comprises: a first network element receiving a first message from a second network element, wherein the first message is used for requesting that a network and a first terminal collaboratively execute a sensing policy of a sensing task; and on the basis of the first message, sending a first sensing policy to the second network element, wherein the first sensing policy comprises an identifier of a target sensing processing node used for executing the sensing task. In the present application, after receiving a first message, a first network element determines that a network and a first terminal collaboratively execute a sensing task, then acquires a first sensing policy used for executing the sensing task, and can determine, on the basis of the first sensing policy, a target sensing processing node on a network side that is used for executing the sensing task, thereby realizing collaborative processing of the sensing task by the terminal and the network. Further, on the basis of the collaborative processing of the sensing task by the terminal and the network, the data processing efficiency can be improved.

Description

A communication method and apparatus

Cross-references to related applications

This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411296345.6, filed on September 14, 2024, entitled "A Communication Method and Apparatus", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

This application relates to the field of communication technology, and in particular to a communication method and apparatus.

Background Technology

Wireless sensing technology analyzes changes in wireless signals during propagation to obtain the characteristics of the signal propagation space (channel), thereby enabling scene perception. Acquiring sensing information from the environment is one of the crucial foundational technologies in future network technologies, making the integration of communication and sensing an inevitable trend.

Perception tasks typically involving artificial intelligence (AI) applications require large models and multimodal technologies, placing high demands on computing power, video memory, and bandwidth. Processing these applications is difficult to perform alone on the terminal side. Collaborative processing of perception tasks by the terminal and network sides can improve data processing efficiency, but related technologies do not yet provide solutions for this collaborative processing.

Summary of the Invention

This application provides a communication method and apparatus to enable terminals and networks to collaboratively process sensing tasks.

Firstly, this application provides a communication method applicable to a first network element, wherein the first network element is used for data management of a sensing task. The first network element can be the first network element itself, a component within the first network element (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system), or a logic module or software implementing all or part of the functions of the first network element. This application does not specifically limit the scope of the application.

This method can be applied to 5G communication systems or higher, and also to non-terrestrial communication systems; this application does not specifically limit its application. The execution is as follows:

The system receives a first message from a second network element, which requests the network and the first terminal to cooperate in executing a perception strategy for a perception task. Based on the first message, the system sends a first perception strategy to the second network element, which includes an identifier of the target perception processing node for executing the perception task.

In this application, after receiving the first message, the first network element determines that the network and the first terminal are collaboratively executing a sensing task. It then acquires a first sensing strategy for executing the sensing task. Based on the first sensing strategy, the target sensing processing node on the network side for executing the sensing task can be determined, thereby enabling collaborative processing of the sensing task by the terminal and the network. Furthermore, based on the collaborative processing of the sensing task by the terminal and the network, data processing efficiency can be improved.

In one alternative approach, the first message includes: the location information of the first terminal and the type of sensing task.

In this process, after the first network element obtains the location information of the first terminal, it combines the location information of the first terminal to allocate at least one target perception and processing node that is close to the first terminal, which can improve data processing efficiency.

Among them, the type of sensing task is related to the resource requirements of the sensing task. Generally, sensing tasks can be divided into different types according to different real-time requirements and accuracy requirements. Different types of sensing tasks also have different computing power requirements for sensing processing nodes. Based on the type of sensing task, the first network element can allocate target sensing processing nodes that meet the sensing task requirements of the first terminal.

In one alternative approach, the first message may further include one or more of the following: an identifier of the sensing task, the computing resource requirements of the sensing task, and first instruction information; wherein the first instruction information indicates that the network performs the data computation of the sensing task, or that the first terminal does not perform the data computation of the sensing task, or that the first terminal performs part of the data computation of the sensing task.

Specifically, based on the identifier of the sensing task, the first network element can clearly assign a sensing processing node to which sensing task. Based on the computing resource requirements of the sensing task, the first network element can clearly select which sensing processing nodes to use for the sensing task. Based on the first instruction information, the first network element can clearly assist the first terminal in executing the sensing task.

In one alternative approach, the first network element further acquires capability information and location information of at least one sensing processing node; based on the first message, the capability information and location information of at least one sensing processing node, a target sensing processing node is determined, and the target sensing processing node is used for data calculation for sensing tasks.

Based on this, the target sensing processing node allocated by the first network element to the first terminal's sensing task is more adapted to the needs of the first terminal's sensing task.

In one alternative approach, the first perception strategy is associated with at least one of the following:

The first terminal's perception configuration strategy, the network's perception configuration strategy, the target perception processing node's capability information, the first terminal's location information, or the target perception processing node's location information.

In this application, the first network element determines the first sensing strategy by referring to the above information, which can ensure that the first sensing strategy is more adapted to the needs of the sensing task.

In one alternative approach, the first sensing strategy further includes: a first terminal performing a first part of the sensing task, and/or a target sensing processing node performing a second part of the sensing task, wherein the first part and the second part constitute the sensing task.

The first part of the sensing task can be acquiring sensing data based on communication sensing and reporting the sensing data to the network. Correspondingly, the second part of the sensing task is receiving the sensing data, processing the sensing data (e.g., clustering, AI processing, etc.) to obtain sensing results, and sending the sensing results to the first terminal. Alternatively, the first part of the sensing task can also be acquiring sensing data based on communication sensing, performing clustering processing on the sensing data to obtain clustered sensing data, reporting the clustered sensing data to the network, and correspondingly, the second part of the sensing task is receiving the clustered sensing data, processing the clustered sensing data (e.g., AI processing, etc.) to obtain sensing results, and sending the sensing results to the first terminal. This is merely an illustrative example and does not specifically limit the first and second parts of the task.

Based on the first perception strategy, the first terminal and the network can clearly define how to perform perception tasks.

In one alternative approach, the first message is a session establishment request message, and the first perception strategy also includes an identifier of the session corresponding to the perception task.

This application establishes a perception strategy that enables the network and the first terminal to collaboratively execute perception tasks. This strategy can open up the path from the network side to the terminal side, save signaling overhead, rationally allocate network and terminal side resources for processing perception tasks, and improve processing efficiency.

Secondly, this application provides a communication method applicable to a first network element, wherein the first network element is used for data management of a sensing task. The first network element can be the first network element itself, a component within the first network element (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system), or a logic module or software that implements all or part of the functions of the first network element. This application does not specifically limit the scope of the application.

This method can be applied to 5G communication systems or communication systems above 5G, and can also be applied to non-terrestrial communication systems; this application does not specifically limit its application. The execution is as follows:

The system receives a second message from a second network element. The second message is used to trigger the creation of a first sensing task for a first terminal. The first network element is used for data management of the first sensing task. The system sends first information to the second network element according to the second message. The first information includes the identifier of the first sensing task and the identifier of the first target sensing processing node used to execute the first sensing task.

In this application, after receiving the second message, the first network element determines to create a first sensing task. Then, the first network element obtains the identifier of the first target sensing processing node used to execute the first sensing task and the identifier of the first sensing task, and sends these identifiers to the second network element. Based on this, after creating the first sensing task, the first target sensing processing node on the network side that can subsequently execute the first sensing task can be determined. Furthermore, collaborative processing of the first sensing task by the terminal and the network can be achieved.

In one alternative approach, the second message includes: the location information of the first terminal and the type of the first sensing task.

In this process, after the first network element obtains the location information of the first terminal, it combines the location information of the first terminal to allocate one or more target perception and processing nodes that are close to the first terminal, which can improve data processing efficiency.

Among them, the type of sensing task is related to the resource requirements of the sensing task. Generally, sensing tasks can be divided into different types according to different real-time requirements and accuracy requirements. Different types of sensing tasks also have different computing power requirements for sensing processing nodes. Based on the type of sensing task, the first network element can allocate target sensing processing nodes that meet the sensing task requirements of the first terminal.

In one alternative approach, the second message further includes one or more of the following: the computing resource requirements of the first sensing task, second indication information, and an identifier of the session used to carry the first sensing task; wherein the second indication information is used to indicate that the data computation of the first sensing task is performed by the network, or that the first terminal does not perform the data computation of the first sensing task, or that the first terminal performs part of the data computation of the first sensing task.

Based on the computational resource requirements of the first sensing task, the first network element can determine which sensing processing nodes to select for the first sensing task. Based on the second instruction information, the first network element can determine which network and the first terminal will collaboratively execute the first sensing task.

Based on the identifier of the session used to carry the first sensing task, the first network element can determine how to schedule computing resources, thereby improving the sensing performance and service experience on the terminal side.

In one alternative approach, the first network element further acquires capability information and location information of at least one sensing processing node; based on the second message, the capability information and location information of at least one sensing processing node, a first target sensing processing node is determined, and the first target sensing processing node is used for data calculation of the second sensing task.

Based on this, the target sensing processing node allocated by the first network element to the first terminal's sensing task is more adapted to the needs of the first terminal's sensing task.

In one alternative approach, the first information is associated with at least one of the following:

The first terminal's perception configuration strategy, the network's perception configuration strategy, the capability information of the first target perception processing node, the location information of the first terminal, or the location information of the first target perception processing node.

In this application, the first network element determines the first sensing strategy by referring to the above information, which can ensure that the first sensing strategy is more adapted to the needs of the first sensing task.

In one alternative approach, the first information further includes: a second sensing strategy, the second sensing strategy instructing the first terminal to perform a first part of the first sensing task, and/or, the first target sensing processing node to perform a second part of the first sensing task, the first part of the task and the second part of the task constituting the first sensing task.

The first part of the first sensing task can be acquiring sensing data based on communication sensing and reporting the sensing data to the network. Correspondingly, the second part of the first sensing task can be receiving sensing data, processing the sensing data (e.g., clustering, AI processing, etc.) to obtain sensing results, and sending the sensing results to the first terminal. Alternatively, the first part of the first sensing task can also be acquiring sensing data based on communication sensing, performing clustering processing on the sensing data to obtain clustered sensing data, and reporting the clustered sensing data to the network. Correspondingly, the second part of the first sensing task can be receiving the clustered sensing data, processing the clustered sensing data (e.g., AI processing, etc.) to obtain sensing results, and sending the sensing results to the first terminal. This is merely an illustrative example and does not specifically limit the first and second parts of the task.

