WO2024221258A1

WO2024221258A1 - Ambient device discovery and connection

Info

Publication number: WO2024221258A1
Application number: PCT/CN2023/090759
Authority: WO
Inventors: Luanxia YANG; Junyi Li; Xiaoxia Zhang; Jing Sun
Original assignee: Qualcomm Incorporated
Priority date: 2023-04-26
Filing date: 2023-04-26
Publication date: 2024-10-31

Abstract

Various aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communication. In some aspects, a user equipment (UE) may transmit, to an ambient device, a discovery signal. The UE may transmit, to the ambient device, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to initiate a connection between the UE and the ambient device. The UE may receive, from the ambient device, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, a connection request. Numerous other aspects are described.

Description

AMBIENT DEVICE DISCOVERY AND CONNECTION

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to wireless communication and to techniques and apparatuses for ambient device discovery and selection.

BACKGROUND

Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcasts. Typical wireless communication systems may employ multiple-access technologies capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power, or the like) . Examples of such multiple-access technologies include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems, and Long Term Evolution (LTE) . LTE/LTE-Advanced is a set of enhancements to the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) mobile standard promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) .

A wireless network may include one or more network nodes that support communication for wireless communication devices, such as a user equipment (UE) or multiple UEs. A UE may communicate with a network node via downlink communications and uplink communications. “Downlink” (or “DL” ) refers to a communication link from the network node to the UE, and “uplink” (or “UL” ) refers to a communication link from the UE to the network node. Some wireless networks may support device-to-device communication, such as via a local link (e.g., a sidelink (SL) , a wireless local area network (WLAN) link, and/or a wireless personal area network (WPAN) link, among other examples) .

The above multiple access technologies have been adopted in various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol that enables different UEs to communicate on a municipal, national, regional, and/or global level. New Radio (NR) , which may be referred to as 5G, is a set of enhancements to the LTE mobile standard promulgated by the 3GPP. NR is designed to better support mobile broadband internet access by improving spectral efficiency, lowering costs, improving services, making use of new spectrum, and better integrating with other open standards using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) with a cyclic prefix (CP) (CP-OFDM) on the downlink, using CP-OFDM and/or single-carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDM) (also known as discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) ) on the uplink, as well as supporting beamforming, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology, and carrier aggregation. As the demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase, further improvements in LTE, NR, and other radio access technologies remain useful.

SUMMARY

Some aspects described herein relate to a method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE) . The method may include transmitting, to an ambient device, a discovery signal. The method may include transmitting, to the ambient device, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to initiate a connection between the UE and the ambient device. The method may include receiving, from the ambient device, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, a connection request.

Some aspects described herein relate to a method of wireless communication performed by an ambient device. The method may include receiving, from a UE, a discovery signal. The method may include receiving, from the UE, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to initiate a connection between the UE and the ambient device. The method may include transmitting, to the UE, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, a connection request.

Some aspects described herein relate to a method of wireless communication performed by a UE. The method may include transmitting, to an ambient device, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to transmit a backscatter signal that includes a discovery signal. The method may include receiving, from the ambient device, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, the backscatter that includes the discovery signal. The method may include transmitting, to the ambient device, based at least in part on the discovery signal, a connection request.

Some aspects described herein relate to a method of wireless communication performed by an ambient device. The method may include receiving, from a UE, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to transmit a backscatter signal that includes a discovery signal. The method may include transmitting, to the UE, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, the backscatter that includes the discovery signal. The method may include receiving, from the UE, based at least in part on the discovery signal, a connection request.

Some aspects described herein relate to an apparatus for wireless communication at a UE. The apparatus may include a memory and one or more processors coupled to the memory. The one or more processors may be configured to transmit, to an ambient device, a discovery signal. The one or more processors may be configured to transmit, to the ambient device, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to initiate a connection between the UE and the ambient device. The one or more processors may be configured to receive, from the ambient device, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, a connection request.

Some aspects described herein relate to an apparatus for wireless communication at an ambient device. The apparatus may include a memory and one or more processors coupled to the memory. The one or more processors may be configured to receive, from a UE, a discovery signal. The one or more processors may be configured to receive, from the UE, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to initiate a connection between the UE and the ambient device. The one or more processors may be configured to transmit, to the UE, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, a connection request.

Some aspects described herein relate to an apparatus for wireless communication at a UE. The apparatus may include a memory and one or more processors coupled to the memory. The one or more processors may be configured to transmit, to an ambient device, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to transmit a backscatter signal that includes a discovery signal. The one or more processors may be configured to receive, from the ambient device, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, the backscatter that includes the discovery signal. The one or more processors may be configured to transmit, to the ambient device, based at least in part on the discovery signal, a connection request.

Some aspects described herein relate to an apparatus for wireless communication at an ambient device. The apparatus may include a memory and one or more processors coupled to the memory. The one or more processors may be configured to receive, from a UE, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to transmit a backscatter signal that includes a discovery signal. The one or more processors may be configured to transmit, to the UE, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, the backscatter that includes the discovery signal. The one or more processors may be configured to receive, from the UE, based at least in part on the discovery signal, a connection request.

Some aspects described herein relate to a non-transitory computer-readable medium that stores a set of instructions for wireless communication by a UE. The set of instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the UE, may cause the UE to transmit, to an ambient device, a discovery signal. The set of instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the UE, may cause the UE to transmit, to the ambient device, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to initiate a connection between the UE and the ambient device. The set of instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the UE, may cause the UE to receive, from the ambient device, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, a connection request.

Some aspects described herein relate to a non-transitory computer-readable medium that stores a set of instructions for wireless communication by an ambient device. The set of instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the ambient device, may cause the ambient device to receive, from a UE, a discovery signal. The set of instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the ambient device, may cause the ambient device to receive, from the UE, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to initiate a connection between the UE and the ambient device. The set of instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the ambient device, may cause the ambient device to transmit, to the UE, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, a connection request.

Some aspects described herein relate to a non-transitory computer-readable medium that stores a set of instructions for wireless communication by a UE. The set of instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the UE, may cause the UE to transmit, to an ambient device, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to transmit a backscatter signal that includes a discovery signal. The set of instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the UE, may cause the UE to receive, from the ambient device, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, the backscatter that includes the discovery signal. The set of instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the UE, may cause the UE to transmit, to the ambient device, based at least in part on the discovery signal, a connection request.

Some aspects described herein relate to a non-transitory computer-readable medium that stores a set of instructions for wireless communication an ambient device. The set of instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the ambient device, may cause the ambient device to receive, from a UE, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to transmit a backscatter signal that includes a discovery signal. The set of instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the ambient device, may cause the ambient device to transmit, to the UE, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, the backscatter that includes the discovery signal. The set of instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the ambient device, may cause the ambient device to receive, from the UE, based at least in part on the discovery signal, a connection request.

Some aspects described herein relate to an apparatus for wireless communication. The apparatus may include means for transmitting, to an ambient device, a discovery signal. The apparatus may include means for transmitting, to the ambient device, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to initiate a connection between the apparatus and the ambient device. The apparatus may include means for receiving, from the ambient device, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, a connection request.

Some aspects described herein relate to an apparatus for wireless communication. The apparatus may include means for receiving, from a UE, a discovery signal. The apparatus may include means for receiving, from the UE, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the apparatus to initiate a connection between the UE and the apparatus. The apparatus may include means for transmitting, to the UE, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, a connection request.

Some aspects described herein relate to an apparatus for wireless communication. The apparatus may include means for transmitting, to an ambient device, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to transmit a backscatter signal that includes a discovery signal. The apparatus may include means for receiving, from the ambient device, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, the backscatter that includes the discovery signal. The apparatus may include means for transmitting, to the ambient device, based at least in part on the discovery signal, a connection request.

Some aspects described herein relate to an apparatus for wireless communication. The apparatus may include means for receiving, from a UE, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the apparatus to transmit a backscatter signal that includes a discovery signal. The apparatus may include means for transmitting, to the UE, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, the backscatter that includes the discovery signal. The apparatus may include means for receiving, from the UE, based at least in part on the discovery signal, a connection request.

Aspects generally include a method, apparatus, system, computer program product, non-transitory computer-readable medium, user equipment, base station, network entity, network node, wireless communication device, and/or processing system as substantially described herein with reference to and as illustrated by the drawings.

The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of examples according to the disclosure in order that the detailed description that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages will be described hereinafter. The conception and specific examples disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present disclosure. Such equivalent constructions do not depart from the scope of the appended claims. Characteristics of the concepts disclosed herein, both their organization and method of operation, together with associated advantages, will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures. Each of the figures is provided for the purposes of illustration and description, and not as a definition of the limits of the claims.

While aspects are described in the present disclosure by illustration to some examples, those skilled in the art will understand that such aspects may be implemented in many different arrangements and scenarios. Techniques described herein may be implemented using different platform types, devices, systems, shapes, sizes, and/or packaging arrangements. For example, some aspects may be implemented via integrated chip embodiments or other non-module-component based devices (e.g., end-user devices, vehicles, communication devices, computing devices, industrial equipment, retail/purchasing devices, medical devices, and/or artificial intelligence devices) . Aspects may be implemented in chip-level components, modular components, non-modular components, non-chip-level components, device-level components, and/or system-level components. Devices incorporating described aspects and features may include additional components and features for implementation and practice of claimed and described aspects. For example, transmission and reception of wireless signals may include one or more components for analog and digital purposes (e.g., hardware components including antennas, radio frequency (RF) chains, power amplifiers, modulators, buffers, processors, interleavers, adders, and/or summers) . It is intended that aspects described herein may be practiced in a wide variety of devices, components, systems, distributed arrangements, and/or end-user devices of varying size, shape, and constitution.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that the above-recited features of the present disclosure can be understood in detail, a more particular description, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to aspects, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only certain typical aspects of this disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the description may admit to other equally effective aspects. The same reference numbers in different drawings may identify the same or similar elements.

Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless network, in accordance with the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a network node in communication with a user equipment (UE) in a wireless network, in accordance with the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of radio frequency identification, in accordance with the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of ambient device discovery and connection, in accordance with the present disclosure.

Fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of UE and ambient device communications, in accordance with the present disclosure.

Fig. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of ambient device discovery and connection, in accordance with the present disclosure.

Fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of UE and ambient device communications, in accordance with the present disclosure.

Fig. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example process performed, for example, by a UE, in accordance with the present disclosure.

Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example process performed, for example, by an ambient device, in accordance with the present disclosure.

Fig. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example process performed, for example, by a UE, in accordance with the present disclosure.

Fig. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example process performed, for example, by an ambient device, in accordance with the present disclosure.

Fig. 12 is a diagram of an example apparatus for wireless communication, in accordance with the present disclosure.

Fig. 13 is a diagram of an example apparatus for wireless communication, in accordance with the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various aspects of the disclosure are described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. This disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to any specific structure or function presented throughout this disclosure. Rather, these aspects are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. One skilled in the art should appreciate that the scope of the disclosure is intended to cover any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein, whether implemented independently of or combined with any other aspect of the disclosure. For example, an apparatus may be implemented or a method may be practiced using any number of the aspects set forth herein. In addition, the scope of the disclosure is intended to cover such an apparatus or method which is practiced using other structure, functionality, or structure and functionality in addition to or other than the various aspects of the disclosure set forth herein. It should be understood that any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein may be embodied by one or more elements of a claim.

Several aspects of telecommunication systems will now be presented with reference to various apparatuses and techniques. These apparatuses and techniques will be described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, modules, components, circuits, steps, processes, algorithms, or the like (collectively referred to as “elements” ) . These elements may be implemented using hardware, software, or combinations thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system.

While aspects may be described herein using terminology commonly associated with a 5G or New Radio (NR) radio access technology (RAT) , aspects of the present disclosure can be applied to other RATs, such as a 3G RAT, a 4G RAT, and/or a RAT subsequent to 5G (e.g., 6G) .

In some examples, an ambient device may operate in a low-power mode that may include an always-on mode. Some example ambient device may collect data from an environment using various sensors such as temperature sensors, humidity sensors, light sensors, sound sensors, and/or motion sensors, among other examples. An ambient device may be configured to harvest energy using, for example, light, heat, or motion, and may use the harvested energy to power the ambient device. In some examples, an ambient device may not include a battery and/or may have limited data storage capabilities. For example, an ambient device may be powered using energy from a capacitor. In some examples, an ambient device may comprise an Internet of Things (IoT) device, or the like. Thus, the term ambient device may cover a variety of devices including Ambient-IoT (A-IoT) devices. In some examples, an ambient device may transmit collected or otherwise available data to another device, such as a UE or a network node, for processing and analysis. Additionally, or alternatively, an example ambient device may receive commands from another device, such as a UE or a network node, to perform specific actions associated with the various sensors or the like supported/provided by the ambient device.

In one example, in contrast with conventional battery-based devices, an ambient device may obtain and/or store energy from the environment using, for example, light, heat, wind, and/or radio waves, which can be converted to useable electrical energy. Some ambient devices may be confivured to harvest energy from motion, vibration, pressure, or other like physical actions that the ambient device may be undergo. Different ambient energy harvesting technologies are associated with different advantages and disadvantages and may be suitable for use in different environments. Accordingly, an example ambient device may be powered by energy harvesting, and charging of a battery, a capacitor, or the like. In certain instances, some ambient devices may work for long periods of time, such as ten years or more. Additionally, some ambient devices may be low maintenance, small, light-weight, and may have low complexity, e.g., relative to other types of devices.

