CN121844556A

CN121844556A - Response forwarding requirements for forwarding aggregated responses that include responses from multiple environmental or tag devices.

Info

Publication number: CN121844556A
Application number: CN202380102306.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: N·哈特西拉玛尼; M·M·巴特
Original assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy
Priority date: 2023-09-13
Filing date: 2023-09-13
Publication date: 2026-04-10
Also published as: WO2025056151A1

Abstract

An exemplary method may include: receiving a response request from a network controller in a wireless system, the wireless system including at least one group of tag devices, the response request including a response forwarding request for the at least one group of tag devices; receiving and buffering responses from a plurality of tag devices; assembling packets into an aggregate response by the reader according to the response forwarding request, the aggregate response including buffered responses from the plurality of tag devices in the at least one group; and sending the assembled packets to the network controller by the reader.

Description

Response forwarding requirements for forwarding aggregate responses including responses from multiple environments or tag devices

Technical Field

The present description relates to wireless communications.

Background

A communication system may be a facility that enables communication between two or more nodes or devices, such as fixed communication devices or mobile communication devices. The signals may be carried on a wired carrier or a wireless carrier.

An example of a cellular communication system is an architecture standardized by the third generation partnership project (3 GPP). Recent developments in the art are commonly referred to as Long Term Evolution (LTE) of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) radio access technology. E-UTRA (evolved UMTS terrestrial radio Access) is the air interface for the 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) upgrade path of mobile networks. In LTE, a base station or Access Point (AP), referred to as an enhanced node AP (eNB), provides wireless access within a coverage area or cell. In LTE, a mobile device or mobile station is referred to as a User Equipment (UE). LTE has included many improvements or developments. Various aspects of LTE are also continually improving.

The development of new 5G radios (NRs) is part of the continuous mobile broadband evolution process that meets the 5G requirements, similar to the early evolution of 3G and 4G wireless networks. Furthermore, 5G is also directed to emerging application scenarios in addition to mobile broadband. The goal of 5G is to provide significant improvements in wireless performance, which may include higher levels of data rate, latency, reliability, and security. The 5G NR can also be extended to effectively connect to the large-scale internet of things (IoT), and can provide new types of mission critical services. For example, ultra-reliable and low-latency communication (URLLC) devices may require high reliability and very low latency. 6G and other wireless networks and technologies are also being developed.

Disclosure of Invention

According to another exemplary embodiment, an apparatus may include at least one processor, and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least receive, by a reader, a response request from a network controller in a wireless system, the wireless system including at least one set of tag devices, the response request including a response forwarding requirement for the at least one set of tag devices, receive and buffer responses from a plurality of tag devices, assemble, by the reader, packets into an aggregate response according to the response forwarding requirement, the aggregate response including buffered responses from the at least one set of the plurality of tag devices, and transmit, by the reader, the assembled packets to the network controller.

According to an example embodiment, a method may include receiving, by a reader, a response request from a network controller in a wireless system, the wireless system including at least one set of tag devices, the response request including a response forwarding requirement for the at least one set of tag devices, receiving and buffering responses from a plurality of tag devices, assembling, by the reader, packets into an aggregate response based on the response forwarding requirement, the aggregate response including buffered responses from the at least one set of the plurality of tag devices, and transmitting, by the reader, the assembled packets to the network controller.

According to another exemplary embodiment, an apparatus may include at least one processor, and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least transmit, by a network controller, a response request to a reader in a wireless system, the wireless system including at least one set of tag devices, the response request including a set-specific response forwarding requirement for the at least one set of tag devices, the response forwarding requirement indicating a forwarding requirement for the reader to forward an aggregate response to the network controller, the aggregate response including a plurality of responses received by the reader from the tag devices, receive, by the network controller, a packet including the aggregate response from the reader, the aggregate response including responses received by the reader from the plurality of tag devices, and disassemble, by the network controller, the aggregate response into a plurality of responses from the plurality of tag devices.

According to another exemplary embodiment, a method may include transmitting, by a network controller, a response request to a reader in a wireless system, the wireless system including at least one set of tag devices, the response request including a set-specific response forwarding requirement for the at least one set of tag devices, the response forwarding requirement indicating a forwarding requirement for the reader to forward an aggregate response to the network controller, the aggregate response including a plurality of responses received by the reader from the tag devices, receiving, by the network controller from the reader, a packet including the aggregate response, the aggregate response including responses received by the reader from the plurality of tag devices, and tearing down, by the network controller, the aggregate response into a plurality of responses from the plurality of tag devices.

Other example embodiments are provided or described for each example method, including means for performing any example method, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including instructions stored thereon that, when executed by at least one processor, are configured to cause a computing system to perform any example method, and an apparatus including at least one processor, and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform at least any example method.

The details of one or more examples of the embodiments are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a wireless network according to an example embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a reader according to an exemplary embodiment.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a network controller according to an exemplary embodiment.

Fig. 4A and 4B are diagrams illustrating an operation of a wireless network according to an exemplary embodiment.

Fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating an operation of a reader according to an exemplary embodiment.

Fig. 6 is a block diagram of a wireless station or node (e.g., AP, BS, RAN node, UE or user equipment, or network node).

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a wireless network 130 according to an example embodiment. In wireless network 130 of fig. 1, user equipment 131, 132, 133, and 135, which may also be referred to as Mobile Stations (MSs) or User Equipment (UEs), may be connected to (and in communication with) Base Station (BS) 134, which Base Station (BS) 134 may also be referred to as an Access Point (AP), enhanced node B (eNB), gNB, or network node. The terms user equipment and User Equipment (UE) may be used interchangeably. A BS may also include, or may be referred to as, a RAN (radio access network) node, and may include a portion of the BS or a portion of the RAN node, such as (e.g., in the case of a split BS or a split gNB, such as a Centralized Unit (CU) and/or a Distributed Unit (DU)). At least a portion of the functionality of a BS (e.g., an Access Point (AP), a Base Station (BS), or (e) a node B (eNB), a gNB, a RAN node) may also be performed by any node, server, or host operatively coupled to a transceiver, such as a remote radio head. BS (or AP) 134 provides wireless coverage within cell 136, including to user equipment (or UE) 131, 132, 133, and 135. Although only four user equipment (or UEs) are shown connected or attached to BS 134, any number of user equipment may be provided. BS 134 is also connected to core network 150 via S1 interface 151. This is just one simple example of a wireless network, and other examples may be used.

A base station, such as BS 134, for example, is an example of a Radio Access Network (RAN) node within a wireless network. The BS (or RAN node) may be or may include (or may alternatively be referred to as) for example an Access Point (AP), a gNB, an eNB or a part thereof, such as a Centralized Unit (CU) and/or a Distributed Unit (DU) in case of a split BS or split gNB, or other network node.

According to an illustrative example, a BS node (e.g., BS, eNB, gNB, CU/DU,) or a Radio Access Network (RAN) may be part of a mobile telecommunications system. The RAN (radio access network) may comprise one or more BSs or RAN nodes implementing radio access technologies, e.g. to allow one or more UEs to access the network or core network. Thus, for example, a RAN (RAN node, such as a BS or a gNB) may reside between one or more user equipments or UEs and a core network. According to an example embodiment, each RAN node (e.g., BS, eNB, gNB, CU/DU,) or BS may provide one or more wireless communication services to one or more UEs or user equipments, e.g., to allow the UEs to make radio access to the network via the RAN node. Each RAN node or BS may perform or provide wireless communication services, such as, for example, allowing a UE or user equipment to establish a wireless connection to the RAN node and to send data to and/or receive data from one or more UEs. For example, after establishing a connection to the UE, the RAN node or network node (e.g., BS, eNB, gNB, CU/DU,) may forward data received from the network or core network to the UE and/or forward data received from the UE to the network or core network. The RAN node or network node (e.g., BS, eNB, gNB, CU/DU,) may perform a variety of other wireless functions or services, such as, for example, broadcasting control information to UEs (e.g., such as system information or on-demand system information), paging UEs when there is data to deliver to the UEs, assisting in handover of UEs between cells, scheduling resources for uplink data transmissions from the UE(s) and downlink data transmissions to the UE(s), sending control information to configure one or more UEs, etc. These are several examples of one or more functions that the RAN node or BS may perform.

User equipment (user terminal, user Equipment (UE), mobile terminal, handheld wireless device, etc.) may refer to portable computing devices including wireless mobile communications devices operating with or without a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM), including, by way of example and without limitation, mobile Stations (MS), mobile phones, cellular phones, smart phones, personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), cell phones, devices using wireless modems (alarm or measurement devices, etc.), laptop and/or touch screen computers, tablet computers, cell phones, game consoles, notebooks, vehicles, sensors and multimedia devices, or any other wireless device. It should be understood that the user device may also be (or may include) almost exclusively uplink only devices, examples of which are cameras or video cameras that load images or video clips into the network.

In LTE, as an illustrative example, core network 150 may be referred to as an Evolved Packet Core (EPC), which may include a Mobility Management Entity (MME) that may handle or assist mobility/handover of user equipment between BSs, one or more gateways that may forward data and control signals between BSs and a packet data network or the internet, and other control functions or blocks. Other types of wireless networks, such as 5G (which may be referred to as New Radio (NR)), may also include core networks.

The embodiments described herein may be applied to the above wireless network or another wireless network. The wireless network may be or include a radio access network of a cellular communication system.

Furthermore, the techniques described herein may be applied to various types of user devices or data service types or to user devices that may have multiple applications running thereon, which may be different data service types. New radio (5G) development may support a variety of different applications or a variety of different data service types, such as Machine Type Communication (MTC), enhanced machine type communication (eMTC), internet of things (IoT) and/or narrowband IoT user devices, enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), and ultra-reliable and low-latency communications (URLLC). Many of these new 5G (NR) related applications may typically require higher performance than previous wireless networks.

IoT may refer to an ever-growing group of objects that may have internet or network connectivity such that the objects may send and receive information to and from other network devices. For example, many sensor-type applications or devices may monitor physical conditions or states and may send reports to a server or other network device, for example, when an event occurs. Machine type communication (MTC or machine-to-machine communication) may be characterized, for example, by fully automatic data generation, exchange, processing, and actuation between intelligent machines with or without human intervention. The enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) may support much higher data rates than are currently available in LTE.

