SIDELINK CONTROL INFORMATION STAGE 2 FORMAT

Abstract

Systems, methods, and circuitries are provided for performing sidelink communication. An example method generates SCI stage 1 and stage 2 for transmitting a transport block (TB) to a user equipment device (UE). The method includes determining the type of sidelink communication for transmitting the TB. An SCI stage 2 format is selected based on the type of sidelink communication. An SCI stage 2 payload is encoded in accordance with the selected SCI stage 2 format. The selected SCI stage 2 format value is encoded in an SCI stage 1 payload. The SCI stage 1 payload and SCI stage 2 payload are transmitted to the UE.

Claims

1-17. (canceled)

18. An apparatus for a first user equipment wireless communication device (UE), comprising one or more processors configured to cause the first UE to: determine a sidelink communication type for use in transmitting a transport block (TB) to a second UE; select a sidelink control information (SCI) stage 2 format based on the sidelink communication type by: selecting a first SCI stage 2 format when the sidelink communication type is broadcast, unicast, or groupcast option 2; and selecting a second SCI stage 2 format when the sidelink communication type is groupcast option 1; encode an SCI stage 2 payload in accordance with the selected SCI stage 2 format; and transmit the SCI stage 2 payload to the second UE.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the one or more processors are configured to cause the UE to, when the first SCI stage 2 format is selected: enable a feedback bit in the SCI stage 2 payload to instruct the second UE to provide ACK/NACK feedback; and disable the feedback bit in the SCI stage 2 payload to instruct the second UE not to provide feedback.

20. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the one or more processors are configured to cause the UE to, when the second SCI stage 2 format is selected: encode a communication range in the SCI stage 2 payload that defines a distance with respect to the first UE; enable a feedback bit to cause the second UE to provide NACK feedback when the second UE is within the communication range with respect to the first UE and not to provide feedback when the second UE is outside the communication range with respect to the first UE; and disable the feedback bit to cause the second UE to not provide feedback.

21. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the one or more processors are configured to cause the UE to, when the second SCI stage 2 format is selected: encode a communication range in the SCI stage 2 payload that defines a distance with respect to the first UE to cause the second UE to provide NACK feedback when the second UE is within the communication range with respect to the first UE and not to provide feedback when the second UE is outside the communication range with respect to the first UE; and set the communication range to zero to cause the second UE to not provide feedback.

22-48. (canceled)

49. A method, comprising: determining a sidelink communication type for use in transmitting a transport block (TB) to a UE; selecting a first sidelink control information (SCI) stage 2 format when the sidelink communication type is broadcast, unicast, or groupcast option 2; and selecting a second SCI stage 2 format when the sidelink communication type is groupcast option 1; encoding an SCI stage 2 payload in accordance with the selected SCI stage 2 format; and transmitting the SCI stage 2 payload to the UE.

50. The method of claim 49, comprising, when the first SCI stage 2 format is selected: enabling a feedback bit in the SCI stage 2 payload to instruct the UE to provide ACK/NACK feedback; and disabling the feedback bit in the SCI stage 2 payload to instruct the UE not to provide feedback.

51. The method of claim 49, comprising, when the second SCI stage 2 format is selected: encoding a communication range in the SCI stage 2 payload that defines a distance; enabling a feedback bit to cause the UE to provide NACK feedback when the UE is within the communication range and not to provide feedback when the UE is outside the communication range; and disabling the feedback bit to cause the UE to not provide feedback.

52. The method of claim 49, comprising, when the second SCI stage 2 format is selected: encoding a communication range in the SCI stage 2 payload that defines a distance to cause the UE to provide NACK feedback when the UE is within the communication range and not to provide feedback when the UE is outside the communication range; and setting the communication range to zero to cause the UE to not provide feedback.

53-62. (canceled)

63. A method, comprising, with a first user equipment wireless communication device (UE): receiving a sidelink control information (SCI) stage 1, an SCI stage 2, and a transport block from a second UE; decoding the SCI stage 1 to determine an SCI stage 2 format characterizing a format of the SCI stage 2; and determining, based on the SCI stage 2 format, a type of feedback to provide to the second UE to indicate whether the TB was successfully received.

64. The method of claim 63, comprising: determining that the SCI stage 2 format is format 1; and in response, refraining from sending feedback to the second UE.

65. The method of claim 64, comprising: determining that the SCI stage 2 format is format 2; and in response: decoding the SCI stage 2 to determine whether a feedback bit of the SCI stage 2 is set; sending acknowledgement/negative acknowledgement (ACK/NACK) feedback to the second UE when the feedback bit is set; and refraining from sending feedback to the second UE when the feedback bit is not set.

66. The method of claim 65, comprising: determining that the SCI stage 2 format is format 3; and in response: decoding the SCI stage 2 to determine a communication range; determining whether the second UE is within the communication range; sending NACK feedback to the second UE when the second UE is within the communication range; and refraining from sending feedback when the second UE is not within the communication range.

67. The method of claim 65, comprising: determining that the SCI stage 2 format is format 3; and in response: decoding the SCI stage 2 to determine whether a feedback bit of the SCI stage 2 is set; sending NACK feedback to the second UE when the feedback bit is set; and refraining from sending feedback to the second UE when the feedback bit is not set.

68. The method of claim 65, comprising: determining that the SCI stage 2 format is format 3; and in response: decoding the SCI stage 2 to determine whether a feedback bit is set and a communication range; determining whether the second UE is within the communication range; sending NACK feedback to the second UE when the second UE is within the communication range and the feedback bit is set; and refraining from sending feedback when the second UE is not within the communication range or the feedback bit is not set.

69. The method of claim 63, comprising: determining that the SCI stage 2 format is format 1; and in response: decoding the SCI stage 2 to determine whether a feedback bit of the SCI stage 2 is set; sending ACK/NACK feedback to the second UE when the feedback bit is set; and refraining from sending feedback to the second UE when the feedback bit is not set.

70. The method of claim 69, comprising: determining that the SCI stage 2 format is format 2; and in response: decoding the SCI stage 2 to determine a communication range; determining whether the second UE is within the communication range; sending NACK feedback to the second UE when the second UE is within the communication range; and refraining from sending feedback when the second UE is not within the communication range.

71. The method of claim 69, comprising: determining that the SCI stage 2 format is format 2; and in response: decoding the SCI stage 2 to determine whether a feedback bit is set and a communication range; determining whether the second UE is within the communication range; sending NACK feedback to the second UE when the second UE is within the communication range and the feedback bit is set; and refraining from sending feedback when the second UE is not within the communication range or the feedback bit is not set.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0002] Some examples of circuits, apparatuses and/or methods will be described in the following by way of example only. In this context, reference will be made to the accompanying figures.

[0003] FIGS. 1A-1C illustrate simplified overviews of unicast, groupcast, and broadcast sidelink communication, respectively.

[0004] FIG. 2 illustrates an example communication sequence for sidelink communication between a transmit user equipment wireless communication device (UE) and a receiving (RX) UE.

[0005] FIG. 3 illustrates an example bit allocation for sidelink control information (SCI) stage 2.

[0006] FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram of an example method for selecting an SCI stage 2 format, in accordance with various aspects described.

[0007] FIG. 5 illustrates a flow diagram of an example method for determining a type of requested feedback based on two stage SCI, in accordance with various aspects described.

[0008] FIG. 6 illustrates a flow diagram of an example method for determining a type of requested feedback based on two stage SCI, in accordance with various aspects described.

[0009] FIG. 7 illustrates a flow diagram of an example method for determining a type of requested feedback based on two stage SCI, in accordance with various aspects described.

[0010] FIG. 8 illustrates a flow diagram of an example method for determining a type of requested feedback based on two stage SCI, in accordance with various aspects described.

[0011] FIG. 9 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a user equipment wireless communication device, in accordance with various aspects described.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0012] The present disclosure is described with reference to the attached figures. The figures are not drawn to scale and they are provided merely to illustrate the disclosure. Several aspects of the disclosure are described below with reference to example applications for illustration. Numerous specific details, relationships, and methods are set forth to provide an understanding of the disclosure. The present disclosure is not limited by the illustrated ordering of acts or events, as some acts may occur in different orders and/or concurrently with other acts or events. Furthermore, not all illustrated acts or events are required to implement a methodology in accordance with the selected present disclosure.

[0013] FIGS. 1A-1C are block diagrams of a wireless communication network 100 in which wireless communication devices (e.g., user equipment (UE) devices) use unicast, groupcast, and broadcast communication. Each device in the network includes vehicle-to-everything (V2X) circuitry 110 that includes one or more processors configured to perform various types of V2X communication. For the purposes of this description, when a “device” is described as performing some function, it can be understood that it is the processor(s) in the V2X circuitry that is performing the function. An example wireless communication device is illustrated in more detail in FIG. 9.