Various aspects relate generally to ambient device communication. Some aspects more specifically relate to user equipment (UE) and ambient device discovery and connection. In some examples, a UE may transmit a discovery signal for discovering an ambient device. After discovering the ambient device, the UE may transmit a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to initiate a connection between the UE and the ambient device. The ambient device may receive the continuous wave signal and the command, and may transmit a connection request to the UE that is based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command. For example, the continuous wave signal may charge the ambient device and enable the ambient device to transmit a communication signal to the UE that includes the connection request. In some other examples, the UE may transmit, and the ambient device may receive, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to transmit a communication signal that includes a discovery signal. The ambient device may transmit the communication signal that includes the discovery signal based at least in part on receiving the continuous wave signal and the command. The UE may receive the discovery signal, and may transmit a connection request to the ambient device based at least in part on the discovery signal.

As described herein, an ambient device may transmit a communication signal to the UE. The communication signal may include, for example, the discovery signal or the connection request. In some aspects, the communication signal may be, or may include, backscatter, such as a backscatter signal. However, other types of communication signals may be used. The terms “backscatter” and “backscatter signal” are provided as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

Particular aspects of the subject matter described in this disclosure can be implemented to realize one or more of the following potential advantages. In some examples, by configuring the UE and the ambient device to perform procedures related to discovery and connection, communication capabilities may be improved between the UE and the ambient device. In some examples, connection establishment may be controlled by the ambient device. For example, the UE may discover an ambient device using a discovery signal, may transmit a continuous wave signal and a command to the ambient device, and may receive a connection request from the ambient device based at least in part on the ambient device receiving the continuous wave signal and the command. In some other examples, connection establishment may be controlled by the UE. For example, the UE may transmit the continuous wave signal and the command, the ambient device may transmit a communication signal that includes the discovery signal, and the UE may transmit the connection request to the ambient device based at least in part on receiving the discovery signal from the ambient device. Additional details are described herein.

Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless network 100, in accordance with the present disclosure. The wireless network 100 may be or may include elements of a 5G (e.g., NR) network and/or a 4G (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) ) network, among other examples. The wireless network 100 may include one or more network nodes 110 (shown as a network node 110a, a network node 110b, a network node 110c, and a network node 110d) , a UE 120 or multiple UEs 120 (shown as a UE 120a, a UE 120b, a UE 120c, a UE 120d, and a UE 120e) , and/or other entities. A network node 110 is a network node that communicates with UEs 120. As shown, a network node 110 may include one or more network nodes. For example, a network node 110 may be an aggregated network node, meaning that the aggregated network node is configured to utilize a radio protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single radio access network (RAN) node (e.g., within a single device or unit) . As another example, a network node 110 may be a disaggregated network node (sometimes referred to as a disaggregated base station) , meaning that the network node 110 is configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed among two or more nodes (such as one or more central units (CUs) , one or more distributed units (DUs) , or one or more radio units (RUs) ) .

In some examples, a network node 110 is or includes a network node that communicates with UEs 120 via a radio access link, such as an RU. In some examples, a network node 110 is or includes a network node that communicates with other network nodes 110 via a fronthaul link or a midhaul link, such as a DU. In some examples, a network node 110 is or includes a network node that communicates with other network nodes 110 via a midhaul link or a core network via a backhaul link, such as a CU. In some examples, a network node 110 (such as an aggregated network node 110 or a disaggregated network node 110) may include multiple network nodes, such as one or more RUs, one or more CUs, and/or one or more DUs. A network node 110 may include, for example, an NR base station, an LTE base station, a Node B, an eNB (e.g., in 4G) , a gNB (e.g., in 5G) , an access point, a transmission reception point (TRP) , a DU, an RU, a CU, a mobility element of a network, a core network node, a network element, a network equipment, a RAN node, or a combination thereof. In some examples, the network nodes 110 may be interconnected to one another or to one or more other network nodes 110 in the wireless network 100 through various types of fronthaul, midhaul, and/or backhaul interfaces, such as a direct physical connection, an air interface, or a virtual network, using any suitable transport network.

In some examples, a network node 110 may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area. In the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) , the term “cell” can refer to a coverage area of a network node 110 and/or a network node subsystem serving this coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used. A network node 110 may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, and/or another type of cell. A macro cell may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs 120 with service subscriptions. A pico cell may cover a relatively small geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by UEs 120 with service subscriptions. A femto cell may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home) and may allow restricted access by UEs 120 having association with the femto cell (e.g., UEs 120 in a closed subscriber group (CSG) ) . A network node 110 for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro network node. A network node 110 for a pico cell may be referred to as a pico network node. A network node 110 for a femto cell may be referred to as a femto network node or an in-home network node. In the example shown in Fig. 1, the network node 110a may be a macro network node for a macro cell 102a, the network node 110b may be a pico network node for a pico cell 102b, and the network node 110c may be a femto network node for a femto cell 102c. A network node may support one or multiple (e.g., three) cells. In some examples, a cell may not necessarily be stationary, and the geographic area of the cell may move according to the location of a network node 110 that is mobile (e.g., a mobile network node) .

In some aspects, the terms “base station” or “network node” may refer to an aggregated base station, a disaggregated base station, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a relay node, or one or more components thereof. For example, in some aspects, “base station” or “network node” may refer to a CU, a DU, an RU, a Near-Real Time (Near-RT) RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) , or a Non-Real Time (Non-RT) RIC, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the terms “base station” or “network node” may refer to one device configured to perform one or more functions, such as those described herein in connection with the network node 110. In some aspects, the terms “base station” or “network node” may refer to a plurality of devices configured to perform the one or more functions. For example, in some distributed systems, each of a quantity of different devices (which may be located in the same geographic location or in different geographic locations) may be configured to perform at least a portion of a function, or to duplicate performance of at least a portion of the function, and the terms “base station” or “network node” may refer to any one or more of those different devices. In some aspects, the terms “base station” or “network node” may refer to one or more virtual base stations or one or more virtual base station functions. For example, in some aspects, two or more base station functions may be instantiated on a single device. In some aspects, the terms “base station” or “network node” may refer to one of the base station functions and not another. In this way, a single device may include more than one base station.

The wireless network 100 may include one or more relay stations. A relay station is a network node that can receive a transmission of data from an upstream node (e.g., a network node 110 or a UE 120) and send a transmission of the data to a downstream node (e.g., a UE 120 or a network node 110) . A relay station may be a UE 120 that can relay transmissions for other UEs 120. In the example shown in Fig. 1, the network node 110d (e.g., a relay network node) may communicate with the network node 110a (e.g., a macro network node) and the UE 120d in order to facilitate communication between the network node 110a and the UE 120d. A network node 110 that relays communications may be referred to as a relay station, a relay base station, a relay network node, a relay node, a relay, or the like.

The wireless network 100 may be a heterogeneous network that includes network nodes 110 of different types, such as macro network nodes, pico network nodes, femto network nodes, relay network nodes, or the like. These different types of network nodes 110 may have different transmit power levels, different coverage areas, and/or different impacts on interference in the wireless network 100. For example, macro network nodes may have a high transmit power level (e.g., 5 to 40 watts) whereas pico network nodes, femto network nodes, and relay network nodes may have lower transmit power levels (e.g., 0.1 to 2 watts) .

A network controller 130 may couple to or communicate with a set of network nodes 110 and may provide coordination and control for these network nodes 110. The network controller 130 may communicate with the network nodes 110 via a backhaul communication link or a midhaul communication link. The network nodes 110 may communicate with one another directly or indirectly via a wireless or wireline backhaul communication link. In some aspects, the network controller 130 may be a CU or a core network device, or may include a CU or a core network device.

The UEs 120 may be dispersed throughout the wireless network 100, and each UE 120 may be stationary or mobile. A UE 120 may include, for example, an access terminal, a terminal, a mobile station, and/or a subscriber unit. A UE 120 may be a cellular phone (e.g., a smart phone) , a personal digital assistant (PDA) , a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a tablet, a camera, a gaming device, a netbook, a smartbook, an ultrabook, a medical device, a biometric device, a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch, smart clothing, smart glasses, a smart wristband, smart jewelry (e.g., a smart ring or a smart bracelet) ) , an entertainment device (e.g., a music device, a video device, and/or a satellite radio) , a vehicular component or sensor, a smart meter/sensor, industrial manufacturing equipment, a global positioning system device, a UE function of a network node, and/or any other suitable device that is configured to communicate via a wireless or wired medium.

Some UEs 120 may be considered machine-type communication (MTC) or evolved or enhanced machine-type communication (eMTC) UEs. An MTC UE and/or an eMTC UE may include, for example, a robot, a drone, a remote device, a sensor, a meter, a monitor, and/or a location tag, that may communicate with a network node, another device (e.g., a remote device) , or some other entity. Some UEs 120 may be considered IoT devices, and/or may be implemented as NB-IoT (narrowband IoT) devices. Some UEs 120 may be considered a Customer Premises Equipment. A UE 120 may be included inside a housing that houses components of the UE 120, such as processor components and/or memory components. In some examples, the processor components and the memory components may be coupled together. For example, the processor components (e.g., one or more processors) and the memory components (e.g., a memory) may be operatively coupled, communicatively coupled, electronically coupled, and/or electrically coupled.

In some examples, the wireless network 100 may include an ambient device 125. The ambient device 125 may, in certain implementations, include one or more sensors (e.g., as described herein) and may communicate with the UE 120 and/or the network node 110. By way of example, in certain implementations, one or more ambient devices 125 (possibly without any sensors) may be configured/provisioned in some manner to further enable indoor positioning of other nearby devices.

In general, any number of wireless networks 100 may be deployed in a given geographic area. Each wireless network 100 may support a particular RAT and may operate on one or more frequencies. A RAT may be referred to as a radio technology, an air interface, or the like. A frequency may be referred to as a carrier, a frequency channel, or the like. Each frequency may support a single RAT in a given geographic area in order to avoid interference between wireless networks of different RATs. In some cases, NR or 5G RAT networks may be deployed.

In some examples, two or more UEs 120 (e.g., shown as UE 120a and UE 120e) may communicate directly using one or more sidelink channels (e.g., without using a network node 110 as an intermediary to communicate with one another) . For example, the UEs 120 may communicate using peer-to-peer (P2P) communications, device-to-device (D2D) communications, a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) protocol (e.g., which may include a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) protocol, a vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) protocol, or a vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) protocol) , and/or a mesh network. In such examples, a UE 120 may perform scheduling operations, resource selection operations, and/or other operations described elsewhere herein as being performed by the network node 110.

Devices of the wireless network 100 may communicate using the electromagnetic spectrum, which may be subdivided by frequency or wavelength into various classes, bands, channels, or the like. For example, devices of the wireless network 100 may communicate using one or more operating bands. In 5G NR, two initial operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR1 (410 MHz –7.125 GHz) and FR2 (24.25 GHz –52.6 GHz) . It should be understood that although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is often referred to (interchangeably) as a “Sub-6 GHz” band in various documents and articles. A similar nomenclature issue sometimes occurs with regard to FR2, which is often referred to (interchangeably) as a “millimeter wave” band in documents and articles, despite being different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz –300 GHz) which is identified by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as a “millimeter wave” band.

The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are often referred to as mid-band frequencies. Recent 5G NR studies have identified an operating band for these mid-band frequencies as frequency range designation FR3 (7.125 GHz –24.25 GHz) . Frequency bands falling within FR3 may inherit FR1 characteristics and/or FR2 characteristics, and thus may effectively extend features of FR1 and/or FR2 into mid-band frequencies. In addition, higher frequency bands are currently being explored to extend 5G NR operation beyond 52.6 GHz. For example, three higher operating bands have been identified as frequency range designations FR4a or FR4-1 (52.6 GHz –71 GHz) , FR4 (52.6 GHz –114.25 GHz) , and FR5 (114.25 GHz –300 GHz) . Each of these higher frequency bands falls within the EHF band.

With the above examples in mind, unless specifically stated otherwise, it should be understood that the term “sub-6 GHz” or the like, if used herein, may broadly represent frequencies that may be less than 6 GHz, may be within FR1, or may include mid-band frequencies. Further, unless specifically stated otherwise, it should be understood that the term “millimeter wave” or the like, if used herein, may broadly represent frequencies that may include mid-band frequencies, may be within FR2, FR4, FR4-a or FR4-1, and/or FR5, or may be within the EHF band. It is contemplated that the frequencies included in these operating bands (e.g., FR1, FR2, FR3, FR4, FR4-a, FR4-1, and/or FR5) may be modified, and techniques described herein are applicable to those modified frequency ranges.

In some aspects, the UE 120 may include a communication manager 140. As described in more detail elsewhere herein, the communication manager 140 may transmit, to an ambient device, a discovery signal; transmit, to the ambient device, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to initiate a connection between the UE and the ambient device; and receive, from the ambient device, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, a connection request.