Ultra-reliable and low latency communications (URLLC) are new data service types or new usage scenarios that can be supported for new radio (5G) systems. This enables emerging new applications and services such as industrial automation, autonomous driving, vehicle safety, electronic health services, etc. As an illustrative example, the goal of 3GPP is to provide a connection with reliability corresponding to a block error rate (BLER) of 10-5 and a U-plane (user/data plane) delay of up to 1 ms. Thus, for example, URLLC user equipment/UEs may require significantly lower block error rates and low latency (with or without the need for high reliability at the same time) than other types of user equipment/UEs. Thus, for example, URLLC UE (or URLLC application on a UE) may require a much shorter latency than eMBB UE (or eMBB application running on the UE).

The techniques described herein may be applied to a wide variety of wireless technologies or wireless networks such as LTE, LTE-a, 5G (new radio (NR)), cmWave and/or mmWave band networks, ioT, MTC, eMTC, eMBB, 6G, URLLC, ambient wireless networks (such as ambient IoT wireless networks or systems), etc., or any other wireless networks or wireless technologies. These exemplary network, technology, or data service types are provided as illustrative examples only.

In recent years, the number of IoT connections has grown rapidly and the year 2030 is predicted to be billions and a large amount of wireless traffic is expected to occur. As the number of wirelessly connected devices or accessories increases (e.g., due to the internet of things (IoT) paradigm), new energy-efficient communication technologies and devices are being developed.

The ambient network or wireless system may use low power communication technology in which tag devices (which may also be known or referred to as ambient IoT (AIoT) devices or backscatter devices) collect energy from their environment. In some scenarios, the tag may collect energy from sunlight or wind. In other scenarios, the tag may receive an ambient (or surrounding) wireless signal (e.g., may have been transmitted to another wireless device) and may then reflect the received ambient signal, e.g., via backscatter communications. For example, a tag device (e.g., AIoT device or backscatter device) may utilize an existing or surrounding wireless signal by reflecting the ambient or existing wireless signal(s) to communicate between devices while using very little power. Thus, for example, an ambient (or surrounding) wireless signal may be reused in both a power source (e.g., powering one or more electronic devices on a wireless sensor node or wireless tag device) and a communication medium. According to an example embodiment, the ambient communication (or ambient backscatter communication) may allow the tag device to modulate and reflect the received ambient signal. For example, the reflected back-scattered signal may be modulated using active (or switched) load modulation, wherein the load of the antenna (of the transmitting tag device) varies or changes, which may allow different data values (e.g. different phases) to be applied to the reflected signal, such as for example an in-phase bit or signal, or an out-of-phase bit or signal (in the simple case of a dipole signal), depending on the load applied to the antenna. For example, this may allow the tag device or backscatter device to modulate data onto a reflected or backscatter signal, which may indicate the location of the tag device, provide monitoring data from a sensor, or other data. In recent years, the number of IoT connections has grown rapidly and hundreds of billions by 2030 are expected, and thus a large amount of traffic is expected.

According to an example embodiment, an ambient IoT (AIoT) wireless system or a backscatter communication system may include a tag device or AIoT device (e.g., a backscatter device) that operates as a backscatter receiver and transmitter to transmit a response (transmitted signal) and a reader that receives the response transmitted by the tag device or AIoT device. The tag device (AIoT device) may modulate and reflect the received ambient signal, for example, where the tag device may, for example, modulate data such as its tag ID (tag identifier) and sensor data for transmission in a response (as an illustrative example). In some cases, AIoT wireless systems may include a device (which may be a reader or another device) that sends an activation signal or a query (or wake-up signal) to one or more tag devices, for example, to activate and cause the tag devices to send a response. In some cases, however, the tag device (or AIoT devices) may broadcast the response without being activated or queried (without being activated or queried). For example, the backscatter transmitter of the tag device or AIoT device may modulate and reflect an incoming RF (radio frequency) signal (e.g., be transmitted in response). A reader (which may be UE, BS, gNB or other devices or nodes, for example) may receive responses (e.g., modulated and reflected signals) from multiple tag devices and may forward each of these responses to the gNB or application function or other node.

In an illustrative example, AIoT or ambient wireless system may include one or more devices, nodes, or functions, such as, for example, one or more of the following:

Activator-device that sends an activation (wake-up signal) signal that targets the passive radio that wakes up or activates the tag (or AIoT) device, as described above. The activation signal may include the ID of the tag (or AIoT) device or passive device (or the ID of a group of tag devices). The activation signal may be used to activate a tag device or a group AIoT of devices. As described above, the tag device does not always need an activator to send a response or transmission (thus, the activator may be omitted in some networks or some configurations, for example, in the case where the tag device is configured to broadcast information or replies without being activated or queried). Thus, in some cases or for some configurations or networks, an activator, or other device for transmitting a query, activation signal, or wake-up signal, is not required.

A tag (or ambient IoT) device detects an activation signal from an activator, or detects an ambient signal, and then modulates and reflects the received signal in response, e.g., as a backscatter signal. The data modulated onto the response may include the ID (identifier or identification) of the tag device, the location of the tag device, measurement or sensor data, etc. Further, as described above, in some cases, the tag device may send its response without being queried or activated.

In some cases, the tag device may include a passive radio that uses energy over a range of frequencies and listens for an activation signal (e.g., which may also be referred to as a wake-up signal or a query). Upon detection of such a signal, the passive radio transmits/reflects a signal (e.g., a response) specific to the radio ID. For example, a passive radio is a device that utilizes energy from a wireless signal transmitted over a particular carrier and/or bandwidth and charges simple circuitry that, once activated, will transmit/reflect a signal encoding at least the ID and/or other information of the passive radio.

Reader-devices that listen and detect passive radio signals or response (or reflected backscatter signals) from tag (or AIoT) devices. The reader may or may not be co-located with the activator. For example, the reader and the activator may each be or each include a function or entity provided at UE, BS, gNB, a network node, a relay node, or other node or entity.

There may be different types or categories of tag devices or environment AIoT devices:

device a, a passive device with no energy storage (e.g., backscatter only);

device B a passive device with energy storage, such as a battery, that amplifies the backscatter signal, and/or

Device C, an active device with energy storage, may amplify the transmitted signal.

Thus, the tag (or AIoT) device may be a passive device (e.g., type a or type B AIoT device) or an active device (e.g., type C AIoT device).

However, challenges may exist with respect to the reader receiving and forwarding responses from the tag device. The reader may receive each response received from the tag device and forward it to a network controller, such as a network node (e.g., a gNB), an application function, or a core network entity or other network entity, for example. The network controller may be a logical entity of a wireless network or a physical entity of a wireless network in a radio access network or a core network. However, as an example, the size of the responses from the tag devices may typically be relatively small, for example, because they may have a tag ID (identifying the tag device that is sending the response) and a small amount of sensor data. Receiving and forwarding each of the one or more tag device responses may consume a significant amount of the reader's resources (e.g., energy or battery power, CPU resources, bandwidth and/or time-frequency resources, control plane overhead).

Thus, according to an exemplary embodiment, the reader may receive responses from a plurality of tag devices. Thus, by forwarding multiple tag device responses by a reader to a network controller as part of a packet or aggregate response, improved efficiency and/or improved network performance may be achieved. The reader may assemble packets to be forwarded to the network controller into an aggregate response that includes the received responses (e.g., the payload of each response from the tag device). The reader may then send the assembled packet (including the aggregate response) to a network controller (e.g., which may be a network node (e.g., a gNB), an application function, a core network entity, or other network entity).

Further, to enhance network performance or improve tag device response forwarding performance, the network controller may provide response forwarding requirements (e.g., indicating requirement(s) and/or limit(s) to forward tag device responses to the network controller via an aggregate response) to the reader. The reader may forward the aggregate response to the network controller based on the response forwarding requirement.

There may be a variety of different response forwarding requirements, and some examples are described below. In some cases, one or more of these response forwarding requirements may be group-specific (e.g., a different value for the response forwarding requirement may be provided for each different group of tag devices). Different groups of tag devices may have different requirements, e.g. different delay or QoS (quality of service) requirements, which may result in group-specific response forwarding requirements providing different values for each group of tag devices.

For example, the tag devices of the first group are humidity sensors with a maximum delay of 60 seconds (e.g., the response from the tag devices of the first group should be forwarded to the network controller within 60 seconds after the query or activation signal is sent to the tag devices of the first group by the reader, for example), and the tag devices of the second group are temperature sensors with a maximum delay of 10 seconds (e.g., the response from the tag devices of the second group should be forwarded to the network controller within 10 seconds after the query or activation signal is sent to the tag devices of the second group). Thus, this is an example where different sets of tag (or AIoT) devices may require different response forwarding requirements. Thus, it may be desirable for the network controller (or other node) to provide different (e.g., group-specific) response forwarding requirements for different groups of tag devices to the reader. Some response forwarding requirements may be generic and not group specific.

Some illustrative examples of tag device response forwarding requirements may include one or more of the following response forwarding requirements:

1) Delay tolerant information, or delay tolerant timer values to initialize delay tolerant timers associated with each of at least one set of tag devices. Thus, for example, group-specific delay tolerance information (e.g., which may be delay tolerance values, or information from which a reader may determine or calculate delay tolerance values for groups) may be provided for each of the groups of tag devices. For example, a first delay tolerant timer value of 60 seconds is provided to the reader for a first group of tag devices (e.g., humidity sensors), and a second delay tolerant timer value of 10 seconds is provided for a second group of tag devices (e.g., temperature sensors). For example, a query or activation signal may be sent (e.g., by a reader or other device) to the group 1 and group 2 tag devices (e.g., the query may be sent by a reader or other device with a group 1 tag ID and a group 2 tag ID), and the group 1 and group 2 delay tolerance timers are started by the reader. For example, when a reader or other device sends a query to a group 1 tag device, a first delay tolerant timer (set to a first delay tolerant timer value associated with the group 1 tag device based on a response forwarding limit received from the network controller) may be started. Also, for example, when a reader or other device sends a query to the group 2 tag device, a second delay tolerant timer (set to a second delay tolerant timer value associated with the group 2 tag device based on a response forwarding limit received from the network controller) may be started. At least some of the response(s) from the two groups of tag devices may be received and buffered (stored in memory) by the reader. When one of the delay tolerant timers expires (either the first delay tolerant timer for group 1 of tag devices or the second delay tolerant timer for group 2 of tag devices), all received (e.g., received and buffered) tag device responses are sent to the network controller via an aggregate response. For example, if the first delay tolerant timer expires, or if the second delay tolerant timer value expires, all received and buffered responses (including responses from any of group 1, group 2, and possibly other groups of tag devices) are assembled into a packet or aggregate response, which is then sent by the reader to the network controller.