[0014] A transmitting (TX) device (e.g., device 101) seeking to transmit data to one or more receiving (RX) device(s) in the wireless communication network first determines sidelink channel resources that are available for this purpose. In Mode 1 (not shown), the TX device 101 requests sidelink channel resources from a manager device 100 that coordinates communication between the devices in the network. The manager device 100 may be another UE device or a base station device (gNB, eNB, and so on). The manager device 100 provides downlink control information (DCI) and/or sidelink configured grant configurations to the TX device that identifies specific sidelink channel resources to be used by the TX device to transmit data. The specific sidelink channel resources are selected from a resource pool allocated to the network.

[0015] Depending on whether the TX device is going to perform a unicast, groupcast, or broadcast transmission of data, the TX device determines (e.g., via higher layer signaling) a Layer-1 destination identifier (L1 destination ID) that uniquely identifies one or more channels between the TX device 101 and a specific RX device (a unicast identifier), a group of RX devices (a groupcast identifier), or all RX devices (a broadcast identifier) in the wireless communication network. In one example, the channels identified by LI destination IDs are physical sidelink control channels (PSCCH).

[0016] In Mode 2 (shown in FIGS. 1A-1C), the TX device 101 selects sidelink channel resources for transmitting data from a pre-allocated resource pool received a priori from a manager device rather than receiving a designation or allocation of particular sidelink communication resources from the manager device 100.

[0017] In the unicast example of FIG. 1A, TX device 101 seeks to transmit data to RX device 102 and no other device. To enable this “direct” communication, the TX device 101 uses a unicast LI destination ID for the device 102 to initiate communication with the RX device 102. TX device 101 sends sidelink control information (SCI) using PSCCH resources associated with the LI destination ID for RX device 102. The SCI instructs the RX device 102 how to subsequently receive a transport block (TB) of data from TX device 101. For example, the SCI includes the unicast L1 destination ID for the RX device 102 and identifies frequency and time resources that specify a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) that will be used to transmit (and retransmit in certain circumstances) the TB. The SCI may also instruct the RX device whether to provide feedback, such as an acknowledgement/negative acknowledgement (ACK/NACK) indication, to confirm receipt of the TB or to communicate that the TB was not received. To this end, the SCI may include a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process identifier that uniquely identifies the TB for use by the RX device in providing the feedback.

[0018] In the groupcast example of FIG. 1B, TX device 101 seeks to transmit data to a group G that includes several devices 102, 103, 104, 105 (while only four devices are in the illustrated group, a different number may be in a group). A Groupcast LI destination ID identifies PSCCH channel(s) monitored by devices in group G for SCI. To enable the groupcast communication, the TX device 101 determines the LI destination ID for the group G. TX device 101 sends SCI using the PSCCH resources associated with the LI destination ID for group G. The SCI instructs devices in group G how to subsequently receive a TB from device 101. For example, the SCI includes the groupcast L1 destination ID for the group G and identifies frequency and time resources that specify a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) that will be used to transmit and retransmit (in certain circumstances) the TB.

[0019] The SCI may indicate a groupcast option 1 or 2 that instruct the RX devices in the group G whether and how to provide feedback. In groupcast option 1, when feedback is enabled the only type of feedback provided by the RX device is NACK and in some examples, when a particular RX device is outside a communication range specified in the SCI the RX device does not provide any feedback. In groupcast option 2, when feedback is enabled, both ACK/NACK feedback are provided the by the RX device. The SCI may include a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process identifier that uniquely identifies the TB for use by the RX device in providing feedback.

[0020] In the broadcast example of FIG. 1C, TX device 101 seeks to transmit data to all devices in the network. A Broadcast LI destination ID identifies PSCCH channel(s) monitored by all devices in the network for SCI. To enable the broadcast communication, the device 101 determines the broadcast LI destination ID for the network. TX Device 101 sends SCI using the PSCCH resources associated with the broadcast LI destination ID for the network. The SCI instructs devices the network how to subsequently receive data from device 101. For example, the SCI includes the broadcast L1 destination ID and identifies frequency and time resources that specify a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) that will be used to transmit and retransmit (in certain circumstances) the TB.

[0021] A two-stage SCI process has been adopted in 5G New Radio, an example of which is presented in a simplified form in FIG. 2. In stage 1, the SCI is transmitted on PSCCH using the polar code that has been adopted for NR DCI in the network. The SCI stage 1 information is encoded in a sequence of bits and is scrambled by combining the sequence of bits (e.g., performing modulo 2 addition) with a pseudo-random scrambling sequence that is generated by the TX device using and a first scrambling initialization value C.sub.init. The resulting sequence of bits are mapped to the frequency and time resources of the PSCCH for the RX device and transmitted by the TX device at 210.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 2, SCI stage 1 includes, in part, frequency/time resource reservation(s) for transmission and optionally retransmission of the TB. Sidelink communication in 5G NR supports reservation of resources for up to two retransmissions of the same TB and the number of reserved resources for retransmissions is defined in the SCI stage 1. In the illustrated example the number of reserved resources for retransmissions is 2. SCI stage 1 also indicates an SCI stage 2 format which instructs the RX device on whether or what type of feedback is to be provided.

[0023] At 210, the SCI stage 2 is transmitted on PSSCH using the polar code that has been adopted for physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) in the network. The SCI stage 2 information is encoded in a sequence of bits and is scrambled by combining the sequence of bits (e.g., performing modulo 2 addition) with a pseudo-random scrambling sequence that is generated by the TX device using a second C.sub.init. The resulting sequence of bits are mapped to the frequency and time resources of the PSSCH and transmitted by the TX device at 220. The SCI stage 2 format defines whether or what type of feedback is expected and also includes, in part, a HARQ process ID, a zoneID for the TX device, and a communication range to be used to determine whether or not to provide NACK feedback in groupcast option 1.

[0024] At 210, the TX device also transmits the TB using the frequency/time resources allocated in SCI stage 1 at 210. The TB is transmitted on the PSSCH using the LDPC code that has been adopted for physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) in the network. The TB data is encoded in a sequence of bits and is scrambled by combining the sequence of bits (e.g., performing modulo 2 addition) with a pseudo-random scrambling sequence that is generated by the TX device using a third C.sub.init. The resulting sequence of bits are mapped to the frequency and time resources of the PSSCH and transmitted by the TX device at 230.

[0025] At 240, the RX device provides the appropriate feedback ACK/NACK, NACK only, or no feedback depending on the SCI stage 2 format. If groupcast option 1 (NACK only) is indicated in the SCI stage 2 format, the RX device determines an approximate distance between the TX device and the RX device based on the ZoneID indicated in the SCI stage 2. The RX device compares this distance to the communication range also indicated in the SCI stage 2. If the distance is less than the communication range, the RX device provides NACK feedback as appropriate. If the distance is greater than or equal to the communication range, then the RX device does not provide any feedback.

[0026] At 250, the TX device retransmits SCI stage 1 and stage 2 and also the TB using the frequency/time resources reserved in SCI stage 1 at 210. The frequency/time resources for the second and third retransmission of the TB are reserved in the SCI stage 1 at 250 and the frequency/time resources for the first retransmission of the TB are allocated in the SCI stage 1 at 250. In one example if the TX device received an ACK at 240 or did not receive a NACK from the RX device (depending on the SCI stage 2 format), the TX device will not retransmit the TB. In the illustrated example, the TX device retransmits the TB regardless of the received feedback. At 260, the RX device provides the appropriate feedback ACK/NACK, NACK only, or no feedback depending on the SCI stage 2 format and optionally the distance between the TX device and RX device (e.g., groupcast option 1).

[0027] At 270, the TX device retransmits SCI stage 1 and stage 2 and also the TB using the frequency/time resources reserved in SCI stage 1 at 210. The frequency/time resources for the third and fourth retransmission of the TB are reserved in the SCI stage 1 at 270 and the frequency/time resources for the second retransmission of the TB are allocated in the SCI stage 1 at 270. At 280, the RX device provides the appropriate feedback ACK/NACK, NACK only, or no feedback depending on the SCI stage 2 format and optionally the distance between the TX device and RX device (e.g., groupcast option 1).

SCI Stage 2 Format Design

[0028] FIG. 3 illustrates is a schematic illustration of a bit allocation 300 for an SCI stage 2 payload applicable for six different types of sidelink communication (e.g., cast-type and with or without feedback) including broadcast, unicast without feedback, groupcast without feedback, unicast with feedback, groupcast option 1 with feedback, and groupcast option 2 with feedback. It can be seen that 8 bits are allocated for a source ID, 16 bits are allocated for a destination ID (when used), 7 bits are allocated for a HARQ ID, new data indicator (NDI), and redundancy version (RV), 1 bit is allocated for channel state information (CSI) request, and 16 bits are allocated for ZoneID and communication range. In one example, 4 bits are used to indicate the communication range requirement from amongst candidates including 50, 80, 180, 200, 350, 400, 500, 700, and 1000 meters.