In some aspects, the communication manager 140 may transmit, to an ambient device, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to transmit a backscatter signal that includes a discovery signal; receive, from the ambient device, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, the backscatter that includes the discovery signal; and transmit, to the ambient device, based at least in part on the discovery signal, a connection request. Additionally, or alternatively, the communication manager 140 may perform one or more other operations described herein.

In some aspects, the ambient device 125 may include a communication manager 150. As described in more detail elsewhere herein, the communication manager 150 may receive, from a UE, a discovery signal; receive, from the UE, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to initiate a connection between the UE and the ambient device; and transmit, to the UE, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, a connection request.

In some aspects, the communication manager 150 may receive, from a UE, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to transmit a backscatter signal that includes a discovery signal; transmit, to the UE, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, the backscatter that includes the discovery signal; and receive, from the UE, based at least in part on the discovery signal, a connection request. Additionally, or alternatively, the communication manager 150 may perform one or more other operations described herein.

As indicated above, Fig. 1 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to Fig. 1.

Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example 200 of a network node 110 in communication with a UE 120 in a wireless network 100, in accordance with the present disclosure. The network node 110 may be equipped with a set of antennas 234a through 234t, such as T antennas (T ≥ 1) . The UE 120 may be equipped with a set of antennas 252a through 252r, such as R antennas (R ≥ 1) . The network node 110 of example 200 includes one or more radio frequency components, such as antennas 234 and a modem 232. In some examples, a network node 110 may include an interface, a communication component, or another component that facilitates communication with the UE 120 or another network node. Some network nodes 110 may not include radio frequency components that facilitate direct communication with the UE 120, such as one or more CUs, or one or more DUs.

At the network node 110, a transmit processor 220 may receive data, from a data source 212, intended for the UE 120 (or a set of UEs 120) . The transmit processor 220 may select one or more modulation and coding schemes (MCSs) for the UE 120 based at least in part on one or more channel quality indicators (CQIs) received from that UE 120. The network node 110 may process (e.g., encode and modulate) the data for the UE 120 based at least in part on the MCS (s) selected for the UE 120 and may provide data symbols for the UE 120. The transmit processor 220 may process system information (e.g., for semi-static resource partitioning information (SRPI) ) and control information (e.g., CQI requests, grants, and/or upper layer signaling) and provide overhead symbols and control symbols. The transmit processor 220 may generate reference symbols for reference signals (e.g., a cell-specific reference signal (CRS) or a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) ) and synchronization signals (e.g., a primary synchronization signal (PSS) or a secondary synchronization signal (SSS) ) . A transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 230 may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on the data symbols, the control symbols, the overhead symbols, and/or the reference symbols, if applicable, and may provide a set of output symbol streams (e.g., T output symbol streams) to a corresponding set of modems 232 (e.g., T modems) , shown as modems 232a through 232t. For example, each output symbol stream may be provided to a modulator component (shown as MOD) of a modem 232. Each modem 232 may use a respective modulator component to process a respective output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modem 232 may further use a respective modulator component to process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and/or upconvert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. The modems 232a through 232t may transmit a set of downlink signals (e.g., T downlink signals) via a corresponding set of antennas 234 (e.g., T antennas) , shown as antennas 234a through 234t.

At the UE 120, a set of antennas 252 (shown as antennas 252a through 252r) may receive the downlink signals from the network node 110 and/or other network nodes 110 and may provide a set of received signals (e.g., R received signals) to a set of modems 254 (e.g., R modems) , shown as modems 254a through 254r. For example, each received signal may be provided to a demodulator component (shown as DEMOD) of a modem 254. Each modem 254 may use a respective demodulator component to condition (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, and/or digitize) a received signal to obtain input samples. Each modem 254 may use a demodulator component to further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM) to obtain received symbols. A MIMO detector 256 may obtain received symbols from the modems 254, may perform MIMO detection on the received symbols if applicable, and may provide detected symbols. A receive processor 258 may process (e.g., demodulate and decode) the detected symbols, may provide decoded data for the UE 120 to a data sink 260, and may provide decoded control information and system information to a controller/processor 280. The term “controller/processor” may refer to one or more controllers, one or more processors, or a combination thereof. A channel processor may determine a reference signal received power (RSRP) parameter, a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) parameter, a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) parameter, and/or a CQI parameter, among other examples. In some examples, one or more components of the UE 120 may be included in a housing 284.

The network controller 130 may include a communication unit 294, a controller/processor 290, and a memory 292. The network controller 130 may include, for example, one or more devices in a core network. The network controller 130 may communicate with the network node 110 via the communication unit 294.

One or more antennas (e.g., antennas 234a through 234t and/or antennas 252a through 252r) may include, or may be included within, one or more antenna panels, one or more antenna groups, one or more sets of antenna elements, and/or one or more antenna arrays, among other examples. An antenna panel, an antenna group, a set of antenna elements, and/or an antenna array may include one or more antenna elements (within a single housing or multiple housings) , a set of coplanar antenna elements, a set of non-coplanar antenna elements, and/or one or more antenna elements coupled to one or more transmission and/or reception components, such as one or more components of Fig. 2.

On the uplink, at the UE 120, a transmit processor 264 may receive and process data from a data source 262 and control information (e.g., for reports that include RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, and/or CQI) from the controller/processor 280. The transmit processor 264 may generate reference symbols for one or more reference signals. The symbols from the transmit processor 264 may be precoded by a TX MIMO processor 266 if applicable, further processed by the modems 254 (e.g., for DFT-s-OFDM or CP-OFDM) , and transmitted to the network node 110. In some examples, the modem 254 of the UE 120 may include a modulator and a demodulator. In some examples, the UE 120 includes a transceiver. The transceiver may include any combination of the antenna (s) 252, the modem (s) 254, the MIMO detector 256, the receive processor 258, the transmit processor 264, and/or the TX MIMO processor 266. The transceiver may be used by a processor (e.g., the controller/processor 280) and the memory 282 to perform aspects of any of the methods described herein (e.g., with reference to Figs. 4-13) .

At the network node 110, the uplink signals from UE 120 and/or other UEs may be received by the antennas 234, processed by the modem 232 (e.g., a demodulator component, shown as DEMOD, of the modem 232) , detected by a MIMO detector 236 if applicable, and further processed by a receive processor 238 to obtain decoded data and control information sent by the UE 120. The receive processor 238 may provide the decoded data to a data sink 239 and provide the decoded control information to the controller/processor 240. The network node 110 may include a communication unit 244 and may communicate with the network controller 130 via the communication unit 244. The network node 110 may include a scheduler 246 to schedule one or more UEs 120 for downlink and/or uplink communications. In some examples, the modem 232 of the network node 110 may include a modulator and a demodulator. In some examples, the network node 110 includes a transceiver. The transceiver may include any combination of the antenna (s) 234, the modem (s) 232, the MIMO detector 236, the receive processor 238, the transmit processor 220, and/or the TX MIMO processor 230. The transceiver may be used by a processor (e.g., the controller/processor 240) and the memory 242 to perform aspects of any of the methods described herein (e.g., with reference to Figs. 4-13) .

The controller/processor 240 of the network node 110, the controller/processor 280 of the UE 120, and/or any other component (s) of Fig. 2 may perform one or more techniques associated with ambient device discovery and connection, as described in more detail elsewhere herein. For example, the controller/processor 240 of the network node 110, the controller/processor 280 of the UE 120, and/or any other component (s) of Fig. 2 may perform or direct operations of, for example, process 800 of Fig. 8, process 900 of Fig. 9, process 1000 of Fig. 10, process 1100 of Fig. 11, and/or other processes as described herein. The memory 242 and the memory 282 may store data and program codes for the network node 110 and the UE 120, respectively. In some examples, the memory 242 and/or the memory 282 may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing one or more instructions (e.g., code and/or program code) for wireless communication. For example, the one or more instructions, when executed (e.g., directly, or after compiling, converting, and/or interpreting) by one or more processors of the network node 110 and/or the UE 120, may cause the one or more processors, the UE 120, and/or the network node 110 to perform or direct operations of, for example, process 800 of Fig. 8, process 900 of Fig. 9, process 1000 of Fig. 10, process 1100 of Fig. 11, and/or other processes as described herein. In some examples, executing instructions may include running the instructions, converting the instructions, compiling the instructions, and/or interpreting the instructions, among other examples.

In some aspects, the UE 120 includes means for transmitting, to an ambient device, a discovery signal; means for transmitting, to the ambient device, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to initiate a connection between the UE and the ambient device; and/or means for receiving, from the ambient device, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, a connection request. In some aspects, the UE 120 includes means for transmitting, to an ambient device, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to transmit a backscatter signal that includes a discovery signal; means for receiving, from the ambient device, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, the backscatter that includes the discovery signal; and/or means for transmitting, to the ambient device, based at least in part on the discovery signal, a connection request. The means for the UE 120 to perform operations described herein may include, for example, one or more of communication manager 140, antenna 252, modem 254, MIMO detector 256, receive processor 258, transmit processor 264, TX MIMO processor 266, controller/processor 280, or memory 282.

In some aspects, the ambient device 125 includes means for receiving, from a UE, a discovery signal; means for receiving, from the UE, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to initiate a connection between the UE and the ambient device; and/or means for transmitting, to the UE, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, a connection request. In some aspects, the ambient device 125 includes means for receiving, from a UE, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to transmit a backscatter signal that includes a discovery signal; means for transmitting, to the UE, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, the backscatter that includes the discovery signal; and/or means for receiving, from the UE, based at least in part on the discovery signal, a connection request. In some aspects, the means for the ambient device 125 to perform operations described herein may include, for example, one or more of communication manager 150, antenna 252, modem 254, MIMO detector 256, receive processor 258, transmit processor 264, TX MIMO processor 266, controller/processor 280, or memory 282.

While blocks in Fig. 2 are illustrated as distinct components, the functions described above with respect to the blocks may be implemented in a single hardware, software, or combination component or in various combinations of components. For example, the functions described with respect to the transmit processor 264, the receive processor 258, and/or the TX MIMO processor 266 may be performed by or under the control of the controller/processor 280.

As indicated above, Fig. 2 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to Fig. 2.

Deployment of communication systems, such as 5G NR systems, may be arranged in multiple manners with various components or constituent parts. In a 5G NR system, or network, a network node, a network entity, a mobility element of a network, a RAN node, a core network node, a network element, a base station, or a network equipment may be implemented in an aggregated or disaggregated architecture. For example, a base station (such as a Node B (NB) , an evolved NB (eNB) , an NR base station, a 5G NB, an access point (AP) , a TRP, or a cell, among other examples) , or one or more units (or one or more components) performing base station functionality, may be implemented as an aggregated base station (also known as a standalone base station or a monolithic base station) or a disaggregated base station. “Network entity” or “network node” may refer to a disaggregated base station, or to one or more units of a disaggregated base station (such as one or more CUs, one or more DUs, one or more RUs, or a combination thereof) .

An aggregated base station (e.g., an aggregated network node) may be configured to utilize a radio protocol stack that is physically or logically integrated within a single RAN node (e.g., within a single device or unit) . A disaggregated base station (e.g., a disaggregated network node) may be configured to utilize a protocol stack that is physically or logically distributed among two or more units (such as one or more CUs, one or more DUs, or one or more RUs) . In some examples, a CU may be implemented within a network node, and one or more DUs may be co-located with the CU, or alternatively, may be geographically or virtually distributed throughout one or multiple other network nodes. The DUs may be implemented to communicate with one or more RUs. Each of the CU, DU, and RU also can be implemented as virtual units, such as a virtual central unit (VCU) , a virtual distributed unit (VDU) , or a virtual radio unit (VRU) , among other examples.

Base station-type operation or network design may consider aggregation characteristics of base station functionality. For example, disaggregated base stations may be utilized in an IAB network, an open radio access network (O-RAN (such as the network configuration sponsored by the O-RAN Alliance) ) , or a virtualized radio access network (vRAN, also known as a cloud radio access network (C-RAN) ) to facilitate scaling of communication systems by separating base station functionality into one or more units that can be individually deployed. A disaggregated base station may include functionality implemented across two or more units at various physical locations, as well as functionality implemented for at least one unit virtually, which can enable flexibility in network design. The various units of the disaggregated base station can be configured for wired or wireless communication with at least one other unit of the disaggregated base station.

Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example 300 of radio frequency identification, in accordance with the present disclosure.

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a rapidly growing technology impacting many industries due to its economic potential in, for example, inventory and asset management, sustainable sensor networks, and smart home deployments, among other examples. An RFID device may be a type of ambient device. In some cases, RFID devices can be operated without a battery. This may be referred to as passive RFID, and may be associated with low operating expenses, low maintenance costs, and long product lifetimes. In some other cases, RFID devices may include a battery. This may be referred to as semi-passive or active RFID, and may be associated with higher operating expenses, higher maintenance costs, and shorter product lifetimes.

