GB2640720A

GB2640720A - Reconfigurable intelligent surface based communication

Info

Publication number: GB2640720A
Application number: GB2406194.7A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Heikkilä Marjo; Tayyab Muhammad
Original assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy
Priority date: 2024-05-03
Filing date: 2024-05-03
Publication date: 2025-11-05
Also published as: CN120896610A; GB202406194D0

Abstract

Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a solution for reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) based communication. A method comprises receiving, from a second apparatus, configuration information indicating at least one of the following: at least one first resource on which the first apparatus is configured to support communications with a first service type, at least one second resource on which the first apparatus is not allowed to support communications with a first service type; and receiving, from a third apparatus, a request for a transmission with the first service type between the third apparatus and a fourth apparatus and via at least the first apparatus; and transmitting, to the third apparatus, a response of the request indicating whether the request is accepted or rejected by the first apparatus. The invention is also defined from the viewpoint of other network entities involved.

Description

RECONFIGURABLE INTELLIGENT SURFACE BASED

COMMUNICATION

FIELDS

[0001] Various example embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of telecommunication and in particular, to methods, devices, apparatuses and computer readable storage medium for reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS)-based communication.

BACKGROUND

[0002] The wireless propagation environment is random and uncontrollable. Coverage is a fundamental aspect of cellular network deployments. Mobile operators rely on different types of network nodes (or network devices) to offer blanket coverage in their deployments. Deployment of regular full-stack cells is one option, but it may not be always possible (for example, due to no availability of backhaul) or economically viable.

[0003] Recently, RISs have been proposed as a means of having some controls over them with the help of software-controlled reflections. An RIS consists of a planar array of passive reflecting elements that can reflect the incoming rays with adjustable phase shifts. The passive nature of the reflecting elements results in low hardware costs, low energy consumption, and the ability to naturally operate in full-duplex (FD) mode. An RIS will be a low-profile auxiliary device that can be easily integrated into an existing communication network transparently, providing great flexibility and compatibility in terms of deployment. The service types in the wireless environment are various, and how to balance various service types to enable a higher utilization of the RISs is desirable to be further discussed.

SUMMARY

[0004] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a first apparatus. The first apparatus comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus at least to: receive, from a second apparatus, configuration information indicating at least one of the following: at least one first resource on which the first apparatus is configured to support communications with a first service type, at least one second resource on which the first apparatus is not allowed to support communications with a first service type; and receive, from a third apparatus, a request for a transmission with the first service type between the third apparatus and a fourth apparatus and via at least the first apparatus; and transmit, to the third apparatus, a response of the request indicating whether the request is accepted or rejected by the first apparatus.

[0005] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a second apparatus.

The second apparatus comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second apparatus at least to: generate configuration information for a first apparatus, the configuration information indicating at least one of the following: at least one first resource on which the first apparatus is configured to support communications with a first service type, at least one second resource on which the first apparatus is not allowed to support communications with a first service type; and transmit the configuration information to the first apparatus; and receive, from a third apparatus, data transmitted from a fourth apparatus to the third apparatus based at least in part in the configuration information and via at least the first apparatus.

[0006] In a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a third apparatus.

The third apparatus comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the third apparatus at least to: transmit, to a first apparatus, a request for a transmission with the first service type between the third apparatus and a fourth apparatus and via at least the first apparatus; and receive, from the first apparatus, a response of the request indicating whether the request is accepted or rejected by the first apparatus.

[0007] In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method. The method comprises: receiving, from a second apparatus, configuration information indicating at least one of the following: at least one first resource on which the first apparatus is configured to support communications with a first service type, at least one second resource on which the first apparatus is not allowed to support communications with a first service type; and receiving, from a third apparatus, a request for a transmission with the first service type between the third apparatus and a fourth apparatus and via at least the first apparatus; and transmitting, to the third apparatus, a response of the request indicating whether the request is accepted or rejected by the first apparatus.

[0008] In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method. The method comprises: generating configuration information for a first apparatus, the configuration information indicating at least one of the following: at least one first resource on which the first apparatus is configured to support communications with a first service type, at least one second resource on which the first apparatus is not allowed to support communications with a first service type; and transmitting the configuration information to the first apparatus; and receiving, from a third apparatus, data transmitted from a fourth apparatus to the third apparatus based at least in part in the configuration information and via at least the first apparatus.

[0009] In a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method. The method comprises: transmitting, to a first apparatus, a request for a transmission with the 15 first service type between the third apparatus and a fourth apparatus and via at least the first apparatus; and receiving, from the first apparatus, a response of the request indicating whether the request is accepted or rejected by the first apparatus.

[0010] In a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a first apparatus.

The first apparatus comprises means for receiving, from a second apparatus, configuration information indicating at least one of the following: at least one first resource on which the first apparatus is configured to support communications with a first service type, at least one second resource on which the first apparatus is not allowed to support communications with a first service type; and means for receiving, from a third apparatus, a request for a transmission with the first service type between the third apparatus and a fourth apparatus and via at least the first apparatus; and means for transmitting, to the third apparatus, a response of the request indicating whether the request is accepted or rejected by the first apparatus.

[0011] In an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a second apparatus. The second apparatus comprises means for generating configuration 30 information for a first apparatus, the configuration information indicating at least one of the following: at least one first resource on which the first apparatus is configured to support communications with a first service type, at least one second resource on which the first apparatus is not allowed to support communications with a first service type; and means for transmitting the configuration information to the first apparatus; and means for receiving, from a third apparatus, data transmitted from a fourth apparatus to the third apparatus based at least in part in the configuration information and via at least the first apparatus.

[0012] In a ninth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a third apparatus.

The third apparatus comprises means for transmitting, to a first apparatus, a request for a transmission with the first service type between the third apparatus and a fourth apparatus and via at least the first apparatus; and means for receiving, from the first apparatus, a response of the request indicating whether the request is accepted or rejected by the first apparatus.

[0013] In a tenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium comprises instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to the fourth aspect.

[0014] In an eleventh aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium comprises instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to the fifth aspect.

[0015] In a twelfth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium comprises instructions stored thereon 20 for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to the sixth aspect.