Based on the second sensing strategy, the first terminal and the network can clearly define how to perform the first sensing task.

In one alternative approach, when the first condition is met, the first network element acquires a second target sensing processing node, which is different from the first target sensing processing node; and sends a third sensing strategy to the second network element, the third sensing strategy including: the first terminal executing a third part of the first sensing task, and/or the second target sensing processing node executing a fourth part of the first sensing task, the third part of the task and the fourth part of the task constituting the first sensing task.

The third part of the first sensing task can be the same as the first part, such as acquiring sensing data based on communication sensing and reporting the sensing data to the network. Correspondingly, the fourth part of the first sensing task can be the same as the second part. Alternatively, the third part can be different from the first part. For example, if the first part involves acquiring sensing data based on communication sensing and reporting it to the network, the third part involves acquiring sensing data based on communication sensing, performing clustering processing on the sensing data to obtain clustered sensing data, and reporting the clustered sensing data to the network. Correspondingly, the fourth part of the first sensing task can be different from the second part. This is merely an illustrative example and does not specifically limit the third and fourth parts of the task.

Based on the specific requirements of the first perception task, we can determine whether to modify the first perception task and adjust the computing resources used to execute it. This can ensure the execution efficiency and user experience of the first perception task.

In one alternative approach, the first condition includes one of the following:

The first network element receives a third message from the second network element, the third message being used to request modification of the first sensing task; or, the first network element obtains the state change information of the first target sensing processing node, and determines based on the state change information that the first target sensing processing node cannot execute the first sensing task.

Based on this, it can be clearly determined under what circumstances the first perception task should be modified.

In one alternative approach, the third message includes: information on changes in the computational resource requirements of the first sensing task, and/or, a third instruction message indicating a modification to the first sensing task.

Thirdly, this application provides a communication method applicable to a second network element, wherein the second network element is used for information distribution for a sensing task. The second network element can be the second network element itself, a component within the second network element (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system), or a logic module or software implementing all or part of the functions of the second network element. This application does not specifically limit the scope of the application.

This method can be applied to 5G communication systems or communication systems above 5G, and can also be applied to non-terrestrial communication systems; however, this application does not specifically limit its application. The execution is as follows:

The system receives a fourth message from the first terminal, which requests the network and the first terminal to cooperate in executing a sensing strategy for a sensing task; sends a first message to the first network element based on the fourth message, which requests the network and the first terminal to cooperate in executing a sensing strategy for a sensing task; receives a first sensing strategy from the first network element, which includes an identifier of the target sensing processing node for executing the sensing task; and sends the first sensing strategy to the first terminal.

In this application, after the first terminal sends a fourth message to the second network element, the second network element determines that the network and the first terminal are cooperating in performing the sensing task. Then, the second network element sends a first message to the first network element to obtain a first sensing strategy for performing the sensing task. After obtaining the first sensing strategy, the first network element sends the first sensing strategy to the first terminal. Based on the first sensing strategy, the terminal and the network can achieve collaborative processing of the sensing task. Furthermore, based on the collaborative processing of the sensing task by the terminal and the network, data processing efficiency can be improved.

In one alternative approach, the fourth message includes the type of the perception task.

In one alternative approach, the fourth message may further include one or more of the following: an identifier of the sensing task, the computing resource requirements of the sensing task, the location information of the first terminal, and a first indication; wherein the first indication indicates that the network performs the data computation of the sensing task, or that the first terminal does not perform the data computation of the sensing task, or that the first terminal performs part of the data computation of the sensing task.

In one alternative approach, the first sensing strategy further includes: a first terminal performing a first part of the sensing task, and/or a target sensing processing node performing a second part of the sensing task, wherein the first part and the second part constitute the sensing task.

In one alternative approach, the fourth message is a session establishment request message, and the first perception strategy also includes an identifier of the session corresponding to the perception task.

Fourthly, this application provides a communication method applicable to a second network element, wherein the second network element is used for information distribution for a sensing task. The second network element can be the second network element itself, a component within the second network element (e.g., a processor, chip, or chip system), or a logic module or software implementing all or part of the functions of the second network element. This application does not specifically limit the scope of the application.

This method can be applied to 5G communication systems or communication systems above 5G, and can also be applied to non-terrestrial communication systems; however, this application does not specifically limit its application. The execution is as follows:

The system receives a fifth message from the first terminal, which triggers the creation of a first sensing task for the first terminal. The first network element is used for data management of the first sensing task. The system sends a second message to the first network element based on the fifth message, which triggers the creation of the first sensing task for the first terminal. The system receives first information from the first network element, which includes the identifier of the first sensing task and the identifier of the first target sensing processing node used to execute the first sensing task. The system then sends the first information to the first terminal.

In one alternative approach, the fifth message includes: the type of the first perceptual task.

In one alternative approach, the fifth message may further include one or more of the following: location information of the first terminal, computing resource requirements of the first sensing task, second indication information, and an identifier of the session used to carry the first sensing task; wherein the second indication information is used to indicate that the data computation of the first sensing task is performed by the network, or that the first terminal does not perform the data computation of the first sensing task, or that the first terminal performs part of the data computation of the first sensing task.

In one alternative approach, the second network element further determines the first network element based on the type of the first sensing task and a first correspondence, wherein the first correspondence indicates the correspondence between the type of the first sensing task and the first network element.

The establishment of this first correspondence provides a fast and dedicated processing channel for subsequent first sensing tasks, saving signaling and improving efficiency. Furthermore, the second network element can quickly determine the first network element used to manage the first sensing task based on this first correspondence and the type of the first sensing task.

Fifthly, this application provides a communication device, which can be a terminal device or a network device. The communication device has the functions to implement the first to fourth aspects described above. For example, the communication device includes modules, units, or means that perform the steps involved in the first to fourth aspects. These functions, units, or means can be implemented by software, hardware, or hardware executing corresponding software.

In one possible design, the communication device includes a processing unit and a transceiver unit. The transceiver unit can be used to send and receive signals to enable communication between the communication device and other devices. The processing unit can be used to perform some internal operations of the communication device. The transceiver unit can be called an input/output unit, a communication unit, etc., and can be a transceiver; the processing unit can be a processor. When the communication device is a module (e.g., a chip) in a communication device, the transceiver unit can be an input/output interface, input/output circuit, or input/output pins, etc., and can also be called an interface, communication interface, or interface circuit, etc.; the processing unit can be a processor, processing circuit, or logic circuit, etc.

In another possible design, the communication device includes a processor and may further include a transceiver for transmitting and receiving signals. The processor executes program instructions to perform the methods in any of the possible designs or implementations of the first to fourth aspects described above. The communication device may also include one or more memories coupled to the processor. The memories may store necessary computer programs or instructions for implementing the functions involved in the first to fourth aspects described above. The processor can execute the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory, and when the computer programs or instructions are executed, the communication device performs the methods in any of the possible designs or implementations of the first to fourth aspects described above.

In another possible design, the communication device includes a processor that can be coupled to a memory. The memory can store necessary computer programs or instructions for implementing the functions described in the first to fourth aspects above. The processor can execute the computer programs or instructions stored in the memory, causing the communication device to implement the methods in any possible design or implementation of the first to fourth aspects above when the computer programs or instructions are executed.

In another possible design, the communication device includes a processor and an interface circuit, wherein the processor is used to communicate with other devices through the interface circuit and to perform the methods in any possible design or implementation of the first to fourth aspects described above.

Understandably, in the fifth aspect above, the processor can be implemented in hardware or software. When implemented in hardware, the processor can be a logic circuit, integrated circuit, etc.; when implemented in software, the processor can be a general-purpose processor that reads software code stored in memory. Furthermore, there can be one or more processors, and one or more memories. The memory can be integrated with the processor, or the memory and processor can be separate. In specific implementations, the memory can be integrated with the processor on the same chip, or it can be set on different chips. This application does not limit the type of memory or the arrangement of the memory and processor.

Sixthly, embodiments of this application provide a communication system, which includes the first network element, the second network element, the sensing and processing node, and the first terminal described above.

Seventhly, this application provides a chip system including a processor and potentially a memory, the processor being used to implement the methods described in the first to fourth aspects above. The chip system may be composed of chips or may include chips and other discrete devices. The memory is used to store data related to implementing any possible design in the first to fourth aspects, such as associations, and the processor is used to implement the processing flow related to any possible design in the first to fourth aspects. No specific limitations are specified herein.

Eighthly, this application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which may be a volatile storage medium or a non-volatile storage medium, wherein the computer-readable storage medium stores computer-readable instructions, which, when executed on a computer, cause the computer to perform the methods as described in the first to fourth aspects.

Ninthly, this application provides a computer program product containing instructions that, when run on a computer, cause the computer to perform the methods of the embodiments of the first to fourth aspects described above.

For the technical effects that can be achieved by the second to ninth aspects mentioned above, please refer to the description of the technical effects that can be achieved by the corresponding possible design schemes in the first aspect mentioned above. This application will not repeat them here.

Attached Figure Description

Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of a communication system;

Figure 2 shows a schematic diagram of a communication-aware scenario;

Figure 3 shows a flowchart of a communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

Figure 4 shows a flowchart of another communication method provided in an embodiment of this application;

Figure 5 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of a communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

Figure 6 shows a schematic diagram of the communication device provided in an embodiment of this application;

Figure 7 shows a schematic diagram of the structure of the communication device provided in an embodiment of this application.

Detailed Implementation

To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this application clearer, a further detailed description of this application will be provided below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The specific operational methods in the method embodiments can also be applied to the device embodiments or system embodiments. In the description of this application, unless otherwise stated, "multiple" means two or more. Therefore, implementations of the device and method can be referred to mutually, and repeated details will not be repeated.