In another exemplary embodiment, if the delay tolerant timer expires, the reader may send an aggregate response that includes only tag device responses for the group. Or alternatively, after the delay tolerant timer value of group 2 has expired, if the aggregate response including the responses from group 1 and group 2 tag devices would exceed the maximum aggregate response size, then a priority will be given to the group 2 (e.g., expired timer group or priority group) tag device responses, and if there is a blank or space in the aggregate response, at least some of the lower priority group 1 tag devices will be included in the aggregate response sent to the network controller.

2) The minimum payload size of the packet for the aggregate response-for example, the response forwarding limit may be generic rather than group-specific. For example, when the received tag device response to be forwarded (which may refer to the amount of data from the received tag device response to be forwarded to the network controller) is greater than or equal to the minimum payload size or aggregate response, the packet may be assembled to include the aggregate response and sent by the reader to the network controller. As above, in the case where the reader forwards small packets including one or several tag device responses, there is inefficiency and significant overhead or significant resource consumption. Thus, one way to reduce the amount of resources or overhead that a reader uses in forwarding a tag device response is to forward a minimum payload size (which may be, for example, a minimum payload size in bytes or octets, or a minimum number of tag device responses) to the network controller via an aggregate response.

Further, for example, if the network controller indicates to the reader a delay tolerant timer value and a minimum payload size for at least one group, the reader may assemble the packet to include an aggregate response with received and buffered tag device responses when any of these response forwarding requirements is met (e.g., when a first of these response forwarding requirements is met). Thus, an aggregate response may be sent when either of the delay tolerant timers expires, or when the amount of response to be forwarded in the aggregate response is greater than or equal to the minimum payload size (whichever occurs first). Alternatively, the aggregate response may be forwarded when both requirements are met (e.g., when one of the delay tolerant timers has expired and the aggregate response including all received and buffered responses will be greater than or equal to the minimum payload size of the aggregate response).

3) The provided correlation information or correlation factor for each group (or one or more groups) of at least one group indicates whether there is a correlation between the responses from the tag devices of that group. The response forwarding requirement does not result in or trigger the reader to send an aggregate response, but the requirement may affect the operation of the reader in terms of sending a query to the tag device and/or affect the tag device response forwarding of the reader. The correlation information or correlation information may indicate whether the tag devices of the group are correlated. For example, tag devices for temperature sensors in close proximity or within a particular geographic area may generally be correlated (e.g., if the responses of a group are correlated, the reader may only need to send a subset or number of requests (e.g., 1,2, or a few) of these correlated responses because these correlated responses should be the same or very similar due to their correlation).

For example, the correlation information may include, for example, a bit or flag indicating whether the responses of the group are correlated. Or for example, the correlation factor may be or include a value between 0 and 1, indicating the degree of correlation. For example, a correlation threshold of 0.7 may be used, and a correlation factor greater than the threshold may indicate that the responses from the tag devices of the group are correlated. Thus, for example, for a group of tag devices, a correlation factor of 0.81 is greater than a correlation threshold of 0.7, indicating that the responses of the group are correlated. Also, a correlation factor of 0.58 would indicate that the responses of the group are less correlated (because in this example, the correlation factor is less than the correlation threshold of 0.7). A correlation factor may be employed to determine the amount of tags within a group that need to respond. For example, if a group of 100 tags is provided with a correlation factor of 0.58, the reader may consider it sufficient to obtain 42 responses from the tags in the group.

4) The number of requests for a response to be forwarded among the plurality of related responses for the group. The response forwarding limit may be applied to groups in which there is a correlation between tag device responses. In some cases, the number of requests for the response may be the maximum number of responses of the group to be forwarded to the network controller within the aggregate response. For example, if the responses of a group of tag devices are related, once the reader receives and buffers the requested (or maximum) number of responses, the reader may stop or cease sending further queries to the tag devices of the group (note that the reader may send a group query to a group of tag devices by including the group ID of the group within the query, or may send a separate query(s) to a particular tag device by indicating the tag device ID for the tag device within the query), and the reader may discard any further received tag device responses of the group. The reader may then send an aggregate response including the requested number of tag device responses for the group (e.g., because further or additional received tag device responses for the group that were received were discarded and not forwarded).

In this way, for example, the correlation information or correlation factor, and/or the requested number of responses or the maximum number of responses may be used by the reader (for a group of tag devices having a correlated response) to stop or not intermittently sending further queries to the tag devices of the group (having a correlated response) once the reader has received the requested number of responses, the reader discarding one or more responses received from the tag devices of the group that exceed the requested number of tag device responses, and the reader limiting the number of tag device responses of the group included in the aggregate response to (e.g., not exceeding, or less than or equal to) the requested number or maximum number of responses to be forwarded for the group. The correlation information or correlation factor may be group-specific (which is provided for each of one or more groups of tag devices) to the number of responses to be forwarded.

In an exemplary embodiment, the reader may detect an event related to the response forwarding requirement. Based on (or in response to) the detection of the event, the reader may perform an assembly of packets including an aggregate response and then send the packets with the aggregate response to the network controller.

Detecting the event may include detecting, by the reader, one or more of the following exemplary events (events related to response forwarding requirement (s)), the expiration of the delay tolerance timer associated with the group (e.g., delay tolerance for the group may be set to a value based on the received response forwarding requirement (e.g., based on a delay tolerance time value received from the network controller for the group) and then initiated upon the reader sending a query or activation signal to the group of tag devices), the first delay tolerance timer of the first group not expired based on the query sent to at least one tag device of the first group and the query sent to at least one tag device of the second group, and the second delay tolerance timer of the second group expired (e.g., the query may be sent to both group 1 and group 2 tag devices, and the response from both groups of tag devices is received based on the received delay tolerance time value received from the network controller, and the aggregate of the delay tolerance timers of one group is expired, and the aggregate of the response from all tag devices is aggregated and the response from both group 2 devices is received via the largest, and the aggregate of the response from both group and the tag devices is received via the buffer and the read buffer of the small buffer (e.g., the aggregate of the response is not expired), when the aggregate or total received and buffered tag device response is greater than the minimum or threshold payload size, this is of sufficient size to make good or efficient use of resources in response forwarding, and the packets are assembled (with aggregate response) and sent by the reader to the network controller.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a reader according to an exemplary embodiment. Operation 210 comprises receiving, by a reader, a response request from a network controller in a wireless system, the wireless system comprising at least one set of tag devices, the response request comprising a response forwarding requirement for the at least one set of tag devices. Operation 220 comprises receiving and buffering responses from the plurality of tag devices. Operation 230 comprises assembling, by the reader, the packets into an aggregate response according to the response forwarding requirements, the aggregate response comprising buffered responses from the plurality of tag devices of the at least one group. And, operation 240 comprises transmitting, by the reader, the assembled packet to the network controller.

With respect to the method of fig. 2, the network controller may include at least one of a network node or an application function (or other network entity).

With respect to the method of FIG. 2, receiving and buffering a response may include transmitting, by a reader, a query to at least one group of at least a plurality of tag devices, and receiving, by the reader, and buffering a response based on the reader transmitting the query to at least one group of at least a plurality of tag devices. For example, the query may be sent via a group query addressed to a group ID of the group, or by sending individual tag device queries addressed to tag device IDs of each tag device.

With respect to the method of fig. 2, the response forwarding requirements may include at least one of delay tolerant information or delay tolerant timer values to initialize delay tolerant timers associated with each of the at least one set of tag devices, a minimum payload size of packets for the aggregate response, correlation information or correlation factor provided for each of the at least one set indicating whether there is a correlation between responses from the tag devices of the set, and a number of requests for a response to be forwarded among a plurality of related responses of the set.

With respect to the method of fig. 2, the method may further include detecting an event related to the response forwarding requirement and performing the assembling of the packet based on the detection of the event.

With respect to the method of fig. 2, detecting an event related to a response forwarding requirement may include detecting, by a reader, at least one of expiration of a delay tolerant timer associated with a group, non-expiration of a first delay tolerant timer of the first group and expiration of a second delay tolerant timer of the second group based on a query sent to at least one tag device of the first group and a query sent to at least one tag device of the second group, and an aggregate buffered response received by the reader from the tag devices exceeding a minimum payload size.

With respect to the method of fig. 2, the number of requests for responses to be forwarded includes a maximum number of responses to be forwarded by the reader among the plurality of related responses for the group.

With respect to the method of fig. 2, the response forwarding requirements include, for each of at least one group, provided correlation information or correlation factor indicating whether there is a correlation between responses from the tag devices of the group, and a number of requests for responses to be forwarded among a plurality of correlated responses for the group. The method may further include determining, by the reader, that the responses from the tag devices of the first group are related based on the relevance information or the relevance factor for the first group of the at least one group, and after the reader detects that the number of received responses from the tag devices of the first group is greater than or equal to the number of requests for the responses of the first group, at least one of ceasing, by the reader, sending the query to the tag devices of the first group, discarding, by the reader, one or more additional responses received from the tag devices of the first group that exceed the number of requests for the responses that have been received by the reader, and not forwarding the one or more additional responses in the packet.

With respect to the method of fig. 2, determining that the response from the tag device of the first group is relevant may include comparing, by the reader, a relevance factor for the first group to a threshold value and determining, by the reader, that the relevance factor for the first group is greater than the threshold value.

With respect to the method of FIG. 2, at least one group of tag devices may include at least a first group of tag devices, and wherein the response forwarding requirement may include delay tolerant information, or a delay tolerant timer value that may be used to initialize a delay tolerant timer of the first group of tag devices, wherein the method may include starting the delay tolerant timer for the first group upon sending a query to at least one of the first group of tag devices, and detecting expiration of the delay tolerant timer for the first group, and wherein assembling the packets into an aggregate response may include assembling the packets into an aggregate response by the reader based on the detection of the expiration of the delay tolerant timer for the first group, the aggregate response including an aggregate of buffered responses including any responses that have been received and buffered by the reader from the first group of tag devices, and (if received and buffered) any responses received and buffered from other groups of tag devices.