[0016] It is to be understood that the Summary section is not intended to identify key or essential features of embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become easily comprehensible through the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, where: [0018] FIG. 1A illustrates an example communication environment in which example 30 embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented; [0019] FIGA. 1B and IC illustrate example hardware architectures of RIS according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure; [0020] FIG. 2 is an example RIS architecture in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented; [0021] FIG. 3 illustrates an example RIS architecture in local operation mode according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure; [0022] FIG. 4A illustrates an example time-domain allocation according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure; [0023] FIG. 4B illustrates an example spatial-domain allocation according to some 10 example embodiments of the present disclosure; [0024] FIG. 5 illustrates a signaling chart of communication according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure; [0025] FIG. 6 illustrates an example communication environment of cascaded mode; [0026] FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate signaling charts of communication according to some IS example embodiments of the present disclosure; [0027] FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a first apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure; [0028] FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a second apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure; [0029] FIG. 11 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a third apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure; [0030] FIG. 12 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure; and [0031] FIG. 13 illustrates a block diagram of an example computer readable medium in 25 accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0032] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar element.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] Principle of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It is to be understood that these embodiments are described only for the purpose of illustration and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitation as to the scope of the disclosure. Embodiments described herein can be implemented in various manners other than the ones described below.

[0034] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same mean as commonly understood by one of 10 ordinary skills in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0035] References in the present disclosure to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "an example embodiment," and the like indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but it is not necessary that every embodiment includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

[0036] It shall be understood that although the terms "first," "second" and the like may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0037] As used herein, "at least one of the following: <a list of two or more elements>" and "at least one of <a list of two or more elements>" and similar wording, where the list of two or more elements are joined by "and" or "or", mean at least any one of the elements, 30 or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all the elements.

[0038] As used herein, unless stated explicitly, performing a step "in response to A" does not indicate that the step is performed immediately after "A" occurs and one or more intervening steps may be included.

[0039] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used 5 herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises", "comprising", "has", "having", "includes" and/or "including", when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and/or components etc., but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, 10 components and/ or combinations thereof [0040] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and/or digital circuitry) and (b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable): (i) a combination of analog and/or digital hardware circuit(s) with software/firmware and (ii) any portions of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s)), software, and memory(ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions) and (c) hardware circuit(s) and or processor(s), such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation.

[0041] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and/or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0042] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network following any suitable communication standards, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) and so on. Furthermore, the communications between a terminal device and a network device in the communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocols, including, but not limited to, the first generation (1G), the second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, the third generation (3G), the fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, the fifth generation (50) communication protocols, and/or any other protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied in various communication systems. Given the rapid development in communications, there will of course also be future type communication technologies and systems with which the present disclosure may be embodied. It should not be seen as limiting the scope of the present disclosure to only the aforementioned system.

[0043] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services therefrom. The network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), for example, a node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), an NR NB (also referred to as a gNB), a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a radio header (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) node, a low power node such as a femto, a pico, a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or non-ground network device such as a satellite network device, a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite and a geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) satellite, an aircraft network device, and so forth, depending on the applied terminology and technology. In some example embodiments, radio access network (RAN) split architecture comprises a Centralized Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU) at an IAB donor node. An IAB node comprises a Mobile Terminal (IAB-MT) part that behaves like a UE toward the parent node, and a DU part of an 1AB node behaves like a base station toward the next-hop IAB node.

[0044] The term "terminal device" refers to any end device that may be capable of wireless communication. By way of example rather than limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE), a Subscriber Station (SS), a Portable Subscriber Station, a Mobile Station (MS), or an Access Terminal (AT). The terminal device may include, but not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, a tablet, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), portable computers, desktop computer, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback appliances, vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer-premises equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (loT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery), an industrial device and applications (e.g., a robot and/or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and/or an automated processing chain contexts), a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and/or industrial wireless networks, and the like. The terminal device may also correspond to a Mobile Termination (MT) part of an IAB node (e.g., a relay node). In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "communication device", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

[0045] As used herein, the term "resource," "transmission resource," "resource block," "physical resource block" (PRB), "uplink resource," or "downlink resource" may refer to any resource for performing a communication, for example, a communication between a terminal device and a network device, such as a resource in time domain, a resource in frequency domain, a resource in space domain, a resource in code domain, or any other resource enabling a communication, and the like.

[0046] In the context of the present disclosure, terms are defined as below: * local operation mode: when the RIS is operated in the local operation mode, the RIS may support communications (or offer services) with a first service type. Further, the local operation mode provides dedicated local coverage services. When an RIS is in the local operation mode, a UE may utilize RIS to support local sidelink or D2D communications, such as, Bluetooth, IoT or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications. UE may control RN during the local operation mode. RIS may be configured to be operated in the local operation mode e.g., during off-peak times.

* public operation mode (also called as public cellular network operation mode sometimes): when the RIS is operated in the public operation mode, the RIS may support communications (or offer services) with a second service type.

[0047] Example embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Example Environment

[0048] FIG. 1 A illustrates an example communication environment 100A in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. The communication environment 100 includes a first apparatus 110-1, a second apparatus 120, a third apparatus 130, a fourth apparatus 140 and optional first apparatuses 110-2 and HO-3. For purpose of discussion, the first apparatuses 110-1, 110-2 and 110-3 are individually or collectively referred to as a first apparatus 110.

[0049] Further, each first apparatus 110 may comprise a control unit 112 and an array of reflectors 115. In operation, the first apparatus 110 may be controlled by the second apparatus 120 (and/or the third apparatus 130/fourth apparatus 140). Further, signals may be reflected/scattered/refracted/diffracted at the first apparatus 110. With the assistant of the first apparatus 110, a variety of services may be enabled.

[0050] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may be comprised in an RIS, the second apparatus 120 may be comprised in a network device, and the third 20 apparatus 130 and the fourth apparatus 140 may be comprised in terminal devices.

[0051] In the following, for the purpose of illustration, some example embodiments are described with the first apparatus 110 operating as an RIS apparatus, the second apparatus 120 operating as a network device, and the third apparatus 130 and the fourth apparatus 140 operating as terminal devices. However, in some example embodiments, operations described in connection with an RIS/network device/terminal apparatus may be implemented at other apparatus, [0052] In some example embodiments, if the third apparatus 130/fourth apparatus 140 is a terminal apparatus and the second apparatus 120 is a network apparatus, a link from the second apparatus 120 to the third apparatus 130/fourth apparatus 140is referred to as a downlink (DL), while a link from the third apparatus 130/fourth apparatus 140 to the second apparatus 120 is referred to as an uplink (UL). In DL, the second apparatus 120 is a transmitting (TX) apparatus (or a transmitter) and the third apparatus 130/fourth apparatus NO is a receiving (RX) apparatus (or a receiver). In UL, the third apparatus 130/fourth apparatus 140 is a TX apparatus (or a transmitter) and the second apparatus 120 is a RX apparatus (or a receiver).

[0053] Further, if the third apparatus 130 and the fourth apparatus 140 are terminal apparatuses, a communication between the third apparatus 130 and the fourth apparatus 140 also may be call as sidelink communications or device-to-device (D2D) communications.