The technical solutions provided in this application can be applied to 5G systems, or to future communication systems or other similar communication systems. Furthermore, the technical solutions provided in this application can be applied to cellular links, public land mobile networks (PLMNs), machine-to-machine (M2M) networks, Internet of Things (IoT) networks, or other networks. They can also be applied to links between devices, such as device-to-device (D2D) links. D2D links can also be called sidelinks, which are also referred to as edge links or secondary links. In this application, the above terms all refer to links established between devices of the same type, and their meanings are the same. The so-called same type of devices can be links between terminal devices, links between base stations, links between relay nodes, etc., and this application does not limit this.

Figure 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a mobile communication network architecture, which includes terminals, access network equipment, signaling distribution network functions, non-access stratum (NAS) service management functions, and NAS service functions. The NAS service functions include AI management network functions, data management network functions, mobility management network functions, session management network functions, computing management network functions, and perception management network functions. These network functions are interconnected through service-oriented interfaces.

The terminal can be a device capable of receiving scheduling and instruction information from access network equipment, providing voice and/or data connectivity to users, or a handheld device with wireless connectivity, or other processing devices connected to a wireless modem. The terminal device can communicate with one or more core networks or the Internet via a radio access network (RAN). For example, the terminal device can be a portable, pocket-sized, handheld, computer-embedded, or vehicle-mounted mobile device. Terminal devices can also be referred to as subscriber units (SS), subscriber stations (MS), mobile stations (MS), remote stations (AP), access points (AP), remote terminals (UE), access terminals (MT), user agents (CPE), customer premises equipment (CPE), terminals, user equipment (UE), etc. Terminal devices can also be wearable devices. Terminal devices can also be equipment in next-generation communication systems. For example, terminal devices in 5G networks or future PLMN networks, and terminal devices in NR communication systems. Currently, terminal devices can include: mobile phones, tablets, laptops, PDAs, customer-premises equipment (CPE), mobile internet devices (MID), wearable devices (such as smartwatches, smart bracelets, pedometers, etc.), in-vehicle equipment (e.g., cars, bicycles, electric vehicles, airplanes, ships, trains, high-speed trains, etc.), virtual reality (VR) devices, augmented reality (AR) devices, and industrial control devices. Wireless terminals in intelligent control, smart home devices (e.g., refrigerators, televisions, air conditioners, electricity meters, etc.), intelligent robots, workshop equipment, wireless terminals in self-driving, remote medical surgery, smart grids, transportation safety, smart cities, or smart homes, and flying equipment (e.g., intelligent robots, hot air balloons, drones, airplanes), etc. Terminals can also be other devices with terminal functions; for example, a terminal device can also be a device that performs terminal functions in D2D communication.

Access network equipment is an entity on the network side used to transmit or receive signals. Examples include transmission reception points (TRPs) and gNBs. Network equipment can be an access point (AP) in a wireless local area network (WLAN), a base transceiver station (BTS) in a global system for mobile communication (GSM) or code division multiple access (CDMA), a base station (nodeB, NB) in wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), or an evolved node B (eNB or eNodeB) in long-term evolution (LTE). Network equipment can also be a relay station or access point, or in-vehicle equipment, wearable devices, and network equipment in 5G networks, or in future evolved PLMNs, or gNodeB/gNB devices in NR systems. In some deployments, a gNB may include a CU and a DU. The CU implements some of the gNB's functions, and the DU implements others. For example, the CU handles non-real-time protocols and services, such as radio resource control (RRC), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP), and packet data convergence protocol (PDCP). The DU handles physical layer protocols and real-time services, such as radio link control (RLC), medium access control (MAC), and physical (PHY) layers. The gNB may also include an active antenna unit (AAU). The AAU implements some physical layer processing functions, radio frequency processing, and active antenna-related functions. Since information from the RRC layer ultimately becomes information from the PHY layer, or is derived from information from the PHY layer... Therefore, under this architecture, higher-layer signaling (e.g., RRC layer signaling) can also be considered to be sent by the DU, or by the DU and AAU. It is understood that the network device can be one or more of the following: CU node, DU node, and AAU node. Furthermore, the CU can be a network device in the radio access network (RAN), or a network device in the core network (CN); this application does not limit this. Additionally, in this embodiment, the network device provides services to a cell, and the terminal device communicates with the network device through the transmission resources (e.g., frequency domain resources, or spectrum resources) used by the cell. The cell can be the cell corresponding to the network device (e.g., a base station). The cell can belong to a macro base station or to a base station corresponding to a small cell. For example, a small cell can include: a metro cell, a micro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, etc. Because small cells have small coverage areas and low transmission power, they can provide high-speed data transmission services. Furthermore, in other possible cases, the network device can be any other device that provides wireless communication functionality to the terminal device. The embodiments of this application do not limit the specific technology or device form used in the network device. For example, in an open radio access network (ORAN) system, CU can also be called O-CU (open CU), DU can also be called O-DU, CU-CP can also be called O-CU-CP, CU-UP can also be called O-CU-UP, and RU can also be called O-RU. For ease of description, this application uses CU, CU-CP, CU-UP, DU, and RU as examples. Any of the units among CU (or CU-CP, CU-UP), DU, and RU in this application can be implemented through a software module, a hardware module, or a combination of software and hardware modules.

The signaling distribution network function, also known as a signaling distribution network element, network function (NF) element, or signaling distribution device, is referred to as a signaling distribution network element below. For example, the signaling distribution network function is called a signaling distribution function (SDF), which is only illustrative and not specifically limited. The signaling distribution network function primarily serves as the link anchor between the terminal and the network, realizing the distribution of NAS messages between the terminal and various NAS service functions. Furthermore, the signaling distribution network function can proxy the discovery of NAS service functions by the terminal, construct and maintain the NAS service function network topology, and establish the binding relationship between the terminal and the NAS service function. For terminal-initiated NAS service registration and terminal-initiated network NAS service discovery, the NAS service function is selected based on the NAS service type information, and the NAS message of the terminal is forwarded. For terminal-initiated network NAS service calls, the corresponding NAS service function is selected based on the NAS service type information, and the NAS message of the terminal is forwarded. For network-initiated terminal NAS service calls, for idle terminals, a paging process is initiated; for connected terminals, the NAS message is directly forwarded to the terminal.

NAS service management functionality, or NAS service management network element for short, is primarily used to register, update, deregister, and discover NAS service functions for terminals and networks. In addition, NAS service management can also obtain terminal registration and location information.

NAS service functions, also known as NAS service network elements or NAS service devices, provide basic or new NAS functions that can be accessed by end users as needed.

AI management network functions, or simply AI management network elements, are control plane network elements for AI-related services in mobile networks. They are mainly used for the establishment, modification, and release of AI services. For example, responding to AI service requests from terminals and selecting AI service network elements.

The data management network function, or simply the data management network element, is similar to the unified data management (UDM) function. It is primarily used to manage user identifiers, user subscription data, and authentication data, providing data access interfaces to other network elements. This network element also supports data interaction with external systems.

The mobile management network function, or simply mobile management element, is mainly used for terminal location management in mobile networks, specifically including terminal location updates and paging.

Session management network functions, or simply session management elements, are primarily used for session management in mobile networks, such as session establishment, modification, and release. Specific functions include assigning Internet Protocol (IP) addresses to terminals and selecting user plane functions that provide packet forwarding capabilities.

The computing management network function, or simply computing management network element, is the control plane network element for computing task processing. It provides registration and discovery of computing services to NAS services, establishes and maintains computing sessions based on terminal-based service calls, establishes and maintains computing tasks, and distributes network-configured computing task offloading policies. It also invokes computing services provided by the terminal on demand.

The perception management network function, or perception management network element for short, is the control plane network element for perception task processing. It provides registration and discovery of perception services to NAS services, establishment and maintenance of perception sessions based on terminal-based service calls, establishment and maintenance of perception tasks, and distribution of perception task offloading policies with network configuration. It also calls perception services provided by terminals on demand. Its main functions include the registration, updating, deregistration, and discovery of perception services.

In addition, the network architecture also includes a perception processing node, which is mainly used to compute perception data.

It should be noted that the functions in the embodiments of this application may also be referred to as network elements, network functions, functional entities, devices, etc. For example, a mobility management network function may also be referred to as a mobility management network element, or a mobility management network function, or a mobility management functional entity, etc. The names of each function are not limited in this application. Those skilled in the art can replace the names of the above functions with other names to perform the same function, and all such replacements are within the scope of protection of this application.

To facilitate understanding of the embodiments of this application, the terms or processing flows involved in the embodiments of this application will be briefly explained below.

1) Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC)

ISAC integrates communication and sensing functions, enabling future communication systems to possess both capabilities. When transmitting information over a wireless channel, it actively recognizes and analyzes channel characteristics to perceive the physical features of the surrounding environment, thus enhancing the mutual capabilities of communication and sensing. Communication refers to the transmission of information between two or more communication devices. Sensing refers to detecting parameters of the physical environment based on communication signals, such as ranging and speed measurement. As shown in Figure 2, the terminal's transmitted signals can be used to sense information about the surrounding environment, assisting in the design of communication links to avoid obstacles (such as cars) and improve communication performance.

ISAC employs a signal that satisfies both communication and sensing requirements, such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM). The ISAC transmitter sends an OFDM signal to the target to be sensed. The OFDM signal is reflected by the target, generating an echo signal, which has a time delay compared to the transmitted signal. At the ISAC receiver, a range profile is obtained by performing time-domain or frequency-domain digital signal processing on the echo and transmitted signals. Then, a time delay estimate is obtained by searching for peak values in the range profile. Finally, the distance to the target is determined based on the time delay estimate.

2) Perception task

A perception task is a task that calls upon terminal and/or network-side computing resources for processing (similar to QoS flow in 5G networks).

The perception task may include sensing data on the motion/behavior of objects, such as detecting the movement of vehicles/drones through communication sensing in a smart highway scenario. The perception task may also include target recognition, such as identifying the type of object through communication sensing. This is merely an example.

Furthermore, based on the requirements of different sensing tasks for sensing results, tasks can be categorized into different types according to the real-time nature and accuracy of the sensing results. For example, the creation of precise maps requires high accuracy, while the positioning of target locations requires high real-time location accuracy.