With respect to the method of fig. 2, the response forwarding requirements of the at least one set of tag devices may include a first response forwarding requirement for the first set of tag devices and a second response forwarding requirement for the second set of tag devices, the first response forwarding requirement including at least one of first delay tolerant information or a first delay tolerant timer value to initialize a first delay tolerant timer associated with the first set of tag devices, and first correlation information or a first correlation factor provided for the first set indicating whether a correlation exists between responses from the first set of tag devices, and/or if the first correlation information or the first correlation factor of the first set indicates a correlation between responses of the first set, the second response forwarding requirement including at least one of second delay tolerant information or a second delay tolerant timer value to initialize a second delay tolerant timer associated with the second set of tag devices, and second correlation information or a second correlation factor provided for the first set indicating whether a correlation exists between the second set of second responses or a correlation factor of the second set indicates a correlation between the first set of responses to be forwarded, the first request number of responses among a plurality of the first set of correlated responses, the second response forwarding requirement including at least one of second delay tolerant information or the second delay tolerant timer value associated with the second set of tag devices, and if the second correlation information or the second correlation factor provided for the second set indicates a correlation between the second set of correlation information or the second responses to be forwarded.

With respect to the method of FIG. 2, the query sent to the at least one group of at least a plurality of tag devices may include at least one of a group query including a group ID associated with or identifying the at least one group, the group query being sent to the at least one group of tag devices to activate and cause the at least one group of one or more tag devices to send a response, a device query including a tag ID of a tag device, the device query being sent to each of the at least one group of a plurality of tag devices to activate each tag device individually and cause each tag device to send a response.

With respect to the method of fig. 2, the wireless system may comprise an ambient internet of things (AIoT) wireless system, and wherein the at least one set of tag devices comprises at least one set AIoT of devices.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of a network controller according to an exemplary embodiment. Operation 310 comprises transmitting, by the network controller, a response request to a reader in a wireless system, the wireless system comprising at least one group of tag devices, the response request comprising a group-specific response forwarding requirement for the at least one group of tag devices, the response forwarding requirement indicating a forwarding requirement for the reader to forward an aggregate response to the network controller, the aggregate response comprising a plurality of responses received by the reader from the tag devices. Operation 320 comprises receiving, by the network controller from the reader, a packet comprising an aggregate response comprising responses received by the reader from the plurality of tag devices. Operation 330 comprises decomposing, by the network controller, the aggregate response into a plurality of responses from the plurality of tag devices.

With respect to the method of fig. 3, the network controller may include at least one of a network node (e.g., a gNB, a core network entity, or other network entity) or an application function.

With respect to the method of fig. 3, the packet may include a header including a tag ID and a response length for each of a plurality of responses included in the aggregate response, and wherein the un-grouping may include un-grouping, by the network controller, the aggregate response into a plurality of responses from the plurality of tag devices based on the header (e.g., the network controller may obtain the tag device responses in the aggregate response by extracting the tag ID and the payload for each tag device response included in the aggregate response).

With respect to the method of fig. 3, the response forwarding requirements for the reader to forward the aggregate response to the network controller may include at least one of delay tolerant information or delay tolerant timer values to initialize a delay tolerant timer associated with each of the at least one group, a minimum payload size of packets for the aggregate response, correlation information or a correlation factor provided for each of the at least one group that indicates whether there is a correlation between responses from tag devices of the group, and a number of requests for a response to be forwarded among a plurality of related responses of the group.

Fig. 4A and 4B are diagrams illustrating an operation of a wireless network according to an exemplary embodiment. The reader 410 (which may be, for example, a UE, a gNB, a relay node, or other device or node, or disposed on a UE, a gNB, or other device or node) may communicate with one or more tag devices including tag device 1, and tag device N (e.g., N tag devices), and a gNB (or network node) 412. The reader 410 may communicate with an Application Function (AF) 414 via the gNB 412. The Application Functions (AFs) 414 may be applications that may control, configure, and/or coordinate the operation of the reader 410, and may be provided on any node or device (e.g., UE, gNB, relay node, core network entity, cloud node or server, or other node or entity). One or both of the gNB 412 and/or the AF 414 may be considered a network controller.

As shown in step 1 of fig. 4A, reader 410 may receive a response request from AF 414 via gNB 412 (e.g., where the response request may be a request by AF 414 to request reader 410 to forward a response from a tag device based on or in accordance with one or more indicated response forwarding requirements). The response request may include, for example, a group ID for a group of tag devices, a list of tag devices that are part of the group of tag devices (e.g., tag device IDs for tag device 1, the..the..the., N), and one or more response forwarding limits, e.g., including one or more group-specific response forwarding limits for the group of tag devices. The at least one response forwarding requirement for the group that may be included or indicated within the response request at step 1 may include one or more of, for example, delay tolerant information or a delay tolerant timer value to initialize a delay tolerant timer for the group (e.g., the requirement may be group-specific as indicated for the group of tag devices), a minimum payload size of forwarding of an aggregate response for an aggregate response that includes a plurality of tag device responses (the requirement may be group-specific or more typically common for all of the group of tag devices), relevance information or a relevance factor indicating whether the tag devices for the group are relevant, and if the tag device responses for the group are relevant, a number of requests for the plurality of relevant tag device responses for the group for the tag device response to be forwarded (e.g., the relevance information or the relevance factor and the number or maximum number of requests for the group to be forwarded via the aggregate response may be group-specific as indicated for the group of tag devices).

Steps 2-13 of fig. 4A are provided for the case or example where there is no correlation between the tag device responses of the group, while steps 14-23 of fig. 4B are provided for the case or example where there is a correlation between the tag device responses of the group (in the steps shown in fig. 4B, the tag device responses of the group 1, the..the..the. N. Tag device responses are correlated).

With respect to fig. 4A, step 2 shows the operation without correlation (described via steps 3-13). Steps 3-13 will be briefly described. In step 3 of fig. 4A, the reader 410 initializes the delay tolerant timer for the group of tag devices to the delay tolerant timer value for the group received in the response request of step 1 and starts the delay tolerant timer for the group. In step 4, the reader 410 sends a query (e.g., including the tag device ID of the tag device 1) to the tag device 1. The tag device 1 receives a query (e.g., the query may also be considered or may include an activation signal or a wake signal) with a tag device ID that matches its tag device ID, such that the tag device 1 sends a response (alternatively, a group ID that matches a group ID for the tag device may also cause the tag device to send a response). In step 5, the reader 410 receives a response from the tag device 1, for example, including the tag device ID and data of the tag device 1 (e.g., sensor data that the tag device 1 is monitoring and reporting). In step 6, instead of forwarding the received responses from tag device 1, reader 410 buffers the received responses from tag device 1 (or stores them in memory or storage) (e.g., so that the received responses may be included in an aggregate response that includes multiple tag device responses to improve performance and/or reduce resource usage and overhead associated with forwarding tag device responses). In step 7, the reader 410 sends a query to the tag device N. The tag device N receives a query with a tag device ID matching its tag device ID (or a group ID matching the group ID of the group of which the tag device N is a member), causing or triggering the tag device N to send a response. And in step 8, the reader 410 receives a response from the tag device N in response to the query. In step 9, the reader 410 buffers the response from the tag device N. Alternatively, instead of sending separate queries to the tag devices at steps 4 and7, a group query (addressed to the group ID of the group of tag devices including tag device 1, &..the., N) may be sent by the reader 410 at step 4 so that multiple tag devices of the group send responses. Other responses from other tag devices of the group, and/or other responses from other tag devices that may not belong to the group, may also be received and buffered by reader 410.

At step 10 of fig. 4A, the reader 410 detects that the delay tolerant timer for that group has expired, or that another delay tolerant timer for other queries or another delay tolerant timer associated with or for another group has expired. At step 11, the reader 410 assembles the packets into an aggregate response that includes buffered responses from the plurality of tag devices of the group, and possibly any other buffered responses from other tag devices (outside of the group), or responses from tag devices of other groups (for which the delay tolerant timer may have expired or not yet expired). In step 12, the reader 410 sends the assembled packet including the aggregate response to the network controller. Further, for example, the aggregate response may include a header that includes a tag ID and a response length for each of the plurality of responses, as well as data (e.g., sensor data) from the tag device.

At step 13 of fig. 4A, the af 414 (or the gNB or network controller) receives and disassembles the aggregate response to obtain each of the included responses from the plurality of tag devices. For example, based on the tag ID and response length provided for each response (e.g., included in the header of the received packet), AF 414 may determine the location and length of each sensor data provided from each tag device included in the aggregate response. The AF 414 may then extract each tag device ID and sensor data based on the information included in the header of the packet, e.g., to obtain a response provided from each tag device.

With respect to fig. 4B, step 14 illustrates the operation in the presence of a correlation (described via steps 14-23). Steps 14-23 of fig. 4B will be briefly described, with particular attention to differences compared to the steps of fig. 4A. Thus, in fig. 4B, the response request received at step 1 includes relevance information or relevance factors for the group indicating that the responses from the group of tag devices (e.g., from tag device 1, a., N) are relevant. Further, the response request indicates a number of requests (or maximum) for the group of responses to be forwarded within the aggregate response, and any remaining responses for the group (exceeding the requested number of responses for the group) are discarded and not forwarded in the aggregate response, e.g., to save resources.

In step 15 of fig. 4B, the reader 410 initializes the delay tolerant timer for the group of tag devices to the delay tolerant timer value for the group received in the response request of step 1 and starts the delay tolerant timer for the group. In step 16, the reader 410 sends a query (e.g., including the tag device ID of the tag device 1) to the tag device 1. The tag device 1 receives a query (e.g., the query may also be considered or may include an activation signal or a wake signal) with a tag device ID that matches its tag device ID, causing the tag device 1 to send a response (alternatively, a group ID that matches a group ID for the tag device may also cause the tag device to send a response). In step 17, the reader 410 receives a response from the tag device 1, for example, including the tag device ID and data of the tag device 1 (e.g., sensor data that the tag device 1 is monitoring and reporting). In step 18, the reader 410 buffers the response received from the tag device 1 (or stores it in a memory or storage). Other queries may be sent by the reader to other devices (either separate queries or via group queries), and/or additional responses from these tag devices may also be received and buffered by the reader 410.