[0054] Communications in the communication environment 100A may be implemented according to any proper communication protocol(s), comprising, but not limited to, cellular communication protocols of the first generation (1G), the second generation (2G), the third generation (3G), the fourth generation (4G), the fifth generation (50), the sixth generation (60), and the like, wireless local network communication protocols such as Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 and the like, and/or any other protocols currently known or to be developed in the future. Moreover, the communication may utilize any proper wireless communication technology, comprising but not limited to: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), Time Division Duplex (TDD), Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple (OFDM), Discrete Fourier Transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) and/or any other technologies currently known or to be developed in the future.

[0055] As discussed above, an RIS will be a low-profile auxiliary device that can be easily integrated into an existing communication network transparently, providing great flexibility and compatibility in terms of deployment. Reference is now made to FIGS. 1B and IC, which illustrate example hardware architectures of RIS 100B and 100C according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0056] As illustrated in FIGS. 1B and 1C, in addition to passive elements, an RIS may have reconfigurable active elements. The active elements may be connected to an RF chain by a switch. These active elements may be used for different functions, such as, communicating control messages between RIS and gNB, channel sensing by measuring reference signals and so on. Passive elements may reflect the incoming signals, and phases of the passive elements may be configured to steer the incoming signals in the desired direction.

[0057] In FIG. IC, all the elements are passive except a few randomly distributed active channel sensors. These active sensors are connected to the baseband of the controller.

[0058] Regarding the operating frequency of RIS, ambient energy is composed of different signals at various frequencies. However, it is difficult to implement an RIS that supports phase adjustment for incoming signals at different frequency bands simultaneously. There is a focus on frequency reconfigurable antennas in the current state-of-the-art research, where an antenna that may reconfigure its operating frequency from 4.86 to 5.89 GHz is presented. A similar approach may be used to facilitate RIS to support phase adjustment at different frequencies, while a specific frequency may be set for a group of elements at a given time.

[0059] FIG. 2 is an example RIS architecture 200 in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. In FIG. 2, the control unit (RIS mobile terminal, RIS-MT) is defined as a component to maintain the control link (also call as Clink) between gNB and RIS to enable the information exchanges (e.g., sidelink control information). The control link is based on the NR Uu interface and on a different frequency band as forwarding link (also call as Fwd-link) between gNB and RIS to enable the information exchanges (e.g., sidelink control information).

[0060] In FIG. 2, a further enhanced RIS architecture which has another control link option between UE and RIS to enable control information exchange in parallel to control link between gNB and RIS is illustrated. With this architectural enhancement, RIS is not transparent to UE anymore. The control link between UE and RIS is based on PC5 interface.

[0061] In FIG. 2, the forwarding link is decoupled from control link. RIS reflects the signal without decoding. The angle of reflection may be controlled dynamically.

[0062] The wireless propagation environment is random and uncontrollable. Numerous ambient RF signals exist, such as, television, radio, cellular, and Wi-Fi signals, which could be potential energy sources for energy. However, it is difficult for energy users (EUs) to efficiently harvest energy from these abundantly available signals due to their randomness in nature and due to these energy sources being available at different frequencies. RIS is mentioned as a highly promising solution to resolve this problem since the ambient signals may be focused on EUs by exploiting the passive beamforming capability. The service types in the wireless environment are various. For example, RIS may support offering services for dedicated individual UEs, for local (private) networks and for D2D communications, and also may support offering services for public cellular network operation.

[0063] By far, it is pending about how to balance various service types to enable a higher utilization of the RISs. According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, there is proposed a solution for the RIS-based communication. In this solution, RIS-based local operation/service (e.g., sidelink communication, D2D communication) may be configured and triggered properly.

Work Principle and Example Signaling for Communication [0064] According to some example embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a solution for an RIS-based communication, where a local operation mode for RIS and the triggering conditions of the local operation mode are defined. In some embodiment, the network may trigger the local operation mode of the RIS and allow the UEs (such as, an IoT reader) to communicate with other UEs via RIS (e.g. including RedCap and Ambient loT devices).

[0065] FIG. 3 illustrates an example RIS architecture 300 in local operation mode according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. Local operation mode enables various use cases, e.g., public safety, smart home, smart office, smart agriculture, smart factory, or different kind of wearable applications. It enables local services for data sharing and collection for local servers.

[0066] The network may pre-configure the RIS operation for both local and public cellular network operation in time or special domains.

[0067] Reference is now made to FIG. 4A, which illustrates an example time-domain allocation 400A according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. In the example of FIG. 4A, the use of the RIS may be divided into general mobile network use (i.e., public operation mode) and local use (i.e., local operation mode). Local use allows, for example, a private use of RIS at times when the RIS is not under the load of the public cellular network. Operator,ay allocate a portion of the time resources for local use. The operator also may reallocate the part of the time reservation for local operation mode.

[0068] Reference is now made to FIG. 4B, which illustrates an example spatial-domain allocation according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. In the 5 example of FIG. 4B, a part of the reflectors are configured for public operation mode while another part of the reflectors are configured for local operation mode.

[0069] Reference is made to FIG. 5, which illustrates a signaling flow 500 of communication in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purposes of discussion, the signaling flow 500 will be discussed with reference to FIG. IA.

[0070] In the following descriptions, while operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Likewise, while several specific implementation details are contained in the above discussions, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment.

Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination.

[0071] Merely for a better understanding, in the following example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may function as a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), the second 25 apparatus 120 may function as a network apparatus and the third apparatus 130 and the fourth apparatus 140 may function as terminal apparatuses.

[0072] In operation, the second apparatus 120 generates (505) configuration information for the first apparatus 110. In one example, the configuration information indicates at least one first resource on which the first apparatus 110 is configured to support communications with a first service type (the first apparatus 110 is configured to be operated in the local operation mode). In another example, the configuration information indicates at least one second resource on which the first apparatus] 10 is not allowed to support communications with a first service type.

[0073] In some example embodiments, the at least first resource and/or the at least one second resource may be associated with at least one of the following: at least one first time resource (as illustrated in FIG. 4A), or at least one reflector element deployed at the 5 first apparatus 110 (as illustrated in FIG. 4B).

[0074] Then, the second apparatus 120 transmits (510-1) the configuration information to the first apparatus 110. Accordingly, the first apparatus 110 receives (510-2) the configuration information from the second apparatus 120.

[0075] With the configuration information, the first apparatus 110 may be configured 10 to be operated in the local operation mode.

[0076] It should be noted that there may be more than one first apparatus 110. If so, each first apparatus 110 may be configured by the second apparatus 120. In one example, each first apparatus 110 may be configured by the second apparatus 120 separately. Alternatively, a group of first apparatuses 110 may be configured by the second apparatus via multicast or broadcast manner. In short, the configuration information may be transmitted to the first apparatus(es) 110 flexibly and the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0077] According to the present disclosure, the third apparatus 130 may request the first apparatus 110 to assist a transmission between the third apparatus 130 the fourth apparatus 20 140 as discussed below.