It's important to note that sensing tasks of the same type typically require the same amount of computational resources, while sensing tasks of different types require different resources. For example, the sensing task corresponding to task type 1 requires computational resource A, while the sensing task corresponding to task type 2 requires computational resource B; A and B are not the same. In practical applications, there may be one or more sensing tasks of the same type, and the computational resources required for these multiple sensing tasks of the same type may be different. For example, task type 1 corresponds to sensing tasks 1 through 3, where sensing task 1 requires computational resource X, sensing task 2 requires computational resource Y, and sensing task 3 requires computational resource Z; X, Y, and Z are not the same. This is not a specific limitation and can be understood in conjunction with the specific application.

Furthermore, an application (APP) can initiate multiple sensing tasks for the same task type. For example, it can construct a map of region A (with a precision of hundreds of meters and a scale of 1:10) based on the terminal's sensing data, and construct a map of region B (with a precision of hundreds of meters and a scale of 1:10) based on the same terminal's sensing data. Multiple applications can also initiate multiple sensing tasks of the same business type. For example, application 1 can initiate the construction of a map of region A (with a precision of kilometers and a scale of 1:100) based on the terminal's sensing data, and application 2 can initiate the construction of a map of region A (with a precision of kilometers and a scale of 1:100) based on the same terminal's sensing data. This is merely an example and not a specific limitation.

3) Perceptual conversation

A sensing session is a session established between a terminal and the sensing management network function to carry sensing tasks (similar to a PDU session in a 5G network), reserving the necessary resources for the carried sensing tasks. During the creation of a sensing session, a transmission channel (similar to a tunnel in a PDU session) is established between the terminal and the sensing management network function. One sensing session can carry one or more sensing tasks. The parameters a sensing session can carry include the task type. After creation, the sensing session can carry sensing tasks. In the event of congestion, service changes, etc., the terminal or the sensing management network function can modify or release the sensing session.

This application provides a communication method based on the network architecture shown in Figure 1 to enable terminal and network collaborative processing of sensing tasks. To better illustrate the solution of this application, two embodiments are described below. Embodiment 1 is a specific scheme for a sensing strategy whereby a terminal directly requests network assistance to execute a sensing task. Embodiment 2 is a specific scheme for a terminal directly requesting the establishment of a sensing task collaboratively executed by the terminal and network. In the following specific embodiments, the first terminal can be the first terminal itself or a chip within the first terminal. The first access device can be the first access device itself or a chip within the first access device. The first access device can be a device combining a CU and a DU, can be either a CU or a DU, or can be a gNB, etc., without specific limitation on the specific form of the first access device. The first network element is used for data management of the sensing task, for example, a sensing management network function. The second network element is used for message distribution, for example, a signaling distribution network function. This is only illustrative and not specifically limited.

Example 1: A perception strategy in which the terminal directly requests network assistance to perform perception tasks.

Referring to FIG3, the technical solution of this application will be described in detail below with reference to specific method embodiments. It should be noted that FIG3 is a schematic flowchart of a method embodiment of this application, showing the detailed communication steps or operations of the method. However, these steps or operations are merely examples, and other operations or variations of the various operations in FIG3 can also be performed in the embodiments of this application. Furthermore, the steps in FIG3 may be performed in a different order than that presented in FIG3, and it is not necessary to perform all the operations in FIG3. FIG3 illustrates the data interaction between a first terminal, a first access device, a second network element, a first network element, and a sensing processing node as an example. In FIG3, taking UE1 as the first terminal, gNB1 as the first access device, a signaling distribution network function as the second network element, and a sensing management network function as the first network element as an example, the execution is as follows:

Step 301: UE1 sends a fourth message to the signaling distribution network function through gNB1. The fourth message is used to request the network (i.e., the network element of the core network, or the network function of the core network) to cooperate with UE1 to execute the perception strategy of the perception task.

The fourth message can be a new type of message associated with the perception strategy of the requested perception task, based on which the perception strategy can be determined. Alternatively, the fourth message can be a session (i.e., a perception session) establishment request message. Or, the fourth message can be a NAS message, carrying a perception session establishment request message and perception strategy request indication information within the NAS message, so that the core network's network functions can determine the acquisition of the perception strategy. Alternatively, the NAS message can include a perception session establishment request message and a request type, where the request type indicates that the purpose of establishing the perception session is to request a perception strategy. No specific limitations are specified here.

Optionally, the fourth message includes the type of the sensing task, so that the signaling distribution network function knows how to distribute the fourth message to the sensing management network function after obtaining the type of the sensing task. Furthermore, when the fourth message includes the type of the sensing task, a sensing strategy for the sensing task can be requested by default. The sensing tasks can be categorized according to sensing requirements into motion behavior recognition sensing tasks and target recognition sensing tasks, and also according to sensing results into real-time sensing tasks and non-real-time sensing tasks. Different types of sensing tasks typically require different computational resources, and the sensing function can allocate different computational resources based on the type of sensing task.

Optionally, the fourth message may also include one or more of the following: the identifier of the sensing task, the computing resource requirements of the sensing task, the location information of UE1, and the first indication information.

The identifier for the perception task is used to identify the specific perception task. For example, if the perception task is to identify a low-flying drone, the corresponding perception task identifier is SENSIING~UAV; if the perception task is to build a map of area A, the corresponding perception task identifier is SENSIING~mapA. This is only an example and is not a specific limitation. When the identifier for the perception task is included in the fourth message, the perception strategy for which perception task is being requested can be explicitly specified.

The computational resource requirements of the sensing task are used to identify the computing power requirements of the sensing task. Based on this, when the signaling distribution network function distributes the fourth message carrying the computational resource requirements of the sensing task to the sensing management network function, the sensing management network function allocates a sensing processing node that meets the computational resource requirements of the sensing task to UE1 to execute the corresponding sensing task. For example, if the sensing task is target tracking, the required computing power is 1P; if the sensing task is map building, the required computing power is 2P. The sensing management network function can allocate a sensing processing node with a computing power greater than or equal to 1P to perform target tracking, and it can allocate a sensing processing node with a computing power greater than or equal to 2P to perform map building. This is only an example and is not a specific limitation.

When the fourth message includes the location information of UE1, the signaling distribution network function can distribute the fourth message to the perception management network function, and the perception management network function can select a perception processing node that is closer to the location of UE1 to avoid wasting data transmission overhead.

The first indication information indicates that the network performs the data calculation for the sensing task, or that UE1 does not perform the data calculation for the sensing task, or that UE1 performs the data calculation for part of the sensing task. Based on this, when the signaling distribution network function distributes the fourth message to the sensing management network function, the sensing management network function can refer to the first indication information to determine how to perform the sensing task. For example, if the sensing task is to build a map, the first indication information may indicate that the network obtains the sensing data reported by UE1 and then performs the calculation of the sensing data (e.g., statistics, clustering, etc.) to obtain the map. Alternatively, the first indication information may indicate that UE1 does not perform the data calculation for the sensing task (e.g., statistics, clustering, etc.), in which case the network performs the data calculation for the sensing task. Or, the first indication information may indicate that UE1 performs the data calculation for part of the sensing task (e.g., UE1 senses the surrounding area based on communication sensing, generates sensing data, and clusters the sensing data), in which case the network performs the data calculation for other parts of the sensing task (e.g., performing data calculation on the clustered sensing data to obtain the map). This is only an illustrative example.

It should be noted that the specific information included in the fourth message can be contained within a container. UE1 can directly send this container to the signaling distribution network function. The signaling distribution network function does not parse the container but directly carries it in the first message and sends it to the perception management network function. The signaling distribution network function can also parse the container, add information items to form a new container, and carry this new container in the first message and send it to the perception management network function.

Step 302: The signaling distribution network function sends a first message to the perception management network function according to the fourth message. The first message is used to request the network and UE1 to cooperate in executing the perception strategy of the perception task.

The first message can be a new type of message associated with the perception strategy of the requested perception task, and the perception strategy can be determined based on this first message. Alternatively, the fourth message can be a session (i.e., a perception session) establishment request message. Alternatively, the first message can carry a perception session establishment request message and perception strategy request indication information, so that the core network's network functions can determine the acquisition of the perception strategy. Alternatively, the first message can include a perception session establishment request message and a request type, where the request type indicates that the purpose of establishing the perception session is to request a perception strategy. No specific limitations are specified here.

It should be noted that when the fourth message does not include UE1's location information, the signaling distribution network function can still obtain UE1's location information based on UE1's registration information or based on the location management function. When the first message includes UE1's location information and the type of sensing task, it allows the sensing management network element to allocate a sensing processing node that is close to UE1 and meets the sensing task requirements.

It should also be noted that the information included in the first message is usually the same as that included in the fourth message. However, regardless of whether the fourth message includes UE1's location information, the first message includes UE1's location information.

Furthermore, when a perception task is created, the binding relationship between the signaling distribution network function and the perception management network function already exists. Based on this, after receiving the first message, the signaling distribution network function can specify which perception management network function to send the first message to. For example, perception task 1 corresponds to perception management network function 1, perception task 2 corresponds to perception management network function 2, and when the signaling distribution network function receives the fourth message, which requests the network element and UE1 to collaboratively execute the perception strategy of perception task 1, the signaling distribution network function can send the first message to perception management network function 1. This is only an illustrative example and is not a specific limitation.

Step 303: The perception management network function obtains a first perception strategy based on the first message. The first perception strategy includes the identifier of the target perception processing node used to perform the perception task.

It should be noted that before executing step 303, the perception management network function also obtains the capability information of at least one perception processing node and the location information of at least one perception processing node; based on the first message, the capability information of at least one perception processing node and the location information of at least one perception processing node, the target perception processing node is determined, and the target perception processing node is used for data calculation of the perception task.

In one example, a perception processing node can register its capabilities (processing power of its central processing unit (CPU) and graphics processing unit (GPU), multi-threaded task scheduling capabilities, latency, bandwidth, etc.) and location information with the perception management network function, so that the perception management network function can obtain these information. In another example, the perception management network function can request the perception processing node's capabilities and location information from the perception processing node.

