Method, apparatus, and system for wireless sensing measurement and reporting

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12413450-B2
Application number	US-202318395533-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 23, 2023
Priority date	Jun 23, 2020
Publication date	Sep 9, 2025
Grant date	Sep 9, 2025

Abstract

Methods, apparatus and systems for wireless sensing are described. In one example, a described system in a wireless data communication network comprises: a transmitter configured to transmit a time series of at least one wireless sounding signal (WSS) based on a standard wireless network protocol associated with the wireless data communication network, and a receiver. The wireless data communication network comprises a physical (PHY) layer, a medium access control (MAC) layer, and at least one higher layer. The receiver is configured to: receive the time series of at least one WSS (TSWSS) based on the standard wireless network protocol through a wireless channel of a venue, and perform a plurality of wireless sensing measurements based on the received TSWSS to obtain sensing measurement results based on the standard wireless network protocol. The PHY layer or the MAC layer of the receiver provides the sensing measurement results locally to the at least one higher layer of the receiver based on the standard wireless network protocol. The sensing measurement results are available to the at least one higher layer of the receiver for performing a sensing-based task based on the sensing measurement results.

First claim

We claim:

1. A wireless sensing device of a wireless sensing system, comprising:
a receiver configured to:
obtain wirelessly a configuration frame comprising a wireless sensing measurement setup request from a sensing initiator device of the wireless sensing system requesting the receiver to (1) perform a plurality of wireless sensing measurements by functioning as a sensing receiver to obtain a plurality of sensing measurement results and (2) report the plurality of sensing measurement results either locally in the wireless sensing device, or nonlocally to the sensing initiator device, or both, according to a bit pattern in a local-nonlocal-reporting configuration field in the configuration frame based on a standard wireless network protocol during a setup procedure associated with the plurality of wireless sensing measurements, wherein the sensing initiator device is different and separate from the wireless sensing device,
determine whether the local-nonlocal-reporting configuration field of the configuration frame has a first bit pattern or a second bit pattern, the local-nonlocal-reporting configuration field being associated with the local reporting and the nonlocal reporting of the plurality of sensing measurement results, wherein the first bit pattern and the second bit pattern are bit patterns indicating configurations related to the local reporting or the nonlocal reporting of the plurality of sensing measurement results,
in response to wirelessly receiving the wireless sensing measurement setup request from the sensing initiator device, transmit wirelessly a response message to the sensing initiator device to agree to (1) function as the sensing receiver to obtain the plurality of sensing measurement results and (2) report the plurality of sensing measurement results according to the local-nonlocal-reporting configuration field of the configuration frame in a wireless sensing measurement procedure in accordance with the standard wireless network protocol,
after the setup procedure, receive a time series of at least one wireless sounding signal (WSS) through a wireless channel of a venue based on the standard wireless network protocol and the wireless sensing measurement setup request in a wireless data communication network in the venue,
perform the plurality of wireless sensing measurements based on the received time series of at least one WSS (TSWSS) to obtain the plurality of sensing measurement results based on the standard wireless network protocol and the wireless sensing measurement setup request, wherein
the plurality of sensing measurement results comprise at least one of the following of the wireless channel: channel information (CI), channel state information (CSI), channel impulse response (CIR), channel frequency response (CFR), channel filter response or received signal strength indicator (RSSI),
the TSWSS is transmitted by a transmitter of the wireless sensing system in the venue based on the standard wireless network protocol through the wireless channel which is impacted by a motion of an object in the venue,
the received TSWSS differs from the transmitted TSWSS due to the wireless channel and the motion of the object, and
the wireless data communication network comprises a physical (PHY) layer, a medium access control (MAC) layer, and at least one higher layer in the wireless sensing device, and