[0078] In operation, the third apparatus 130 transmits (530-1) a request for a transmission with the first service type between the third apparatus 130 and the fourth apparatus 140. Accordingly, the first apparatus 110 receives (530-2) the request from the third apparatus 130.

[0079] Then, the first apparatus 110 transmits (550-1) a response of the request to the third apparatus 130, where the response of the request indicates whether the request is accepted or rejected by the first apparatus 110. Accordingly, the third apparatus 130 receives (550-2) the response from the first apparatus 110.

[0080] In some example embodiments, the transmission with the first service type 30 between the third apparatus 130 and a fourth apparatus 140 comprises at least one of the following: a sidelink transmission, a device-to-device (D2D) transmission, or a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) transmission.

[0081] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may determine (540) whether to accept or reject the request based on the configuration information. Alternatively, or in addition, some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may determine (540) whether to accept or reject the request based on capability information of the first apparatus 110. Alternatively, or in addition, some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may determine (540) whether to accept or reject the request based on an amount of resources available for the transmission with the first service type.

[0082] In some cases, the transmission between the third apparatus 130 and the fourth apparatus 140 may be performed via more than one first apparatus 110. Reference is now made to FIG. 6, which illustrates an example communication environment of cascaded mode 600. In the example of FIG. 6, the UE (i.e., the third apparatus 130) may communicate with UE/IoT (i.e., the fourth apparatus 140) via two RISs (i.e., two first apparatuses 110). In this event, the request may be determined to be accepted in accordance with a determination that all of the first apparatus 110 and at least one further first apparatus 110 determine the request is acceptable. Accordingly, the request may be determined to be rejected in accordance with a determination that any of the first apparatus 110 and at least one further first apparatus 110 determines the request is not acceptable.

[0083] In some example embodiments, the request may indicate at least one parameter for the communications with a first service type. In this event, if the request is accepted, the first apparatus 110 may re-configure a plurality of reflector elements deployed on the first apparatus 110 based on the at least one parameter to support the transmission requested by the third apparatus 130. By re-configuring a plurality of reflector elements, the transmission between the third apparatus 130 and the fourth apparatus 140 may be enabled. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the transmission between the third apparatus 130 and the fourth apparatus 140 is enabled (560-1). Optionally, the third apparatus 130 may further collected data from the fourth apparatus 140 and forward (560-2) the data to the second apparatus 120.

[0084] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may reject the request, 30 such as, due to lacking related capability, being busy or lacking sufficient resources. In this event, the response may indicate the request is rejected and the response may comprise a cause indicating a rejection reason. With this rejection reason, the third apparatus 130 may make proper decision about whether to re-send the request to the first apparatus 110 again. In one example, if the rejection reason is lacking related capability, the third apparatus 130 may transmit the request to other first apparatus 110. Alternatively, if the rejection reason is being busy or lacking sufficient resources, the third apparatus 130 may transmit the request to the first apparatus 110 later.

[0085] In some example embodiments, in order to enable the third apparatus 130 well understand the capability of the first apparatus 110, the first apparatus 110 may transmit (520-1) to the third apparatus 130. Accordingly, the third apparatus 130 may receive (5202) the capability-related information. Further, the capability-related information may indicate at least one of the following: * whether the first apparatus 110 supports the transmission with the first service type, * at least one supported operation mode associated with the transmission with the first service type, or * a triggering condition for selecting a supported operation mode.

[0086] In some example embodiments, the at least one supported operation mode comprises at least one of the following: a half-duplex mode, a full -duplex mode, a Reflection mode, a refraction mode, a transparent mode, a mirror mode, or a cascade mode.

[0087] In some example embodiments, the capability elated information s transmitted periodically in a broadcast manner.

[0088] With the capability-related information the third apparatus HO may decide which first apparatus 110 may assist to enable the transmission with the fourth apparatus 140.

[0089] More embodiments will be discussed with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, which illustrate signaling charts of communication 700 and 800 according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. In the example of FIGS. 7 and 8, when RIS services are visible for the third apparatus HO, the third apparatus 130 may request those services by a service request(s). The third apparatus 130 may request services, such as, power sharing, mirror mode, FD mode, OFF mode, reflection mode. The third apparatus 130 may request the RIS provide a dedicated beam for itself or full duplex service and so on.

[0090] In the example of FIG. 7, the UE (i.e the third apparatus 130) may communicate with the reduced capability (RedCap) UE (i.e., the fourth apparatus 140) via one RIS (i.e., one first apparatus 110).

[0091] At Step 0, RIS may offer related services information to the network. In other 5 word, the network knows information about RISs and the RIS may be controlled by the network.

[0092] At Step 1, the network communicates with RIS-MT to switch the RIS to the local operation mode. In some example embodiments, the network enables to use and control local services. In one example, the network could inform the configuration of local operation mode and public operation mode timing to RIS. The time resource (such as, time slots) for local control may be limited to certain times. In another example, an open-ended time may be configured (i.e., there is no ending time point) for the local operation mode. In this event, the network may request RIS services for its own control (e.g. on-demand service request for public network). In a further example, the network can also enable partial allocation of RIS elements. Some RIS arrays serve local mode, and some serve public mobile network (e.g. half of the RIS elements are used for local operation mode of operation while the rest half are allocated for the public operation mode).

[0093] The network provides the initial configuration parameters for RIS to apply the local operation mode. The parameters may include the angle of reflection, frequency, 20 phase adjustment and so on. The network may define which parameters may be locally controlled.

[0094] At Step 2, the RIS communicates its capability to reader UEs to enable local mode of operation. In some example embodiments, the RIS-MT may periodically broadcast synchronization information to increase synchronization coverage. UEs can synchronize with a Sidelink Synchronization Signal (SLSS) contained in a Sidelink Synchronization Signal Block (SL-SSB). In some example embodiments, the information may include various RIS modes and the triggering conditions for the selection of a particular mode. The UE initiated MS modes include HD/FD modes, Bluetooth, V2V, reflection mode, refraction mode, transparent mode, mirror mode, OFF mode, and cascade mode.

[0095] At Step 3, the reader UE requests RIS for local mode of operation. The reader UE could request any of the following modes: HD/FD modes, Bluetooth, V2V, reflection mode, refraction mode, transparent mode, mirror mode, OFF mode, and cascade mode.

[0096] At Step 4, the RIS-MT evaluates (Step 4A) the needs and eligibility for local operation mode, such as based on this capability information and so on. In one example, RIS evaluates the request based on resources available for local usage. If the RIS is available for the requested mode, then based on the received parameters, the RIS applies the mode configuration (Step 4B). The RIS starts operating in the local operation mode.