[0029] One purpose of the SCI stage 2 is to instruct an RX UE as to whether and what type of feedback is to be provided. Thus, the format of the SCI stage 2 should efficiently and clearly communicate feedback expectations in a compact manner. The following description outlines several different SCI stage 2 formats in the context of methods of using a received two-stage SCI to determine an appropriate feedback. In some examples, the same SCI stage 2 format is used for both groupcast HARQ feedback option 1 and option 2. In these examples, an indicator is included in the SCI stage 2 payload to indicate between groupcast feedback option 1 and option 2. In other examples, different SCI stage 2 formats are used for groupcast HARQ feedback option 1 and option 2. In these examples, the SCI stage 1 indicates which SCI stage 2 format is used.

[0030] Following are several flow diagrams outlining example methods. In this description and the appended claims, use of the term “determine” with reference to some entity (e.g., parameter, variable, and so on) in describing a method step or function is to be construed broadly. For example, “determine” is to be construed to encompass, for example, receiving and parsing a communication that encodes the entity or a value of an entity. “Determine” should be construed to encompass accessing and reading memory (e.g., lookup table, register, device memory, remote memory, and so on) that stores the entity or value for the entity. “Determine” should be construed to encompass computing or deriving the entity or value of the entity based on other quantities or entities. “Determine” should be construed to encompass any manner of deducing or identifying an entity or value of the entity.

[0031] As used herein, the term identify when used with reference to some entity or value of an entity is to be construed broadly as encompassing any manner of determining the entity or value of the entity. For example, the term identify is to be construed to encompass, for example, receiving and parsing a communication that encodes the entity or a value of the entity. The term identify should be construed to encompass accessing and reading memory (e.g., device queue, lookup table, register, device memory, remote memory, and so on) that stores the entity or value for the entity.

[0032] As used herein, the term encode when used with reference to some entity or value of an entity is to be construed broadly as encompassing any manner or technique for generating a data sequence or signal that communicates the entity to another component.

[0033] As used herein, the term select when used with reference to some entity or value of an entity is to be construed broadly as encompassing any manner of determining the entity or value of the entity from amongst a plurality or range of possible choices. For example, the term select is to be construed to encompass accessing and reading memory (e.g., lookup table, register, device memory, remote memory, and so on) that stores the entities or values for the entity and returning one entity or entity value from amongst those stored. The term select is to be construed as applying one or more constraints or rules to an input set of parameters to determine an appropriate entity or entity value. The term select is to be construed as broadly encompassing any manner of choosing an entity based on one or more parameters or conditions.

[0034] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram outlining an example method 400 of generating SCI for transmitting a TB to a UE. The method 400 may be performed by processors executing stored instructions and/or hardware of a UE (see FIG. 9). The method includes, at 410, determining the type of sidelink communication for transmitting the TB (e.g., broadcast, unicast with feedback, unicast without feedback, groupcast without feedback, groupcast option 1 with feedback, or groupcast option 2 with feedback). At 420, an SCI stage 2 format is selected based on the type of sidelink communication. At 430, an SCI stage 2 payload is encoded in accordance with the selected SCI stage 2 format. At 440, the selected SCI stage 2 format value is encoded in an SCI stage 1 payload. In one example, the SCI stage 1 payload is encoded prior to encoding the SCI stage 2 payload. At 450 the SCI stage 1 payload and SCI stage 2 payload are transmitted to the UE.

[0035] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram outlining an example method 500 of determining a type of feedback to provide based on a received SCI stage 1 payload and SCI stage 2 payload. The method 500 may be performed by processors executing stored instructions and/or hardware of an RX UE (see FIG. 9). The method 500 is in accordance with a first SCI stage 2 format design alternative. In this design alternative, there are 3 SCI stage 2 formats. At 510, the SCI stage 1 payload is decoded, and at 520 the SCI stage 2 format is identified.

[0036] At 530, SCI stage 2 format 1 indicates that the TB is transmitted using broadcast communication and thus, at 530, no feedback is provided. In one example, a payload of the SCI stage 2 format 1, not including a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) code and reserved bits, is 15 bits.

[0037] At 540, SCI stage 2 format 2 indicates that the TB is transmitted using unicast or groupcast without feedback, or unicast and groupcast option 2 with feedback. The SCI stage 2 payload is decoded and at 550 it is determined whether a feedback bit (e.g., an additional bit not illustrated in FIG. 3) is set or not. When the feedback bit is not set no feedback is provided at 530. At 560 if the feedback bit is set ACK/NACK feedback is provided. In one example the feedback bit may be eliminated or invalidated when a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) is not configured. One or more padding bits may be added to the SCI stage 2 format 2 to distinguish between groupcast and unicast. In one example, a payload of the SCI stage 2 format 2, not including a CRC code and reserved bits, is 33 bits.

[0038] At 570, SCI stage 2 format 3 indicates that the TB is transmitted using groupcast option 1 with feedback and thus feedback (e.g., NACK feedback) is provided. In one example, NACK feedback is provided only when the UE is within a communication range of the transmitting UE. The communication range is specified in the SCI stage 2 payload. In this example, at 570 the SCI stage 2 is decoded to determine the communication range and NACK feedback is provided when the UE is within the communication range. In one example, a payload of the second SCI stage 3 format, not including a CRC code and reserved bits, is 39-47 bits.

[0039] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram outlining an example method 600 of determining a type of feedback to provide based on a received SCI stage 1 payload and SCI stage 2 payload. The method 600 may be performed by processors executing stored instructions and/or hardware of an RX UE (see FIG. 9). The method 600 is in accordance with a second SCI stage 2 format design alternative. In this design alternative, there are 3 SCI stage 2 formats. At 610, the SCI stage 1 payload is decoded, and at 620 the SCI stage 2 format is identified.

[0040] At 630, SCI stage 2 format 1 indicates that the TB is transmitted using broadcast communication and thus, at 630, no feedback is provided. In one example, a payload of the SCI stage 2 format 1, not including a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) code and reserved bits, is 15 bits.

[0041] At 640, SCI stage 2 format 2 indicates that the TB is transmitted using unicast or groupcast option 2. The SCI stage 2 payload is decoded and at 650 it is determined whether a feedback bit is set or not. When the feedback bit is not set no feedback is provided at 630. At 660 when the feedback bit is set ACK/NACK feedback is provided. In one example the feedback bit may be eliminated or invalidated when a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) is not configured. One or more padding bits may be added to the SCI stage 2 format 2 to distinguish between groupcast and unicast. In one example, a payload of the SCI stage 2 format 2, not including a CRC code and reserved bits, is 33 bits.

[0042] At 670, SCI stage 2 format 3 indicates that the TB is transmitted using groupcast option 1. The SCI stage 2 payload is decoded and at 680 it is determined whether a feedback bit is set or not. When the feedback bit is not set no feedback is provided at 630. When the feedback bit is set NACK feedback is provided at 690. In one example, NACK feedback is provided only when the UE is within a communication range of the transmitting UE. The communication range is specified in the SCI stage 2 payload. In this example, at 670 the SCI stage 2 is decoded to determine the communication range and NACK feedback is provided when the UE is within the communication range and the feedback bit is set. In another example a communication range of 0 meter indicates that no feedback should be provided even when the feedback bit is set. In another example a communication range of 0 meter indicates that no feedback should be provided and the feedback bit is no longer included in the SCI stage 2 payload. In one example, a payload of the second SCI stage 3 format, not including a CRC code and reserved bits, is 39-47 bits.

[0043] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram outlining an example method 700 of determining a type of feedback to provide based on a received SCI stage 1 payload and SCI stage 2 payload. The method 700 may be performed by processors executing stored instructions and/or hardware of an RX UE (see FIG. 9). The method 700 is in accordance with a third SCI stage 2 format design alternative. In this design alternative, there are 2 SCI stage 2 formats. At 710, the SCI stage 1 payload is decoded, and at 720 the SCI stage 2 format is identified.

[0044] At 730, SCI stage 2 format 1 indicates that the TB is transmitted using broadcast, unicast or groupcast without feedback, or unicast and groupcast option 2 with feedback. In one example the destination ID of the SCI stage 2 payload is set to a predetermined fixed or preconfigured (per resource pool) value to indicate broadcast sidelink communication. The SCI stage 2 payload is decoded and at 740 it is determined whether a feedback bit is set or not. When the feedback bit is not set no feedback is provided at 750. At 760 if the feedback bit is set ACK/NACK feedback is provided.

[0045] At 770, SCI stage 2 format 2 indicates that the TB is transmitted using groupcast option 1 with feedback and NACK feedback is provided. In one example, NACK feedback is provided only when the UE is within a communication range of the transmitting UE. The communication range is specified in the SCI stage 2 payload. In this example, at 770 the SCI stage 2 is decoded to determine the communication range and NACK feedback is provided when the UE is within the communication range.

