US-12621696-B2 - Availability window element for indicating availability windows for WLAN sensing

US12621696B2US 12621696 B2US12621696 B2US 12621696B2US-12621696-B2

Abstract

For wireless local area network (WLAN) sensing, a non-access point (AP) station (STA) sends a Measurement Setup Query frame to an access point station (AP) to signal one or more preferred time windows of the STA indicating when the STA is available to perform WLAN sensing with the AP. The STA receives a Measurement Setup Request frame received from the AP in response to the Measurement Setup Query frame. The Measurement Setup Request frame may indicate a time-window that is either within one of the preferred time-windows of the STA or a new proposed time-window that is not within one of the preferred time-windows of the STA. The STA may send a Measurement Setup Response frame to the AP to indicate an acceptance when the indicated time-window is within one of the preferred time-windows. The STA may send the Measurement Setup Response frame to indicate a rejection when the indicated time-window is not acceptable to the STA for performing the WLAN sensing procedure.

Inventors

Cheng Chen
Dibakar Das
Carlos Cordeiro

Assignees

INTEL CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20220930

Claims (20)

1 . An apparatus for a non-access point station (STA), the apparatus comprising: processing circuitry; and memory, the STA configured to perform network (WLAN) sensing, wherein to participate in a sensing measurement setup initiated by an access point station (AP) that the STA is unassociated with, the processing circuitry is configured to: encode a Sensing Measurement Setup Query frame for transmission to the AP, the Measurement Setup Query frame encoded to include an initiating station (ISTA) Availability Window Element, the ISTA Availability Window Element encoded to indicate an availability window of the STA for trigger-based (TB) sensing and a preferred periodicity; decode a Sensing Measurement Setup Request frame received from the AP in response to the Sensing Measurement Setup Query frame; wherein for the TB sensing, the Sensing Measurement Setup Request frame includes a responding station (RSTA) Availability Window Element that indicates a requested availability window, the requested availability window based on the availability window and the preferred periodicity indicated in the ISTA Availability Window Element of the Sensing Measurement Setup Query frame, the Sensing Measurement Setup Request frame further including a Sensing Measurement Parameters Element indicating requested sensing measurement setup parameters for a sensing measurement instance; encode for transmission to the AP, a Sensing Measurement Setup Response frame in response to receipt of the Sensing Measurement Setup Request frame, the Sensing Measurement Setup Response frame encoded to indicate acceptance or rejection of the requested sensing measurement setup parameters in the Sensing Measurement Setup Request frame, wherein when the Sensing Measurement Setup Response frame is encoded to indicate rejection of the requested sensing measurement setup parameters, the processing circuitry is configured to encode the Sensing Measurement Setup Response frame to indicate preferred sensing measurement parameters; perform sensing measurements during a TB sensing measurement instance based on the sensing measurement setup parameters, the TB sensing measurement instance occurring within the sensing availability window; and estimate features of an object in an area of interest based on the sensing measurements performed during the TB sensing measurement instance.
2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to encode the Measurement Setup Query frame to include sensing capabilities of the STA.
3 . The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein processing circuitry is configured to encode the Sensing Measurement Setup Response frame to indicate rejection when the Sensing Measurement Setup Request frame did not indicate an availability window that overlaps the availability window of the STA signaled by the ISTA Availability Window Element.
4 . The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the Sensing Measurement Setup Response frame is encoded to indicate rejection because the Sensing Measurement Setup Request frame did not indicate an availability window that overlaps the availability window of the STA signaled by the ISTA Availability Window Element, the processing circuitry is further configured to encode the Sensing Measurement Setup Response frame to include an Availability Window Element that indicates one or more other availability windows that can be assigned by the AP.
5 . The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the TB sensing measurement instance includes one or more of a polling phase, NDPA sounding phase, Trigger frame (TF) sounding phase, and reporting phase.
6 . The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the features include one or more of range, velocity and motion of the object.
7 . The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to process the sensing measurements and use the features for at least one of presence detection and gesture classification.
8 . The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the Sensing Measurement Setup Request frame received from the AP includes an unassociated station identifier (USID) or the STA assigned by the AP.
9 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the memory is configured to store indications of the availability window.
10 . The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the processing circuitry comprises a baseband processor.