[0097] At Step 5, the RIS sends a local operation mode selection response to the UE (which could be "yes" in case the RIS is available for this mode, or it could be "no" if RIS is busy with some other tasks, i.e. due to connection with gNBs e.g. high priority for 10 another mode).

[0098] At Step 6, the RIS enables local services. As a result, the reader UE could communicate via RIS with other UEs (e.g. RedCap, 5G/6G UE, Ambient IoT UEs). For Ambient IoT case, the reader UE could illuminate the tags via RIS.

[0099] At Step 7, the reader UE collects data from other UEs via RIS and optionally 15 forward it to the network.

[0100] Due to the high penetration loss, such a link is not feasible without the assistance of multiple RISs. In addition, to avoid blockages in a complicated environment, multiple RISs can be configured in a cascaded manner for coverage extension. The network can initiate the cascade mode when it is aware of the availability of distributed multiple RISs.

[0101] In the cascade mode, several RISs are linked together. Several linked RISs help UE to form a connection with other UEs or IoT devices regardless of blockages in the environment as illustrated in FIG. 6. The cascade mode utilizes a distributed multi-RIS network. RISs which are densely deployed across the propagation environment can enhance the communication's QoS by serving virtual line of sight (LOS) connection in Non-LOS conditions with high penetration losses.

[0102] Reference is now made to FIG. 8. In the example of FIG. 8, the UE (i.e., the third apparatus 130) communicate with the reduced capability (RedCap) UE (i.e., the fourth apparatus) via more than one R1S (i.e., more than one first apparatus), also called as cascade mode.

[0103] At Step 0, MS may offer related services information to the network. In other word, the network knows information about RISs and the RIS may be controlled by the network.

[0104] At Step 1, the network communicates with multiple RIS-MTs to switch the more than one RIS to the local operation mode. in operation, the network could try to align more than one RIS local operation to enable the cascade mode. In one example, the network could inform the configuration of local operation mode and public operation mode timing to RIS. The time resource (such as, time slots) for local control may be limited to certain times. In another example, an open-ended time may be configured (i.e., there is no ending time point). In this event, the network may request RIS services for its own control (e.g. on-demand service request for public network). In a further example, the network can also enable partial allocation of RIS elements. Some RIS arrays serve local mode, and some serve public mobile network (e.g. half of the RIS elements are used for local mode of operation while the rest half are allocated for the public network operation).

[0105] The network provides the initial configuration parameters for RIS to apply the 15 local operation mode. The parameters may include the angle of reflection, frequency, phase adjustment, etc. The network may define which parameters may be locally controlled.

[0106] At Step 2, the RISs communicate their capability for to reader UE to enable cascaded local operation mode.

[0107] In some example embodiments, each RIS-MT may periodically broadcast synchronization information to increase synchronization coverage. UEs can synchronize with a Sidelink Synchronization Signal (SLSS) contained in a Sidelink Synchronization Signal Block (SL-SSB). In some example embodiments, the information could include various RIS modes and the triggering conditions for the selection of a particular mode.

The UE initiated RIS modes include HD/FD modes, Bluetooth, V2V, reflection mode, refraction mode, transparent mode, mirror mode, OFF mode, and cascade mode.

[0108] At Step 3, the reader UE requests cascaded RISs for local operation mode. In some example embodiments, the reader UE could request any of the following modes: HD/FD modes, Bluetooth, V2V, reflection mode, refraction mode, transparent mode, 30 mirror mode, OFF mode, and cascade mode.

[0109] At Step 6, each cascaded RIS may evaluate the needs and eligibility for cascaded local mode operation, such as based on this capability information and so on. In one example, each cascaded RIS evaluates the request based on resources available for local operation mode.

[0110] At Step 5, the cascaded RISs send local mode selection response to the UE 5 (which could be "yes" in case that all RISs are available for this mode, or it could be "no" if any RIS is busy with some other tasks, i.e. due to connection with gNBs e.g. high priority for another mode).

[01H] At Step 6, the cascaded RISs enable local services. The reader UE could communicate via cascaded RISs with other UEs (e.g. RedCap, 5G/6G UE, Ambient IoT 10 UEs). For Ambient IoT case, the reader UE could illuminate the tags via cascaded RIS.

[0112] At Step 7, the reader UE collects data from other UEs via RIS and optionally forward it to the network.

Example Methods

[0113] FIG. 9 shows a flowchart of an example method 900 implemented at a first apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 900 will be described from the perspective of the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1A.

[0114] At block 910, the first apparatus receives, from a second apparatus, configuration information indicating at least one of the following: at least one first resource on which the first apparatus is configured to support communications with a first service type, at least one second resource on which the first apparatus is not allowed to support communications with a first service type.

[0115] At block 920, the first apparatus receives, from a third apparatus, a request for a 25 transmission with the first service type between the third apparatus and a fourth apparatus and via at least the first apparatus.

[0116] At block 930, the first apparatus transmits, to the third apparatus, a response of the request indicating whether the request is accepted or rejected by the first apparatus.

[0117] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus may determine whether to 30 accept or reject the request based on the following: thing configuration information, capability information of the first apparatus, or an amount of resources available for the transmission with the first service type.

[0118] In some example embodiments, the transmission is performed via the first apparatus and at least one further first apparatus, and wherein the request is determined to be accepted in accordance with a determination that all of the first apparatus and at least one further first apparatus determine the request is acceptable; and the request is determined to be rejected in accordance with a determination that any of the first apparatus and at least one further first apparatus determines the request is not acceptable.

[0119] In some example embodiments, in accordance with a determination that the 10 request is accepted, the first apparatus may re-configure a plurality of reflector elements deployed on the first apparatus based on the at least one parameter to support the transmission requested by the third apparatus.

[0120] In some example embodiments, the response indicates the request is rejected and the response comprises a cause indicating a rejection reason.

[0121] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus may transmit, to the third apparatus, capability-related information indicating at least one of the following: whether the first apparatus supports the transmission with the first service type, at least one supported operation mode associated with the transmission with the first service type, or a triggering condition for selecting a supported operation mode.

[0122] In some example embodiments, the at least one supported operation mode comprises at least one of the following: a half-duplex mode, a full -duplex mode, a Reflection mode, a refraction mode, a transparent mode, a mirror mode, or a cascade mode.

[0123] In some example embodiments, the capability-related information is transmitted periodically in a broadcast manner.

[0124] In some example embodiments, the at least first resource or the at least one second resource is associated with at least one of the following: at least one first time resource, or at least one reflector element deployed at the first apparatus.

[0125] In some example embodiments, the transmission with the first service type between the third apparatus and a fourth apparatus comprises at least one of the following: 30 a sidelink transmission, a device-to-device (D2D) transmission, or a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) transmission, and wherein the first apparatus is a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), the second apparatus is a network apparatus, and the third and fourth apparatuses are terminal apparatuses.