At step 19 of fig. 4B, the reader 410 determines or detects that it has received (at least) the requested (e.g., maximum) number of responses for the group to be forwarded in the aggregate response, and the reader 410 discards further queries (e.g., stops or does not continue sending queries to other tag devices of the group), and may discard any further tag responses (exceeding the number of responses for the group) that have been received and buffered at the reader 410. In step 20, the reader detects that the delay tolerant timer for that group has expired, or that another delay tolerant timer for other queries or another delay tolerant timer associated with or for another group (or for other query(s) sent) has expired. At step 21, the reader 410 assembles the packets into an aggregate response that includes the number of responses that have been buffered by the reader 410 from the tag devices of the group (or no more than the number of requests), as well as any other buffered responses that may come from other tag devices (outside of the group), or responses from tag devices of other groups (for which the delay tolerant timer may have expired or not yet expired). In step 22, the reader 410 sends the assembled packet including the aggregate response to the network controller. Further, for example, the aggregate response may include a header that includes a tag ID and a response length for each of the plurality of responses, as well as data (e.g., sensor data) from the tag device.

At step 23 of fig. 4B, the af 414 (or the gNB or network controller) receives and disassembles the aggregate response to obtain the included responses from each of the plurality of tag devices. For example, based on the tag ID and response length provided for each response (e.g., included in the header of the received packet), AF 414 may determine the location and length of each sensor data provided from each tag device included in the aggregate response. The AF 414 may then extract each tag device ID and sensor data based on the information included in the header of the packet, e.g., to obtain a response provided from each tag device.

Fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating an operation of a reader according to an exemplary embodiment. At 10, the reader may receive response request(s) including, for each of one or more groups, a group ID, a list of tag devices belonging to the group, and one or more response forwarding requirements for the group, such as, for example, a correlation factor for the group (e.g., indicating whether the response of the group is correlated), a delay tolerant timer value for the group, and a request (or maximum) number of responses for the group to be included in an aggregate response. At 20, the reader 410 initializes a delay tolerant timer for each group to be queried (based on the delay tolerant timer value received for each group) and starts the timer(s), for example, at about the same time that the query(s) are sent to the tag device(s) of the group. At 30, one or more groups of tag devices and/or one or more tag devices are selected for querying. The reader 410 sends queries to these tag devices (each query is sent to a particular tag device) or to one or more groups of tag devices. At 50, the reader determines whether a response has been received from one or more tag devices of the group(s).

If a response has been received, the received response(s) are buffered by the reader 410 at 60 of FIG. 5.

At 70, the reader 410 determines whether more tag devices of the group(s) need to be queried, e.g., based on a relevance factor or relevance information. For example, if the relevance factor indicates a relevance between responses for the group and the number of responses received by the reader 410 for the group is less than the number of responses requested to be aggregated, then more responses are needed for the group and flow returns to 30, at 30 a group of tag devices or additional tag devices of the group or other groups are selected to be queried and the query is sent by the reader 410. Or if the tag device responses for the group are not correlated and all responses are received, or if the number of received responses is greater than or equal to the number of requests for responses to be included in the aggregate response, no further query may be required and flow proceeds to 80.

At 80, it is determined whether any of the delay tolerant timers have expired, or if the reader has received any non-delay tolerant data (e.g., the data should be sent immediately, or the delay tolerant timer value is zero seconds), then flow proceeds to 90. At 90, the reader 410 assembles a packet comprising an aggregate response comprising responses of a plurality (e.g., all) of the received and buffered tag device responses. At 100, the reader 410 sends a packet including an aggregate response to a network controller, e.g., to the gNB or AF 414.

Some examples will now be described:

Example 1, an apparatus comprising at least one processor, and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to receive, by a reader, a response request from a network controller in a wireless system, the wireless system comprising at least one set of tag devices, the response request comprising a response forwarding requirement for the at least one set of tag devices, receive and buffer responses from the plurality of tag devices, assemble, by the reader, packets into an aggregate response according to the response forwarding requirement, the aggregate response comprising the buffered responses from the at least one set of a plurality of the tag devices, and transmit, by the reader, the assembled packets to the network controller.

Example 2 the apparatus of example 1, wherein the network controller comprises at least one of a network node or an application function.

Example 3 the apparatus of any one of examples 1-2, wherein the apparatus is caused to receive and buffer a response comprises causing the apparatus to send a query to at least a plurality of the tag devices of the at least one group, and to receive and buffer a response by the reader based on the reader sending the query to at least the plurality of tag devices of the at least one group.

Example 4 the apparatus of any of examples 1-3, wherein the response forwarding requirement includes at least one of delay tolerant information or a delay tolerant timer value to initialize a delay tolerant timer associated with each of the at least one group of tag devices, a minimum payload size of the packet for the aggregate response, relevance information or a relevance factor provided for each of the at least one group, the relevance information or the relevance factor indicating whether there is a relevance between responses from the group of tag devices, and a number of requests for responses to be forwarded among a plurality of relevant responses for a group.

Example 5 the apparatus of any one of examples 1-4, wherein the apparatus is further caused to detect an event related to the response forwarding requirement, and perform the assembling of the packet based on the detection of the event.

Example 6 the apparatus of example 5, wherein the apparatus is caused to detect the event related to the response forwarding requirement comprises causing the apparatus to detect, by the reader, at least one of expiration of the delay tolerant timer associated with a group, failure of a first delay tolerant timer of a first group based on a query sent to at least one tag device of the first group and expiration of a second delay tolerant timer of a second group based on a query sent to at least one tag device of the second group, and buffered aggregate responses received by the reader from the tag devices exceeding the minimum payload size.

Example 7 the apparatus of any one of examples 4-6, wherein the number of requests for responses to be forwarded comprises a maximum number of responses to be forwarded by the reader among the plurality of related responses for the group.

Example 8 the apparatus of any of examples 4-7, wherein the response forwarding requirement includes the correlation information or the correlation factor provided for each of the at least one group, the correlation information or the correlation factor indicating whether there is a correlation between responses from tag devices of the first group and the number of requests for responses to be forwarded among a plurality of correlated responses of the group, wherein the apparatus is caused to determine, by the reader, that responses from tag devices of the first group are correlated based on the correlation information or the correlation factor for a first group of the at least one group, and after the reader detects that a number of responses received from tag devices of the first group is greater than or equal to the number of requests for responses of the first group, at least one of ceasing, by the reader, sending a query to tag devices of the first group, and dropping, by the reader, a packet from the first group that has not received a response from the tag device of the first group that has been received a number of requests that exceeds the first group.

Example 9 the apparatus of example 8, wherein the apparatus is caused to determine that the response from the tag device of the first group is correlated comprises causing the apparatus to compare the correlation factor for the first group to a threshold and determine that the correlation factor for the first group is greater than the threshold.

Example 10 the apparatus of example 1, wherein the at least one set of tag devices includes at least a first set of tag devices, and wherein the response forwarding requirement includes delay tolerant information or a delay tolerant timer value that can be used to initialize a delay tolerant timer for the first set of tag devices, wherein the apparatus is caused to initiate the delay tolerant timer for the first set upon sending a query to at least one tag device of the first set, and to detect expiration of the delay tolerant timer for the first set, and wherein the apparatus is caused to assemble the packet into an aggregate response includes causing the apparatus to assemble the packet as the aggregate response by the reader based on detection of the expiration of the delay tolerant timer for the first set, the aggregate response including an aggregation of the buffered responses including any response that has been received and buffered by the reader from tag devices of the first set, and if received and buffered from any other tag devices of the first set.

Example 11 the apparatus of any of examples 1-10, wherein the response forwarding requirement for the at least one set of tag devices comprises a first response forwarding requirement for a first set of tag devices comprising at least one of a first delay tolerant information or a first delay tolerant timer value to initialize a first delay tolerant timer associated with the first set of tag devices, and a first correlation information or a first correlation factor provided for the first set, the first correlation information or the first correlation factor indicating whether a correlation exists between responses from the first set of tag devices, and/or if a correlation between the first correlation information or the first correlation factor for the first set indicates a correlation between responses of the first set, a second response forwarding requirement for a second set of tag devices comprising at least one of a first delay tolerant information or a first correlation factor provided for the first set, the first correlation information or the first correlation factor indicating whether a correlation between the first set of responses is present, and/or a second correlation factor provided for the second set of tag devices, a second request number of responses to be forwarded among a plurality of correlation responses for the first set, and a second response forwarding requirement for the second set of tag devices comprising at least one of a first delay tolerant information or a second correlation factor provided for the first delay tolerant timer value, the second correlation information or the second correlation factor indicating whether a correlation between the second set of correlation information or the second correlation factor indicates a correlation exists between the second set of responses, a second number of requests for a response to be forwarded among the plurality of related responses of the second group.

Example 12 the apparatus of any of examples 3-11, wherein the query sent to at least the plurality of tag devices of the at least one group comprises at least one of a group query including a group ID associated with or identifying the at least one group of tag devices, the group query being sent to the tag devices of the at least one group to activate and cause one or more of the tag devices of the at least one group to send a response, a device query including a tag ID of a tag device, the device query being sent to each of the plurality of tag devices of the at least one group to activate and cause each of the tag devices to send a response individually.

Example 13 the apparatus of any of examples 1-12, wherein the wireless system comprises an ambient internet of things (AIoT) wireless system, and wherein the at least one set of tag devices comprises at least one set AIoT of devices.

Example 14, a method includes receiving, by a reader, a response request from a network controller in a wireless system, the wireless system including at least one set of tag devices, the response request including a response forwarding requirement for the at least one set of tag devices, receiving and buffering responses from the plurality of tag devices, assembling, by the reader, packets into an aggregate response according to the response forwarding requirement, the aggregate response including the buffered responses from the at least one set of the plurality of tag devices, and transmitting, by the reader, the assembled packets to the network controller.

Example 15. The method of example 14, wherein the network controller includes at least one of a network node or an application function.

Example 16 the method of any of examples 14-15, wherein receiving and buffering a response includes sending, by the reader, a query to at least the plurality of tag devices of the at least one set of tag devices, and sending, by the reader, the query to at least the plurality of tag devices of the at least one set of tag devices and buffering a response based on the reader.

Example 17 the method of any of examples 14-16, wherein the response forwarding requirement includes at least one of delay tolerant information or a delay tolerant timer value to initialize a delay tolerant timer associated with each of the at least one group of tag devices, a minimum payload size of the packet for the aggregate response, relevance information or a relevance factor provided for each of the at least one group, the relevance information or the relevance factor indicating whether there is a relevance between responses from the group of tag devices, and a number of requests for responses to be forwarded among a plurality of relevant responses for a group.