As shown in Fig. 3, an RFID tag 305 may communicate with an RFID reader 310. The RFID reader 310 may transmit, and the RFID tag 305 may receive, an energy signal 315. In some cases, such as in a passive RFID scenario, the energy signal 315 may be used to charge the RFID tag 305. The RFID tag 305 may receive the energy signal 315 and may transmit a backscatter signal 320 that is based at least in part on the energy signal 315. The backscatter signal 320 may be, or may include, a backscatter modulated information signal. In one example, the RFID tag 305 may receive the energy signal 315 via electromagnetic waves propagated from an antenna associated with the RFID reader 310. Once the electromagnetic waves reach the RFID tag 305, the energy travels through an internal antenna of the RFID tag 305 and activates a chip or integrated circuit (IC) included within the RFID tag 305. The remaining energy may be modulated with data associated with the chip, and may be transmitted by the antenna associated with the RFID tag 305 to the antenna associated with the RFID reader 310 in the form of electromagnetic waves.

Communication networks are expanding to include more passive devices. An ambient device may communicate with a UE or a network node via a communication signal, such as a backscatter signal. In one example, the UE or network node may be configured to write data to the ambient device and/or to read data from the ambient device. The UE or network node may provide energy to the ambient device, and the ambient device may transmit (e.g., reflect) an information bearing signal back to the UE or network node. The UE or network node may read the reflected signal and may decode the information transmitted by the ambient device. However, procedures to be used by the UE and the ambient device for discovery, charging, and establishing a connection may not always be known. This may result in limited communication capabilities between the UE and the ambient device.

Various aspects relate generally to ambient device communication. Some aspects more specifically relate to UE and ambient device discovery and connection. In some examples, a UE may transmit a discovery signal for discovering an ambient device. After discovering the ambient device, the UE may transmit a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to initiate a connection between the UE and the ambient device. The ambient device may receive the continuous wave signal and the command, and may transmit a connection request to the UE that is based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command. For example, the continuous wave signal may charge the ambient device and enable the ambient device to transmit a backscatter signal to the UE that includes the connection request. In some other examples, the UE may transmit, and the ambient device may receive, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to transmit a backscatter signal that includes a discovery signal. The ambient device may transmit the backscatter that includes the discovery signal based at least in part on receiving the continuous wave signal and the command. The UE may receive the discovery signal, and may transmit a connection request to the ambient device based at least in part on the discovery signal.

Particular aspects of the subject matter described in this disclosure may be implemented to realize one or more of the following potential advantages. In some examples, by configuring the UE and the ambient device with procedures related to discovery and connection, communication capabilities may be improved between the UE and the ambient device. In some examples, connection establishment may be controlled by the ambient device. For example, the UE may discover an ambient device using a discovery signal, may transmit a continuous wave signal and a command to the ambient device, and may receive a connection request from the ambient device based at least in part on the ambient device receiving the continuous wave signal and the command. In some other examples, connection establishment may be controlled by the UE. For example, the UE may transmit the continuous wave signal and the command, the ambient device may transmit a backscatter signal that includes the discovery signal, and the UE may transmit the connection request to the ambient device based at least in part on receiving the discovery signal from the ambient device. Additional example details/aspects are described herein.

As indicated above, Fig. 3 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to Fig. 3.

Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example 400 of ambient device discovery and connection, in accordance with the present disclosure. The UE 120 may communicate with an ambient device 405. The ambient device 405 may include one or more features of the ambient device 125.

In some aspects, one or more resources for discovery signal transmission may be pre-configured, RRC configured, and/or indicated by the UE 120. In one example, a dedicated resource pool that includes one or more resources to be used for the discovery signal transmission may be pre-configured, RRC configured, and/or indicated by the UE 120. In another example, a resource pool that includes one or more resources to be used for the discovery signal transmission and one or more resources to be used for other communications, such as continuous wave signal and/or command transmission, may be pre-configured, RRC configured, and/or indicated by the UE 120. The UE 120 may sense the resources of the configured transmission resource pool and may select one or more resources to be used for the discovery signal transmission.

In some aspects, the ambient device 405 may harvest energy. For example, the ambient device 405 may harvest sufficient energy for communicating with the UE 120.

As shown by reference number 410, the UE 120 may transmit, and the ambient device 405 may receive, the discovery signal. In some aspects, transmitting the discovery signal may include broadcasting the discovery signal to a plurality of ambient devices that includes the ambient device 405. In one example, the UE 120 may charge the ambient device 405 prior to transmitting the discovery signal to ensure that the ambient device 405 has sufficient energy to decode the discovery signal. In another example, the UE 120 may transmit a special energy pattern to the ambient device 405 that charges the ambient device 405 and indicates the discovery signal. In another example, the UE 120 may charge the ambient device 405 and may transmit the special energy pattern that indicates the discovery signal. For example, the UE 120 may transfer a special energy pattern followed by detailed information for the discovery signal.

In some aspects, the ambient device 405 may not be able to decode the discovery signal transmitted by the UE 120 (e.g., due to a power limitation) . If the ambient device 405 has an accurate system synchronization, a charge duration and/or communication duration may be defined for the ambient device 405, and the UE 120 may transmit the discovery signal to the ambient device 405 during the communication duration. If the ambient device 405 uses coarse time synchronization or no time synchronization, in one example, the UE 120 may keep transmitting the discovery signal until the UE 120 receives a response from the ambient device 405. If the ambient device 405 uses coarse time synchronization or no time synchronization, in another example, a charge period may be defined for the ambient device 405, and the UE 120 may transmit the discovery signal for a duration of at least two charge periods. The default charge period may ensure that the ambient device 405 has sufficient energy for decoding the discovery signal.

In some aspects, a plurality of UEs that includes the UE 120 may transmit discovery signals at the same time, and the ambient device 405 may be configured to receive a wideband signal (e.g., may be configured to only receive wideband signals) . In one example, the UE 120 may transmit the discovery signal at a time that is different than a time associated with a transmission of another discovery signal by another UE of the plurality of UEs. In another example, the UE 120 may transmit a sequence-based discovery signal, where the sequence-based discovery signal is orthogonal to another sequence-based discovery signal transmitted by another UE of the plurality of UEs. In another example, the UE 120 may transmit the discovery signal using a combination of the different time and the different sequence.

In some aspects, a plurality of UEs that includes the UE 120 may transmit discovery signals at the same time, and the ambient device may be configured with a bandpass filter. In one example, the UE 120 may transmit a discovery signal in a frequency band that is different than another frequency band used by another UE for transmitting another discovery signal. The UE 120 may ensure that the ambient device 405 monitors the correct frequency band based at least in part on sweeping across all frequencies used for communications between the ambient device 405 and the UE 120 and transmitting the signal periodically. Additionally, or alternatively, the ambient device 405 may sweep across some or all frequencies used for communications between the ambient device 405 and the UE 120 and may decode the received discovery signal. In another example, the UE 120 may transmit a discovery signal at a time that is different than a time associated with a transmission of another discovery signal by another UE of the plurality of UEs. In another example, the UE 120 may transmit a sequence-based discovery signal, where the sequence-based discovery signal is orthogonal to another sequence-based discovery signal transmitted by another UE of the plurality of UEs. In another example, the UE 120 may transmit the discovery signal using a combination of the different frequency band, the different time, and/or the different sequence.

In some aspects, a plurality of ambient devices that includes the ambient device 405 may backscatter at the same time. In one example, the discovery signal may indicate a set of frequency shifts. In another example, the discovery signal may indicate a set of back-off timers. For example, a response window may be divided into a plurality of response window portions, and the ambient device 405 may select one of the response window portions for transmitting the backscatter. In another example, the discovery signal may indicate a combination of the set of frequency shifts and the plurality of response window portions.

In some aspects, the discovery signal may indicate a supported device type. For example, the discovery signal may indicate to only communicate with the UE 120, may indicate that backscatter-based demodulation is supported but cannot occur simultaneously with continuous wave transmissions (e.g., full-duplex is not supported) , or may indicate that backscatter-based demodulation and continuous wave transmission are both supported. In some aspects, the discovery signal may include a resource indication for ambient device backscatter information. In some aspects, for example, if the UE 120 wants to discover a particular ambient device 405, the discovery signal may include a destination identifier (ID) and may (or may not) include a source ID. The destination ID may be a specified UE ID or a group ID. In some aspects, for example, if the UE 120 wants to discover any ambient device 405, the discovery signal may only include the destination ID.

As shown by reference number 415, the UE 120 may transmit, and the ambient device 405 may receive, the continuous wave signal and the command. As described herein, the command may indicate for the ambient device 405 to initiate a connection between the UE and the ambient device 405.

In some aspects, the ambient device 405 discovered by the UE 120 may take advantage of the UE transmission to send a connection request. In some other aspects, no ambient device discovered by the UE 120 may send a connection request, and therefore, the transmission of the continuous wave signal and the command may be wasted.

As shown by reference number 420, the ambient device 405 may transmit, and the UE 120 may receive, a connection request. The connection request may be based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and/or the command. In some aspects, the connection request may be, or may include, backscatter from the ambient device 405 that includes a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) message and/or a device ID associated with the ambient device 405.

In some aspects, the UE 120 may transmit, and the ambient device 405 may receive, an acknowledgement (ACK) or negative acknowledgement (NACK) (ACK/NACK) based at least in part on receiving the connection request (e.g., the backscatter) . The ACK/NACK may indicate the target destination ID.

As indicated above, Fig. 4 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to Fig. 4.

Fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example 500 of UE and ambient device communications, in accordance with the present disclosure. A UE 505 and a UE 510 may communicate with an ambient device 515 and an ambient device 520. While the figure shows two UEs communicating with two ambient devices, any number of UEs may communicate with any number of ambient devices. As shown by reference number 525, the UE 505 may perform sensing and resource selection, for example, to discover the ambient device 515 and/or the ambient device 520. As shown by reference number 530, the UE 510 may perform resource sensing and resource selection, for example, to discover the ambient device 515 and/or the ambient device 520. As shown by reference number 535, the UE 505 may transfer energy to the ambient device 515 and/or the ambient device 520. As shown by reference number 540, the UE 510 may transfer energy to the ambient device 515 and/or the ambient device 520. As shown by reference number 545, the UE 505 may transmit (e.g., broadcast) a discovery signal that is received by the ambient device 515 and the ambient device 520. As shown by reference number 550, the UE 510 may transmit (e.g., broadcast) a discovery signal that is received by the ambient device 515 and a discovery signal that is received by the ambient device 520. In some aspects, the discovery signals may be multiplexed using time division multiplexing (TDM) , frequency division multiplexing (FDM) , or a combination of TDM and FDM. As shown by reference number 555, the UE 505 may transmit a continuous wave signal. As shown by reference number 560, the UE 510 may transmit a continuous wave signal. As shown by reference number 565, the ambient device 515 may transmit, and the UE 510 may receive, an ACK/NACK that includes an ambient device ID associated with the ambient device 515. As shown by reference number 570, the ambient device 520 may transmit, and the UE 510 may receive, an ACK/NACK that includes an ambient device ID associated with the ambient device 520. In some aspects, the ACK/NACK messages may be multiplexed using TDM, FDM, or a combination of TDM and FDM. As shown by reference number 575, the UE 510 may transmit, and the ambient device 515 may receive, the ambient device ID associated with the ambient device 515.

As indicated above, Fig. 5 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to Fig. 5.

Fig. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example 600 of ambient device discovery and connection, in accordance with the present disclosure. The UE 120 may communicate with an ambient device 605. The ambient device 605 may include one or more features of the ambient device 125.

As shown by reference number 610, the UE 120 may transmit, and the ambient device 605 may receive, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device 605 to transmit a backscatter signal that includes a discovery signal.

In some aspects, one or more resources to be used by the ambient device 605 for transmitting the backscatter signal may be pre-configured, RRC configured, and/or indicated by the UE 120. For example, a resource pool that includes the one or more resources to be used by the ambient device 605 for transmitting the backscatter signal may be pre-configured, RRC configured, and/or indicated by the UE 120. In some aspects, the ambient device 605 may not support a frequency shift. In one example, if the ambient device 605 has fine time synchronization with the system, different ambient devices may transmit discovery signals at different times. In another example, if the ambient device 605 has coarse time synchronization or no time synchronization with the system, the ambient device 605 may perform a listen-before-talk (LBT) process prior to transmitting the discovery signal. For example, using a Category 4 (CAT 4) LBT, a contention window may be linked with an energy status of the ambient device 605, and a device having a lower energy storage may have a shorter contention window. In some aspects, the ambient device 605 may support a frequency shift. In one example for frequency shift selection, the ambient device 605 may randomly select one frequency shift. In another example for frequency shift selection, the ambient device 605 may hash the frequency shift based at least in part on an identifier. In another example for frequency shift selection, the ambient device 605 may sense a resource and may select a frequency with a lowest interference.

In some aspects, the UE 120 may power-up the ambient device 605. For example, the UE 120 may charge the ambient device 605 with sufficient energy for backscattering the discovery signal.

As shown by reference number 615, the ambient device 605 may transmit, and the UE 120 may receive, the backscatter that includes the discovery signal.