[0126] FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of an example method 1000 implemented at a second apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For 5 the purpose of discussion, the method 1000 will be described from the perspective of the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1A.

[0127] At block 1010, the second apparatus generates configuration information for a first apparatus, the configuration information indicating at least one of the following: at least one first resource on which the first apparatus is configured to support communications with a first service type, at least one second resource on which the first apparatus is not allowed to support communications with a first service type.

[0128] At block 1020, the second apparatus transmits the configuration information to the first apparatus.

[0129] At block 1030, the second apparatus receives, from a third apparatus, data 15 transmitted from a fourth apparatus to the third apparatus based at least in part in the configuration information and via at least the first apparatus.

[0130] In some example embodiments, the at least first resource or the at least one second resource is associated with at least one of the following: at least one first time resource, or at least one reflector element deployed at the first apparatus.

[0131] In some example embodiments, the transmission with the first service type between the third apparatus and a fourth apparatus comprises at least one of the following: a sidelink transmission, a device-to-device (D2D) transmission, or a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) transmission, and wherein the first apparatus is a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), the second apparatus is a network apparatus and the third and fourth apparatuses are terminal apparatuses.

[0132] FIG. 11 shows a flowchart of an example method 1100 implemented at a third apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 1100 will be described from the perspective of the third apparatus 130 in FIG. 1A.

[0133] At block 1110, the third apparatus transmits, to a first apparatus, a request for a transmission with the first service type between the third apparatus and a fourth apparatus and via at least the first apparatus.

[0134] At block 1120, the third apparatus receives, from the first apparatus, a response of the request indicating whether the request is accepted or rejected by the first apparatus.

[0135] In some example embodiments, the transmission is performed via the first apparatus and at least one further first apparatus, and wherein the request is determined to be accepted in accordance with a determination that all of the first apparatus and at least one further first apparatus determine the request is acceptable; and the request is determined to be rejected in accordance with a determination that any of the first apparatus and at least one further first apparatus determines the request is not acceptable.

[0136] In some example embodiments, the response indicates the request is rejected and the response comprises a cause indicating a rejection reason.

[0137] In some example embodiments, the third apparatus may receive, from the first apparatus, capability-related information indicating at least one of the following: whether the first apparatus supports the transmission with the first service type, at least one supported operation mode associated with the transmission with the first service type, or a triggering condition for selecting a supported operation mode.

[0138] In some example embodiments, the at least one supported operation mode comprises at least one of the following: a half-duplex mode, a full -duplex mode, a Reflection mode, a refraction mode, a transparent mode, a mirror mode, or a cascade mode.

[0139] In some example embodiments, the capability-related information is transmitted periodically in a broadcast manner.

[0140] In some example embodiments, the at least first resource or the at least one second resource is associated with at least one of the following: at least one first time resource, or at least one reflector element deployed at the first apparatus.

[0141] In some example embodiments, the transmission with the first service type between the third apparatus and a fourth apparatus comprises at least one of the following: a sidelink transmission, a device-to-device (D2D) transmission, or a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) transmission, and wherein the first apparatus is a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), the second apparatus is a network apparatus and the third and fourth apparatuses are terminal apparatuses.

[0142] In some example embodiments, a first apparatus capable of performing any of the method 900 (for example, the t first apparatus 110 in FIG. lA may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 900. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The first apparatus may be implemented as or included in the first apparatus 110 in FIG. IA.

101431In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises means for receiving, from a second apparatus, configuration information indicating at least one of the following: at least one first resource on which the first apparatus is configured to support communications with a first service type, at least one second resource on which the first apparatus is not allowed to support communications with a first service type; and means for receiving, from a third apparatus, a request for a transmission with the first service type between the third apparatus and a fourth apparatus and via at least the first apparatus; and means for transmitting, to the third apparatus, a response of the request indicating whether the request is accepted or rejected by the first apparatus.

[0144]In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for determining whether to accept or reject the request based on the following: means for thing configuration information, means for capability information of the first apparatus, or means for an amount of resources available for the transmission with the first service type.

[0145]In some example embodiments, the transmission is performed via the first apparatus and at least one further first apparatus, and wherein the request is determined to be accepted in accordance with a determination that all of the first apparatus and at least one further first apparatus determine the request is acceptable; and the request is determined to be rejected in accordance with a determination that any of the first apparatus and at least one further first apparatus determines the request is not acceptable.

1014611n some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for in accordance with a determination that the request is accepted, re-configuring a plurality of reflector elements deployed on the first apparatus based on the at least one parameter to 30 support the transmission requested by the third apparatus.

[0147]In some example embodiments, the response indicates the request is rejected and the response comprises a cause indicating a rejection reason.

[0148]In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for transmitting, to the third apparatus, capability-related information indicating at least one of the following: whether the first apparatus supports the transmission with the first service type, at least one supported operation mode associated with the transmission with the first service type, or a triggering condition for selecting a supported operation mode.

[0149]In some example embodiments, the at least one supported operation mode comprises at least one of the following: a half-duplex mode, a full -duplex mode, a Reflection mode, a refraction mode, a transparent mode, a mirror mode, or a cascade mode.

[0150]In some example embodiments, the capability-related information is transmitted 10 periodically in a broadcast manner.

[0151]In some example embodiments, the at least first resource or the at least one second resource is associated with at least one of the following: at least one first time resource, or at least one reflector element deployed at the first apparatus.

1015211n some example embodiments, the transmission with the first service type between the third apparatus and a fourth apparatus comprises at least one of the following: a sidelink transmission, a device-to-device (D2D) transmission, or a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) transmission, and wherein the first apparatus is a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), the second apparatus is a network apparatus, and the third and fourth apparatuses are terminal apparatuses.

[0153] In some example embodiments, a second apparatus capable of performing any of the method 1000 (for example, the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1A may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 1000. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The second apparatus may be implemented as or included in the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1A.

[015411n some example embodiments, the second apparatus comprises means for generating configuration information for a first apparatus, the configuration information indicating at least one of the following: at least one first resource on which the first apparatus is configured to support communications with a first service type, at least one second resource on which the first apparatus is not allowed to support communications with a first service type; and means for transmitting the configuration information to the first apparatus; and means for receiving, from a third apparatus, data transmitted from a fourth apparatus to the third apparatus based at least in part in the configuration information and via at least the first apparatus.

101551In some example embodiments, the at least first resource or the at least one second 5 resource is associated with at least one of the following: at least one first time resource, or at least one reflector element deployed at the first apparatus.

1015611n some example embodiments, the transmission with the first service type between the third apparatus and a fourth apparatus comprises at least one of the following: a sidelink transmission, a device-to-device (D2D) transmission, or a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) transmission, and wherein the first apparatus is a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), the second apparatus is a network apparatus and the third and fourth apparatuses are terminal apparatuses.