[0046] FIG. 8 is a flow diagram outlining an example method 800 of determining a type of feedback to provide based on a received SCI stage 1 payload and SCI stage 2 payload. The method 800 may be performed by processors executing stored instructions and/or hardware of an RX UE (see FIG. 9). The method 800 is in accordance with a fourth SCI stage 2 format design alternative. In this design alternative, there are 2 SCI stage 2 formats. At 810, the SCI stage 1 payload is decoded, and at 820 the SCI stage 2 format is identified.

[0047] At 830, SCI stage 2 format 1 indicates that the TB is transmitted using broadcast, unicast, or groupcast option 2. The SCI stage 2 payload is decoded and at 840 it is determined whether a feedback bit is set or not. When the feedback bit is not set no feedback is provided at 860. At 850 when the feedback bit is set ACK/NACK feedback is provided.

[0048] At 870, SCI stage 2 format 2 indicates that the TB is transmitted using groupcast option 1. The SCI stage 2 payload is decoded and at 880 it is determined whether a feedback bit is set or not. When the feedback bit is not set no feedback is provided at 860. When the feedback bit is set NACK feedback is provided at 890. In one example, NACK feedback is provided only when the UE is within a communication range of the transmitting UE. The communication range is specified in the SCI stage 2 payload. In this example, at 870 the SCI stage 2 is decoded to determine the communication range and NACK feedback is provided when the UE is within the communication range and the feedback bit is set. In another example a communication range of 0 indicates that no feedback should be provided even when the feedback bit is set. In another example a communication range of 0 meter indicates that no feedback should be provided and the feedback bit is no longer included in the SCI stage 2 payload.

Distance Calculation Between Two UEs

[0049] Groupcast option 1 indicates that NACK type feedback should be provided when an RX UE is within the communication range (with respect to the TX UE) identified in the SCI stage 2 payload. Recall from FIG. 3 that the zoneID of the TX UE is also included in the SCI stage 2 payload. The RX UE can use this zoneID to determine a distance between itself and the TX UE. The RX UE can then determine whether the RX UE is within the communication range identified in the SCI stage 2 payload and provide NACK feedback when the RX UE is within the communication range

[0050] For LTE V2X, the zoneID calculation formula is:

[00001] $\begin{matrix} x_{1} = .Math. \frac{x}{L} .Math. \mod N_{x}; y_{1} = .Math. \frac{y}{W} .Math. \mod N_{y}; {Zone}_{id} = y_{1} * N_{x} + x_{1} & EQ . 1 \end{matrix}$

In this formula, x is the geodesic distance in longitude between the UE's current location and geographical coordinates (0,0) in meters. y is the geodesic distance in latitude between the UE's current location and geographical coordinates (0,0) in meters. L is the value of the zone length in zone configuration and W is the value of zone width in zone configuration. N.sub.x is the value of zoneldLogiMod in zone configuration and N.sub.y is the value of zoneldLatiMod in zone configuration.

[0051] Assuming that the zoneID configuration and calculation formula is the same in 5G NR V2X; the zoneID of the TX UE is known from SCI stage 2; and the RX UE's geodesic location (x.sub.R, y.sub.R) is known by the RX UE, the distance between the TX UE and the RX UE can be calculated by the RX UE as follows.

[0052] The zoneID longitude value ({circumflex over (x)}.sub.1) and the zoneID latitude value (ŷ.sub.1) of the TX UE are calculated from the TX UE zoneID. In one example several candidate TX UE zoneID longitude values and latitude values are calculated by obtaining one or more geodesic locations that have a zoneID that is identical to the TX UE's zoneID (this is because zoneIDs are reused).

[00002] $\begin{matrix} {\hat{x}}_{1} = ZoneID \mod N_{x}; {\hat{y}}_{1} = \frac{ZoneID - {\hat{x}}_{1}}{N_{x}} & EQ . 2 \end{matrix}$

[0053] The zoneID whose geodesic center is closest to the RX UE is identified as the TX UE zoneID as follows:

[00003] $\begin{matrix} (\hat{A}, \hat{B}) = \arg \min_{A, B} [{(\hat{x} - x_{R})}^{2} + {(\hat{y} - y_{R})}^{2}] & EQ . 3 \end{matrix}$ $or :$ $\begin{matrix} (\hat{A}, \hat{B}) = \arg \min_{A, B} \sqrt{(\hat{x} - x_{R}) + {(\hat{y} - y_{R})}^{2}} & EQ . 4 \end{matrix}$

In equations 3 and 4 {circumflex over (x)}=L*[{circumflex over (x)}.sub.1−A*N.sub.x] and ŷ=W*[ŷ.sub.1−B*N.sub.y] are the geodesic distance in longitude and latitude between a temporal estimated TX UE's location and geographical coordinates (0,0) in meters.

[0054] An estimated geodesic location of the TX UE ({circumflex over (x)}.sub.T,ŷ.sub.T) within the zone is determined as follows:

{circumflex over (x)}.sub.T=L*[{circumflex over (x)}.sub.1−Â*N.sub.x]+α;ŷ.sub.T=W*[ŷ.sub.1−{circumflex over (B)}*N.sub.y]+β EQ. 5

In equation 5, α is a feedback factor used to adjust the estimated longitude location of the TX UE with the zone between [0,L] or the zone [−L/2,L/2] and β is a feedback factor used to adjust the estimated latitude location of the TX UE with the zone between [0,W] or the zone [−W/2,W/2]. α and β may be considered as feedback factors that will influence the likelihood that the RX UE will provide NACK feedback (due to the estimated location of the TX UE falling outside the communication range). For example, to increase the likelihood of feedback α and β may be adjusted to cause the estimated location of the TX UE to be closer to the RX UE. In one example, the values of α and β are predefined or preconfigured per resource pool. In another example, the values of α and β depend on data priority values and/or channel busy ratio (CBR). For example, for a higher data priority, α and β are selected so that the TX UE is closer to the RX UE to increase the likelihood that the RX UE will provide feedback. For example, for a higher CBR, α and β are selected so that the TX UE is farther from the RX UE to decrease the likelihood that the RX UE will provide feedback to reduce traffic.

[0055] An estimated distance, for use in determining whether the RX UE is within the communication range of the TX UE can then be determined using the estimated location (optionally adjusted by the feedback factor).

√{square root over (({circumflex over (x)}.sub.T−{circumflex over (x)}.sub.R).sup.2+(ŷ.sub.T−ŷ.sub.R.sup.2)} EQ. 6

[0056] As discussed in the various aspects above, the format of SCI stage 2 can be used to communicate a type of sidelink communication and specify a type of feedback for the RX UE to provide.

[0057] Referring to FIG. 9, illustrated is a block diagram of a user equipment wireless communication device (UE) configured to perform sidelink communication, according to various aspects described herein. The UE device 900 includes one or more processors 910 (e.g., one or more baseband processors) comprising processing circuitry and associated interface(s), transceiver circuitry 920 (e.g., comprising RF circuitry, which can comprise transmitter circuitry (e.g., associated with one or more transmit chains) and/or receiver circuitry (e.g., associated with one or more receive chains) that can employ common circuit elements, distinct circuit elements, or a combination thereof), and a memory 930 (which can comprise any of a variety of storage mediums and can store instructions and/or data associated with one or more of processor(s) 910 or transceiver circuitry 920).

[0058] In various aspects discussed herein, signals and/or messages can be generated and output for transmission, and/or transmitted messages can be received and processed. Depending on the type of signal or message generated, outputting for transmission (e.g., by processor(s) 910, processor(s) 910, etc.) can comprise one or more of the following: generating a set of associated bits that encode the content of the signal or message, coding (e.g., which can include adding a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) and/or coding via one or more of turbo code, low density parity-check (LDPC) code, tail-biting convolution code (TBCC), polar code, etc.), scrambling (e.g., based on a scrambling seed), modulating (e.g., via one of binary phase shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), or some form of quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM), etc.), and/or resource mapping (e.g., to a scheduled set of resources, to a set of time and frequency resources granted for uplink transmission, etc.). Depending on the type of received signal or message, processing (e.g., by processor(s) 910) can comprise one or more of: identifying physical resources associated with the signal/message, detecting the signal/message, resource element group de-interleaving, demodulation, descrambling, and/or decoding.

[0059] While the methods are illustrated and described above as a series of acts or events, it will be appreciated that the illustrated ordering of such acts or events are not to be interpreted in a limiting sense. For example, some acts may occur in different orders and/or concurrently with other acts or events apart from those illustrated and/or described herein. In addition, not all illustrated acts may be required to implement one or more aspects or embodiments of the disclosure herein. Also, one or more of the acts depicted herein may be carried out in one or more separate acts and/or phases. In some embodiments, the methods illustrated above may be implemented in a computer readable medium using instructions stored in a memory. Many other embodiments and variations are possible within the scope of the claimed disclosure.