11 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions for execution by processing circuitry of a non-access point station (STA) configured to perform network (WLAN) sensing, wherein to participate in a sensing measurement setup initiated by an access point station (AP) that the STA is unassociated with, the processing circuitry is configured to: encode a Sensing Measurement Setup Query frame for transmission to the AP, the Measurement Setup Query frame encoded to include an initiating station (ISTA) Availability Window Element, the ISTA Availability Window Element encoded to indicate an availability window of the STA for trigger-based (TB) sensing and a preferred periodicity; decode a Sensing Measurement Setup Request frame received from the AP in response to the Sensing Measurement Setup Query frame; wherein for the TB sensing, the Sensing Measurement Setup Request frame includes a responding station (RSTA) Availability Window Element that indicates a requested availability window, the requested availability window based on the availability window and the preferred periodicity indicated in the ISTA Availability Window Element of the Sensing Measurement Setup Query frame, the Sensing Measurement Setup Request frame further including a Sensing Measurement Parameters Element indicating requested sensing measurement setup parameters for a sensing measurement instance; encode for transmission to the AP, a Sensing Measurement Setup Response frame in response to receipt of the Sensing Measurement Setup Request frame, the Sensing Measurement Setup Response frame encoded to indicate acceptance or rejection of the requested sensing measurement setup parameters in the Sensing Measurement Setup Request frame, wherein when the Sensing Measurement Setup Response frame is encoded to indicate rejection of the requested sensing measurement setup parameters, the processing circuitry is configured to encode the Sensing Measurement Setup Response frame to indicate preferred sensing measurement parameters; perform sensing measurements during a TB sensing measurement instance based on the sensing measurement setup parameters, the TB sensing measurement instance occurring within the sensing availability window; and estimate features of an object in an area of interest based on the sensing measurements performed during the TB sensing measurement instance.
12 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to encode the Measurement Setup Query frame to include sensing capabilities of the STA.
13 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 12 , wherein processing circuitry is configured to encode the Sensing Measurement Setup Response frame to indicate rejection when the Sensing Measurement Setup Request frame did not indicate an availability window that overlaps the availability window of the STA signaled by the ISTA Availability Window Element.
14 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 13 , wherein the Sensing Measurement Setup Response frame is encoded to indicate rejection because the Sensing Measurement Setup Request frame did not indicate an availability window that overlaps the availability window of the STA signaled by the ISTA Availability Window Element, the processing circuitry is further configured to encode the Sensing Measurement Setup Response frame to include an Availability Window Element that indicates one or more other availability windows that can be assigned by the AP.
15 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14 , wherein the TB sensing measurement instance includes one or more of a polling phase, NDPA sounding phase, Trigger frame (TF) sounding phase, and reporting phase.
16 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the features include one or more of range, velocity and motion of the object.
17 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 16 , wherein the processing circuitry is configured to process the sensing measurements and use the features for at least one of presence detection and gesture classification.
18 . An apparatus for an access point station (AP), the apparatus comprising: processing circuitry; and memory, the AP configured to perform network (WLAN) sensing, wherein to participate in a sensing measurement setup initiated by the AP with an unassociated non-AP station (STA), the processing circuitry is configured to: decode a Sensing Measurement Setup Query frame received from the STA, the Measurement Setup Query frame including an initiating station (ISTA) Availability Window Element, the ISTA Availability Window Element indicating an availability window of the STA for trigger-based (TB) sensing and a preferred periodicity; encode a Sensing Measurement Setup Request frame for transmission to the STA in response to the Sensing Measurement Setup Query frame; wherein for the TB sensing, the Sensing Measurement Setup Request frame includes a responding station (RSTA) Availability Window Element that indicates a requested availability window, the requested availability window based on the availability window and the preferred periodicity indicated in the ISTA Availability Window Element of the Sensing Measurement Setup Query frame, the Sensing Measurement Setup Request frame further including a Sensing Measurement Parameters Element indicating requested sensing measurement setup parameters for a sensing measurement instance; decode a Sensing Measurement Setup Response frame received from the STA in response to receipt of the Sensing Measurement Setup Request frame, the Sensing Measurement Setup Response frame encoded to indicate acceptance or rejection of the requested sensing measurement setup parameters in the Sensing Measurement Setup Request frame, wherein when the Sensing Measurement Setup Response frame is encoded to indicate rejection of the requested sensing measurement setup parameters, the Sensing Measurement Setup Response frame is encoded to indicate preferred sensing measurement parameters; perform sensing measurements during a TB sensing measurement instance based on the sensing measurement setup parameters, the TB sensing measurement instance occurring within the sensing availability window; and estimate features of an object in an area of interest based on the sensing measurements performed during the TB sensing measurement instance.