[0157] In some example embodiments, a third apparatus capable of performing any of the method 1100 (for example, the third apparatus 130 in FIG. 1A may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 1100. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The third apparatus may be implemented as or included in the third apparatus 130 in FIG. 1A.

[0158]In some example embodiments, the third apparatus comprises means for transmitting, to a first apparatus, a request for a transmission with the first service type between the third apparatus and a fourth apparatus and via at least the first apparatus; and means for receiving, from the first apparatus, a response of the request indicating whether the request is accepted or rejected by the first apparatus.

[0159]In some example embodiments, the transmission is performed via the first apparatus and at least one further first apparatus, and wherein the request is determined to be accepted in accordance with a determination that all of the first apparatus and at least one further first apparatus determine the request is acceptable; and the request is determined to be rejected in accordance with a determination that any of the first apparatus and at least one further first apparatus determines the request is not acceptable.

101601In some example embodiments, the response indicates the request is rejected and the response comprises a cause indicating a rejection reason.

[0161]In some example embodiments, the first apparatus is further caused to: means for receiving, from the first apparatus, capability-related information indicating at least one of the following: whether the first apparatus supports the transmission with the first service type, at least one supported operation mode associated with the transmission with the first service type, or a triggering condition for selecting a supported operation mode.

[0162]In some example embodiments, the at least one supported operation mode comprises at least one of the following: a half-duplex mode, a full -duplex mode, a Reflection mode, a refraction mode, a transparent mode, a mirror mode, or a cascade mode.

1016311n some example embodiments, the capability-related information is transmitted 10 periodically in a broadcast manner.

[0164]In some example embodiments, the at least first resource or the at least one second resource is associated with at least one of the following: at least one first time resource, or at least one reflector element deployed at the first apparatus.

10165IIn some example embodiments, the transmission with the first service type between the third apparatus and a fourth apparatus comprises at least one of the following: a sidelink transmission, a device-to-device (D2D) transmission, or a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) transmission, and wherein the first apparatus is a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), the second apparatus is a network apparatus and the third and fourth apparatuses are terminal apparatuses.

Example Apparatus, Device and Medium [0166] FIG. 12 is a simplified block diagram of a device 1200 that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 1200 may be provided to implement a communication device, for example, the first apparatus 110, the second apparatus 120 and the third apparatus 130 as shown in FIG. 1A. As shown, the device 1200 includes one or more processors 1210, one or more memories 1220 coupled to the processor 1210, and one or more communication modules 1240 coupled to the processor 1210.

[0167] The communication module 1240 is for bidirectional communications. The 30 communication module 1240 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interfaces may represent any interface that is necessary for communication with other network elements. In some example embodiments, the communication module 1240 may include at least one antenna.

[0168] The processor 1210 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network and may include one or more of the following: general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The device 1200 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock which synchronizes the main processor.

[0169] The memory 1220 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of the non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a Read Only Memory (ROM) 1224, an electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM), a flash memory, a hard disk, a compact disc (CD), a digital video disk (DVD), an optical disk, a laser disk, and other magnetic storage and/or optical storage.

Examples of the volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a random-access memory (RAM) 1222 and other volatile memories that will not last in the power-down duration.

[0170] A computer program 1230 includes computer executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 1210. The instructions of the program 1230 may include instructions for performing operations/acts of some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The program 1230 may be stored in the memory, e.g., the ROM 1224. The processor 1210 may perform any suitable actions and processing by loading the program 1230 into the RAM 1222.

[0171] The example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by means of the program 1230 so that the device 1200 may perform any process of the disclosure as discussed with reference to FIG. 5 to FIG. 11. The example embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0172] In some example embodiments, the program 1230 may be tangibly contained in 30 a computer readable medium which may be included in the device 1200 (such as in the memory 1220) or other storage devices that are accessible by the device 1200. The device 1200 may load the program 1230 from the computer readable medium to the RAM 1222 for execution. In some example embodiments, the computer readable medium may include any types of non-transitory storage medium, such as ROM, EPROM, a flash memory, a hard disk, CD, DVD, and the like. The term "non-transitory," as used herein, is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (e.g., RAM vs. ROM).

[0173] FIG. 13 shows an example of the computer readable medium 1300 which may be in form of CD, DVD or other optical storage disk. The computer readable medium 1300 has the program 1230 stored thereon.

[0174] Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, and other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. Although various aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other pictorial representations, it is to be understood that the block, apparatus, system, technique or method described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof [0175] Some example embodiments of the present disclosure also provide at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a computer readable medium, such as a non-transitory computer readable medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, being executed in a device on a target physical or virtual processor, to carry out any of the methods as described above. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, or the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired in various embodiments. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0176] Program code for carrying out methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The program code may be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that the program code, when executed by the processor or controller, cause the functions/operations specified in the flowcharts and/or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may execute entirely on a machine, partly on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine or entirely on the remote machine or server.

[0177] In the context of the present disclosure, the computer program code or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable the device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of the carrier 10 include a signal, computer readable medium, and the like.

[0178] The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable medium may include but not limited to an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples of the computer readable storage medium would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0179] Further, although operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Likewise, although several specific implementation details are contained in the above discussions, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Unless explicitly stated, certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment.

Conversely, unless explicitly stated, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in a plurality of embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination.