[0060] The term “couple” is used throughout the specification. The term may cover connections, communications, or signal paths that enable a functional relationship consistent with the description of the present disclosure. For example, if device A generates a signal to control device B to perform an action, in a first example device A is coupled to device B, or in a second example device A is coupled to device B through intervening component C if intervening component C does not substantially alter the functional relationship between device A and device B such that device B is controlled by device A via the control signal generated by device A.

[0061] It is well understood that the use of personally identifiable information should follow privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirements for maintaining the privacy of users. In particular, personally identifiable information data should be managed and handled so as to minimize risks of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly indicated to users.

APPENDIX A

1 Introduction

[0062] The Release-16 NR V2X specifications were approved in December 2019 [1]. There are still some remaining tasks for NR V2X, which were identified in [2].

[0063] In this contribution, we discuss the details on some of the identified remaining tasks, including TBS determination, initialization of the scrambling sequence generators for first stage SCI, second stage SCI and data transmitted on PSSCH, second stage SCI formats, the time and frequency resource indication in first stage SCI, as well as MCS table for sidelink data transmissions.

2 Discussion

2.1 TBS Determination

[0064] In NR Uu link, the transport block size (TBS) is determined by a formula or a look-up table. The selection from formula or look-up table is based on intermediate number of information bits. Specifically, if the intermediate number is larger than 3824, then TBS is calculated by formula, otherwise, TBS is obtained from look-up table.

[0065] The intermediate number of information bits is equal to the multiplication of code rate, modulation order, number of layers and the total number of resource elements (RE) for data transmission. Under the assumption that the number of REs for data transmission in each allocated data channel resource blocks (RB) is identical, the total number of REs for data transmission is based on the calculation of the number of REs for data transmission per RB. Here, the overheads from DMRS, CSI-RS and CORESET are reduced in the calculation.

[0066] Overall, the TBS determination procedure in NR Uu link can be reused for NR V2X sidelink with some modifications on counting the number of REs for sidelink data transmission. Considering the multiplexing of PSCCH and PSSCH, the assumption of identical number of REs for sidelink data transmissions in each PSSCH RB does not hold. Specifically, PSCCH is contained in some RBs, but not in other RBs. Hence, the total number of REs for data transmission should not be calculated based on the number of REs for data transmission per RB.

[0067] Instead, the total number of REs for sidelink transmission in a slot is first calculated. Then, the number of sidelink data REs is obtained by deducting overheads from the calculated number. Here, the total number of REs for a sidelink transmission in a slot is equal to the multiplication of number of sub-channels as indicated in SCI, sub-channel size as (pre-)configured per resource pool, and the number of sidelink symbols per slot.

[0068] Observation 1: In multiplexing of PSCCH and PSSCH, the calculation of the total number of sidelink data REs on a per RB basis is not accurate.

[0069] Proposal 1: In sidelink TBS determination, the number of sidelink data REs is calculated by deducting overheads from the total number of REs for a sidelink transmission in a slot.

[0070] The overheads from DMRS, CSI-RS and CORESET are counted in determining NR Uu link TBS. Similarly, the overheads from PSSCH DMRS, CSI-RS and PSCCH should also be counted in determining sidelink TBS. Furthermore, some additional overheads for sidelink should be considered: [0071] 1. GAP symbol: The GAP symbol in sidelink is not used for data transmission. [0072] 2. AGC symbol: The AGC symbol are used for AGC training and are not suitable for data transmission. [0073] 3. Second stage SCI: The second stage SCI is supported for NR V2X, where it is carried in PSSCH. Since sidelink data is rate matched on second stage SCI, the PSSCH resources for second stage SCI should be deducted. [0074] 4. PSFCH symbol: It is supported that PSFCH is TDM with PSCCH/PSSCH and PSFCH uses the last symbols available for sidelink in a slot.

[0075] Proposal 2: In sidelink TBS determination, the overheads from PSSCH DMRS, CSI-RS, PSCCH, GAP symbol, AGC symbol, second stage SCI and PSFCH symbols should be counted.

[0076] NR V2X supports blind retransmission(s) of a TB. It is possible that the TBS calculated in initial transmission is different from the TBS calculated in blind retransmission(s), due to different PSFCH overhead. It is supported that PSFCH periodicity is 1, 2 or 4 slots. For the case where PSFCH periodicity is 2 or 4 slots, PSFCH may occur in the slot for initial transmission, but not in the slot for blind retransmission(s), or vice versa.

[0077] It was agreed [3] that LDPC codes used for release 15 NR PDSCH is applied to PSSCH. In NR PDSCH, two LDPC base graphs are designed, and the selection between these two LDPC base graphs depends on code rate and TBS. The TBS mismatch between initial transmission and blind retransmission(s) could result in selecting different LDPC base graphs. The incorrect LDPC base graph selection will cause PSSCH decoding error. Hence, it is necessary to align the TBS calculation between initial transmission and blind retransmission(s) by introducing a common model TBS which is used for LDPC base graph selection.

[0078] Specifically, for a resource pool without PSFCH resources, the PSFCH overhead is always not counted in TBS determination. For a resource pool with PSFCH periodicity of 1 slot, the PSFCH overhead is always counted in TBS determination. For a resource pool with PSFCH periodicity of 2 or 4 slots, whether the PSFCH overhead is counted or not is by (pre-)configuration of a resource pool. This design closes the potential gap between initial transmission and blind retransmission(s) such that a UE receiving either initial transmission or blind retransmission(s) obtains the same TBS.

[0079] Proposal 3: In sidelink TBS determination, the PSFCH overhead is not counted for a resource pool without PSFCH resources; the PSFCH overhead is counted for a resource pool with PSFCH periodicity of 1 slot; whether the PSFCH overhead is counted or not is by (pre-)configuration of a resource pool with PSFCH periodicity of 2 or 4 slots.

2.2 Initialization of Scrambling Sequences

[0080] In LTE V2X, the scrambling sequence for PSCCH is a gold sequence with initialization value being a constant 510. This constant value ensures every receiver UE could decode PSCCH. This is because LTE V2X supports sidelink broadcast and the resource reservation information in PSCCH needs to be decoded by all Mode 4 UEs for their resource allocation operations.

[0081] In NR V2X, the resource reservation information is contained in first stage SCI, which is carried on PSCCH. Since this information is needed for all Mode 2 UEs' resource allocation operations, PSCCH needs to be decodable by all UEs. Hence, like in LTE V2X, a constant initialization value should be used for the PSCCH scrambling sequence generator. This constant initialization value could be per resource pool based.

[0082] Proposal 4: The scrambling sequence for first stage SCI is a gold sequence with a constant initialization value.

[0083] It was agreed [4] that separate scrambling is applied on second stage SCI and PSSCH. Similar to the scrambling sequence of PSCCH, the scrambling sequence of second stage SCI is a gold sequence. The initialization value of the gold sequence is based on PSCCH CRC. This design facilitates early termination of second stage SCI polar decoding in case of miss detection of PSCCH. For example, the initialization value could be set as c.sub.init=n.sub.RNTI2.sup.15+n.sub.const, where n.sub.const is a constant with value equal to PSCCH scrambling sequence initialization value, n.sub.RNTI is the 16 LSB of PSCCH CRC.

[0084] Proposal 5: The scrambling sequence for second stage SCI is a gold sequence with initialization value depending on PSCCH CRC, e.g., c.sub.init=n.sub.RNTI2.sup.15+n.sub.const, where n.sub.const is a constant with value equal to PSCCH scrambling sequence initialization value, n.sub.RNTI is the 16 LSB of PSCCH CRC.

[0085] Furthermore, the scrambling sequence of PSSCH data is also a gold sequence with initialization value depending on both first stage SCI CRC and second stage SCI CRC. Note that part of PSSCH data decoding information is contained in second stage SCI (e.g., source ID, destination ID, HARQ process number, etc). The miss detection of second stage SCI will lead to unsuccessful decoding of PSSCH data. Furthermore, due to the limited randomness contained in second stage SCI (and hence, its CRC), part of first stage SCI CRC can also be used in the initialization value for PSSCH data scrambling sequence. For example, the initialization value could be set as c.sub.init=n.sub.RNTI2.sup.15+n.sub.const, where n.sub.const is a constant with value equal to PSCCH scrambling sequence initialization value, n.sub.RNTI is the XOR of the 16 LSB of first stage SCI CRC and 16 MSB of second stage SCI CRC.

[0086] Proposal 6: The scrambling sequence for data on PSSCH is a gold sequence with initialization value depending on both first stage SCI CRC and second stage SCI CRC, e.g., c.sub.init=n.sub.RNTI2.sup.15+n.sub.const, where n.sub.const is a constant with value equal to PSCCH scrambling sequence initialization value, n.sub.RNTI is the XOR of 16 MSB of first stage SCI CRC and 16 LSB of second stage SCI CRC.