When the first message includes UE1's location information and the type of sensing task, the sensing management network function can determine the computing resources required for the sensing task based on the type of sensing task. It determines whether a sensing processing node can be used to perform data computation for the sensing task based on the capability information of the sensing processing nodes. Based on UE1's location information and the location information of the sensing processing nodes, it selects a target sensing node that can perform the sensing task. For example, if the type of sensing task is target localization, and the computing resources required for target localization are X, the sensing processing nodes that can provide X computing resources include sensing processing nodes 1 to N. Among sensing processing nodes 1 to N, those whose distance from UE1 is less than a distance threshold are sensing processing nodes 3 to 5. Then, the sensing management network function can select sensing processing nodes 3 to 5 as target sensing processing nodes. This is only an example and not a specific limitation. When the fourth message includes the identifier of the sensing task, it can clearly specify which sensing strategy of the sensing task is requested. When the fourth message includes the computing resource requirements of the sensing task, the sensing management network function allocates a sensing processing node that meets the computing resource requirements of the sensing task to UE1 to execute the corresponding sensing task.

When the first message includes first indication information, the perception management network function may refer to the first indication information to determine the first perception strategy. For example, the first indication information indicates that the network performs data calculations for perception tasks. Based on the capability information of the perception processing node, the location information of the perception processing node, and the location information of UE1, the perception management network function determines the target perception processing node and the specific task items to be performed by the target perception processing node. This is only an example illustration.

Optionally, the first perception strategy is associated with at least one of the following:

The perception configuration strategy of UE1, the perception configuration strategy of the network, the capability information of the target perception processing node, the location information of UE1, or the location information of the target perception processing node.

The perception configuration strategy of UE1 can be understood as the perception strategy configured by UE1 itself. For example, UE1 reports perception data, the network performs data analysis on the perception data to obtain perception results, or UE1 performs cluster analysis on the perception data to obtain clustered perception data, reports the clustered perception data to the network, and the network performs data calculation on the clustered perception data to obtain perception results, etc. This is only an example and is not specifically limited.

The network configuration strategy can be understood as the perception strategy configured by the network itself. For example, for a perception task of type 1, a perception processing node with computing resources of X is used to perform data calculation. This is only an example and is not specifically limited.

In this application, the first network element determines the first sensing strategy by referring to the above information, which can ensure that the first sensing strategy is more adapted to the needs of the sensing task.

Optionally, the first perception strategy further includes: UE1 executing a first part of the perception task, and/or the target perception processing node executing a second part of the perception task. Based on this, UE1 can clearly define how to execute the perception task, where the first part and the second part constitute the perception task.

The first part of the sensing task can be acquiring sensing data based on communication sensing and reporting the sensing data to the network. Correspondingly, the second part of the sensing task is receiving the sensing data, processing the sensing data (e.g., clustering, AI processing, etc.) to obtain sensing results, and sending the sensing results to the first terminal. Alternatively, the first part of the sensing task can also be acquiring sensing data based on communication sensing, performing clustering processing on the sensing data to obtain clustered sensing data, reporting the clustered sensing data to the network, and correspondingly, the second part of the sensing task is receiving the clustered sensing data, processing the clustered sensing data (e.g., AI processing, etc.) to obtain sensing results, and sending the sensing results to the first terminal. This is merely an illustrative example and does not specifically limit the first and second parts of the task.

Furthermore, it should be noted that the first message is a session establishment request message, and the first sensing strategy also includes an identifier for the session corresponding to the sensing task. This application, by establishing a session request for the network and the first terminal to collaboratively execute a sensing strategy for the sensing task, can establish a path from the network side to the terminal side, save signaling overhead, rationally allocate network-side and terminal-side resources for processing sensing tasks, and improve processing efficiency. In addition, the first message is a sensing session establishment request message, which requests the network and UE1 to collaboratively execute a sensing strategy for the sensing task. The first sensing strategy includes a session identifier corresponding to the sensing task, allowing subsequent sensing tasks to carry the session identifier and reuse the communication resources corresponding to the session (e.g., tunnels), thereby improving data processing efficiency.

Step 304: The perception management network function sends the first perception policy to the signaling distribution network function.

Step 305: The signaling distribution network function sends the first perception policy to UE1.

It should be noted that after receiving the first perception strategy, UE1 can directly report the perception task-related data (such as the aforementioned perception data or clustering perception data) to the target perception processing node when performing subsequent perception tasks. After the target perception processing node completes the processing, it obtains the perception results and then sends the perception results to UE1.

Step 306: UE1 reports data related to the perception task to the target perception processing node.

Step 307: The target perception processing node processes the data related to the perception task to obtain the perception result.

Step 308: The target perception processing node sends the perception result to UE1.

Based on the needs of perception task processing, UE1 or the perception management network function can initiate a modification process for the perception task. For example, the computing resources of the target perception processing node have changed, or UE1 requests more computing resources for the perception task.

In addition, after completing the required perception task processing, UE1 or the perception management network function can initiate the perception task release process, and the perception management network function and perception processing node release the corresponding computing resources.

In this application, after receiving the first message, the first network element determines that the network and the first terminal are collaboratively executing a sensing task. Then, it acquires a first sensing strategy for executing the sensing task. Based on the first sensing strategy, the target sensing processing node on the network side for executing the sensing task can be determined, thereby realizing collaborative processing of the sensing task by the terminal and the network. Furthermore, based on the collaborative processing of the sensing task by the terminal and the network, data processing efficiency can be improved.

Example 2: Terminal directly requests to establish end-to-end network collaborative sensing task

Referring to FIG4, the technical solution of this application will be described in detail below with reference to specific method embodiments. It should be noted that FIG4 is a schematic flowchart of a method embodiment of this application, showing the detailed communication steps or operations of the method. However, these steps or operations are merely examples, and other operations or variations of the various operations in FIG4 can also be performed in the embodiments of this application. Furthermore, the steps in FIG4 may be performed in a different order than that presented in FIG4, and it is possible that not all operations in FIG4 need to be performed. FIG4 illustrates the data interaction between a first terminal, a first access device, a second network element, a first network element, and a sensing processing node as an example. In FIG4, taking UE1 as the first terminal, gNB1 as the first access device, a signaling distribution network function as the second network element, and a sensing management network function as the first network element as an example, the execution is as follows:

Step 401: UE1 sends a fifth message to the signaling distribution network function via gNB1. The fifth message is used to trigger the creation of the first perception task of UE1.

The fifth message can be a new type of message associated with a request to create a first sensing task, based on which the request to create the first sensing task can be determined. Alternatively, the fifth message can be a session (i.e., a sensing session) establishment request message. Or, the fifth message can be a NAS message, carrying a sensing session establishment request message and a sensing task creation request indication information, so that the core network's network functions can determine to execute the creation of the sensing task. Alternatively, the NAS message can include a sensing session establishment request message and a request type, where the request type indicates that the purpose of establishing the sensing session is to request the creation of a first sensing task. No specific limitations are specified here.

Optionally, the fifth message includes the type of the first sensing task, so that after the signaling distribution network function obtains the type of the sensing task, it knows to distribute the fifth message to the sensing management network function according to the first correspondence (the first correspondence indicates the correspondence between the type of the first sensing task and the sensing management network function. For example, the sensing management network function corresponding to the type 1 of the first sensing task is 1, the sensing management network function corresponding to the type 2 of the first sensing task is 2, etc., which is only an example here). Furthermore, when the fifth message includes the type of the first sensing task, a default request to create the first sensing task may be made.

Optionally, the fifth message may also include one or more of the following: UE1's location information, the computing resource requirements of the first sensing task, the second indication information, and the identifier of the session used to carry the first sensing task.

The computational resource requirements of the first sensing task are used to characterize the computing power requirements of the first sensing task. Based on this, when the signaling distribution network function distributes the fifth message to the sensing management network function, the sensing management network function allocates a sensing processing node that meets the computational resource requirements of the sensing task to UE1 to execute the corresponding sensing task.

The computational resource requirement of the first sensing task is used to identify its computational power requirement. Based on this, when the signaling distribution network function distributes the fifth message to the sensing management network function, the sensing management network function allocates a sensing processing node that meets the computational resource requirement of the sensing task to UE1 to execute the corresponding sensing task. For example, if the first sensing task is target tracking, the required computational power is 1P; if the first sensing task is map building, the required computational power is 2P. The sensing management network function can allocate a sensing processing node with a computational power greater than or equal to 1P to perform target tracking, and it can allocate a sensing processing node with a computational power greater than or equal to 2P to perform map building. This is only an example and is not a specific limitation.

The second indication information is used to indicate whether the network performs the data calculation for the first sensing task, or whether UE1 does not perform the data calculation for the first sensing task, or whether UE1 performs part of the data calculation for the first sensing task. Based on this, when the signaling distribution network function distributes the fifth message to the sensing management network function, the sensing management network function can refer to the second indication information to determine how to perform the sensing task. This can be understood by referring to the description related to the first indication information above, and will not be elaborated upon here.

It should be noted that the specific information included in the fifth message can be contained within a container. UE1 can directly send this container to the signaling distribution network function without parsing it, and send it directly to the perception management network function in the second message. The signaling distribution network function can also parse the information items in the container, add information to form a new container, and send this new container to the perception management network function in the second message.

Step 402: The signaling distribution network function sends a second message to the perception management network function according to the fifth message. The second message is used to trigger the creation of the first perception task of UE1.

The second message can be a new type of message associated with a request to create a first sensing task, based on which the request to create the first sensing task can be determined. Alternatively, the second message can be a session (i.e., a sensing session) establishment request message. Or, the second message can be a NAS message, carrying a sensing session establishment request message and a sensing task creation request indication information, so that the core network's network functions can determine to execute the creation of the sensing task. Alternatively, the NAS message can include a sensing session establishment request message and a request type, where the request type indicates that the purpose of establishing the sensing session is to request the creation of a first sensing task. No specific limitations are specified here.

