EP-4741869-A1 - A NOVEL SENSING-MODE HANDOFF MECHANISM FOR HIGH-RESOLUTION AND ACCURATE SENSING IN B5G NETWORKS

EP4741869A1EP 4741869 A1EP4741869 A1EP 4741869A1EP-4741869-A1

Abstract

Techniques and methods are described to perform hand-over from a first object sensing device to a second object sensing device. The handover is a handover from mono-static sensing to bi-static sensing or a handover from bi-static sensing to mono-static sensing. A first pulse train and a second pulse train are transmitted within a pulse repetition interval, with the second pulse train being transmitted after the transmitting of the first pulse train. A presence and/or a location of a first reception signal and/or of a second reception signal are detected within the pulse repetition interval. The first and the second reception signal respectively correspond to reflections of the transmitted first and second pulse train. According to the detected presence and/or location of the second reception signal, it is determined whether the handover is to be performed.

Inventors

AL-OLAIMAT, Ayat
RAFIQUE, Saira
ARSLAN, Hüseyin

Assignees

Vestel Elektronik Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260513
Application Date: 20241108

Claims (15)

A method for hand-over from a first object sensing device to a second object sensing device comprising steps performed at the first object sensing device of: transmitting a first pulse train within a pulse repetition interval; transmitting a second pulse train within the pulse repetition interval after a predefined time interval of the transmitting of the first pulse train; detecting presence and/or location of a first reception signal and/or a second reception signal within the pulse repetition interval, wherein the first reception signal and the second reception signal respectively correspond to reflections of the transmitted first pulse train and the second pulse train; and determining whether a handover is to be performed according to the detected presence and/or location of the second reception signal, wherein said handover is a handover from mono-static sensing to bi-static sensing or a handover from bi-static sensing to mono-static sensing.
The method according to claim 1, comprising performing of object sensing including determining sensing parameters according to the presence and/or location of the first reception signal in the pulse repetition interval.
The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the determining whether a handover is to be performed is performed according to the location of the second reception signal in the pulse repetition interval relative to the first reception signal.
The method according to any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the determining whether a handover is to be performed comprises estimating, based on the second reception signal, any of: - ambiguity in range of an object being sensed, - ambiguity in movement of said object, - strength of the second reception signal, and - latency of the second reception signal.
The method according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein when it is determined that the first reception signal is received within the pulse repetition interval and the second reception signal is not received with the pulse repetition interval: - determining whether the second reception signal is received after the pulse repetition interval; and - determining that a handover is to be performed, if it is determined that the second reception signal is received after the pulse repetition interval.
The method according to claim 5 further including: when it is determined that the second reception signal is received after the pulse repetition interval: - continuing the determining whether the first reception signal and/or the second reception signal are received within the pulse repetition interval until an acknowledgment of the handover from the second object sensing device is received; and - performing the handover after reception of said acknowledgement.
The method according to any of claims 1 to 6, further comprising a step of performing handover when it is determined that the handover is to be performed, wherein the handover includes - transmitting a handover request to a central node that is in communication with the first object sensing device and the second object sensing device, and - receiving an acknowledgement of handover from the central node or from the second object sensing device.
The method according to any of claims 1 to 6, further comprising a step of performing handover when it is determined that the handover is to be performed, comprising: transmitting a report on the detecting of presence and/or location of the second reception signal within the pulse repetition period to a central unit, wherein the determining whether a handover is to be performed is performed based on a command received from the central node.
The method according to any of claims 1 to 6, further comprising a step of performing handover when it is determined that the handover is to be performed, wherein the handover includes: transmitting a handover request to the second object sensing device, and receiving an acknowledgement of handover from the second object sensing device.
The method according to any of claims 1 to 9, wherein each of the first pulse train and the second pulse train comprises one or more pulses.
The method according to any of claims 1 to 9, wherein the first pulse train differs from the second pulse train.
The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the pulse repetition interval is determined according to a desired range of detectable objects.
The method according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the predefined time interval is set to a value according to an expected amount of movement of detectable objects.
A computer program stored on a non-transitory and computer readable medium, wherein the computer program includes instructions which when executed on one or more processors perform the method according to any of claims 1 to 13.
An apparatus for hand-over from a first object sensing device to a second object sensing device comprising: a transmitter configured to: - transmit a first pulse train within a pulse repetition interval; - transmit a second pulse train within the pulse repetition interval after a predefined time interval of the transmitting of the first pulse train; processing circuitry configured to: - detect presence and/or location of a first reception signal and/or of a second reception signal within the pulse repetition interval, wherein the first reception signal and the second reception signal respectively correspond to reflections of the transmitted first pulse train and the second pulse train; and - determine whether a handover is to be performed according to the detected presence and/or location of the second reception signal, wherein said handover is a handover from mono-static sensing to bi-static sensing or a handover from bi-static sensing to mono-static sensing.