2.3 Second Stage SCI Formats

[0087] Two-stage SCI design was adopted in NR V2X, where first stage SCI (or, SCI format 0_1) contains time and frequency resource assignment, priority, DMRS pattern, second stage SCI format, beta-offset indicator, number of DMRS port, MCS and reserved bits. Second stage SCI (or, SCI format 0_2) contains HARQ process ID, NDI, RV, source ID, destination ID, CSI request, zone ID and communication range requirement, where the last two fields are for groupcast Option 1 only. The details of second stage SCI format(s) are still open.

[0088] In our view, not all the fields in second stage SCI is used in every cast-type and two options of groupcast. For example, the zone ID and communication range requirements are only used for groupcast option 1. It is possible that the 16-bit destination ID is not needed for broadcast. We summarize the estimated field size and applicability in the following table.

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Estimated second stage SCI payload size for cast-types Payload size Groupcast Groupcast (bits) Broadcast Unicast Option 1 Option 2 Source ID 8 Yes Yes Yes Yes Destination ID 16 No Yes Yes Yes HARQ process ~7 Yes Yes Yes Yes ID, NDI, RV CSI request 1 No Yes No No Zone ID and ~16 No No Yes No communication range requirement Total approximate ~48 15 32 47 31 payload size without CRC (bits)

[0089] It seems from the table that second stage SCI payload size for broadcast is smaller than that for unicast and groupcast, while second stage SCI payload size for groupcast option 1 is larger than that for other cast-types. Based on this observation, we propose to have three second stage SCI formats, one for broadcast, one for unicast and groupcast option 2, and one for groupcast option 1.

[0090] Proposal 7: Three second stage SCI formats are respectively defined for broadcast, unicast and groupcast option 2, groupcast option 1.

[0091] The field of “second stage SCI format” in first stage SCI should be 2 bits, to indicate one of three second stage SCI formats. The last code point of this field is reserved for future use.

[0092] Proposal 8: The size of the “second stage SCI format” field in first stage SCI is 2 bits.

[0093] It is working assumption [4] that for groupcast and unicast when PSFCH resource is (pre-)configured in the resource pool, SCI explicitly indicates whether HARQ feedback is used or not for the corresponding PSSCH transmission. The dynamic disabling of HARQ feedback can be achieved by adding a single bit in second stage SCI.

[0094] Since groupcast option 1 already has the largest payload size for second stage SCI, it is not desirable to additionally increase its second stage SCI payload size to indicate the disabling of HARQ feedback. Actually, if HARQ feedback is disabled for groupcast option 1, the fields of zone ID and communication range requirement are not used. Hence, we could reuse these fields to indicate that HARQ feedback is disabled for groupcast option 1. One possible way is to add a candidate value to the set of communication range requirement, say 0 meter. Intuitively, the value 0 of the communication range requirement in second stage SCI implies that any distance between Tx UE and Rx UE is beyond the communication range requirement, and hence no HARQ feedback is needed.

[0095] Proposal 9: For unicast and groupcast option 2, an additional bit is included in second stage SCI to indicate whether HARQ feedback is disabled. For groupcast option 1, the indication of disabling HARQ feedback is via setting the communication range requirement to be 0 meter.

2.4 Time and Frequency Resource Indication in First Stage SCI

[0096] It was agreed [5] that up to N.sub.max=3 resources for a TB can be reserved in a single SCI. In other words, the SCI signaling is designed to allow to indicate up to N.sub.max=3 resources with full flexibility in time and frequency position in a window of 32 slots [6]. The indication of time resources is separate from the indication of frequency resources. The joint coding of time positions of all reserved resources and the joint coding of frequency positions of all reserved resources are supported. However, the details of joint coding of time positions or frequency positions have to be designed.

[0097] The time resource indication value should include a code point where a single resource is reserved and 31 code points where two resources are reserved. Let us denote the resource reservation window size by S=32, denote the time gap between the first resource and the second resource by Δt.sub.1, and denote the time gap between the second resource and the third resource by Δt.sub.2. By definition, Δt.sub.2=0, S− 2, where Δt.sub.2=0 indicates the third resource is not reserved. For the case of Δt.sub.2=0,

[0098] Δt.sub.1=0, S−1, where Δt.sub.1=0 indicates the second resource is not reserved; For the case of Δt.sub.2>0, Δt.sub.t=1, . . . , S−1−Δt.sub.2, where Δt.sub.1>0 implies the second resource is always reserved. Then, the time resource indication value is given by Σ.sub.i=1.sup.Δt.sup.2(S−1−i)+Δt.sub.1+Δt.sub.2.

[0099] This time resource indication formula has two properties: 1). The resulting time resource indication values are contiguous over all possible values of Δt.sub.1 and Δt.sub.2; 2). The formula is applicable to both N.sub.max=2 and N.sub.max=3. For the case of N.sub.max=2, the time resource indication formula is reduced to Δt.sub.1, by simply setting Δt.sub.2=0.

[0100] Proposal 10: Time resource indication value is given by Σ.sub.i=1.sup.Δt.sup.2(S−1−i)+Δt.sub.1+Δt.sub.2, where S=32 is the resource reservation window size, Δt.sub.1 is the time gap between the first resource and the second resource, and Δt.sub.2 is the time gap between the second resource and the third resource. [0101] Δt.sub.2=0, . . . , S−2, where Δt.sub.2=0 indicates the third resource is not reserved. [0102] In case Δt.sub.2=0, Δt.sub.1=0, . . . , S−1, where Δt.sub.1=0 indicates the second resource is not reserved. [0103] In case Δt.sub.2>0, Δt.sub.1=1, . . . , S−1−Δt.sub.2.

[0104] The number of reserved resources is determined by the time resource indication value in SCI. For a given number of reserved resources, the number of sub-channels of each resource and the starting sub-channel index of the second and the third resources (if indicated), is calculated by the frequency resource indication value in SCI.

[0105] Suppose the total number of sub-channels in a resource pool is N.sub.sub, and the number of sub-channels of each resource is L.sub.sub, 1≤L.sub.sub≤N.sub.sub. [0106] 1. If only one resource is reserved in SCI, then the frequency resource indication value is L.sub.sub−1. [0107] 2. If two resources are reserved in SCI, where the starting sub-channel index of the second resource is x.sub.1, with x.sub.1=0, . . . , N.sub.sub−L.sub.sub, then the frequency resource indication value is given by Σ.sub.i=1.sup.L.sup.sub.sup.−1 (N.sub.sub+1−i)+x.sub.1. [0108] 3. If three resources are reserved in SCI, where the starting sub-channel index of the second resource is x.sub.1 and the starting sub-channel index of the third resource is x.sub.2, with x.sub.1, x.sub.2=0, . . . , N.sub.sub−L.sub.sub, then the frequency resource indication value is given by Σ.sub.i=1.sup.L.sup.sub.sup.−1 (N.sub.sub+1−i)+x.sub.1.Math.(N.sub.sub+L.sub.sub)+x.sub.2.

[0109] The resulting frequency resource indication values from the above frequency resource indication formulas are contiguous over all possible values of x.sub.1 and x.sub.2.

[0110] Proposal 11: If one resource is reserved in SCI, then the frequency resource indication value is given by L.sub.sub−1; If two resources are reserved in SCI, then the frequency resource indication value is given by Σ.sub.i=1.sup.L.sup.sub.sup.−1(N.sub.sub+1−i)+x.sub.1; If three resources are reserved in SCI, then the frequency resource indication value is given by Σ.sub.i=1.sup.L.sup.sub.sup.−1(N.sub.sub+1−i).sup.2+x.sub.1.Math.(N.sub.sub+1−L.sub.sub)+X.sub.2, where N.sub.sub is the total number of sub-channels in a resource pool, L.sub.sub is the number of sub-channels of each reserved resource, x.sub.1=0, . . . , N.sub.sub L.sub.sub is the starting sub-channel index of the second resource, and x.sub.2=0, . . . , N.sub.sub−L.sub.sub is the starting sub-channel index of the third resource.

2.5 MCS Table

[0111] It was agreed [4] to support all three MCS tables for Rel-15 NR Uu CP-OFDM for NR V2X sidelink. The support of the low-spectral efficiency 64QAM MCS table in sidelink is an optional UE feature, as in the Uu link. The support of 256QAM from the transmitter perspective is based on UE capability. It is open whether the support of 256QAM from the receiver perspective is mandatory or based on UE capability.

[0112] In Rel-15 NR Uu link [7], the support of 256QAM is mandatory for PDSCH in FR1 but is optional for PDSCH in FR2. This implies that for a UE operating in FR2 on NR Uu link, the support of 256QAM from both transmitter perspective and receiver perspective is optional based on UE capability. In our view, it is natural to extend this UE capability to NR V2X sidelink, i.e., the support of 256QAM in FR2 is optional based on UE capability.

[0113] Since NR V2X sidelink targets a common design for FR1 and FR2, it is preferred to support 256QAM from the receiver perspective in both FR1 and FR2 based on UE capability.