It should be noted that when the second message does not include UE1's location information, the signaling distribution network function can still obtain UE1's location information based on UE1's registration information or based on the location management function. When the second message includes UE1's location information and the type of sensing task, the sensing management network element can allocate a sensing processing node that is close to UE1 and meets the sensing task requirements to UE1.

It should also be noted that the information included in the second message is usually the same as that included in the fifth message. However, regardless of whether the fifth message includes UE1's location information, the second message includes UE1's location information.

Step 403: The perception management network function obtains first information based on the second message. The first information includes the identifier of the first perception task and the identifier of the first target perception processing node used to perform the first perception task.

It should be noted that before executing step 403, the perception management network function also obtains the capability information of at least one perception processing node and the location information of at least one perception processing node; based on the second message, the capability information of at least one perception processing node and the location information of at least one perception processing node, a first target perception processing node is determined, and the first target perception processing node is used for data calculation of the first perception task.

In one example, a perception processing node can register its capabilities (CPU and GPU processing power, multi-threaded task scheduling capabilities, latency, bandwidth, etc.) and location information with the perception management network function, so that the perception management network function can obtain the capability information and location information of the perception processing node. In another example, the perception management network function can request the capability information and location information of the perception processing node from the perception processing node.

When the second message includes UE1's location information and the type of sensing task, the sensing management network function can determine the computing resources required for the first sensing task based on the type of sensing task. It can determine whether the sensing processing node can be used to perform data computation for the sensing task based on the capability information of the sensing processing node. Based on UE1's location information and the location information of the sensing processing node, it selects a target sensing node that can perform the sensing task. This can be understood by referring to the relevant description in step 303 above, and will not be elaborated upon here.

When the fifth message includes the second instruction information, the perception management network function may refer to the second instruction information to determine how to perform the first perception task. For example, if the second instruction information indicates that the network performs data calculation for the perception task, the perception management network function determines the first target perception processing node based on the capability information of the perception processing node, the location information of the perception processing node, and the location information of UE1, and determines the specific task items to be performed by the first target perception processing node. This is only an example illustration.

Optionally, the first information also includes a second perception strategy, which instructs UE1 to execute a first part of the first perception task, and/or the first target perception processing node to execute a second part of the first perception task. Based on this, UE1 can determine how to execute the perception task, where the first part and the second part constitute the first perception task.

The first part of the first sensing task can be acquiring sensing data based on communication sensing and reporting the sensing data to the network. Correspondingly, the second part of the first sensing task can be receiving sensing data, processing the sensing data (e.g., clustering, AI processing, etc.) to obtain sensing results, and sending the sensing results to the first terminal. Alternatively, the first part of the first sensing task can also be acquiring sensing data based on communication sensing, performing clustering processing on the sensing data to obtain clustered sensing data, and reporting the clustered sensing data to the network. Correspondingly, the second part of the first sensing task can be receiving the clustered sensing data, processing the clustered sensing data (e.g., AI processing, etc.) to obtain sensing results, and sending the sensing results to the first terminal. This is merely an illustrative example and does not specifically limit the first and second parts of the task.

Furthermore, it should be noted that the second message is a session establishment request message, and the second sensing strategy also includes an identifier for the session corresponding to the first sensing task. This application, by establishing a session request for the network and the first terminal to collaboratively execute the sensing strategy for the first sensing task, can establish a path from the network side to the terminal side, save signaling overhead, rationally allocate network-side and terminal-side resources for processing the first sensing task, and improve processing efficiency. In addition, the second message is a sensing session establishment request message, which requests the network and UE1 to collaboratively execute the sensing strategy for the first sensing task. The second sensing strategy includes the session identifier corresponding to the first sensing task, allowing subsequent first sensing tasks to carry the session identifier and reuse the communication resources corresponding to the session (e.g., tunnels), thereby improving data processing efficiency.

For example, the first information is related to at least one of the following:

The perception configuration strategy of UE1, the perception configuration strategy of the network, the capability information of the target perception processing node, the location information of UE1, or the location information of the first target perception processing node.

Here, UE1's perception configuration strategy can be understood as the perception strategy configured by UE1 itself. For example, UE1 reports perception data, the network performs data analysis on the perception data to obtain perception results, or UE1 performs cluster analysis on the perception data to obtain clustered perception data, reports the clustered perception data to the network, and the network performs data calculations on the clustered perception data to obtain perception results, etc. This is only an example and is not a specific limitation.

The network configuration strategy can be understood as the perception strategy configured by the network itself. For example, for a perception task of type 1, a perception processing node with computing resources of X is used to perform data calculation. This is only an example and is not specifically limited.

In this application, the first network element determines the first sensing strategy by referring to the above information, which can ensure that the first sensing strategy is more adapted to the needs of the sensing task.

Step 404: The perception management network function sends the first information to the signaling distribution network function.

Step 405: The signaling distribution network function sends the first information to UE1.

It should be noted that after receiving the first information, UE1 can directly report the data related to the first perception task (such as the aforementioned perception data or clustering perception data) to the first target perception processing node when performing the first perception task. After the first target perception processing node completes the processing and obtains the perception result, it can send the perception result to UE1.

Step 406: UE1 reports the data related to the first perception task to the first target perception processing node.

Step 407: The first target perception processing node processes the data related to the first perception task to obtain the perception result.

Step 408: The first target perception processing node sends the perception result to UE1.

Based on the requirements of the first sensing task processing, UE1 or the sensing management network function can initiate a modification process for the first sensing task. For example, the computing resources of the first target sensing processing node may change, or UE1 may request more computing resources for the first sensing task. After completing the required first sensing task processing, UE1 or the sensing management network function can initiate a release process for the first sensing task, in which the sensing management network function and the first target sensing processing node release the corresponding computing resources.

For example, steps 409 to 410 below can be used to perform the procedure.

Step 409: When the first condition is met, the perception management network function acquires the second target perception processing node.

The second target perception processing node is usually different from the first target perception processing node, but depending on the specific application, they may be partially the same. This is not specifically limited here. For example, the first target perception processing nodes are perception processing node 1, perception processing node 3, and perception processing node 5, and the second target perception processing nodes can be perception processing node 1 and perception processing node 4, or the second target perception processing nodes can be perception processing node 2, perception processing node 3, and perception processing node 5. This is merely an illustrative example and is not a specific limitation.

For example, the first condition includes one or more of the following:

The perception management network function receives a third message from the signaling distribution network function, which requests modification of the first task. This third message includes information on changes in the computing resource requirements of the first perception task, and/or a third indication message instructing modification of the first perception task. It is important to note that the third message is typically triggered by a change in the computing resource requirements of the first perception task, or by a change in the state of the first type of terminal.

Alternatively, the perception management network element acquires the state change information of the first target perception processing node and determines, based on the state change information, that the first target perception processing node cannot execute the first perception task. The perception management network function can monitor the state of the first target perception processing node and periodically request its state change information. Furthermore, if the first target perception processing node loses power, goes offline, or crashes, it cannot execute the first perception task, or other tasks currently being processed by the first target perception processing node (which may be non-perception tasks) are consuming a large amount of the first target perception processing node's computing resources, leaving insufficient remaining computing resources to support the computation of the first perception task. This is merely an example and not a specific limitation.

Based on the specific requirements of the first perception task, we can determine whether to modify the first perception task and adjust the computing resources used to execute it. This can ensure the execution efficiency and user experience of the first perception task.

Step 410: The perception management network function sends a third perception strategy to the signaling distribution network function. The third perception strategy includes UE1 executing the third part of the first perception task, and/or the second target perception processing node executing the fourth part of the first perception task, wherein the third part of the task and the fourth part of the task constitute the first perception task.

The third part of the first sensing task can be the same as the first part, such as acquiring sensing data based on communication sensing and reporting the sensing data to the network. Correspondingly, the fourth part of the first sensing task can be the same as the second part. Alternatively, the third part of the first sensing task can be different from the first part. For example, if the first part involves acquiring sensing data based on communication sensing and reporting the sensing data to the network, and the third part involves acquiring sensing data based on communication sensing, performing clustering processing on the sensing data to obtain clustered sensing data, and reporting the clustered sensing data to the network, then the fourth part of the first sensing task can be different from the second part.

This is merely an illustrative example and does not specifically limit the tasks in Part Three and Part Four.

Step 411: The signaling distribution network function sends the third perception policy to UE1.

It should be noted that the third part of the first sensing task may be the same as or different from the first part of the first sensing task, and the second part of the first sensing task may be the same as or different from the fourth part of the first sensing task. The third sensing strategy should be flexibly determined in conjunction with the sensing management network function configuration, and is not specifically limited here.

In this application, after receiving the second message, the first network element determines to create a first sensing task. Then, the first network element obtains the identifier of the first target sensing processing node used to execute the first sensing task and the identifier of the first sensing task, and sends these identifiers to the second network element. Based on this, after creating the first sensing task, the first target sensing processing node on the network side that can subsequently execute the first sensing task can be determined. Furthermore, collaborative processing of the first sensing task by the terminal and the network can be achieved.

The foregoing primarily describes the solutions provided by the embodiments of this application from the perspective of device interaction. It is understood that, in order to achieve the above functions, each device may include corresponding hardware structures and/or software modules for executing each function. Those skilled in the art should readily recognize that, in conjunction with the units and algorithm steps of the various examples described in the embodiments disclosed herein, the embodiments of this application can be implemented in hardware or a combination of hardware and computer software. Whether a function is executed in hardware or by computer software driving hardware depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

The embodiments of this application can divide the device into functional units according to the above method examples. For example, each function can be divided into a separate functional unit, or two or more functions can be integrated into one unit. The integrated unit can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional unit.