In some aspects, transmitting the backscatter that includes the discovery signal may include multiple transmissions. In a first transmission, the ambient device 605 may backscatter an ambient device ID to the UE 120. In one example, the backscatter that includes the ambient device ID may include a monitoring resource indication. The UE 120 may receive the first transmission and may transmit, to the ambient device 605, a response. The response may include, for example, the ambient device ID and a resource indication for the ambient device backscatter. In a second transmission, the ambient device 605 may backscatter information for discovery. The information may include, for example, the ambient device ID, a destination ID, a wideband or sub-band reception indication, a supported frequency shift indication, a supported energy harvesting mode indication, and/or an energy storage capability indication, among other examples.

In some aspects, transmitting the backscatter that includes the discovery signal may include a single transmission. For example, the ambient device 605 may backscatter, in a single transmission, all information that is needed for discovery. The content of the transmission may include, for example, an ambient device ID, a destination ID, a wideband or sub-band reception indication, a supported frequency shift indication, a supported energy harvesting mode indication, and/or an energy storage capability indication, among other examples.

As shown by reference number 620, the UE 120 may transmit, and the ambient device 605 may receive, a connection request. In some aspects, the UE 120 may transmit, and the ambient device 605 may receive, a UE ID and an ambient device ID.

In some aspects, a plurality of UEs may respond to the discovery message transmitted by the ambient device 605. In one example, the UE 120 may sense one or more resources and may select a resource for responding to the discovery message. In another example, the resource (e.g., the resource for responding to the discovery message) may be divided into multiple resource subsets, and the UE 120 may select a resource from the multiple resource subsets for responding to the discovery message. The dividing of the resource may be performed using TDM, FDM, or a combination of TDM and FDM. FDM may be implemented, for example, when the ambient device 605 has a band-pass filter.

In some aspects, the ambient device 605 may backscatter an ACK message to the UE 120. The ACK message may confirm that the ambient device 605 has received the response from the UE 120.

As indicated above, Fig. 6 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to Fig. 6.

Fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example 700 of UE and ambient device communications, in accordance with the present disclosure. A UE 705 and a UE 710 may communicate with an ambient device 715 and an ambient device 720. While the figure shows two UEs communicating with two ambient devices, any number of UEs may communicate with any number of ambient devices. As shown by reference number 725, the UE 710 may transmit an energy signal to the ambient device 715 and the ambient device 720. As shown by reference number 730, the UE 705 may transmit an energy signal to the ambient device 715 and the ambient device 720. As shown by reference number 735, the ambient device 715 and the ambient device 720 may perform resource configuration and selection. For example, the ambient device 715 and the ambient device 720 may select one or more resources to be used for transmitting discovery signals. As shown by reference number 740, the ambient device 715 may transmit a discovery signal to the UE 705 and the UE 710. As shown by reference number 745, the ambient device 720 may transmit a discovery signal to the UE 705 and a discovery signal to the UE 710. In some aspects, the discovery signals may be multiplexed using TDM, FDM, or a combination of TDM and FDM. As shown by reference number 750, the UE 710 may (optionally) transmit a resource indication to the ambient device 715. As shown by reference number 755, the UE 710 may (optionally) transmit a continuous wave signal. As shown by reference number 760, the ambient device 715 may (optionally) transmit a discovery signal to the UE 710. As shown by reference number 765, the UE 710 may transmit, and the ambient device 715 may receive, a source ID and a destination ID. As shown by reference number 770, the ambient device 715 may transmit, and the UE 710 may receive, an ACK.

As indicated above, Fig. 7 is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard to Fig. 7.

Fig. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example process 800 performed, for example, by a UE, in accordance with the present disclosure. Example process 800 is an example where the UE (e.g., UE 120) performs operations associated with ambient device discovery and connection.

As shown in Fig. 8, in some aspects, process 800 may include transmitting, to an ambient device, a discovery signal (block 810) . For example, the UE (e.g., using transmission component 1204 and/or communication manager 1206, depicted in Fig. 12) may transmit, to an ambient device, a discovery signal, as described above.

As further shown in Fig. 8, in some aspects, process 800 may include transmitting, to the ambient device, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to initiate a connection between the UE and the ambient device (block 820) . For example, the UE (e.g., using transmission component 1204 and/or communication manager 1206, depicted in Fig. 12) may transmit, to the ambient device, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to initiate a connection between the UE and the ambient device, as described above.

As further shown in Fig. 8, in some aspects, process 800 may include receiving, from the ambient device, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, a connection request (block 830) . For example, the UE (e.g., using reception component 1202 and/or communication manager 1206, depicted in Fig. 12) may receive, from the ambient device, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, a connection request, as described above.

Process 800 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and/or in connection with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

In a first aspect, process 800 includes configuring one or more resources to be used for transmitting the discovery signal.

In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, process 800 includes configuring a dedicated resource pool that includes the one or more resources to be used for transmitting the discovery signal, or configuring a resource pool that includes the one or more resources to be used for transmitting the discovery signal and that includes one or more resources to be used for transmitting the continuous wave signal and the command.

In a third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, process 800 includes charging the ambient device with an amount of energy for decoding the discovery signal, or transmitting a particular energy pattern that indicates the discovery signal.

In a fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through third aspects, process 800 includes identifying a configured communication duration associated with the ambient device, wherein transmitting the discovery signal comprises transmitting the discovery signal during the configured communication duration associated with the ambient device.

In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fourth aspects, process 800 includes identifying that the ambient device is configured with coarse time synchronization or no time synchronization, wherein transmitting the discovery signal comprises transmitting the discovery signal periodically until the UE receives a discovery response from the ambient device, or transmitting the discovery signal for a duration that includes at least two charge durations associated with the ambient device.

In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fifth aspects, process 800 includes identifying that a plurality of UEs are to transmit discovery signals at a same time.

In a seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through sixth aspects, the ambient device is configured to receive a wideband signal, and transmitting the discovery signal comprises transmitting the discovery signal at a time that does not overlap with a transmission of another discovery signal by another UE of the plurality of UEs, or transmitting the discovery signal in accordance with a sequence, wherein the sequence associated with the discovery signal is orthogonal to a sequence associated with the other discovery signal transmitted by the other UE.

In an eighth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through seventh aspects, the ambient device is configured with a bandpass filter, and transmitting the discovery signal comprises transmitting the discovery signal at a time that does not overlap with a transmission of another discovery signal by another UE of the plurality of UEs, transmitting the discovery signal in accordance with a sequence, wherein the sequence associated with the discovery signal is orthogonal to a sequence associated with the other discovery signal transmitted by the other UE, or sweeping a frequency band and transmitting the discovery signal within the frequency band, wherein the other UE is configured to transmit the other discovery signal in another frequency band.

In a ninth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eighth aspects, process 800 includes identifying that a plurality of ambient devices are configured to transmit backscatter signals at a same time, wherein the discovery signal indicates a set of frequency shifts for the plurality of ambient devices or indicates a set of back-off timers for the plurality of ambient devices.

In a tenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through ninth aspects, the discovery signal indicates at least one of a supported device type, a resource indication for backscatter transmissions by the ambient device, a source identifier, or a destination identifier.

In an eleventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through tenth aspects, receiving the connection request from the ambient device comprises receiving a backscatter HARQ message that includes a device identifier.

In a twelfth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eleventh aspects, process 800 includes transmitting, to the ambient device, based at least in part on the HARQ message, an acknowledgement message that includes a target destination identifier.

Although Fig. 8 shows example blocks of process 800, in some aspects, process 800 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted in Fig. 8. Additionally, or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process 800 may be performed in parallel.

Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example process 900 performed, for example, by an ambient device, in accordance with the present disclosure. Example process 900 is an example where the ambient device (e.g., ambient device 405 and/or ambient device 605) performs operations associated with ambient device discovery and connection.

As shown in Fig. 9, in some aspects, process 900 may include receiving, from a UE, a discovery signal (block 910) . For example, the ambient device (e.g., using reception component 1302 and/or communication manager 1306, depicted in Fig. 13) may receive, from a UE, a discovery signal, as described above.

As further shown in Fig. 9, in some aspects, process 900 may include receiving, from the UE, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to initiate a connection between the UE and the ambient device (block 920) . For example, the ambient device (e.g., using reception component 1302 and/or communication manager 1306, depicted in Fig. 13) may receive, from the UE, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to initiate a connection between the UE and the ambient device, as described above.

As further shown in Fig. 9, in some aspects, process 900 may include transmitting, to the UE, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, a connection request (block 930) . For example, the ambient device (e.g., using transmission component 1304 and/or communication manager 1306, depicted in Fig. 13) may transmit, to the UE, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, a connection request, as described above.

Process 900 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and/or in connection with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

In a first aspect, process 900 includes detecting one or more resources to be used for receiving the discovery signal.

In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, process 900 includes identifying a dedicated resource pool that includes the one or more resources to be used for receiving the discovery signal, or identifying a resource pool that includes the one or more resources to be used for receiving the discovery signal and that includes one or more resources to be used for receiving the continuous wave signal and the command.

In a third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, process 900 includes harvesting an amount of energy from the continuous wave signal to be used for communicating with the UE.

In a fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through third aspects, receiving the discovery signal comprises charging the ambient device with an amount of energy for decoding the discovery signal, or receiving a particular energy pattern that indicates the discovery signal.

In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fourth aspects, receiving the discovery signal comprises receiving the discovery signal during a configured communication duration associated with the ambient device.

In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fifth aspects, the ambient device is configured with coarse time synchronization or no time synchronization, and receiving the discovery signal comprises receiving the discovery signal periodically until the ambient device transmits a discovery response to the UE, or receiving the discovery signal for a duration that includes at least two charge durations associated with the ambient device.

In a seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through sixth aspects, a plurality of UEs are to transmit discovery signals to the ambient device at a same time.

In an eighth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through seventh aspects, the ambient device is configured to receive a wideband signal, and receiving the discovery signal comprises receiving the discovery signal at a time that does not overlap with a transmission of another discovery signal by another UE of the plurality of UEs, or receiving the discovery signal in accordance with a sequence, wherein the sequence associated with the discovery signal is orthogonal to a sequence associated with the other discovery signal transmitted by the other UE.

In a ninth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eighth aspects, the ambient device is configured with a bandpass filter, and receiving the discovery signal comprises receiving the discovery signal at a time that does not overlap with a transmission of another discovery signal by another UE of the plurality of UEs, receiving the discovery signal in accordance with a sequence, wherein the sequence associated with the discovery signal is orthogonal to a sequence associated with the other discovery signal transmitted by the other UE, or receiving the discovery signal from the UE in a frequency band and receiving the other discovery signal from the other UE in another frequency band.

In a tenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through ninth aspects, a plurality of ambient devices are configured to transmit backscatter signals at a same time, and the discovery signal indicates a set of frequency shifts for the plurality of ambient devices or indicates a set of back-off timers for the plurality of ambient devices.

In an eleventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through tenth aspects, the discovery signal indicates at least one of a supported device type, a resource indication for backscatter transmissions by the ambient device, a source identifier, or a destination identifier.

In a twelfth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eleventh aspects, transmitting the connection request from the UE comprises transmitting a backscatter HARQ message that includes a device identifier.

In a thirteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twelfth aspects, process 900 includes receiving, from the UE, based at least in part on the HARQ message, an acknowledgement message that includes a target destination identifier.

Although Fig. 9 shows example blocks of process 900, in some aspects, process 900 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted in Fig. 9. Additionally, or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process 900 may be performed in parallel.

Fig. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example process 1000 performed, for example, by a UE, in accordance with the present disclosure. Example process 1000 is an example where the UE (e.g., UE 120) performs operations associated with ambient device discovery and connection.

As shown in Fig. 10, in some aspects, process 1000 may include transmitting, to an ambient device, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to transmit a backscatter signal that includes a discovery signal (block 1010) . For example, the UE (e.g., using transmission component 1204 and/or communication manager 1206, depicted in Fig. 12) may transmit, to an ambient device, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to transmit a backscatter signal that includes a discovery signal, as described above.

As further shown in Fig. 10, in some aspects, process 1000 may include receiving, from the ambient device, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, the backscatter that includes the discovery signal (block 1020) . For example, the UE (e.g., using reception component 1202 and/or communication manager 1206, depicted in Fig. 12) may receive, from the ambient device, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, the backscatter that includes the discovery signal, as described above.

As further shown in Fig. 10, in some aspects, process 1000 may include transmitting, to the ambient device, based at least in part on the discovery signal, a connection request (block 1030) . For example, the UE (e.g., using transmission component 1204 and/or communication manager 1206, depicted in Fig. 12) may transmit, to the ambient device, based at least in part on the discovery signal, a connection request, as described above.

Process 1000 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and/or in connection with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

In a first aspect, process 1000 includes configuring a resource pool that includes one or more resources to be used by the ambient device for transmitting the backscatter that includes the discovery signal.

In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, receiving the backscatter that includes the discovery signal comprises receiving, based at least in part on the ambient device not supporting a frequency shift and based at least in part on the ambient device being configured with fine time synchronization, a plurality of backscatter signals from a plurality of ambient devices at a plurality of different times.

In a third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, receiving the backscatter that includes the discovery signal comprises receiving, based at least in part on the ambient device not supporting a frequency shift and based at least in part on the ambient device being configured with coarse time synchronization or no time synchronization, the backscatter after a listen-before-talk process is performed by the ambient device.