Example 18 the method of any one of examples 14-17, further comprising detecting an event related to the responsive forwarding requirement, and performing the assembling of the packet based on the detection of the event.

Example 19 the method of example 18, wherein detecting the event related to the response forwarding requirement includes detecting, by the reader, at least one of expiration of the delay tolerant timer associated with a group, based on a query sent to at least one tag device of a first group and a query sent to at least one tag device of a second group, a first delay tolerant timer of the first group not expired and a second delay tolerant timer of the second group expired, and the buffered aggregate response received by the reader from the tag devices exceeding the minimum payload size.

Example 20 the method of any of examples 17-19, wherein the number of requests for responses to be forwarded includes a maximum number of responses to be forwarded by the reader among a plurality of related responses for the group.

Example 21 the method of any of examples 17-20, wherein the response forwarding requirement includes the relevance information or the relevance factor provided for each of the at least one group, the relevance information or the relevance factor indicating whether there is a relevance between responses from tag devices of the group and the number of requests for responses to be forwarded among a plurality of relevant responses to the group, the method further comprising determining, by the reader, that responses from tag devices of the first group are relevant based on the relevance information or relevance factor for a first group of the at least one group, and after the reader detects that the number of responses received from tag devices of the first group is greater than or equal to the number of requests for responses of the first group, performing, by the reader, at least one of ceasing sending of a query by the reader to tag devices of the first group, discarding by the reader and not having received more than one of the responses from the tag devices of the first group that have been received by the reader.

Example 22 the method of example 21, wherein determining that the response from the tag device of the first group is correlated comprises comparing, by the reader, the correlation factor for the first group to a threshold value, and determining, by the reader, that the correlation factor for the first group is greater than the threshold value.

Example 23 the method of example 14, wherein the at least one set of tag devices includes at least a first set of tag devices, and wherein the response forwarding requirement includes delay tolerant information or delay tolerant timer values that can be used to initialize the delay tolerant timer values for the first set of tag devices, wherein the method includes starting the delay tolerant timer for the first set upon sending a query to at least one tag device of the first set, and detecting expiration of the delay tolerant timer for the first set, and wherein assembling the packets into an aggregate response includes assembling, by the reader, the packets as the aggregate response based on the detection of the expiration of the delay tolerant timer for the first set of tag devices, the aggregate response including an aggregation of the buffered responses including any responses that have been received and buffered by the reader from the first set of tag devices, and if any responses are received and buffered from any other tag device.

Example 24 the method of any of examples 14-23, wherein the response forwarding requirement for the at least one set of tag devices includes a first response forwarding requirement for a first set of tag devices including at least one of first delay tolerant information or a first delay tolerant timer value to initialize a first delay tolerant timer associated with the first set of tag devices, and a first correlation information or first correlation factor provided for the first set indicating whether a correlation exists between responses from the first set of tag devices, and/or if the first correlation information or the first correlation factor for the first set indicates a correlation between responses of the first set, a second response forwarding requirement for a second set of tag devices including at least one of first delay tolerant information or first correlation factor provided for the first set, indicating a correlation between the first delay tolerant information or second set and the second delay tolerant timer, and/or if the correlation between the first correlation information or the first correlation factor for the first set indicates a correlation between responses of the first set, a first request number of responses to be forwarded from among a plurality of correlation responses of the first set, and a second response forwarding requirement for the second set of tag devices including at least one of first delay tolerant information or second correlation factor provided for the second set, the second correlation information or second correlation factor indicating whether a correlation between the second delay tolerant information or second set indicates a correlation exists between the second response from the first set of tag devices, a second number of requests for a response to be forwarded among the plurality of related responses of the second group.

Example 25 the method of any of examples 16-24, wherein the query sent to at least the plurality of tag devices of the at least one group includes at least one of a group query including a group ID associated with or identifying the at least one group of tag devices, the group query being sent to the tag devices of the at least one group to activate and cause one or more of the tag devices of the at least one group to send a response, a device query including a tag ID of a tag device, the device query being sent to each of the plurality of tag devices of the at least one group to activate and cause each of the tag devices to send a response individually.

Example 26 the method of any of examples 14-25, wherein the wireless system comprises an ambient internet of things (AIoT) wireless system, and wherein the at least one set of tag devices comprises at least one set AIoT of devices.

Example 27, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions stored thereon that, when executed by at least one processor, are configured to cause a computing system to receive, by a reader, a response request from a network controller in a wireless system, the wireless system comprising at least one set of tag devices, the response request comprising a response forwarding requirement for the at least one set of tag devices, receive and buffer responses from the plurality of tag devices, assemble, by the reader, packets into an aggregate response according to the response forwarding requirement, the aggregate response comprising the buffered responses from the at least one set of plurality of tag devices, and transmit, by the reader, the assembled packets to the network controller.

Example 28, an apparatus includes means for receiving, by a reader, a response request from a network controller in a wireless system, the wireless system including at least one set of tag devices, the response request including a response forwarding requirement for the at least one set of tag devices, means for receiving and buffering responses from the plurality of tag devices, means for assembling, by the reader, packets into an aggregate response based on the response forwarding requirement, the aggregate response including the buffered responses from the at least one set of the plurality of tag devices, and means for transmitting, by the reader, the assembled packets to the network controller.

Example 29, an apparatus comprising at least one processor, and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least transmit, by a network controller, a response request to a reader in a wireless system, the wireless system comprising at least one set of tag devices, the response request comprising a set-specific response forwarding requirement for the at least one set of tag devices, the response forwarding requirement indicating a forwarding requirement for the reader to forward an aggregate response to the network controller, the aggregate response comprising a plurality of responses received by the reader from the tag devices, receive, by the network controller, a packet from the reader comprising the aggregate response, the aggregate response comprising responses received by the reader from the plurality of tag devices, and disassemble, by the network controller, the aggregate response into the plurality of responses from the plurality of tag devices.

Example 30 the apparatus of example 29, wherein the network controller comprises at least one of a network node or an application function.

Example 31 the apparatus of example 29, wherein the packet comprises a header comprising a tag ID and a response length for each of the plurality of responses included in the aggregate response, and wherein the apparatus is caused to disassemble comprises causing the apparatus to disassemble the aggregate response into the plurality of responses from the plurality of tag devices based on the header by the network controller.

Example 32 the apparatus of any of examples 29-31, wherein the response forwarding requirement for the reader to forward the aggregate response to the network controller includes at least one of delay tolerant information or delay tolerant timer values to initialize delay tolerant timers associated with each of the at least one group of tag devices, a minimum payload size of the packet for the aggregate response, relevance information or a relevance factor provided for each of the at least one group, the relevance information or the relevance factor indicating whether there is a relevance between responses from the group of tag devices, and a number of requests for a response to be forwarded among a plurality of related responses for a group.

Example 33 the apparatus of example 32, wherein the apparatus is caused to receive, by the network controller, the packet including the aggregate response from the reader comprises causing the apparatus to receive, by the network controller, the packet including the aggregate response based on at least one of expiration of the delay tolerant timer associated with a group, based on a query sent to at least one tag device of a first group and a query sent to at least one tag device of a second group, the first delay tolerant timer of the first group not expiring, and the second delay tolerant timer of the second group expiring, and the buffered aggregate response received by the reader from the tag device exceeding the minimum payload size.

Example 34 the apparatus of any of examples 29-33, wherein the response forwarding requirement for the reader to forward the aggregate response to the network controller comprises at least one of first response forwarding requirements for a first set of tag devices including at least one of first delay tolerant information or a first delay tolerant timer value to initialize a first delay tolerant timer associated with the first set of tag devices, and first correlation information or a first correlation factor provided for the first set, the first correlation information or the first correlation factor indicating whether a correlation exists between responses from the first set of tag devices, and/or if the first correlation information or the first correlation factor for the first set indicates a correlation between responses of the first set, a first number of requests for a plurality of correlation responses to be forwarded for the first set, and a second set of tag devices including at least one of first delay tolerant information or a first correlation factor provided for the second set, and a second correlation factor provided for the second set of tag devices indicating whether a correlation exists between the second correlation information or the second set indicates a correlation between the first correlation information or the first correlation factor for the second set, and/or the second correlation factor provided for the second set of delay tolerant information or the second set indicates whether a correlation between the first correlation information or the second correlation factor for the second set of response exists, a second number of requests for a response to be forwarded among the plurality of related responses of the second group.

Example 35 the apparatus of any of examples 29-34, wherein the wireless system comprises an ambient internet of things (AIoT) wireless system, and wherein the at least one set of tag devices comprises at least one set AIoT of devices.

Example 36, a method includes sending, by a network controller, a response request to a reader in a wireless system, the wireless system including at least one set of tag devices, the response request including a set-specific response forwarding requirement for at least one set of tag devices, the response forwarding requirement indicating a forwarding requirement for the reader to forward an aggregate response to the network controller, the aggregate response including a plurality of responses received by the reader from the tag devices, receiving, by the network controller, a packet including the aggregate response from the reader, the aggregate response including responses received by the reader from the plurality of tag devices, and de-aggregating, by the network controller, the aggregate response into the plurality of responses from the plurality of tag devices.

Example 37 the method of example 36, wherein the network controller includes at least one of a network node or an application function.

Example 38 the method of any of examples 36-37, wherein the packet includes a header including a tag ID and a response length for each of the plurality of responses included in the aggregate response, and wherein the un-aggregating includes un-aggregating the aggregate response into the plurality of responses from the plurality of tag devices by the network controller based on the header.

Example 39 the method of any of examples 36-38, wherein the response forwarding requirement for the reader to forward the aggregate response to the network controller includes at least one of delay tolerant information or delay tolerant timer values to initialize delay tolerant timers associated with each of the at least one group of tag devices, a minimum payload size of the packet for the aggregate response, relevance information or a relevance factor provided for each of the at least one group, the relevance information or the relevance factor indicating whether there is a relevance between responses from the group of tag devices, and a number of requests for a response to be forwarded among a plurality of related responses for a group.