[0114] Proposal 12: Support of 256QAM by a UE from the receiver perspective is based on UE capability.

[0115] The 256QAM MCS table is targeted for high throughput use cases in good channel conditions. In sidelink broadcast and groupcast, it is not guaranteed that the channels from transmitter UE to each receiver UE are in good condition simultaneously. Hence, the usage scenario of 256QAM MCS table is limited.

[0116] On the other hand, the main motivation of using the low-spectral efficiency 64QAM MCS table is to achieve ultra-reliable transmissions in one-shot. This is useful for URLLC use cases. For ultra-reliable transmissions, the low-spectral efficiency 64QAM MCS table is used accompanied with the low-spectral efficiency 64QAM CQI table. In NR V2X sidelink, CQI report is only supported for sidelink unicast. This implies the usage of the low-spectral efficiency 64QAM MCS table is limited to sidelink unicast.

[0117] Furthermore, the support of 256QAM is UE capability. The exchange of UE capability is impossible for sidelink broadcast and many sidelink groupcast cases. Hence, it is inefficient to support 256QAM MCS table and low-spectral efficiency MCS table for sidelink broadcast and groupcast.

[0118] Observation 2: The benefit of using 256QAM MCS table and low-spectral efficiency 64QAM MCS table is unclear in sidelink broadcast and groupcast.

[0119] Since a resource pool is designed to support sidelink unicast, groupcast and broadcast. The only MCS table applicable to all cast-types is the legacy 64QAM MCS table. Hence, it is preferred to set the 64QAM MCS table as the default MCS table for NR V2X sidelink. The usage of 256QAM MCS table and low-spectral efficiency 64QAM MCS table is via PC5-RRC configuration for sidelink unicast.

[0120] Proposal 13: The legacy 64QAM MCS table is the default MCS table for NR V2X sidelink. The usage of 256QAM MCS table or low-spectral efficiency 64QAM MCS table is via PC5-RRC configuration.

3 Conclusion

[0121] In this contribution, we discussed the remaining details on NR V2X physical layer structure. Our proposals are as follows:

[0122] Proposal 1: In sidelink TBS determination, the number of sidelink data REs is calculated by deducting overheads from the total number of REs for a sidelink transmission in a slot.

[0123] Proposal 2: In sidelink TBS determination, the overheads from PSSCH DMRS, CSI-RS, PSCCH, GAP symbol, AGC symbol, second stage SCI and PSFCH symbols should be counted.

[0124] Proposal 3: In sidelink TBS determination, the PSFCH overhead is not counted for a resource pool without PSFCH resources; the PSFCH overhead is counted for a resource pool with PSFCH periodicity of 1 slot; whether the PSFCH overhead is counted or not is by (pre-)configuration of a resource pool with PSFCH periodicity of 2 or 4 slots.

[0125] Proposal 4: The scrambling sequence for first stage SCI is a gold sequence with a constant initialization value.

[0126] Proposal 5: The scrambling sequence for second stage SCI is a gold sequence with initialization value depending on PSCCH CRC, e.g., c.sub.init=n.sub.RNTI2.sup.15+n.sub.const, where n.sub.const is a constant with value equal to PSCCH scrambling sequence initialization value, n.sub.RNTI is the 16 LSB of PSCCH CRC.

[0127] Proposal 6: The scrambling sequence for data on PSSCH is a gold sequence with initialization value depending on both first stage SCI CRC and second stage SCI CRC, e.g., c.sub.init=n.sub.RNTI2.sup.15+n.sub.const, where n.sub.const is a constant with value equal to PSCCH scrambling sequence initialization value, n.sub.RNTI is the XOR of 16 MSB of first stage SCI CRC and 16 LSB of second stage SCI CRC.

[0128] Proposal 7: Three second stage SCI formats are respectively defined for broadcast, unicast and groupcast option 2, groupcast option 1.

[0129] Proposal 8: The size of the “second stage SCI format” field in first stage SCI is 2 bits.

[0130] Proposal 9: For unicast and groupcast option 2, an additional bit is included in second stage SCI to indicate whether HARQ feedback is disabled. For groupcast option 1, the indication of disabling HARQ feedback is via setting the communication range requirement to be 0 meter.

[0131] Proposal 10: Time resource indication value is given by Σ.sub.i=1.sup.Δt.sup.2(S−1−i)+Δt.sub.1+Δt.sub.2, where S=32 is the resource reservation window size, Δt.sub.t is the time gap between the first resource and the second resource, and Δt.sub.t is the time gap between the second resource and the third resource. [0132] Δt.sub.2=0, . . . , S−2, where Δt.sub.t=0 indicates the third resource is not reserved. [0133] In case Δt.sub.2=0, Δt.sub.t=0, . . . , S−1, where Δt.sub.t=0 indicates the second resource is not reserved. [0134] In case Δt.sub.2>0, Δt.sub.t=1, . . . , S−1− Δt.sub.2.

[0135] Proposal 11: If one resource is reserved in SCI, then the frequency resource indication value is given by L.sub.sub−1; If two resources are reserved in SCI, then the frequency resource indication value is given by Σ.sub.i=1.sup.L.sup.sub.sup.−1(N.sub.sub+1−i)+x.sub.1; If three resources are reserved in SCI, then the frequency resource indication value is given by Σ.sub.i=1.sup.L.sup.sub.sup.−1(N.sub.sub+1−i).sup.2 x.sub.1.Math.(N.sub.sub+1−L.sub.sub)+x.sub.2, where N.sub.sub is the total number of sub-channels in a resource pool, L.sub.sub is the number of sub-channels of each reserved resource, x.sub.1=0, . . . , N.sub.sub L.sub.sub is the starting sub-channel index of the second resource, and x.sub.2=0, N.sub.sub−L.sub.sub is the starting sub-channel index of the third resource.

[0136] Proposal 12: Support of 256QAM by a UE from the receiver perspective is based on UE capability.

[0137] Proposal 13: The legacy 64QAM MCS table is the default MCS table for NR V2X sidelink. The usage of 256QAM MCS table or low-spectral efficiency 64QAM MCS table is via PC5-RRC configuration.

4 References

[0138] [1] Chairman's Notes, 3GPP TSG RAN #86 Meeting, Sitges, ES, December 2019. [0139] [2] RP-193198, Task list for 5G V2X in RAN1 #100, Sitges, ES, December 2019. [0140] [3] Chairman's Notes, 3GPP TSG RAN1. WG1 #96bis Meeting, Xi'an, China, April 2019. [0141] [4] Chairman's Notes, 3GPP TSG RAN1. WG1 #98bis Meeting, Chongqing, China, October 2019. [0142] [5] 3GPP email discussion on maximum number of reserved resources for a TB, [98b-NR-15], October 2019. [0143] [6] Chairman's Notes, 3GPP TSG RAN1 WG1 #99 Meeting, Reno, USA, November 2019. [0144] [7] 3GPP TS38.822, NR user equipment (UE) feature list, v15.0.1, July 2019.

APPENDIX B

5 Introduction

[0145] The Release-16 NR V2X specifications were approved in December 2019 [1]. There are still some remaining tasks for NR V2X, which were identified in [2].

[0146] In this contribution, we discuss the details on some of the identified remaining tasks, including sidelink power control, PSFCH candidate resource determination, group size restriction for groupcast HARQ feedback option 2, Tx-Rx distance calculation and second stage SCI formats for groupcast HARQ feedback options.

6 Discussion

6.1 Sidelink Power Control

[0147] In LTE V2X, the EPRE of PSCCH is 3 dB more than that of PSSCH so as to increase PSCCH coverage. However, such PSCCH power boosting is not applicable to NR V2X.

[0148] It was agreed [10] that the total sidelink transmit power is the same in the symbols used for PSCCH/PSSCH transmissions in a slot. In PSCCH and PSSCH multiplexing option 3, if PSCCH has power boosting, then the EPRE of PSSCH resources in the same symbol as PSCCH should be decreased to maintain constant symbol transmit power. The power reduction on these PSSCH resources leads to PSSCH decoding performance degradation. Furthermore, it is possible that the transmit power for PSCCH after its power boosting already exceeds the transmit power constant, especially when PSCCH occupies most of the frequency resources in a sub-channel. Hence, the power boosting on PSCCH should not be supported.

[0149] Proposal 1: Power boosting on PSCCH is not supported.

[0150] It was agreed [11] that sidelink CSI-RS uses a subset of NR Uu CSI-RS time-frequency/CDM resource mapping patterns for its resource mapping. The CSI-RS does not appear in every PSCCH/PSSCH symbol. To keep the same sidelink transmit power over all the symbols used for PSCCH/PSSCH transmissions in a slot, the sidelink CSI-RS should use the same EPRE as the sidelink data. The similar solution is applicable to sidelink PT-RS.

[0151] Proposal 2: Power boosting on sidelink CSI-RS and sidelink PT-RS is not supported.