In a fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through third aspects, process 1000 includes receiving an indication that the ambient device supports a frequency shift, wherein a frequency shift selection performed by the ambient device is based at least in part on a random selection of the frequency shift, a hash of the frequency shift and an identifier, or a resource associated with a lowest interference measurement.

In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fourth aspects, transmitting the continuous wave signal comprises transmitting the continuous wave signal to power-up the ambient device.

In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fifth aspects, receiving the backscatter that includes the discovery signal comprises receiving, from the ambient device, first backscatter that includes first discovery information, the first discovery information including an identifier of the ambient device, transmitting, to the ambient device, based at least in part on the first backscatter, a response, and receiving, from the ambient device, based at least in part on the response, second backscatter that includes second discovery information.

In a seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through sixth aspects, the response includes the identifier of the ambient device and a resource indication for the second backscatter that includes the second discovery information, and the second discovery information includes the identifier of the ambient device, a destination identifier, a wideband or sub-band reception indication, a supported frequency shift indication, a supported energy harvesting mode indication, and an energy storage capability indication.

In an eighth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through seventh aspects, the backscatter that includes the discovery signal includes an identifier of the ambient device, a destination identifier, a wideband or sub-band reception indication, a supported frequency shift indication, a supported energy harvesting mode indication, and an energy storage capability indication.

In a ninth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eighth aspects, process 1000 includes transmitting, to the ambient device, an identifier of the UE and an identifier of the ambient device.

In a tenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through ninth aspects, process 1000 includes receiving an indication that the ambient device is configured to receive a plurality of responses from a plurality of respective UEs, and sensing one or more resources and selecting a resource from the one or more resources to be used for transmitting a response to the ambient device, or dividing a resource into a plurality of resource subsets, and selecting a resource subset of the plurality of resource subsets to be used for transmitting the response to the ambient device.

In an eleventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through tenth aspects, process 1000 includes receiving, from the ambient device, other backscatter that includes an acknowledgement message.

Although Fig. 10 shows example blocks of process 1000, in some aspects, process 1000 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted in Fig. 10. Additionally, or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process 1000 may be performed in parallel.

Fig. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example process 1100 performed, for example, by an ambient device, in accordance with the present disclosure. Example process 1100 is an example where the ambient device (e.g., ambient device 405 and/or ambient device 605) performs operations associated with ambient device discovery and connection.

As shown in Fig. 11, in some aspects, process 1100 may include receiving, from a UE, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to transmit a backscatter signal that includes a discovery signal (block 1110) . For example, the ambient device (e.g., using reception component 1302 and/or communication manager 1306, depicted in Fig. 13) may receive, from a UE, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to transmit a backscatter signal that includes a discovery signal, as described above.

As further shown in Fig. 11, in some aspects, process 1100 may include transmitting, to the UE, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, the backscatter that includes the discovery signal (block 1120) . For example, the ambient device (e.g., using transmission component 1304 and/or communication manager 1306, depicted in Fig. 13) may transmit, to the UE, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, the backscatter that includes the discovery signal, as described above.

As further shown in Fig. 11, in some aspects, process 1100 may include receiving, from the UE, based at least in part on the discovery signal, a connection request (block 1130) . For example, the ambient device (e.g., using reception component 1302 and/or communication manager 1306, depicted in Fig. 13) may receive, from the UE, based at least in part on the discovery signal, a connection request, as described above.

Process 1100 may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and/or in connection with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

In a first aspect, process 1100 includes sensing a resource pool that includes one or more resources to be used by the ambient device for transmitting the backscatter that includes the discovery signal.

In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, transmitting the backscatter that includes the discovery signal comprises transmitting, based at least in part on the ambient device not supporting a frequency shift and based at least in part on the ambient device being configured with fine time synchronization, the backscatter at a time that is different than a time during which other backscatter is transmitted by another ambient device.

In a third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, transmitting the backscatter that includes the discovery signal comprises transmitting, based at least in part on the ambient device not supporting a frequency shift and based at least in part on the ambient device being configured with coarse time synchronization or no time synchronization, the backscatter after performing a listen-before-talk process.

The method of claim 40, further comprising performing a frequency shift selection that is based at least in part on a random selection of a frequency shift, a hash of the frequency shift and an identifier, or a resource associated with a lowest interference measurement.

In a fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through third aspects, process 1100 includes powering-up the ambient device using the continuous wave signal.

In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fourth aspects, transmitting the backscatter that includes the discovery signal comprises transmitting, to the UE, first backscatter that includes first discovery information, the first discovery information including an identifier of the ambient device, receiving, from the UE, based at least in part on the first backscatter, a response, and transmitting, to the UE, based at least in part on the response, second backscatter that includes second discovery information.

In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fifth aspects, the response includes the identifier of the ambient device and a resource indication for the second backscatter that includes the second discovery information, and the second discovery information includes the identifier of the ambient device, a destination identifier, a wideband or sub-band reception indication, a supported frequency shift indication, a supported energy harvesting mode indication, and an energy storage capability indication.

In a seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through sixth aspects, the backscatter that includes the discovery signal includes an identifier of the ambient device, a destination identifier, a wideband or sub-band reception indication, a supported frequency shift indication, a supported energy harvesting mode indication, and an energy storage capability indication.

In an eighth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through seventh aspects, process 1100 includes receiving, from the UE, an identifier of the UE and an identifier of the ambient device.

In a ninth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eighth aspects, process 1100 includes transmitting, to the UE, other backscatter that includes an acknowledgement message.

Although Fig. 11 shows example blocks of process 1100, in some aspects, process 1100 may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted in Fig. 11. Additionally, or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process 1100 may be performed in parallel.

Fig. 12 is a diagram of an example apparatus 1200 for wireless communication, in accordance with the present disclosure. The apparatus 1200 may be a UE, or a UE may include the apparatus 1200. In some aspects, the apparatus 1200 includes a reception component 1202, a transmission component 1204, and/or a communication manager 1206, which may be in communication with one another (for example, via one or more buses and/or one or more other components) . In some aspects, the communication manager 1206 is the communication manager 140 described in connection with Fig. 1. As shown, the apparatus 1200 may communicate with another apparatus 1208, such as a UE or a network node (such as a CU, a DU, an RU, or a base station) , using the reception component 1202 and the transmission component 1204.

In some aspects, the apparatus 1200 may be configured to perform one or more operations described herein in connection with Figs. 4-7. Additionally, or alternatively, the apparatus 1200 may be configured to perform one or more processes described herein, such as process 800 of Fig. 8, process 1000 of Fig. 10, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the apparatus 1200 and/or one or more components shown in Fig. 12 may include one or more components of the UE described in connection with Fig. 2. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components shown in Fig. 12 may be implemented within one or more components described in connection with Fig. 2. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components of the set of components may be implemented at least in part as software stored in a memory. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or code stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by a controller or a processor to perform the functions or operations of the component.

The reception component 1202 may receive communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof, from the apparatus 1208. The reception component 1202 may provide received communications to one or more other components of the apparatus 1200. In some aspects, the reception component 1202 may perform signal processing on the received communications (such as filtering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, demultiplexing, deinterleaving, de-mapping, equalization, interference cancellation, or decoding, among other examples) , and may provide the processed signals to the one or more other components of the apparatus 1200. In some aspects, the reception component 1202 may include one or more antennas, a modem, a demodulator, a MIMO detector, a receive processor, a controller/processor, a memory, or a combination thereof, of the UE described in connection with Fig. 2.

The transmission component 1204 may transmit communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof, to the apparatus 1208. In some aspects, one or more other components of the apparatus 1200 may generate communications and may provide the generated communications to the transmission component 1204 for transmission to the apparatus 1208. In some aspects, the transmission component 1204 may perform signal processing on the generated communications (such as filtering, amplification, modulation, digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, or encoding, among other examples) , and may transmit the processed signals to the apparatus 1208. In some aspects, the transmission component 1204 may include one or more antennas, a modem, a modulator, a transmit MIMO processor, a transmit processor, a controller/processor, a memory, or a combination thereof, of the UE described in connection with Fig. 2. In some aspects, the transmission component 1204 may be co-located with the reception component 1202 in a transceiver.

The communication manager 1206 may support operations of the reception component 1202 and/or the transmission component 1204. For example, the communication manager 1206 may receive information associated with configuring reception of communications by the reception component 1202 and/or transmission of communications by the transmission component 1204. Additionally, or alternatively, the communication manager 1206 may generate and/or provide control information to the reception component 1202 and/or the transmission component 1204 to control reception and/or transmission of communications.

The transmission component 1204 may transmit, to an ambient device, a discovery signal. The transmission component 1204 may transmit, to the ambient device, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to initiate a connection between the UE and the ambient device. The reception component 1202 may receive, from the ambient device, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, a connection request.

The communication manager 1206 may configure one or more resources to be used for transmitting the discovery signal. The communication manager 1206 may configure a dedicated resource pool that includes the one or more resources to be used for transmitting the discovery signal. The communication manager 1206 may configure a resource pool that includes the one or more resources to be used for transmitting the discovery signal and that includes one or more resources to be used for transmitting the continuous wave signal and the command. The communication manager 1206 may charge the ambient device with an amount of energy for decoding the discovery signal. The transmission component 1204 may transmit a particular energy pattern that indicates the discovery signal. The communication manager 1206 may identify a configured communication duration associated with the ambient device, wherein transmitting the discovery signal comprises transmitting the discovery signal during the configured communication duration associated with the ambient device. The communication manager 1206 may identify that the ambient device is configured with coarse time synchronization or no time synchronization, wherein transmitting the discovery signal comprises transmitting the discovery signal periodically until the UE receives a discovery response from the ambient device; or transmitting the discovery signal for a duration that includes at least two charge durations associated with the ambient device. The communication manager 1206 may identify that a plurality of UEs are to transmit discovery signals at a same time. The communication manager 1206 may identify that a plurality of ambient devices are configured to transmit backscatter signals at a same time, wherein the discovery signal indicates a set of frequency shifts for the plurality of ambient devices or indicates a set of back-off timers for the plurality of ambient devices. The transmission component 1204 may transmit, to the ambient device, based at least in part on the HARQ message, an acknowledgement message that includes a target destination identifier.

The transmission component 1204 may transmit, to an ambient device, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to transmit a backscatter signal that includes a discovery signal. The reception component 1202 may receive, from the ambient device, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, the backscatter that includes the discovery signal. The transmission component 1204 may transmit, to the ambient device, based at least in part on the discovery signal, a connection request.

The communication manager 1206 may configure a resource pool that includes one or more resources to be used by the ambient device for transmitting the backscatter that includes the discovery signal. The reception component 1202 may receive an indication that the ambient device supports a frequency shift, wherein a frequency shift selection performed by the ambient device is based at least in part on a random selection of the frequency shift, a hash of the frequency shift and an identifier, or a resource associated with a lowest interference measurement. The transmission component 1204 may transmit, to the ambient device, an identifier of the UE and an identifier of the ambient device. The reception component 1202 may receive an indication that the ambient device is configured to receive a plurality of responses from a plurality of respective UEs. The reception component 1202 may receive, from the ambient device, other backscatter that includes an acknowledgement message.

The number and arrangement of components shown in Fig. 12 are provided as an example. In practice, there may be additional components, fewer components, different components, or differently arranged components than those shown in Fig. 12. Furthermore, two or more components shown in Fig. 12 may be implemented within a single component, or a single component shown in Fig. 12 may be implemented as multiple, distributed components. Additionally, or alternatively, a set of (one or more) components shown in Fig. 12 may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of components shown in Fig. 12.

Fig. 13 is a diagram of an example apparatus 1300 for wireless communication, in accordance with the present disclosure. The apparatus 1300 may be a ambient device, or a ambient device may include the apparatus 1300. In some aspects, the apparatus 1300 includes a reception component 1302, a transmission component 1304, and/or a communication manager 1306, which may be in communication with one another (for example, via one or more buses and/or one or more other components) . In some aspects, the communication manager 1306 is the communication manager 150 described in connection with Fig. 1. As shown, the apparatus 1300 may communicate with another apparatus 1308, such as a UE or a network node (such as a CU, a DU, an RU, or a base station) , using the reception component 1302 and the transmission component 1304.

In some aspects, the apparatus 1300 may be configured to perform one or more operations described herein in connection with Figs. 4-7. Additionally, or alternatively, the apparatus 1300 may be configured to perform one or more processes described herein, such as process 900 of Fig. 9, process 1100 of Fig. 11, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the apparatus 1300 and/or one or more components shown in Fig. 13 may include one or more components of the ambient device described in connection with Fig. 2. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components shown in Fig. 13 may be implemented within one or more components described in connection with Fig. 2. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components of the set of components may be implemented at least in part as software stored in a memory. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or code stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by a controller or a processor to perform the functions or operations of the component.

The reception component 1302 may receive communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof, from the apparatus 1308. The reception component 1302 may provide received communications to one or more other components of the apparatus 1300. In some aspects, the reception component 1302 may perform signal processing on the received communications (such as filtering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, demultiplexing, deinterleaving, de-mapping, equalization, interference cancellation, or decoding, among other examples) , and may provide the processed signals to the one or more other components of the apparatus 1300. In some aspects, the reception component 1302 may include one or more antennas, a modem, a demodulator, a MIMO detector, a receive processor, a controller/processor, a memory, or a combination thereof, of the ambient device described in connection with Fig. 2.