Example 40. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions stored thereon that, when executed by at least one processor, are configured to cause a computing system to transmit, by a network controller, a response request to a reader in a wireless system, the wireless system comprising at least one set of tag devices, the response request comprising a set-specific response forwarding requirement for at least one set of tag devices, the response forwarding requirement indicating a forwarding requirement for the reader to forward an aggregate response to the network controller, the aggregate response comprising a plurality of responses received by the reader from the tag devices, receive, by the network controller, a packet comprising the aggregate response from the reader, the aggregate response comprising responses received by the reader from the plurality of tag devices, and disassemble, by the network controller, the aggregate response into the plurality of responses from the plurality of tag devices.

Example 41, an apparatus comprising means for transmitting, by a network controller, a response request to a reader in a wireless system, the wireless system comprising at least one set of tag devices, the response request comprising a set-specific response forwarding requirement for at least one set of tag devices, the response forwarding requirement indicating a forwarding requirement for the reader to forward an aggregate response to the network controller, the aggregate response comprising a plurality of responses received by the reader from the tag devices, means for receiving, by the network controller, a packet comprising the aggregate response from the reader, the aggregate response comprising responses received by the reader from the plurality of tag devices, and means for deconstructing, by the network controller, the aggregate response into the plurality of responses from the plurality of tag devices.

Further, some additional examples may include:

The apparatus of example 32, wherein the minimum payload size is determined based on a type of reader and information of a wireless network maximum transmission unit. Note that MTU defines that the Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) is the size of the largest Protocol Data Unit (PDU) that can be transmitted in a single network layer transaction. This is generally referred to as a transport network and any packet larger than this size needs to be fragmented. Since the reader may have to communicate with the network (gNB) over the air, the MTU may be smaller and set accordingly depending on the type of reader.

The apparatus of any of examples 32-33, wherein the delay tolerant timer is modified based on a time of receipt of the response request.

The apparatus of example 32, wherein the relevance factor is determined based on the types of devices within the group, their geographic locations, and sensitivity to changes in the spatial domain.

The apparatus of example 32, wherein a number of requests to respond is determined based on the load of the wireless network and the relevance factor or relevance information. More responses may be allowed during the night, for example when the network load is low.

Fig. 6 is a block diagram of a wireless station (e.g., AP, BS, or user equipment/UE or other network node) 1500 in accordance with an example embodiment. The wireless station 1500 may include, for example, one or more (e.g., two as shown in fig. 6) RF (radio frequency) or wireless transceivers 1502A, 1502B, each of which includes a transmitter for transmitting signals and a receiver for receiving signals. The wireless station also includes a processor or control unit/entity (controller) 1504 for executing instructions or software and controlling the transmission and reception of signals, and a memory 1506 for storing data and/or instructions.

The processor 1504 may also make decisions or determinations, generate frames, packets, or messages for transmission, decode the received frames or messages for further processing, and other tasks or functions described herein. For example, the processor 1504 (which may be a baseband processor) may generate messages, packets, frames, or other signals for transmission via the wireless transceiver 1502 (1502A or 1502B). The processor 1504 may control transmission of signals or messages over a wireless network and may control reception of signals or messages, etc., via the wireless network (e.g., after being down-converted by the wireless transceiver 1502). The processor 1504 can be programmable and can execute software or other instructions stored in memory or on other computer media to perform the various tasks and functions described above, such as one or more of the tasks or methods described above. The processor 1504 may be (or may include) a programmable processor such as hardware, programmable logic, executing software or firmware, and/or any combination of these. Using other terminology, the processor 1504 and the transceiver 1502 together may be considered, for example, a wireless transmitter/receiver system.

In addition, referring to fig. 6, a controller (or processor) 1508 may execute software and instructions and may provide overall control for the station 1500, and may provide control for other systems not shown in fig. 6, such as controlling input/output devices (e.g., displays, keypads), and/or may execute software for one or more applications, such as, for example, email programs, audio/video applications, word processors, voice over IP applications, or other applications or software, that may be provided on the wireless station 1500.

Additionally, a storage medium may be provided that includes stored instructions that, when executed by a controller or processor, may cause the processor 1504 or other controller or processor to perform one or more of the functions or tasks described above.

According to another exemplary embodiment, RF or wireless transceiver 1502A/1502B may receive signals or data and/or transmit or send signals or data. The processor 1504 (and possibly the transceivers 1502A/1502B) may control the RF or wireless transceivers 1502A or 1502B to receive, transmit, broadcast, or transmit signals or data.

However, the embodiments are not limited to the systems given as examples, but the skilled person may apply the solution to other communication systems. Another example of a suitable communication system is the 5G concept. It is assumed that the network architecture in 5G will be very similar to that of LTE-advanced. The 5G may use multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antennas, many more base stations or nodes than LTE (so-called small cell concept), including macro sites operating in cooperation with smaller stations, and possibly also employ various radio technologies to achieve better coverage and enhanced data rates.

It should be appreciated that future networks will likely utilize Network Function Virtualization (NFV), a network architecture concept that proposes virtualizing network node functions into "building blocks" or entities that may be operatively connected or associated together to provide services. A Virtualized Network Function (VNF) may comprise one or more virtual machines that run computer program code using standard or generic type servers instead of custom hardware. Cloud computing or data storage may also be utilized. In radio communications, this may mean that node operations may be performed at least in part in a server, host, or node operatively coupled to a remote radio head. It is also possible that node operations will be distributed among multiple servers, nodes, or hosts. It should also be appreciated that the division between core network operation and base station operation may be different from that of LTE, or even non-existent.

Embodiments of the various techniques described herein may be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer hardware, firmware, software, or in combinations of them. Embodiments may be implemented as a computer program product, i.e., a computer program tangibly embodied in an information carrier, e.g., in a machine-readable storage device or in a propagated signal, for execution by, or to control the operation of, data processing apparatus, e.g., a programmable processor, a computer, or multiple computers. Embodiments may also be provided on a computer-readable medium or a computer-readable storage medium (which may be a non-transitory medium). Embodiments of the various techniques may also include embodiments provided via transitory signals or media, and/or program and/or software embodiments that may be downloaded via the internet or other network(s) (wired and/or wireless). Additionally, embodiments may be provided via Machine Type Communication (MTC) and also via internet of things (IOT).

A computer program may be in source code form, object code form, or in some intermediate form and it may be stored in some carrier, distribution medium, or computer readable medium, which may be any entity or device capable of carrying the program. Such carriers include, for example, recording media, computer memory, read-only memory, electro-optical and/or electrical carrier signals, telecommunications signals, and software distribution packages. The computer program may be executed in a single electronic digital computer or may be distributed among multiple computers, depending on the processing power required.

Further, embodiments of the various techniques described herein may use a network-physical system (CPS) (a system of cooperating computing elements that control physical entities). CPS may implement embodiments and utilization of a multitude of interconnected ICT devices (sensors, actuators, processor microcontrollers.) embedded in physical objects at different locations. The mobile network physical systems in which the physical systems discussed have inherent mobility are sub-categories of network physical systems. Examples of mobile physical systems include mobile robots and electronic devices transported by humans or animals. The increasing popularity of smartphones has increased interest in the field of mobile network-physical systems. Thus, various embodiments of the techniques described herein may be provided via one or more of these techniques.

A computer program, such as the computer program(s) described above, can be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as a stand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unit or portion thereof suitable for use in a computing environment. A computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computers at one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network.

The method steps may be performed by one or more programmable processors executing a computer program or portion of a computer program to perform functions by operating on input data and generating output. Method steps may also be performed by, and apparatus may be implemented as, special purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit).

Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, by way of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, and any one or more processors of any kind of digital computer, chip or chipset. Generally, a processor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory or a random access memory or both. Elements of a computer may include at least one processor for executing instructions and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer will also include, or be operatively coupled to receive data from or transfer data to, or both, one or more mass storage devices for storing data, e.g., magnetic, magneto-optical disks, or optical disks. Information carriers suitable for embodying computer program instructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory, including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices, magnetic disks, e.g., internal hard disks or removable disks, magneto-optical disks, and CD ROM and DVD ROM disks. The processor and the memory can be supplemented by, or incorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry.

To provide for interaction with a user, embodiments can be implemented on a computer having a display device (e.g., a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) or Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) display screen) for displaying information to the user and a user interface (such as a keyboard and a pointing device, e.g., a mouse or a trackball) by which the user can provide input to the computer. Other types of devices may also be used to provide interaction with the user, for example, feedback provided to the user may be any form of sensory feedback, such as visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback, and input from the user may be received in any form, including acoustic, speech, or tactile input.

Embodiments may be implemented in a computing system that includes a back-end component, e.g., as a data server, or that includes a middleware component, e.g., an application server, or that includes a front-end component, e.g., a client computer having a graphical user interface or a Web browser through which a user can interact with an embodiment, or any combination of such back-end, middleware, or front-end components. The components may be interconnected by any form or medium of digital data communication (e.g., a communication network). Examples of communication networks include Local Area Networks (LANs) and Wide Area Networks (WANs), such as the internet.

While certain features of the described embodiments have been illustrated as described herein, many modifications, substitutions, changes, and equivalents will now occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit of the various embodiments.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

At least one processor; and

At least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the device to at least:

A reader receives a response request from a network controller in a wireless system, the wireless system including at least one group of tag devices, the response request including a response forwarding request for the at least one group of tag devices;

Receive and buffer responses from the plurality of tag devices;

The reader assembles packets into an aggregate response according to the response forwarding request, the aggregate response including buffered responses from the at least one group of the multiple tag devices; and

The assembled packet is sent by the reader to the network controller.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the network controller comprises at least one of a network node or an application function.

3. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1-2, wherein receiving and buffering a response comprises causing the apparatus to:

Send queries to at least one or more of the tag devices in the at least one group; and

The reader sends the query to at least one group of at least one plurality of tag devices, and the reader receives and buffers the response.

4. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the response forwarding requirement includes at least one of the following:

Delay tolerance information, or a delay tolerance timer value used to initialize the delay tolerance timer associated with each of the at least one group of tag devices;

The minimum payload size of the group for the aggregated response;

For each of the at least one group, the provided relevance information or relevance factor indicates whether a correlation exists between the responses of the tag devices from the group; and

The number of requests to be forwarded among multiple related responses for a group.

5. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein the apparatus is further configured to:

Detect events related to the response forwarding request; and

The assembly of the group is performed based on the detection of the event.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the apparatus is configured to detect the event associated with the response forwarding request by causing the apparatus to be detected by the reader of at least one of the following:

The expiration of the delay tolerance timer associated with the group;

Based on queries sent to at least one tag device in the first group and queries sent to at least one tag device in the second group, the first delay tolerance timer for the first group has not expired, and the second delay tolerance timer for the second group has expired; and

The buffered aggregate response received by the reader from the tag device exceeds the minimum payload size.

7. The apparatus according to any one of claims 4-6, wherein the number of requests for responses to be forwarded includes the maximum number of responses to be forwarded by the reader among the plurality of related responses to the group.

8. The apparatus according to any one of claims 4-7, wherein the response forwarding request comprises: the relevance information or the relevance factor provided for each of the at least one group, the relevance information or the relevance factor indicating whether there is a relevance between responses from the tag devices of the group, and the number of requests for responses to be forwarded among a plurality of related responses of the group.

The device is configured such that:

The reader determines that the response from the tag device in the first group is relevant based on the relevance information or the relevance factor for the first group of the at least one group; and

After the reader detects that the number of responses received from the tag devices of the first group is greater than or equal to the number of requests for responses to the first group, the reader performs at least one of the following:

Stop sending queries from the reader to the tag devices in the first group;

One or more additional responses received from the tag devices of the first group that exceed the number of responses already received by the reader are discarded by the reader and are not forwarded in the packet.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein determining that a response from the tag devices of the first group is relevant includes causing the apparatus to:

The correlation factors for the first group are compared with the threshold; and

The correlation factor for the first group is determined to be greater than the threshold.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one group of tag devices includes at least a first group of tag devices, and wherein the response forwarding request includes latency tolerance information or a latency tolerance timer value that can be used to initialize a latency tolerance timer for the first group of tag devices;

The device is configured such that:

When a query is sent to at least one tag device in the first group, the delay tolerance timer for the first group is started; and

Detecting the expiration of the delay tolerance timer for the first group; and

The means therein being configured to assemble the packets into an aggregate response comprises the means of: assembling the packets into the aggregate response by the reader based on the detection of the expiration of the delay tolerance timer for the first group, the aggregate response comprising an aggregate of buffered responses, the buffered responses comprising any responses that have been received and buffered by the reader from the tag devices of the first group, and any responses that have been received and buffered from the tag devices of other groups if received and buffered.

11. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1-10, wherein the response forwarding request for the at least one group of tag devices comprises:

The first response forwarding requirement for the first group of tag devices includes at least one of the following:

First delay tolerance information or a first delay tolerance timer value used to initialize a first delay tolerance timer associated with the first group of tag devices; and

Regarding the first correlation information or first correlation factor provided by the first group, the first correlation information or first correlation factor indicates whether there is a correlation between the responses from the tag devices of the first group; and/or

If the first correlation information or the first correlation factor for the first group indicates the correlation between responses in the first group, the first number of requests to forward responses among multiple related responses in the first group; and

The second response forwarding requirement for the second group of tag devices includes at least one of the following:

The second delay tolerance information or the second delay tolerance timer value used to initialize the second delay tolerance timer associated with the second group of tag devices; and

Regarding the second correlation information or second correlation factor provided by the second group, the second correlation information or second correlation factor indicates whether there is a correlation between the responses from the tag devices of the second group; and/or

If the second correlation information or the second correlation factor for the second group indicates the correlation between the responses of the second group, the second request number of responses to be forwarded among the multiple related responses of the second group.

12. The apparatus according to any one of claims 3-11, wherein the query sent to the at least one group of at least one plurality of tag devices includes at least one of the following:

A group query, including a group ID associated with or identifying the at least one group of tag devices, is sent to the at least one group of tag devices to activate and cause one or more of the at least one group of tag devices to send a response;

Device query, including the tag ID of the tag device, is sent to each of the plurality of tag devices in the at least one group to individually activate and cause each of the tag devices to send a response.

13. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1-12, wherein the wireless system comprises an environmental Internet of Things (AIoT) wireless system, and wherein the at least one set of tag devices comprises at least one set of AIoT devices.

14. A method comprising:

Receive and buffer responses from the plurality of tag devices;

The assembled packet is sent by the reader to the network controller.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the network controller comprises at least one of a network node or an application function.

16. The method according to any one of claims 14-15, wherein receiving and buffering the response comprises:

The reader sends a query to at least one of the multiple tag devices in the at least one group of tag devices; and

The reader sends the query to at least one or more tag devices in the at least one group of tag devices, and the reader receives and buffers the response.

17. The method according to any one of claims 14-16, wherein the response forwarding requirement includes at least one of the following:

The minimum payload size of the group for the aggregated response;

18. The method according to any one of claims 14-17, further comprising:

Detect events related to the response forwarding request; and

The assembly of the group is performed based on the detection of the event.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein detecting the event related to the response forwarding request comprises the reader detecting at least one of the following:

The expiration of the delay tolerance timer associated with the group;

20. The method of any one of claims 17-19, wherein the number of requests for responses to be forwarded includes the maximum number of responses to be forwarded by the reader among a plurality of related responses to the group.

21. The method of any one of claims 17-20, wherein the response forwarding requirement includes the relevance information or the relevance factor provided for each of the at least one group, the relevance information or the relevance factor indicating whether there is a relevance between responses from the tag devices of the group, and the number of requests for responses to be forwarded among a plurality of related responses of the group.

The method further includes:

The reader determines that the response from the tag device in the first group is relevant based on the relevance information or relevance factor for the first group of the at least one group; and

Stop sending queries from the reader to the tag devices in the first group;

22. The method of claim 21, wherein determining that the response from the tag devices of the first group is relevant includes:

The reader compares the correlation factors for the first group with a threshold; and

The reader determines that the correlation factor for the first group is greater than the threshold.

23. The method of claim 14, wherein the at least one group of tag devices includes at least a first group of tag devices, and wherein the response forwarding request includes latency tolerance information or a latency tolerance timer value, the latency tolerance information or the latency tolerance timer value that can be used to initialize a latency tolerance timer for the first group of tag devices;

The method includes:

Detecting the expiration of the delay tolerance timer for the first group; and

Assembling the packets into an aggregated response includes: assembling the packets as the aggregated response by the reader based on the detection of the expiration of the delay tolerance timer for the first group of tag devices, the aggregated response comprising an aggregation of buffered responses, the buffered responses including any responses that have been received and buffered by the reader from the tag devices of the first group, and any responses that have been received and buffered from tag devices of other groups if received and buffered.

24. The method according to any one of claims 14-23, wherein the response forwarding requirement for the at least one group of tag devices comprises:

25. The method according to any one of claims 16-24, wherein the query sent to the at least one group of at least one plurality of tag devices includes at least one of the following:

26. The method according to any one of claims 14-25, wherein the wireless system comprises an environmental Internet of Things (AIoT) wireless system, and wherein the at least one set of tag devices comprises at least one set of AIoT devices.

27. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions stored thereon, the instructions being configured, when executed by at least one processor, to cause a computing system to:

Receive and buffer responses from the plurality of tag devices;

The assembled packet is sent by the reader to the network controller.

28. An apparatus comprising:

Components for receiving a response request from a network controller in a wireless system by a reader, the wireless system including at least one set of tag devices, the response request including a response forwarding request for the at least one set of tag devices;

Components for receiving and buffering responses from the plurality of tag devices;

Components for assembling packets into an aggregated response by the reader according to the response forwarding request, the aggregated response comprising buffered responses from the at least one group of the plurality of the tag devices; and

Components for sending the assembled packets from the reader to the network controller.

29. An apparatus comprising:

At least one processor; and

A response request is sent from a network controller to a reader in a wireless system, the wireless system including at least one group of tag devices, the response request including a group-specific response forwarding request for the at least one group of tag devices, the response forwarding request indicating a forwarding request for the reader to forward an aggregated response to the network controller, the aggregated response including multiple responses received by the reader from the tag devices;

The network controller receives a packet from the reader including the aggregated response, the aggregated response including responses received by the reader from multiple tag devices; and

The network controller breaks down the aggregated response into multiple responses from the multiple tag devices.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the network controller comprises at least one of a network node or an application function.

31. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the packet includes a header, the header including a tag ID and a response length for each of the plurality of responses included in the aggregated response; and

The device being disassembled includes making the device:

The network controller breaks down the aggregated response into multiple responses from the multiple tag devices based on the header.

32. The apparatus according to any one of claims 29-31, wherein the response forwarding requirement for the reader to forward the aggregated response to the network controller includes at least one of the following:

The minimum payload size of the group for the aggregated response;

33. The apparatus of claim 32, wherein receiving the packet including the aggregation response from the reader by the network controller comprises causing the apparatus to receive the packet including the aggregation response by the network controller based on at least one of the following:

The expiration of the delay tolerance timer associated with the group;

34. The apparatus according to any one of claims 29-33, wherein the response forwarding requirement for the reader to forward the aggregated response to the network controller includes at least one of the following:

35. The apparatus according to any one of claims 29-34, wherein the wireless system comprises an Ambient Internet of Things (AIoT) wireless system, and wherein the at least one set of tag devices comprises at least one set of AIoT devices.

36. A method comprising:

The network controller receives a packet from the reader including the aggregated response, the aggregated response including responses received by the reader from the plurality of tag devices; and

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the network controller comprises at least one of a network node or an application function.

38. The method of any one of claims 36-37, wherein the grouping includes a header, the header including a tag ID and a response length for each of the plurality of responses included in the aggregated response; and

The disassembly includes:

39. The method according to any one of claims 36-38, wherein the response forwarding requirement for the reader to forward the aggregated response to the network controller includes at least one of the following:

The minimum payload size of the group for the aggregated response;

40. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions stored thereon, the instructions being configured, when executed by at least one processor, to cause a computing system to:

41. An apparatus comprising:

A component for sending a response request from a network controller to a reader in a wireless system, the wireless system including at least one group of tag devices, the response request including a group-specific response forwarding request for at least one group of tag devices, the response forwarding request indicating a forwarding request for the reader to forward an aggregated response to the network controller, the aggregated response including multiple responses received by the reader from the tag devices;

Components for receiving, by the network controller, a packet including the aggregated response from the reader, the aggregated response including responses received by the reader from the plurality of tag devices; and

A component for the network controller to break down the aggregated response into the plurality of responses from the plurality of tag devices.