Description

The present disclosure relates generally to wireless sensing and communication, and in particular to joint communication and sensing (JCAS). BACKGROUND The emergence of the fifth generation (5G) of mobile communication marked a significant change in wireless networks, shifting focus towards supporting diverse services with varying performance needs rather than solely emphasizing data rate improvements. This shift introduced services like enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine-type communication (mMTC), and ultra-reliable low-latency communication (uRLLC) to accommodate numerous devices and critical applications. The upcoming sixth generation (6G) cellular standards aim to build upon these capabilities by enabling joint communication and sensing (JCAS), facilitating a human-centered digital society across various sectors, such as work, healthcare, education, industry, entertainment, banking, and transportation, where communication is a crucial aspect. Given the diverse applications envisioned for next-generation networks, it is evident that wireless systems may not only handle communication, but may also utilize sensing techniques to gather information about the environment and users, improving overall network performance. 5G and beyond wireless networks call for an increasing need for connectivity due to the growing requirements in both communication applications and sensing services. This has led to increased research efforts to study multiple distributed systems, including their network perspectives. On the other hand, joint communication and sensing (JCAS) systems promise to improve the efficiency of spectral and hardware resources, enabling a wide range of applications such as autonomous vehicles, smart transportation systems, connected vehicles, virtual reality (VR) and extended reality (XR) in 6G networks. It is noted that the term JCAS is only one of terms referencing various projects or proposals that aim at combining communication and sensing functionalities within the same infrastructure or signal design. Some other terms include but are not limited to ISAC (Integrated Sensing and Communication), JSC (Joint Sensing and Communication), Dual-functional Radar and Communication (DFRC), and Coexistent Sensing and Communication. For example, 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) as well as European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) have tended to employ the term ISAC. The present disclosure employs there terms interchangeably to denote the effort in integrating communication and sensing functionality into one system. Moreover, it is essential to investigate the use of cell-free massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) cellular systems for the provision of JCAS capabilities, primarily in use cases such as vehicle-to-everything (V2X) networks for autonomous vehicles and smart city monitoring, considering the level of centralization of the core network to ensure communication reliability and to satisfy sensing detection and resolution. SUMMARY Methods and techniques are described herein for facilitating joint communication and sensing. For that purpose, the present disclosure provides methods and techniques to handle handover between sensing devices that sense object(s) in static and dynamic scenarios, so as to enable a robust and stable JCAS. The invention is defined by the independent claims. Some exemplary implementations are provided by the dependent claims. For example, a method for hand-over from a first object sensing device to a second object sensing device is provided comprising steps performed at the first object sensing device of: transmitting a first pulse train within a pulse repetition interval; transmitting a second pulse train within the pulse repetition interval after a predefined time interval of the transmitting of the first pulse train; detecting presence and/or location of a first reception signal and/or a second reception signal within the pulse repetition interval, wherein the first reception signal and the second reception signal respectively correspond to reflections of the transmitted first pulse train and the second pulse train; and determining whether a handover is to be performed according to the detected presence and/or location of the second reception signal, wherein said handover is a handover from mono-static sensing to bi-static sensing or a handover from bi-static sensing to mono-static sensing. Furthermore, an apparatus for hand-over from a first object sensing device to a second object sensing device is provided comprising: a transmitter configured to: transmit a first pulse train within a pulse repetition interval; transmit a second pulse train within the pulse repetition interval after a predefined time interval of the transmitting of the first pulse train; processing circuitry configured to: detect presence and/or location of a first reception signal and/or of a second reception signal within the pulse repetition interval, wherein the