provide the plurality of locally generated sensing measurement results either (1) nonlocally to the sensing initiator device or (2) locally in the wireless sensing device from the PHY layer or the MAC layer to the at least one higher layer through a MAC sublayer management entity (MLME) in the wireless sensing device or (3) both, based on the standard wireless network protocol and the first or second bit pattern of the local-nonlocal-reporting configuration field of the configuration frame such that:
when the local-nonlocal-reporting configuration field has the first bit pattern, the plurality of sensing measurement results are configured to be reported locally to the at least one higher layer of the wireless sensing device in a first reporting way but not to any device other than the wireless sensing device, according to the standard wireless network protocol, and
when the local-nonlocal-reporting configuration field has the second bit pattern, the plurality of sensing measurement results are configured to be reported both locally to the at least one higher layer of the wireless sensing device in the first reporting way and nonlocally to the sensing initiator device other than the wireless sensing device in a second reporting way different from the first reporting way, according to the standard wireless network protocol,
wherein the first reporting way comprises at least one of: a first type, a first precision, a first processing, a first sampling, a first timing, or a first specification of the plurality of sensing measurement results decided locally in the receiver,
wherein the second reporting way comprises at least one of: a second type, a second precision, a second processing, a second sampling, a second timing, or a second specification of the plurality of sensing measurement results in accordance with the wireless sensing measurement setup request from the sensing initiator device; and

a processor communicatively coupled with the receiver and configured to:
obtain locally, at one of the at least one higher layer in the wireless sensing device, the plurality of sensing measurement results provided by the receiver from the PHY layer or the MAC layer through the MLME in the wireless sensing device based on the standard wireless network protocol,
compute at least one motion information related to the object and the motion based on the plurality of sensing measurement results, and
perform a sensing task related to the object to obtain a sensing task result based on the at least one motion information and the plurality of sensing measurement results.

2. The wireless sensing device of claim 1 , wherein the standard wireless network protocol is at least one of: a wireless LAN (WLAN) standard protocol, a mobile communication standard protocol, a WLAN standard, a Wi-Fi standard, an IEEE 802 standard, an IEEE 802.11 standard, or an IEEE 802.11bf standard.

3. The wireless sensing device of claim 1 , wherein:
the sensing measurement results comprise a time series of channel information (CI) of the wireless channel;
each CI of the time series of CI (TSCI) is obtained by the receiver based on a respective WSS; and
each CI comprises at least one of: a channel state information (CSI), a channel impulse response (CIR), or a channel frequency response (CFR).

4. The wireless sensing device of claim 1 , wherein:
the configuration frame is communicated based on the standard wireless network protocol during the setup procedure; and
the setup procedure is performed before the plurality of wireless sensing measurements.

5. The wireless sensing device of claim 1 , wherein:
the sensing measurement results are configured by the sensing initiator device in the wireless data communication network to be reported locally in the wireless sensing device, to be reported nonlocally to the sensing initiator device, to be reported both locally and nonlocally, or not to be reported, by configuring the receiver based on the standard wireless network protocol using the local-nonlocal-reporting configuration field of the configuration frame communicated during the setup procedure.

6. The wireless sensing device of claim 5 , wherein:
the receiver is configured, by the sensing initiator device based on the standard wireless network protocol during the setup procedure, to report the sensing measurement results locally in the wireless sensing device, to report the sensing measurement results

Assignees

• Au Oscar Chi Lim
• Wang Beibei
• Liu K J Ray
• Lai Hung Quoc Duc
• Origin Res Wireless Inc

Inventors

• Au Oscar Chi-Lim
• Wang Beibei
• Liu K J Ray
• Lai Hung-Quoc Duc

Classifications

• H04L25/0204

  of multiple channels · CPC title

• H04L25/0224

  using sounding signals · CPC title

• H04L27/2647

  Arrangements specific to the receiver only (equalisation H04L27/01) · CPC title

• H04L5/0048

  Allocation of pilot signals, i.e. of signals known to the receiver (allocation of control signalling H04L5/0053; use of control signalling H04L5/0091) · CPC title

• H04L5/0026

  Division using four or more dimensions, e.g. beam steering or quasi-co-location [QCL] · CPC title