The transmission component 1304 may transmit communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof, to the apparatus 1308. In some aspects, one or more other components of the apparatus 1300 may generate communications and may provide the generated communications to the transmission component 1304 for transmission to the apparatus 1308. In some aspects, the transmission component 1304 may perform signal processing on the generated communications (such as filtering, amplification, modulation, digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, or encoding, among other examples) , and may transmit the processed signals to the apparatus 1308. In some aspects, the transmission component 1304 may include one or more antennas, a modem, a modulator, a transmit MIMO processor, a transmit processor, a controller/processor, a memory, or a combination thereof, of the ambient device described in connection with Fig. 2. In some aspects, the transmission component 1304 may be co-located with the reception component 1302 in a transceiver.

The communication manager 1306 may support operations of the reception component 1302 and/or the transmission component 1304. For example, the communication manager 1306 may receive information associated with configuring reception of communications by the reception component 1302 and/or transmission of communications by the transmission component 1304. Additionally, or alternatively, the communication manager 1306 may generate and/or provide control information to the reception component 1302 and/or the transmission component 1304 to control reception and/or transmission of communications.

The reception component 1302 may receive, from a UE, a discovery signal. The reception component 1302 may receive, from the UE, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to initiate a connection between the UE and the ambient device. The transmission component 1304 may transmit, to the UE, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, a connection request.

The communication manager 1306 may detect one or more resources to be used for receiving the discovery signal. The communication manager 1306 may identify a dedicated resource pool that includes the one or more resources to be used for receiving the discovery signal. The communication manager 1306 may identify a resource pool that includes the one or more resources to be used for receiving the discovery signal and that includes one or more resources to be used for receiving the continuous wave signal and the command. The communication manager 1306 may harvest an amount of energy from the continuous wave signal to be used for communicating with the UE. The reception component 1302 may receive, from the UE, based at least in part on the HARQ message, an acknowledgement message that includes a target destination identifier.

The reception component 1302 may receive, from a UE, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to transmit a backscatter signal that includes a discovery signal. The transmission component 1304 may transmit, to the UE, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, the backscatter that includes the discovery signal. The reception component 1302 may receive, from the UE, based at least in part on the discovery signal, a connection request.

The communication manager 1306 may sense a resource pool that includes one or more resources to be used by the ambient device for transmitting the backscatter that includes the discovery signal. The communication manager 1306 may perform a frequency shift selection that is based at least in part on a random selection of a frequency shift, a hash of the frequency shift and an identifier, or a resource associated with a lowest interference measurement. The reception component 1302 may receive, from the UE, an identifier of the UE and an identifier of the ambient device. The transmission component 1304 may transmit, to the UE, other backscatter that includes an acknowledgement message.

The number and arrangement of components shown in Fig. 13 are provided as an example. In practice, there may be additional components, fewer components, different components, or differently arranged components than those shown in Fig. 13. Furthermore, two or more components shown in Fig. 13 may be implemented within a single component, or a single component shown in Fig. 13 may be implemented as multiple, distributed components. Additionally, or alternatively, a set of (one or more) components shown in Fig. 13 may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of components shown in Fig. 13.

The following provides an overview of some Aspects of the present disclosure:

Aspect 1: A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE) , comprising: transmitting, to an ambient device, a discovery signal; transmitting, to the ambient device, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to initiate a connection between the UE and the ambient device; and receiving, from the ambient device, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, a connection request.

Aspect 2: The method of Aspect 1, further comprising configuring one or more resources to be used for transmitting the discovery signal.

Aspect 3: The method of Aspect 2, further comprising: configuring a dedicated resource pool that includes the one or more resources to be used for transmitting the discovery signal; or configuring a resource pool that includes the one or more resources to be used for transmitting the discovery signal and that includes one or more resources to be used for transmitting the continuous wave signal and the command.

Aspect 4: The method of any of Aspects 1-3, further comprising: charging the ambient device with an amount of energy for decoding the discovery signal; or transmitting a particular energy pattern that indicates the discovery signal.

Aspect 5: The method of any of Aspects 1-4, further comprising identifying a configured communication duration associated with the ambient device, wherein transmitting the discovery signal comprises transmitting the discovery signal during the configured communication duration associated with the ambient device.

Aspect 6: The method of any of Aspects 1-5, further comprising identifying that the ambient device is configured with coarse time synchronization or no time synchronization, wherein transmitting the discovery signal comprises: transmitting the discovery signal periodically until the UE receives a discovery response from the ambient device; or transmitting the discovery signal for a duration that includes at least two charge durations associated with the ambient device.

Aspect 7: The method of any of Aspects 1-6, further comprising identifying that a plurality of UEs are to transmit discovery signals at a same time.

Aspect 8: The method of Aspect 7, wherein the ambient device is configured to receive a wideband signal, and wherein transmitting the discovery signal comprises: transmitting the discovery signal at a time that does not overlap with a transmission of another discovery signal by another UE of the plurality of UEs; or transmitting the discovery signal in accordance with a sequence, wherein the sequence associated with the discovery signal is orthogonal to a sequence associated with the other discovery signal transmitted by the other UE.

Aspect 9: The method of Aspect 7, wherein the ambient device is configured with a bandpass filter, and wherein transmitting the discovery signal comprises: transmitting the discovery signal at a time that does not overlap with a transmission of another discovery signal by another UE of the plurality of UEs; transmitting the discovery signal in accordance with a sequence, wherein the sequence associated with the discovery signal is orthogonal to a sequence associated with the other discovery signal transmitted by the other UE; or sweeping a frequency band and transmitting the discovery signal within the frequency band, wherein the other UE is configured to transmit the other discovery signal in another frequency band.

Aspect 10: The method of any of Aspects 1-9, further comprising identifying that a plurality of ambient devices are configured to transmit backscatter signals at a same time, wherein the discovery signal indicates a set of frequency shifts for the plurality of ambient devices or indicates a set of back-off timers for the plurality of ambient devices.

Aspect 11: The method of any of Aspects 1-10, wherein the discovery signal indicates at least one of a supported device type, a resource indication for backscatter transmissions by the ambient device, a source identifier, or a destination identifier.

Aspect 12: The method of any of Aspects 1-11, wherein receiving the connection request from the ambient device comprises receiving a backscatter hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) message that includes a device identifier.

Aspect 13: The method of Aspect 12, further comprising transmitting, to the ambient device, based at least in part on the HARQ message, an acknowledgement message that includes a target destination identifier.

Aspect 14: A method of wireless communication performed by an ambient device, comprising: receiving, from a user equipment (UE) , a discovery signal; receiving, from the UE, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to initiate a connection between the UE and the ambient device; and transmitting, to the UE, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, a connection request.

Aspect 15: The method of Aspect 14, further comprising detecting one or more resources to be used for receiving the discovery signal.

Aspect 16: The method of Aspect 15, further comprising: identifying a dedicated resource pool that includes the one or more resources to be used for receiving the discovery signal; or identifying a resource pool that includes the one or more resources to be used for receiving the discovery signal and that includes one or more resources to be used for receiving the continuous wave signal and the command.

Aspect 17: The method of any of Aspects 14-16, further comprising harvesting an amount of energy from the continuous wave signal to be used for communicating with the UE.

Aspect 18: The method of any of Aspects 14-17, wherein receiving the discovery signal comprises: charging the ambient device with an amount of energy for decoding the discovery signal; or receiving a particular energy pattern that indicates the discovery signal.

Aspect 19: The method of any of Aspects 14-18, wherein receiving the discovery signal comprises receiving the discovery signal during a configured communication duration associated with the ambient device.

Aspect 20: The method of any of Aspects 14-19, wherein the ambient device is configured with coarse time synchronization or no time synchronization, and wherein receiving the discovery signal comprises: receiving the discovery signal periodically until the ambient device transmits a discovery response to the UE; or receiving the discovery signal for a duration that includes at least two charge durations associated with the ambient device.

Aspect 21: The method of any of Aspects 14-20, wherein a plurality of UEs are to transmit discovery signals to the ambient device at a same time.

Aspect 22: The method of Aspect 21, wherein the ambient device is configured to receive a wideband signal, and wherein receiving the discovery signal comprises: receiving the discovery signal at a time that does not overlap with a transmission of another discovery signal by another UE of the plurality of UEs; or receiving the discovery signal in accordance with a sequence, wherein the sequence associated with the discovery signal is orthogonal to a sequence associated with the other discovery signal transmitted by the other UE.

Aspect 23: The method of Aspect 21, wherein the ambient device is configured with a bandpass filter, and wherein receiving the discovery signal comprises: receiving the discovery signal at a time that does not overlap with a transmission of another discovery signal by another UE of the plurality of UEs; receiving the discovery signal in accordance with a sequence, wherein the sequence associated with the discovery signal is orthogonal to a sequence associated with the other discovery signal transmitted by the other UE; or receiving the discovery signal from the UE in a frequency band and receiving the other discovery signal from the other UE in another frequency band.

Aspect 24: The method of any of Aspects 14-23, wherein a plurality of ambient devices are configured to transmit backscatter signals at a same time, and wherein the discovery signal indicates a set of frequency shifts for the plurality of ambient devices or indicates a set of back-off timers for the plurality of ambient devices.

Aspect 25: The method of any of Aspects 14-24, wherein the discovery signal indicates at least one of a supported device type, a resource indication for backscatter transmissions by the ambient device, a source identifier, or a destination identifier.

Aspect 26: The method of any of Aspects 14-25, wherein transmitting the connection request from the UE comprises transmitting a backscatter hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) message that includes a device identifier.

Aspect 27: The method of Aspect 26, further comprising receiving, from the UE, based at least in part on the HARQ message, an acknowledgement message that includes a target destination identifier.

Aspect 28: A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE) , comprising: transmitting, to an ambient device, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to transmit a backscatter signal that includes a discovery signal; receiving, from the ambient device, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, the backscatter that includes the discovery signal; and transmitting, to the ambient device, based at least in part on the discovery signal, a connection request.

Aspect 29: The method of Aspect 28, further comprising configuring a resource pool that includes one or more resources to be used by the ambient device for transmitting the backscatter that includes the discovery signal.

Aspect 30: The method of Aspect 29, wherein receiving the backscatter that includes the discovery signal comprises receiving, based at least in part on the ambient device not supporting a frequency shift and based at least in part on the ambient device being configured with fine time synchronization, a plurality of backscatter signals from a plurality of ambient devices at a plurality of different times.

Aspect 31: The method of Aspect 29, wherein receiving the backscatter that includes the discovery signal comprises receiving, based at least in part on the ambient device not supporting a frequency shift and based at least in part on the ambient device being configured with coarse time synchronization or no time synchronization, the backscatter after a listen-before-talk process is performed by the ambient device.

Aspect 32: The method of any of Aspects 28-31, further comprising receiving an indication that the ambient device supports a frequency shift, wherein a frequency shift selection performed by the ambient device is based at least in part on a random selection of the frequency shift, a hash of the frequency shift and an identifier, or a resource associated with a lowest interference measurement.

Aspect 33: The method of any of Aspects 28-32, wherein transmitting the continuous wave signal comprises transmitting the continuous wave signal to power-up the ambient device.

Aspect 34: The method of any of Aspects 28-33, wherein receiving the backscatter that includes the discovery signal comprises: receiving, from the ambient device, first backscatter that includes first discovery information, the first discovery information including an identifier of the ambient device; transmitting, to the ambient device, based at least in part on the first backscatter, a response; and receiving, from the ambient device, based at least in part on the response, second backscatter that includes second discovery information.

Aspect 35: The method of Aspect 34, wherein the response includes the identifier of the ambient device and a resource indication for the second backscatter that includes the second discovery information, and wherein the second discovery information includes the identifier of the ambient device, a destination identifier, a wideband or sub-band reception indication, a supported frequency shift indication, a supported energy harvesting mode indication, and an energy storage capability indication.

Aspect 36: The method of any of Aspects 28-35, wherein the backscatter that includes the discovery signal includes an identifier of the ambient device, a destination identifier, a wideband or sub-band reception indication, a supported frequency shift indication, a supported energy harvesting mode indication, and an energy storage capability indication.

Aspect 37: The method of any of Aspects 28-36, further comprising transmitting, to the ambient device, an identifier of the UE and an identifier of the ambient device.

Aspect 38: The method of any of Aspects 28-37, further comprising receiving an indication that the ambient device is configured to receive a plurality of responses from a plurality of respective UEs, wherein the method further comprises: sensing one or more resources and selecting a resource from the one or more resources to be used for transmitting a response to the ambient device; or dividing a resource into a plurality of resource subsets, and selecting a resource subset of the plurality of resource subsets to be used for transmitting the response to the ambient device.

Aspect 39: The method of any of Aspects 28-38, further comprising receiving, from the ambient device, other backscatter that includes an acknowledgement message.

Aspect 40: A method of wireless communication performed by an ambient device, comprising: receiving, from a user equipment (UE) , a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to transmit a backscatter signal that includes a discovery signal; transmitting, to the UE, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, the backscatter that includes the discovery signal; and receiving, from the UE, based at least in part on the discovery signal, a connection request.