In the case of using integrated units, FIG5 shows a possible exemplary block diagram of the communication device involved in the embodiments of this application. As shown in FIG5, the communication device 500 may include: a processing unit 501 and a transceiver unit 502. The processing unit 501 is used to control and manage the operation of the communication device 500. The transceiver unit 502 is used to support communication between the communication device 500 and other devices. Optionally, the transceiver unit 502 may include a receiving unit and/or a transmitting unit, respectively used to perform receiving and transmitting operations. Optionally, the communication device 500 may also include a storage unit for storing the program code and/or data of the communication device 500. The transceiver unit may be referred to as an input/output unit, a communication unit, etc., and the transceiver unit may be a transceiver; the processing unit may be a processor. When the communication device is a module (e.g., a chip) in a communication device, the transceiver unit may be an input/output interface, an input/output circuit, or an input/output pin, etc., and may also be referred to as an interface, a communication interface, or an interface circuit, etc.; the processing unit may be a processor, a processing circuit, or a logic circuit, etc. Specifically, the communication device may be the first network element, the second network element, etc. mentioned above.

In one embodiment, the communication device 500 is a first network element, and the transceiver unit 502 is used to receive a first message from a second network element. The first message is used to request the network and the first terminal to cooperate in executing a perception strategy for a perception task. The processing unit 501 is used to send the first perception strategy to the second network element through the transceiver unit 502 according to the first message. The first perception strategy includes the identifier of the target perception processing node for executing the perception task.

In one alternative approach, the first message includes: the location information of the first terminal and the type of sensing task.

In one alternative approach, the first message may further include one or more of the following: an identifier of the sensing task, the computing resource requirements of the sensing task, and first instruction information; wherein the first instruction information indicates that the network performs the data computation of the sensing task, or that the first terminal does not perform the data computation of the sensing task, or that the first terminal performs part of the data computation of the sensing task.

In an optional manner, the processing unit 501 is further configured to acquire capability information of at least one sensing processing node and location information of at least one sensing processing node; and determine a target sensing processing node based on the first message, the capability information of at least one sensing processing node, and the location information of at least one sensing processing node, wherein the target sensing processing node is used for data calculation of the sensing task.

In one alternative approach, the first perception strategy is associated with at least one of the following:

The first terminal's perception configuration strategy, the network's perception configuration strategy, the target perception processing node's capability information, the first terminal's location information, or the target perception processing node's location information.

In one alternative approach, the first sensing strategy further includes: a first terminal performing a first part of the sensing task, and/or a target sensing processing node performing a second part of the sensing task, wherein the first part and the second part constitute the sensing task.

In one alternative approach, the first message is a session establishment request message, and the first perception strategy also includes an identifier of the session corresponding to the perception task.

In another example, the communication device 500 is a first network element, and the transceiver unit 502 is used to receive a second message from a second network element. The second message is used to trigger a first sensing task to create a first terminal. The first network element is used for data management of the first sensing task. The processing unit 501 is used to send first information to the second network element through the transceiver unit 502 according to the second message. The first information includes the identifier of the first sensing task and the identifier of the first target sensing processing node used to perform the first sensing task.

In one alternative approach, the second message includes: the location information of the first terminal and the type of the first sensing task.

In one alternative approach, the second message further includes one or more of the following: the computing resource requirements of the first sensing task, second indication information, and an identifier of the session used to carry the first sensing task; wherein the second indication information is used to indicate that the data computation of the first sensing task is performed by the network, or that the first terminal does not perform the data computation of the first sensing task, or that the first terminal performs part of the data computation of the first sensing task.

In one alternative approach, the processing unit 501 is further configured to acquire capability information of at least one sensing processing node and location information of at least one sensing processing node; and determine a first target sensing processing node based on the second message, the capability information of at least one sensing processing node, and the location information of at least one sensing processing node, wherein the first target sensing processing node is used for data calculation of the second sensing task.

In one alternative approach, the first information is associated with at least one of the following:

The first terminal's perception configuration strategy, the network's perception configuration strategy, the capability information of the first target perception processing node, the location information of the first terminal, or the location information of the first target perception processing node.

In one alternative approach, the first information further includes: a second sensing strategy, the second sensing strategy instructing the first terminal to perform a first part of the first sensing task, and/or, the first target sensing processing node to perform a second part of the first sensing task, the first part of the task and the second part of the task constituting the first sensing task.

In one alternative approach, when the first condition is met, the processing unit 501 is used to acquire a second target sensing processing node, which is different from the first target sensing processing node; the transceiver unit 502 is used to send a third sensing strategy to the second network element, the third sensing strategy including: the first terminal executes the third part of the first sensing task, and/or the second target sensing processing node executes the fourth part of the first sensing task, the third part of the task and the fourth part of the task constitute the first sensing task.

In one alternative approach, the first condition includes one of the following:

The first network element receives a third message from the second network element, the third message being used to request modification of the first sensing task; or, the first network element obtains the state change information of the first target sensing processing node, and determines based on the state change information that the first target sensing processing node cannot execute the first sensing task.

In one alternative approach, the third message includes: information on changes in the computational resource requirements of the first sensing task, and/or, a third instruction message indicating a modification to the first sensing task.

In another example, the communication device 500 is a second network element. The transceiver unit 502 is used to receive a fourth message from the first terminal, the fourth message being used to request the network and the first terminal to cooperate in executing a sensing strategy for a sensing task. The processing unit 501 is used to send a first message to the first network element through the transceiver unit 502 according to the fourth message, the first message being used to request the network and the first terminal to cooperate in executing a sensing strategy for a sensing task. The transceiver unit 502 is also used to receive a first sensing strategy from the first network element, the first sensing strategy including the identifier of the target sensing processing node for executing the sensing task; and to send the first sensing strategy to the first terminal.

In one alternative approach, the fourth message includes the type of the perception task.

In one alternative approach, the fourth message may further include one or more of the following: an identifier of the sensing task, the computing resource requirements of the sensing task, the location information of the first terminal, and a first indication; wherein the first indication indicates that the network performs the data computation of the sensing task, or that the first terminal does not perform the data computation of the sensing task, or that the first terminal performs part of the data computation of the sensing task.

In one alternative approach, the first sensing strategy further includes: a first terminal performing a first part of the sensing task, and/or a target sensing processing node performing a second part of the sensing task, wherein the first part and the second part constitute the sensing task.

In one alternative approach, the fourth message is a session establishment request message, and the first perception strategy also includes an identifier of the session corresponding to the perception task.

In one embodiment, the communication device 500 is a second network element. The transceiver unit 502 is used to receive a fifth message from the first terminal, which triggers the creation of a first sensing task for the first terminal. The first network element is used for data management of the first sensing task. The processing unit 501 is used to send a second message to the first network element through the transceiver unit 502 according to the fifth message. The second message triggers the creation of the first sensing task for the first terminal. The transceiver unit 502 is also used to receive first information from the first network element, which includes an identifier of the first sensing task and an identifier of a first target sensing processing node used to perform the first sensing task. The first information is then sent to the first terminal.

In one alternative approach, the fifth message includes: the type of the first perceptual task.

In one alternative approach, the fifth message may further include one or more of the following: location information of the first terminal, computing resource requirements of the first sensing task, second indication information, and an identifier of the session used to carry the first sensing task; wherein the second indication information is used to indicate that the data computation of the first sensing task is performed by the network, or that the first terminal does not perform the data computation of the first sensing task, or that the first terminal performs part of the data computation of the first sensing task.

In one alternative approach, the second network element further determines the first network element based on the type of the first sensing task and a first correspondence, wherein the first correspondence indicates the correspondence between the type of the first sensing task and the first network element.

Figure 6 shows a communication device 600 provided in this application. The communication device 600 can be a chip or a chip system. This communication device can be located in the equipment involved in any of the above method embodiments, such as the first network element, the second network element, and the first terminal, to perform the actions corresponding to the equipment.

Optionally, a chip system can consist of chips or include chips and other discrete components.

The communication device 600 includes a processor 610.

The processor 610 is configured to execute a computer program stored in the memory 620 to implement the operation of the various devices in any of the above method embodiments.

The communication device 600 may also include a memory 620 for storing computer programs.

Optionally, the memory 620 and the processor 610 are coupled together. Coupling is an indirect coupling or communication connection between devices, units, or modules, which can be electrical, mechanical, or other forms, for information exchange between devices, units, or modules. Optionally, the memory 620 and the processor 610 are integrated together.

There can be one or more processors 610 and memory 620, and there is no limitation.

Optionally, in practical applications, the communication device 600 may or may not include a transceiver 630, as illustrated by the dashed box in the figure. The communication device 600 can exchange information with other devices through the transceiver 630. The transceiver 630 can be a circuit, a bus, a transceiver, or any other device that can be used for information exchange.

In one possible implementation, the communication device 600 can be a first network element, a second network element, a first terminal, and a first access device in the above-described methods.

This application embodiment does not limit the specific connection medium between the transceiver 630, processor 610, and memory 620. In Figure 6, the memory 620, processor 610, and transceiver 630 are connected via a bus, indicated by a thick line. The connection methods between other components are merely illustrative and not intended to be limiting. The bus can be an address bus, data bus, control bus, etc. For ease of illustration, only one thick line is used in Figure 6, but this does not indicate that there is only one bus or one type of bus. In this application embodiment, the processor can be a general-purpose processor, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field-programmable gate array, or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic device, or discrete hardware component, capable of implementing or executing the methods, steps, and logic block diagrams disclosed in this application embodiment. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the methods disclosed in this application embodiment can be directly manifested as execution by a hardware processor, or execution by a combination of hardware and software modules within the processor.

In the embodiments of this application, the memory can be non-volatile memory, such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD), or it can be volatile memory, such as random-access memory (RAM). The memory can also be any other medium capable of carrying or storing desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures, and accessible by a computer, but is not limited thereto. The memory in the embodiments of this application can also be a circuit or any other device capable of implementing storage functions, used to store computer programs, program instructions, and/or data.

Based on the above embodiments, referring to Figure 7, this application embodiment also provides another communication device 700, including: an interface circuit 710 and a logic circuit 720; the interface circuit 710 can be understood as an input/output interface, which can be used to execute the transmission and reception steps of each device in any of the above method embodiments, and the logic circuit 720 can be used to run code or instructions to execute the methods executed by each device in any of the above embodiments, which will not be described in detail here.

Based on the above embodiments, this application also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause the methods executed by the devices in any of the above method embodiments to be implemented. The computer-readable storage medium may include various media capable of storing program code, such as a USB flash drive, portable hard drive, read-only memory, random access memory, magnetic disk, or optical disk.

