Robust grant-free transmissions

1. A method for performing uplink grant-free transmissions, the method comprising:

determining, by a first user equipment (UE), data that is to be transmitted using a grant-free uplink transmission to a base station of a cellular network;

selecting, by the first UE, a first grant-free resource block, wherein:

a plurality of grant-free resource blocks define a plurality of subcarrier frequencies, a plurality of timeslots, or both for data to be transmitted to the base station of the cellular network without a reservation;

selecting, by the first UE, a second grant-free resource block; and

transmitting, by the first UE, a grant-free transmission that comprises a data payload, a first pointer, and a second pointer at the first grant-free resource block, wherein:

the first pointer refers to the second grant-free resource block; and

the second pointer refers to the first grant-free resource block and is indicative of the data payload not being transmitted on any later grant-free resource block.

2. The method for grant-free transmissions of claim 1 , wherein the first grant-free resource block and the second grant-free resource block occur during different timeslots on a same set of frequencies.

3. The method for grant-free transmissions of claim 1 , wherein the first grant-free resource block and the second grant-free resource block occur during different timeslots on different frequencies.

4. The method for grant-free transmissions of claim 1 , further comprising:

transmitting, by the first UE, a second grant-free transmission that comprises the data payload and a third pointer at the second grant-free resource block.

5. The method for grant-free transmissions of claim 4 , further comprising:

receiving, by the base station, the grant-free transmission transmitted by the first UE on the first grant-free resource block;

detecting, by the base station, a collision on the second grant-free resource block, wherein the collision results from the second grant-free transmission being received during a same timeslot and a same frequency as a third grant-free transmission from a second UE distinct from the first UE; and

based on the first pointer of the grant-free transmission, performing interference cancelation to subtract at least a portion of the grant-free transmission from the received collision to reconstruct the third grant-free transmission transmitted by the second UE at the second grant-free resource block.

6. The method for performing the grant-free transmission of claim 1 , wherein the base station is part of a 5G cellular network.

7. The method for performing the grant-free transmission of claim 1 , wherein selecting the first grant-free resource block and selecting the second grant-free resource block is performed randomly by the first UE.

8. A system that performs uplink grant-free transmissions, the system comprising:

a cellular network comprises a plurality of base stations, the plurality of base stations comprising a base station;

a plurality of user equipment (UE), wherein a first UE of the plurality of UE is configured to:

determine data that is to be transmitted using a grant-free uplink transmission to the base station of the cellular network;

select a first grant-free resource block, wherein:

a plurality of grant-free resource blocks define a plurality of subcarrier frequencies, a plurality of timeslots, or both for data to be transmitted to the base station of the cellular network without a reservation;

select a second grant-free resource block; and

transmit a grant-free transmission that comprises a data payload, a first pointer, and a second pointer at the first grant-free resource block, wherein:

the first pointer refers to the second grant-free resource block; and

the second pointer refers to the first grant-free resource block and is indicative of the data payload not being transmitted on any later grant-free resource block.

9. The system that performs uplink grant-free transmissions of claim 8 , wherein the first grant-free resource block and the second grant-free resource block occur during different timeslots on different frequencies.

10. The system that performs uplink grant-free transmissions of claim 8 , wherein the first UE of the plurality of UE is configured to:

transmit a second grant-free transmission that comprises the data payload and a third pointer at the second grant-free resource block.

11. The system that performs uplink grant-free transmissions of claim 10 , wherein the base station is configured to:

receive the grant-free transmission transmitted by the first UE on the first grant-free resource block;

detect a collision on the second grant-free resource block, wherein the collision results from the second grant-free transmission being received during a same timeslot and a same frequency as a third grant-free transmission from a second UE distinct from the first UE; and

based on the first pointer of the grant-free transmission, perform interference cancelation to subtract at least a portion of the grant-free transmission from the received collision to reconstruct the third grant-free transmission transmitted by the second UE at the second grant-free resource block.

12. The system that performs uplink grant-free transmissions of claim 8 , wherein the cellular network is a 5G NR cellular network.

13. The system that performs uplink grant-free transmissions of claim 8 , wherein selecting the first grant-free resource block and selecting the second grant-free resource block is performed randomly by the first UE.

14. A system that performs uplink grant-free transmissions, the system comprising:

a cellular network comprises a plurality of base stations, the plurality of base stations comprising a base station;

a plurality of user equipment (UE), wherein each UE of the plurality of UE is configured to:

determine data that is to be transmitted using a grant-free uplink transmission to the base station of the cellular network;

select a first grant-free resource block, wherein:

a plurality of grant-free resource blocks define a plurality of subcarrier frequencies, a plurality of timeslots, or both for data to be transmitted to the base station of the cellular network without a reservation;

select a second grant-free resource block; and

transmit a grant-free transmission that comprises a data payload, a first pointer, and a second pointer at the first grant-free resource block, wherein:

the first pointer refers to the second grant-free resource block; and

the second pointer refers to the first grant-free resource block and is indicative of the data payload not being transmitted on any lower frequency grant-free resource block.

15. A system that performs uplink grant-free transmissions, the system comprising:

a cellular network comprises a plurality of base stations, the plurality of base stations comprising a base station;

a plurality of user equipment (UE), wherein each UE of the plurality of UE is configured to:

determine data that is to be transmitted using a grant-free uplink transmission to the base station of the cellular network;

select a first grant-free resource block, wherein:

a plurality of grant-free resource blocks define a plurality of subcarrier frequencies, a plurality of timeslots, or both for data to be transmitted to the base station of the cellular network without a reservation;

select a second grant-free resource block; and

transmit a grant-free transmission that comprises a data payload, a first pointer, and a second pointer at the first grant-free resource block, wherein:

the first pointer refers to the second grant-free resource block; and

the second pointer refers to the first grant-free resource block and is indicative of the data payload not being transmitted on any higher frequency grant-free resource block.