Aspect 41: The method of Aspect 40, further comprising sensing a resource pool that includes one or more resources to be used by the ambient device for transmitting the backscatter that includes the discovery signal.

Aspect 42: The method of Aspect 41, wherein transmitting the backscatter that includes the discovery signal comprises transmitting, based at least in part on the ambient device not supporting a frequency shift and based at least in part on the ambient device being configured with fine time synchronization, the backscatter at a time that is different than a time during which other backscatter is transmitted by another ambient device.

Aspect 43: The method of Aspect 41, wherein transmitting the backscatter that includes the discovery signal comprises transmitting, based at least in part on the ambient device not supporting a frequency shift and based at least in part on the ambient device being configured with coarse time synchronization or no time synchronization, the backscatter after performing a listen-before-talk process.

Aspect 44: The method of any of Aspects 40-43, further comprising performing a frequency shift selection that is based at least in part on a random selection of a frequency shift, a hash of the frequency shift and an identifier, or a resource associated with a lowest interference measurement.

Aspect 45: The method of any of Aspects 40-44, further comprising powering-up the ambient device using the continuous wave signal.

Aspect 46: The method of any of Aspects 40-45, wherein transmitting the backscatter that includes the discovery signal comprises: transmitting, to the UE, first backscatter that includes first discovery information, the first discovery information including an identifier of the ambient device; receiving, from the UE, based at least in part on the first backscatter, a response; and transmitting, to the UE, based at least in part on the response, second backscatter that includes second discovery information.

Aspect 47: The method of Aspect 46, wherein the response includes the identifier of the ambient device and a resource indication for the second backscatter that includes the second discovery information, and wherein the second discovery information includes the identifier of the ambient device, a destination identifier, a wideband or sub-band reception indication, a supported frequency shift indication, a supported energy harvesting mode indication, and an energy storage capability indication.

Aspect 48: The method of any of Aspects 40-47, wherein the backscatter that includes the discovery signal includes an identifier of the ambient device, a destination identifier, a wideband or sub-band reception indication, a supported frequency shift indication, a supported energy harvesting mode indication, and an energy storage capability indication.

Aspect 49: The method of any of Aspects 40-48, further comprising receiving, from the UE, an identifier of the UE and an identifier of the ambient device.

Aspect 50: The method of any of Aspects 40-49, further comprising transmitting, to the UE, other backscatter that includes an acknowledgement message.

Aspect 51: An apparatus for wireless communication at a device, comprising a processor; memory coupled with the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-50.

Aspect 52: A device for wireless communication, comprising a memory and one or more processors coupled to the memory, the one or more processors configured to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-50.

Aspect 53: An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising at least one means for performing the method of one or more of Aspects 1-50.

Aspect 54: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-50.

Aspect 55: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions for wireless communication, the set of instructions comprising one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a device, cause the device to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-50.

The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the aspects to the precise forms disclosed. Modifications and variations may be made in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the aspects.

As used herein, the term “component” is intended to be broadly construed as hardware and/or a combination of hardware and software. “Software” shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, and/or functions, among other examples, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise. As used herein, a “processor” is implemented in hardware and/or a combination of hardware and software. It will be apparent that systems and/or methods described herein may be implemented in different forms of hardware and/or a combination of hardware and software. The actual specialized control hardware or software code used to implement these systems and/or methods is not limiting of the aspects. Thus, the operation and behavior of the systems and/or methods are described herein without reference to specific software code, since those skilled in the art will understand that software and hardware can be designed to implement the systems and/or methods based, at least in part, on the description herein.

As used herein, “satisfying a threshold” may, depending on the context, refer to a value being greater than the threshold, greater than or equal to the threshold, less than the threshold, less than or equal to the threshold, equal to the threshold, not equal to the threshold, or the like.

Even though particular combinations of features are recited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of various aspects. Many of these features may be combined in ways not specifically recited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification. The disclosure of various aspects includes each dependent claim in combination with every other claim in the claim set. As used herein, a phrase referring to “at least one of” a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. As an example, “at least one of: a, b, or c” is intended to cover a, b, c, a + b, a + c, b + c, and a + b + c, as well as any combination with multiples of the same element (e.g., a + a, a + a + a, a + a + b, a + a + c, a + b + b, a + c + c, b + b, b + b + b, b + b + c, c + c, and c + c + c, or any other ordering of a, b, and c) .

No element, act, or instruction used herein should be construed as critical or essential unless explicitly described as such. Also, as used herein, the articles “a” and “an” are intended to include one or more items and may be used interchangeably with “one or more. ” Further, as used herein, the article “the” is intended to include one or more items referenced in connection with the article “the” and may be used interchangeably with “the one or more. ” Furthermore, as used herein, the terms “set” and “group” are intended to include one or more items and may be used interchangeably with “one or more. ” Where only one item is intended, the phrase “only one” or similar language is used. Also, as used herein, the terms “has, ” “have, ” “having, ” or the like are intended to be open-ended terms that do not limit an element that they modify (e.g., an element “having” A may also have B) . Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “based, at least in part, on” unless explicitly stated otherwise. Also, as used herein, the term “or” is intended to be inclusive when used in a series and may be used interchangeably with “and/or, ” unless explicitly stated otherwise (e.g., if used in combination with “either” or “only one of” ) .

Claims

An apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE) , comprising:

a memory; and

one or more processors, coupled to the memory, configured to:

transmit, to an ambient device, a discovery signal;

transmit, to the ambient device, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to initiate a connection between the UE and the ambient device; and

receive, from the ambient device, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, a connection request.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

configure a dedicated resource pool that includes one or more resources to be used for transmitting the discovery signal; or

configure a resource pool that includes one or more resources to be used for transmitting the discovery signal and that includes one or more resources to be used for transmitting the continuous wave signal and the command.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

charge the ambient device with an amount of energy for decoding the discovery signal; or

transmit a particular energy pattern that indicates the discovery signal.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to identify a configured communication duration associated with the ambient device, and wherein the one or more processors, to transmit the discovery signal, are configured to transmit the discovery signal during the configured communication duration associated with the ambient device.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to identify that the ambient device is configured with coarse time synchronization or no time synchronization, and wherein the one or more processors, to transmit the discovery signal, are configured to:

transmit the discovery signal periodically until the UE receives a discovery response from the ambient device; or

transmit the discovery signal for a duration that includes at least two charge durations associated with the ambient device.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to identify that a plurality of UEs are to transmit discovery signals at a same time.
The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the ambient device is configured to receive a wideband signal, and wherein the one or more processors, to transmit the discovery signal, are configured to:

transmit the discovery signal at a time that does not overlap with a transmission of another discovery signal by another UE of the plurality of UEs; or

transmit the discovery signal in accordance with a sequence, wherein the sequence associated with the discovery signal is orthogonal to a sequence associated with the other discovery signal transmitted by the other UE.
The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the ambient device is configured with a bandpass filter, and wherein the one or more processors, to transmit the discovery signal, are configured to:

transmit the discovery signal at a time that does not overlap with a transmission of another discovery signal by another UE of the plurality of UEs;

transmit the discovery signal in accordance with a sequence, wherein the sequence associated with the discovery signal is orthogonal to a sequence associated with the other discovery signal transmitted by the other UE; or

sweep a frequency band and transmitting the discovery signal within the frequency band, wherein the other UE is configured to transmit the other discovery signal in another frequency band.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to identify that a plurality of ambient devices are configured to transmit backscatter signals at a same time, wherein the discovery signal indicates a set of frequency shifts for the plurality of ambient devices or indicates a set of back-off timers for the plurality of ambient devices.
An apparatus for wireless communication at an ambient device, comprising:

a memory; and

one or more processors, coupled to the memory, configured to:

receive, from a user equipment (UE) , a discovery signal;

receive, from the UE, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to initiate a connection between the UE and the ambient device; and

transmit, to the UE, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, a connection request.
The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

identify a dedicated resource pool that includes one or more resources to be used for receiving the discovery signal; or

identify a resource pool that includes one or more resources to be used for receiving the discovery signal and that includes one or more resources to be used for receiving the continuous wave signal and the command.
The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the one or more processors, to receive the discovery signal, are configured to receive the discovery signal during a configured communication duration associated with the ambient device.
The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the ambient device is configured with coarse time synchronization or no time synchronization, and wherein the one or more processors, to receive the discovery signal, are configured to:

receive the discovery signal periodically until the ambient device transmits a discovery response to the UE; or

receive the discovery signal for a duration that includes at least two charge durations associated with the ambient device.
The apparatus of claim 10, wherein a plurality of UEs are to transmit discovery signals to the ambient device at a same time.
The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the ambient device is configured to receive a wideband signal, and wherein the one or more processors, to receive the discovery signal, are configured to:

receive the discovery signal at a time that does not overlap with a transmission of another discovery signal by another UE of the plurality of UEs; or

receive the discovery signal in accordance with a sequence, wherein the sequence associated with the discovery signal is orthogonal to a sequence associated with the other discovery signal transmitted by the other UE.
The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the ambient device is configured with a bandpass filter, and wherein the one or more processors, to receive the discovery signal, are configured to:

receive the discovery signal at a time that does not overlap with a transmission of another discovery signal by another UE of the plurality of UEs;

receive the discovery signal in accordance with a sequence, wherein the sequence associated with the discovery signal is orthogonal to a sequence associated with the other discovery signal transmitted by the other UE; or

receive the discovery signal from the UE in a frequency band and receiving the other discovery signal from the other UE in another frequency band.
The apparatus of claim 10, wherein a plurality of ambient devices are configured to transmit backscatter signals at a same time, and wherein the discovery signal indicates a set of frequency shifts for the plurality of ambient devices or indicates a set of back-off timers for the plurality of ambient devices.
An apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE) , comprising:

a memory; and

one or more processors, coupled to the memory, configured to:

transmit, to an ambient device, a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to transmit a backscatter signal that includes a discovery signal;

receive, from the ambient device, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, the backscatter that includes the discovery signal; and

transmit, to the ambient device, based at least in part on the discovery signal, a connection request.
The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the one or more processors, to receive the backscatter that includes the discovery signal, are configured to receive, based at least in part on the ambient device not supporting a frequency shift and based at least in part on the ambient device being configured with fine time synchronization, a plurality of backscatter signals from a plurality of ambient devices at a plurality of different times.
The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the one or more processors, to receive the backscatter that includes the discovery signal, are configured to receive, based at least in part on the ambient device not supporting a frequency shift and based at least in part on the ambient device being configured with coarse time synchronization or no time synchronization, the backscatter after a listen-before-talk process is performed by the ambient device.
The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to receive an indication that the ambient device supports a frequency shift, wherein a frequency shift selection performed by the ambient device is based at least in part on a random selection of the frequency shift, a hash of the frequency shift and an identifier, or a resource associated with a lowest interference measurement.
The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the one or more processors, to receive the backscatter that includes the discovery signal, are configured to:

receive, from the ambient device, first backscatter that includes first discovery information, the first discovery information including an identifier of the ambient device;

transmit, to the ambient device, based at least in part on the first backscatter, a response; and

receive, from the ambient device, based at least in part on the response, second backscatter that includes second discovery information.
The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the backscatter that includes the discovery signal includes an identifier of the ambient device, a destination identifier, a wideband or sub-band reception indication, a supported frequency shift indication, a supported energy harvesting mode indication, and an energy storage capability indication.
The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to transmit, to the ambient device, an identifier of the UE and an identifier of the ambient device.
An apparatus for wireless communication at an ambient device, comprising:

a memory; and

one or more processors, coupled to the memory, configured to:

receive, from a user equipment (UE) , a continuous wave signal and a command that indicates for the ambient device to transmit a backscatter signal that includes a discovery signal;

transmit, to the UE, based at least in part on the continuous wave signal and the command, the backscatter that includes the discovery signal; and

receive, from the UE, based at least in part on the discovery signal, a connection request.
The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the one or more processors, to transmit the backscatter that includes the discovery signal, are configured to transmit, based at least in part on the ambient device not supporting a frequency shift and based at least in part on the ambient device being configured with fine time synchronization, the backscatter at a time that is different than a time during which other backscatter is transmitted by another ambient device.
The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the one or more processors, to transmit the backscatter that includes the discovery signal, are configured to transmit, based at least in part on the ambient device not supporting a frequency shift and based at least in part on the ambient device being configured with coarse time synchronization or no time synchronization, the backscatter after performing a listen-before-talk process.
The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to perform a frequency shift selection that is based at least in part on a random selection of a frequency shift, a hash of the frequency shift and an identifier, or a resource associated with a lowest interference measurement.
The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the one or more processors, to transmit the backscatter that includes the discovery signal, are configured to:

transmit, to the UE, first backscatter that includes first discovery information, the first discovery information including an identifier of the ambient device;

receive, from the UE, based at least in part on the first backscatter, a response; and

transmit, to the UE, based at least in part on the response, second backscatter that includes second discovery information.
The apparatus of claim 25, wherein the backscatter that includes the discovery signal includes an identifier of the ambient device, a destination identifier, a wideband or sub-band reception indication, a supported frequency shift indication, a supported energy harvesting mode indication, and an energy storage capability indication.