[0180] Although the present disclosure has been described in languages specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the present disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS: 1. A first apparatus, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus at least to: receive, from a second apparatus, configuration information indicating at least one of the following: at least one first resource on which the first apparatus is configured 10 to support communications with a first service type, at least one second resource on which the first apparatus is not allowed to support communications with a first service type; and receive, from a third apparatus, a request for a transmission with the first service type between the third apparatus and a fourth apparatus and via at least the first 15 apparatus; and transmit, to the third apparatus, a response of the request indicating whether the request is accepted or rejected by the first apparatus.
2. The first apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first apparatus is further caused to: determine whether to accept or reject the request based on the following: the configuration information, capability information of the first apparatus, or an amount of resources available for the transmission with the first service type.
3. The first apparatus of claim I, wherein the transmission is performed via the first apparatus and at least one further first apparatus, and wherein the request is determined to be accepted in accordance with a determination that all of the first apparatus and at least one further first apparatus determine the request 30 is acceptable; and the request is determined to be rejected in accordance with a determination that any of the first apparatus and at least one further first apparatus determines the request is not acceptable.
4. The first apparatus of claim 1, wherein the request indicates at least one parameter for the communications with a first service type, and the first apparatus is further caused to: in accordance with a determination that the request is accepted, re-configure a plurality of reflector elements deployed on the first apparatus based on the at least one parameter to support the transmission requested by the third apparatus.
The first apparatus of claim 1, wherein the response indicates the request is 10 rejected and the response comprises a cause indicating a rejection reason.
6. The first apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first apparatus is further caused to: transmit, to the third apparatus, capability-related information indicating at least one of the following: whether the first apparatus supports the transmission with the first service type, at least one supported operation mode associated with the transmission with the first service type, or a triggering condition for selecting a supported operation mode.
7. The first apparatus of claim 6, wherein the at least one supported operation mode comprises at least one of the following: a half-duplex mode, a full -duplex mode, a Reflection mode, a refraction mode, a transparent mode, a mirror mode, or a cascade mode.
8. The first apparatus of claim 6 or 7, wherein the capability-related information is transmitted periodically in a broadcast manner.
9. The first apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least first resource or the at least one second resource is associated with at least one of the following: at least one first time resource, or at least one reflector element deployed at the first apparatus.
10. The first apparatus of claim 1, wherein the transmission with the first service type between the third apparatus and a fourth apparatus comprises at least one of the following: a sidelink transmission, a device-to-device (D2D) transmission, or a vehicleto-vehicle (V2V) transmission, and wherein the first apparatus is a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), the second 10 apparatus is a network apparatus, and the third and fourth apparatuses are terminal apparatuses.
11. The second apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second apparatus at least to: generate configuration information for a first apparatus, the configuration information indicating at least one of the following: at least one first resource on which the first apparatus is configured 20 to support communications with a first service type, at least one second resource on which the first apparatus is not allowed to support communications with a first service type; and transmit the configuration information to the first apparatus; and receive, from a third apparatus, data transmitted from a fourth apparatus to 25 the third apparatus based at least in part in the configuration information and via at least the first apparatus.
12. The second apparatus of claim 11, wherein the at least first resource or the at least one second resource is associated with at least one of the following: at least one first time resource, or at least one reflector element deployed at the first apparatus.
13. The second apparatus of claim 1, wherein the transmission with the first service type between the third apparatus and a fourth apparatus comprises at least one of the following: a sidelink transmission, a device-to-device (D2D) transmission, or a vehicleto-vehicle (V2V) transmission, and wherein the first apparatus is a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), the second apparatus is a network apparatus and the third and fourth apparatuses are terminal 5 apparatuses.
14. A third apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one 10 processor, cause the third apparatus at least to: transmit, to a first apparatus, a request for a transmission with the first service type between the third apparatus and a fourth apparatus and via at least the first apparatus; and receive, from the first apparatus, a response of the request indicating 15 whether the request is accepted or rejected by the first apparatus.
15. The third apparatus of claim 14, wherein the transmission is performed via the first apparatus and at least one further first apparatus, and wherein the request is determined to be accepted in accordance with a determination 20 that all of the first apparatus and at least one further first apparatus determine the request is acceptable; and the request is determined to be rejected in accordance with a determination that any of the first apparatus and at least one further first apparatus determines the request is not acceptable.
16. The third apparatus of claim 14, wherein the response indicates the request is rejected and the response comprises a cause indicating a rejection reason.
17. The third apparatus of claim 14, wherein the third apparatus is further caused to: receive, from the first apparatus, capability-related information indicating at least one of the following: whether the first apparatus supports the transmission with the first service type, at least one supported operation mode associated with the transmission with the first service type, or a triggering condition for selecting a supported operation mode.
18. The third apparatus of claim 17, wherein the at least one supported operation mode comprises at least one of the following: a half-duplex mode, a full -duplex mode, a reflection mode, a refraction mode, a transparent mode, a mirror mode, or a cascade mode.
19. The third apparatus of claim 17 or 18, wherein the capability-related information 15 is transmitted periodically in a broadcast manner.
20. The third apparatus of claim 14, wherein the at least first resource or the at least one second resource is associated with at least one of the following: at least one first time resource, or at least one reflector element deployed at the first apparatus.
21. The third apparatus of claim 14, wherein the transmission with the first service type between the third apparatus and a fourth apparatus comprises at least one of the following: a sidelink transmission, a device-to-device (D2D) transmission, or a vehicle-25 to-vehicle (V2V) transmission, and wherein the first apparatus is a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS), the second apparatus is a network apparatus and the third and fourth apparatuses are terminal apparatuses.
22. A method comprising: receiving, at a first apparatus and from a second apparatus, configuration information indicating at least one of the following: at least one first resource on which the first apparatus is configured to support communications with a first service type, at least one second resource on which the first apparatus is not allowed to support communications with a first service type, and receiving, from a third apparatus, a request for a transmission with the first service type between the third apparatus and a fourth apparatus and via at least the first apparatus; 5 and transmitting, to the third apparatus, a response of the request indicating whether the request is accepted or rejected by the first apparatus.
23. A method comprising: generating, at a second apparatus, configuration information for a first apparatus, the configuration information indicating at least one of the following: at least one first resource on which the first apparatus is configured to support communications with a first service type, at least one second resource on which the first apparatus is not allowed to 15 support communications with a first service type; and transmitting the configuration information to the first apparatus; and receiving, from a third apparatus, data transmitted from a fourth apparatus to the third apparatus based at least in part in the configuration information and via at least the first apparatus.
24. A method comprising: transmitting, at a third apparatus and to a first apparatus, a request for a transmission with the first service type between the third apparatus and a fourth apparatus and via at least the first apparatus; and receiving, from the first apparatus, a response of the request indicating whether the request is accepted or rejected by the first apparatus.
25. A first apparatus comprising: means for receiving, from a second apparatus, configuration information indicating 30 at least one of the following: at least one first resource on which the first apparatus is configured to support communications with a first service type, at least one second resource on which the first apparatus is not allowed to support communications with a first service type; and means for receiving, from a third apparatus, a request for a transmission with the first service type between the third apparatus and a fourth apparatus and via at least the first apparatus; and means for transmitting, to the third apparatus, a response of the request indicating 5 whether the request is accepted or rejected by the first apparatus.
26. A second apparatus comprising: means for generating configuration information for a first apparatus, the configuration information indicating at least one of the following: at least one first resource on which the first apparatus is configured to support communications with a first service type, at least one second resource on which the first apparatus is not allowed to support communications with a first service type; and means for transmitting the configuration information to the first apparatus; and means for receiving, from a third apparatus, data transmitted from a fourth apparatus to the third apparatus based at least in part in the configuration information and via at least the first apparatus.
27. A third apparatus comprising: means for transmitting, to a first apparatus, a request for a transmission with the first service type between the third apparatus and a fourth apparatus and via at least the first apparatus; and means for receiving, from the first apparatus, a response of the request indicating whether the request is accepted or rejected by the first apparatus.
28. A computer readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus at least to perform any of the method of claims 22 to 24.