Based on the above embodiments, this application provides a communication system, which includes the first network element, the second network element, the first terminal, and the first access device mentioned in any of the above method embodiments, and can be used to execute the methods executed by each device in any of the above method embodiments.

Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of this application can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, this application can take the form of a completely hardware embodiment, a completely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, this application can take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-usable program code.

This application is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to this application. It should be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions specified in one or more flowchart illustrations and/or one or more block diagrams.

In this application embodiment, "at least one" refers to one or more, and "more than one" refers to two or more. "And/or" describes the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and/or B can represent: A alone, A and B simultaneously, or B alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character "/" generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects are in an "or" relationship. "At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these dozen or more items, including any combination of single or plural items. For example, at least one of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, or a-b-c, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

In the embodiments of this application, "send" and "receive" indicate the direction of signal transmission. For example, "send information to XX" can be understood as the destination of the information being XX, which may include direct transmission via the air interface or indirect transmission by other units or modules via the air interface. "Receive information from YY" can be understood as the source of the information being YY, which may include direct reception from YY via the air interface or indirect reception from YY by other units or modules via the air interface. "Send" can also be understood as the "output" of the chip interface, and "receive" can also be understood as the "input" of the chip interface. In other words, sending and receiving can occur between devices, such as between network devices and terminal devices, or within a device, such as between components, modules, chips, software modules, or hardware modules within the device via a bus, wiring, or interface. It is understood that information may undergo necessary processing, such as encoding and modulation, between the source and destination of information transmission, but the destination can understand the valid information from the source. Similar expressions in this application can be understood in a similar way and will not be repeated here.

In the embodiments of this application, "when," "if," and "if" all refer to the device taking corresponding actions under certain objective circumstances, not a time limit, nor do they require the device to perform a judgment action, nor do they imply any other limitations. Unless otherwise specified, "if" and "if" are interchangeable, and "when" and "in the case of" are interchangeable. "When" and "if"/"if" are interchangeable. In the embodiments of this application, "*" can be used to represent "multiplication."

The ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" mentioned in the embodiments of this application are used to distinguish multiple objects and are not used to limit the size, content, order, timing, priority, or importance of the multiple objects. Words such as "exemplary" or "for example" are used to indicate that something is being described as an example, illustration, or description. Any embodiment or design scheme described as "exemplary" or "for example" in this application should not be construed as being better or more advantageous than other embodiments or design schemes. Specifically, the use of words such as "exemplary" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts in a concrete manner.

In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium produce an article of manufacture including instruction means that implement the functions specified in one or more flowcharts and/or one or more block diagrams.

These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process, such that the instructions, which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus, provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more flowcharts and/or one or more block diagrams.

Claims (29)

A communication method, characterized in that it is applied to a first network element and includes: The first message is received from the second network element. The first message is used to request the network and the first terminal to cooperate in executing the perception strategy of the perception task. The first network element is used for data management of the perception task. The first sensing strategy is sent to the second network element according to the first message. The first sensing strategy includes the identifier of the target sensing processing node for performing the sensing task. According to the method of claim 1, the first message includes: the location information of the first terminal and the type of the sensing task. According to the method of claim 2, the first message further includes one or more of the following information: the identifier of the sensing task, the computing resource requirements of the sensing task, and first indication information; Wherein, the first indication information indicates that the network performs the data calculation of the sensing task, or the first terminal does not perform the data calculation of the sensing task, or the first terminal performs part of the data calculation of the sensing task. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, before sending the first sensing strategy to the second network element according to the first message, it further includes: Acquire the capability information of at least one sensing and processing node and the location information of the at least one sensing and processing node; Based on the first message, the capability information of the at least one sensing processing node, and the location information of the at least one sensing processing node, a target sensing processing node is determined, and the target sensing processing node is used for data calculation of the sensing task. The method according to claim 4, wherein the first sensing strategy is associated with at least one of the following: The first terminal's perception configuration strategy, the network's perception configuration strategy, the target perception processing node's capability information, the first terminal's location information, or the target perception processing node's location information. The method according to any one of claims 1-5 is characterized in that the first sensing strategy further includes: the first terminal executing a first part of the sensing task, and/or the target sensing processing node executing a second part of the sensing task, wherein the first part of the task and the second part of the task constitute the sensing task. The method according to any one of claims 1-6 is characterized in that the first message is a session establishment request message, and the first perception strategy further includes an identifier of the session corresponding to the perception task. A communication method, characterized in that it is applied to a first network element and includes: Receive a second message from the second network element, the second message being used to trigger the creation of a first sensing task of the first terminal, the first network element being used for data management of the first sensing task; The first information is sent to the second network element according to the second message. The first information includes the identifier of the first sensing task and the identifier of the first target sensing processing node used to perform the first sensing task. According to the method of claim 8, the second message includes: the location information of the first terminal and the type of the first sensing task. According to the method of claim 9, the second message further includes one or more of the following: the computing resource requirements of the first sensing task, second indication information, and an identifier for the session carrying the first sensing task. The second indication information is used to indicate that the network performs the data calculation of the first sensing task, or that the first terminal does not perform the data calculation of the first sensing task, or that the first terminal performs part of the data calculation of the first sensing task. The method according to any one of claims 8-10, characterized in that, before sending the first information to the second network element according to the second message, it further includes: Acquire the capability information of at least one sensing and processing node and the location information of the at least one sensing and processing node; Based on the second message, the capability information of the at least one sensing processing node, and the location information of the at least one sensing processing node, a first target sensing processing node is determined, and the first target sensing processing node is used for data calculation of the first sensing task. The method according to claim 11, wherein the first information is related to at least one of the following: The first terminal's perception configuration strategy, the network's perception configuration strategy, the first target perception processing node's capability information, the first terminal's location information, or the first target perception processing node's location information. The method according to any one of claims 8-12, wherein the first information further includes: a second perception strategy, the second perception strategy instructing the first terminal to perform a first part of the first perception task, and/or the first target perception processing node to perform a second part of the first perception task, the first part of the task and the second part of the task constituting the first perception task. The method according to any one of claims 8-13, characterized in that the method further comprises: When the first condition is met, a second target perception processing node is acquired, which is different from the first target perception processing node. A third sensing strategy is sent to the second network element. The third sensing strategy includes: the first terminal executing the third part of the first sensing task, and/or the second target sensing processing node executing the fourth part of the first sensing task, wherein the third part and the fourth part constitute the first sensing task. The method according to claim 14, wherein the first condition includes one of the following: The first network element receives a third message from the second network element, the third message being used to request modification of the first sensing task; or, The first network element acquires the state change information of the first target perception processing node, and determines based on the state change information that the first target perception processing node cannot perform the first perception task. The method according to claim 15, wherein the third message includes: information on changes in the computing resource requirements of the first sensing task, and/or, a third indication information, the third indication information indicating modification of the first sensing task. A communication method, characterized in that it is applied to a second network element, comprising: Receive a fourth message from the first terminal, the fourth message being used to request the network and the first terminal to cooperate in executing a perception strategy for a perception task; According to the fourth message, a first message is sent to the first network element, and the first message is used to request the network and the first terminal to cooperate in executing the perception strategy of the perception task. Receive a first perception policy from the first network element, the first perception policy including an identifier of the target perception processing node for performing the perception task; The first sensing strategy is sent to the first terminal. The method according to claim 17, wherein the fourth message includes the type of the perception task. According to the method of claim 18, the fourth message further includes one or more of the following information: the identifier of the sensing task, the computing resource requirements of the sensing task, the location information of the first terminal, and the first indication information; Wherein, the first indication information indicates that the network performs the data calculation of the sensing task, or the first terminal does not perform the data calculation of the sensing task, or the first terminal performs part of the data calculation of the sensing task. The method according to any one of claims 17-19, wherein the first sensing strategy further comprises: the first terminal executing a first part of the sensing task, and/or the target sensing processing node executing a second part of the sensing task, wherein the first part of the task and the second part of the task constitute the sensing task. The method according to any one of claims 17-20 is characterized in that the fourth message is a session establishment request message, and the first perception strategy further includes an identifier of the session corresponding to the perception task. A communication method, characterized in that it is applied to a second network element, comprising: The first network element receives a fifth message from the first terminal, the fifth message being used to trigger the creation of a first sensing task for the first terminal, and the first network element being used for data management of the first sensing task. According to the fifth message, a second message is sent to the first network element, and the second message is used to trigger the first sensing task to create the first terminal; Receive first information from the first network element, the first information including the identifier of the first sensing task and the identifier of the first target sensing processing node for performing the first sensing task; Send the first information to the first terminal. The method according to claim 22, wherein the fifth message includes: the type of the first sensing task. According to the method of claim 23, the fifth message further includes one or more of the following information: location information of the first terminal, computing resource requirements of the first sensing task, second indication information, and an identifier for the session carrying the first sensing task. The second indication information is used to indicate that the network performs the data calculation of the first sensing task, or that the first terminal does not perform the data calculation of the first sensing task, or that the first terminal performs part of the data calculation of the first sensing task. The method according to claim 23 or 24, characterized in that it further comprises: The first network element is determined based on the type of the first sensing task and the first correspondence, wherein the first correspondence indicates the correspondence between the type of the first sensing task and the first network element. A communication device, characterized in that it comprises: at least one processor and a memory; The memory is used to store computer programs or data; The at least one processor is configured to run part or all of the computer program or data to cause the method of any one of claims 1-25 to be performed. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that the computer-readable storage medium stores instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the method as described in any one of claims 1-25 to be performed. A computer program product comprising a computer program or instructions, characterized in that, when the computer program or instructions are run on a computer, the method as described in any one of claims 1-25 is performed. A communication system, characterized in that the system includes a first network element and a second network element; Wherein, the first network element is used to perform the method as described in any one of claims 1-7, and the second network element is used to perform the method as described in any one of claims 17-21; or the first network element is used to perform the method as described in any one of claims 8-16, and the second network element is used to perform the method as described in any one of claims 22-25.