19 . The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to decode the Measurement Setup Query frame to determine sensing capabilities of the STA.
20 . The apparatus of claim 18 , wherein when the Sensing Measurement Setup Response frame indicates rejection, the processing circuitry is configured to decode an Availability Window Element that indicates one or more other availability windows that can be assigned by the AP.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD Embodiments pertain to wireless communications. Some embodiments pertain to wireless networks including wireless local area networks (WLANs) and Wi-Fi networks including networks operating in accordance with the IEEE 802.11 family of standards. Some embodiments relate to extremely high throughput (EHT) communications. Some embodiments pertain to WLAN sensing in accordance with draft standard IEEE P802.11bf. BACKGROUND WLAN sensing is the use of PHY and MAC features of IEEE 802.11 stations to obtain measurements that may be useful to estimate features such as range, velocity, and motion of objects in an area of interest. Measurements obtained with WLAN sensing may be used to enable applications such as presence detection and gesture classification. One issue with WLAN sensing is that access points do not always know when stations, particularly unassociated stations, are available to perform sensing measurements. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a radio architecture in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 2 illustrates a front-end module circuitry for use in the radio architecture of FIG. 1 in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 3 illustrates a radio IC circuitry for use in the radio architecture of FIG. 1 in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 4 illustrates a baseband processing circuitry for use in the radio architecture of FIG. 1 in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 5 illustrates a WLAN in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 6 illustrates a trigger-based (TB) measurement session setup sequence for WLAN sensing, in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 7 illustrates a trigger-based (TB) measurement session setup sequence for WLAN sensing using preferred time-window signalling, in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 8 illustrates an example of a WLAN sensing procedure, in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a trigger-based (TB) sensing measurement instance, in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 10 illustrates a functional block diagram of a wireless communication device, in accordance with some embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The following description and the drawings sufficiently illustrate specific embodiments to enable those skilled in the art to practice them. Other embodiments may incorporate structural, logical, electrical, process, and other changes. Portions and features of some embodiments may be included in, or substituted for, those of other embodiments. Embodiments set forth in the claims encompass all available equivalents of those claims. Embodiments are directed to signalling availability periods for WLAN sensing. In some embodiments, for wireless local area network (WLAN) sensing, a non-access point (AP) station (STA) sends a Measurement Setup Query frame to an access point station (AP) to signal one or more preferred time windows of the STA indicating when the STA is available to perform WLAN sensing with the AP. The STA receives a Measurement Setup Request frame received from the AP in response to the Measurement Setup Query frame. The Measurement Setup Request frame may indicate a time-window that is either within one of the preferred time-windows of the STA or a new proposed time-window that is not within one of the preferred time-windows of the STA. The STA may send a Measurement Setup Response frame to the AP to indicate an acceptance when the indicated time-window is within one of the preferred time-windows. The STA may send the Measurement Setup Response frame to indicate a rejection when the indicated time-window is not acceptable to the STA for performing the WLAN sensing procedure. These embodiments are described in more detail below. In some embodiments, for wireless local area network (WLAN) sensing, an access point (AP) station (AP) receives a Measurement Setup Query frame from an unassociated non-AP station (STA) that including one or more elements signaling one or more preferred time windows of the STA. The one or more preferred time-windows indicate when the STA is available to perform WLAN sensing with the AP. The AP may send a Measurement Setup Request frame for transmission to the STA in response to the Measurement Setup Query frame. The Measurement Setup Request frame may indicate a time-window either within one of the preferred time-windows of the STA or a new proposed time-window that is not within one of the preferred time-windows of the STA. The AP may receive a Measurement Setup Response frame from the STA in response to the Measurement Setup Request frame indicating an acceptance when the indicated time-window is within one of the preferred time-windows. In these embodiments, when the AP is available to perform WLAN sensing within the one of the preferred time-windows of the STA, the AP may send the Measurement Setup Request frame to indicate a time-window within one of the preferred time-windows of the STA. When the AP is not available to perform WLAN sensing with