6.2 PSFCH Candidate Resource Determination

[0152] It was working assumption [12] for a Rx UE to determine its PSFCH resource from a set of PSFCH candidate resources. Furthermore, it was agreed [11] to determine a set of PSFCH candidate resources from the starting sub-channel index and slot index used for the corresponding PSSCH. One open issue is for a PSSCH occupying multiple sub-channels, the candidate PSFCH resources are the set of PRBs associated with one of the following two options: 1). the starting sub-channel and slot used for PSSCH; 2). the sub-channel(s) and slot used for PSSCH.

[0153] It is known that only a single PSFCH resource is required for unicast and groupcast feedback option 1, where this PSFCH resource is shared by all the Rx UEs for groupcast feedback option 1. Subsequently, it is enough to allocate a small set of candidate PSFCH resources. It is preferable to let the candidate PSFCH resources be the set of PRBs associated with the starting sub-channel and slot used for PSSCH. This simplifies Tx UE's PSFCH reception, as it only needs to detect PSFCH over a small set of candidate PSFCH resources.

[0154] On the other hand, multiple PSFCH resources are required for groupcast feedback option 2, where the number of used PSFCH resources is equal to the number of Rx UEs in the group. Subsequently, it is necessary to allocate a large set of candidate PSFCH resources. Hence, it is beneficial to let the candidate PSFCH resources be the set of PRBs associated with all the sub-channels and slot used for PSSCH. The increased set of candidate PSFCH resources not only reduces the chance of PSFCH collision, but also allows to support the groupcast feedback option 2 for a large group by using multiple sub-channels for PSSCH transmissions.

[0155] Proposal 3: For a PSSCH in unicast and groupcast feedback option 1, the candidate PSFCH resource is the set of PRBs associated with the starting sub-channel and slot used for that PSSCH; For a PSSCH in groupcast feedback option 2, the candidate PSFCH resource is the set of PRBs associated with all the sub-channels and slot used for that PSSCH.

6.3 Group Size Restriction for Groupcast HARQ Feedback Option 2

[0156] Based on the above proposal, the number of candidate PSFCH resources for groupcast feedback option 2 is proportional to the number of sub-channels used for PSSCH. The more sub-channels of a PSSCH, the more candidate PSFCH resources, and hence the larger group size supported with groupcast feedback option 2. In other words, the supported group size for groupcast HARQ feedback option 2 varies, depending on the corresponding PSSCH resources. Therefore, we do not need to have an explicit group size restriction for groupcast feedback option 2.

[0157] Proposal 4: No explicit group size restriction is imposed on groupcast HARQ feedback option 2.

6.4 Tx-Rx Distance Calculation

[0158] It was agreed [10] that at least for groupcast HARQ feedback option 1, i.e., HARQ-NACK only, the Tx-Rx distance-based HARQ feedback is supported. The calculation of Tx-Rx distance is facilitated by Tx UE transmitting its location information, in terms of zone ID, via second stage SCI. Each Rx UE can calculate its distance to Tx UE, based on its own geodesic location and Tx UE's zone ID. The distance calculation can have the following steps: [0159] 1. Obtain a list of zone center geodesic locations whose corresponding zone ID is identical to Tx UE's zone ID. Here, the wraparound of zone ID is considered. [0160] 2. Identify a zone from the list whose center geodesic location is closest to Rx UE's geodesic location. The distance from Rx UE's geodesic location to each candidate zone center geodesic location is calculated and the minimum distance is selected. [0161] 3. Set Tx UE's geodesic location within the identified zone, depending on data priority. Each zone is a rectangular, and Tx UE can be anywhere in the identified zone. The setting of Tx UE's geodesic location within the identified zone depends on data priority. For example, for high priority data, the Tx UE's geodesic location is set closer to Rx UE's geodesic location within the identified zone such that the Rx UE is more likely to trigger HARQ feedback. [0162] 4. Calculate the distance between Tx UE's geodesic location and Rx UE's geodesic location.

[0163] Proposal 5: For groupcast HARQ feedback option 1, the calculation of Tx-Rx distance has the following steps: [0164] 1. Obtain a list of zone center geodesic locations whose corresponding zone ID is identical to Tx UE's zone ID. [0165] 2. Identify a zone from the list whose center geodesic location is closest to Rx UE's geodesic location. [0166] 3. Set Tx UE's geodesic location within the identified zone, depending on data priority. [0167] 4. Calculate the distance between Tx UE's geodesic location and Rx UE's geodesic location.

6.5 Second Stage SCI Formats for Groupcast HARQ Feedback Options

[0168] It was agreed [10] that at least for groupcast HARQ feedback option 1, the Tx-Rx distance-based HARQ feedback is supported. In our view, the Tx-Rx distance-based HARQ feedback should not be applied to groupcast HARQ feedback option 2. The main issue is that if a Tx UE does not receive HARQ ACK/NACK feedback from a Rx UE, it cannot distinguish whether the Rx UE decodes PSSCH transmission but does not feedback HARQ ACK/NACK due to large Tx-Rx distance or whether the Rx UE does not decode PSCCH at all. Note that the Tx UE is supposed to have different behaviors for these two cases. Specifically, the Tx UE does not need to retransmit for the former case, while it needs to retransmit for the latter case. Due to the ambiguity caused by no feedback from receiver UE, it does not make sense to support the Tx-Rx distance-based HARQ feedback for groupcast HARQ feedback option 2.

[0169] Proposal 6: The Tx-Rx distance-based HARQ feedback is not supported for groupcast HARQ feedback option 2.

[0170] It was agreed that for groupcast HARQ feedback option 1, the communication range requirement and the Tx UE's location information are included in second stage SCI payload. This is mainly to support the Tx-Rx distance-based HARQ feedback for groupcast HARQ feedback option 1. Since this mechanism is not applicable to groupcast HARQ feedback option 2, it is unnecessary to include Tx UE's location information and communication range requirement in second stage SCI if groupcast HARQ feedback option 2 is taken. Following this logistic, groupcast HARQ feedback option 1 has a different second stage SCI format as groupcast HARQ feedback option 2. The detailed design of second stage SCI is in our companion contribution [13].

[0171] Proposal 7: Different second stage SCI formats are used in groupcast HARQ feedback option 1 and option 2, where Tx UE's location information and communication range requirement are not included in second stage SCI for groupcast HARQ feedback option 2.

7 Conclusion

[0172] In this contribution, we discussed the remaining details on NR sidelink physical layer procedures. Our proposals are as follows:

[0173] Proposal 1: Power boosting on PSCCH, CSI-RS and PT-RS is not supported.

[0174] Proposal 2: Power boosting on sidelink CSI-RS and sidelink PT-RS is not supported.

[0175] Proposal 3: For a PSSCH in unicast and groupcast feedback option 1, the candidate PSFCH resource is the set of PRBs associated with the starting sub-channel and slot used for that PSSCH; For a PSSCH in groupcast feedback option 2, the candidate PSFCH resource is the set of PRBs associated with all the sub-channels and slot used for that PSSCH.

[0176] Proposal 4: No explicit group size restriction is imposed on groupcast HARQ feedback option 2.

[0177] Proposal 5: For groupcast HARQ feedback option 1, the calculation of Tx-Rx distance has the following steps: [0178] 1. Obtain a list of zone center geodesic locations whose corresponding zone ID is identical to Tx UE's zone ID. [0179] 2. Identify a zone from the list whose center geodesic location is closest to Rx UE's geodesic location. [0180] 3. Set Tx UE's geodesic location within the identified zone, depending on data priority. [0181] 4. Calculate the distance between Tx UE's geodesic location and Rx UE's geodesic location.

[0182] Proposal 6: The Tx-Rx distance-based HARQ feedback is not supported for groupcast HARQ feedback option 2.

[0183] Proposal 7: Different second stage SCI formats are used in groupcast HARQ feedback option 1 and option 2, where Tx UE's location information and communication range requirement are not included in second stage SCI for groupcast HARQ feedback option 2.

8 References

[0184] [8] Chairman's Notes, 3GPP TSG RAN #86 Meeting, Sitges, ES, December 2019. [0185] [9] RP-193198, Task list for 5G V2X in RAN1 #100, Sitges, ES, December 2019. [0186] [10] Chairman's Notes, 3GPP TSG RAN1 WG1 #97 Meeting, Reno, USA, May 2019. [0187] [11] Chairman's Notes, 3GPP TSG RAN1 WG1 #98bis Meeting, Chongqing, China, October 2019. [0188] [12] Chairman's Notes, 3GPP TSG RAN1 WG1 #99 Meeting, Reno, USA, November 2019. [0189] [13] R1-200xxxx, Remaining details on NR V2X physical layer structure, Apple, February 2020.

SIDELINK CONTROL INFORMATION STAGE 2 FORMAT

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Cpc classification

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Y02D30/70

GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS

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