Using known geographical information in directional wireless communication systems
Methods, systems, and apparatuses are described for using known geographical information in directional wireless communication systems. In some aspects, an estimated position of a receiver relative to a transmitter may be determined based at least in part on known geographical information, and a desired beam direction for wireless communication from the transmitter to the receiver may be searched for based at least in part on the estimated position of the receiver.
1. A method for wireless communication, comprising:
determining an estimated position of a receiver relative to a transmitter based at least in part on known usage of a geographical area for wireless communication;
searching over a subset of possible directions for a desired beam direction for wireless communication from the transmitter to the receiver based at least in part on the estimated position of the receiver; and
steering a transmission beam to the receiver based at least in part on the searching.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
constraining the searching for the desired beam direction based at least in part on the estimated position of the receiver.
3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining an estimated location of the transmitter relative to the receiver based at least in part on the known usage of the geographical area for wireless communication; and
searching for a second desired beam direction for wireless communication from the receiver to the transmitter based at least in part on the estimated location of the transmitter.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the transmitter, the receiver, or a core network determines the estimated position, and/or determines an initial beam direction and an initial beam range for use in the searching based at least in part on the known usage of the geographical area for wireless communication.
5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:
constraining the determination of the estimated position and/or the determination of the initial beam direction and initial beam range based at least in part on the known usage of the geographical area for wireless communication.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the determination of the initial beam direction is constrained to a predetermined subset of possible directions.
7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
tracking the desired beam direction as a function of time during the wireless communication based at least in part on the known usage of the geographical area for wireless communication.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the estimated position of the receiver is a first estimated position of the receiver at a first, current time, and the tracking the desired beam direction comprises:
determining a second estimated position of the receiver at a second, future time based at least in part on a current velocity of the receiver, a current position of the receiver, and a known trajectory of the receiver.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the known trajectory of the receiver is estimated based at least in part on historical information, and the historical information comprises actual movement of other receivers during previous time periods.
10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the known trajectory of the receiver is estimated based at least in part on known geographical features.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the transmitter is a first transmitter, further comprising:
handing-over the wireless communication from the first transmitter to a second transmitter utilizing the known usage of the geographical area for wireless communication.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the desired beam direction is a first desired beam direction associated with the first transmitter, and the handing-over of the wireless communication comprises:
listening, at the second transmitter, for a wake up signal from the first transmitter along a receive beam direction associated with a known position of the first transmitter relative to the second transmitter; and
receiving, from the first transmitter, the wake up signal and information regarding the receiver, the wake up signal and information regarding the receiver being sent by the first transmitter to the second transmitter along a transmit beam direction associated with a known position of the second transmitter relative to the first transmitter.
13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
searching for a second desired beam direction associated with the second transmitter based at least in part on the information regarding the receiver received from the first transmitter.
14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the information regarding the receiver comprises one or more of an identification number of the receiver, a current position of the receiver, a current velocity of the receiver, a suggested beam search direction, or a handoff time, and the information regarding the second transmitter comprises one or more of an identification number of the second transmitter, a known location of the second transmitter, or the handoff time.
15. The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
transmitting buffered data from the first transmitter to the second transmitter for delivery to the receiver.
16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the known usage of the geographical area for wireless communication comprises one or more of a current location of the receiver, a current velocity of the receiver, current channel measurements by the receiver, historical information, or a known trajectory of the receiver.
17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the wireless communication comprises uplink and/or downlink transmissions.
18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the wireless communication is in a millimeter wave frequency band.
19. The method of claim 1 , wherein the transmitter comprises a base station, and the receiver is a user equipment (UE) or a relay module.
20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the receiver moves during the wireless communication.
21. The method of claim 1 , wherein the transmitter comprises a user equipment (UE) or a relay module, and the receiver is a base station.
22. The method of claim 1 , wherein the receiver is one of a group of receivers, and the estimated position is determined for the collective group of receivers relative to the transmitter.
23. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:
means for determining an estimated position of a receiver relative to a transmitter based at least in part on known usage of a geographical area for wireless communication;
means for searching over a subset of possible directions for a desired beam direction for wireless communication from the transmitter to the receiver based at least in part on the estimated position of the receiver; and
means for steering a transmission beam to the receiver based at least in part on the searching.
24. The apparatus of claim 23 , further comprising:
means for constraining the searching for the desired beam direction based at least in part on the estimated position of the receiver.
25. The apparatus of claim 23 , further comprising:
means for determining an estimated location of the transmitter relative to the receiver based at least in part on the known usage of the geographical area for wireless communication; and
means for searching for a second desired beam direction for wireless communication from the receiver to the transmitter based at least in part on the estimated location of the transmitter.
26. The apparatus of claim 23 , further comprising:
means for tracking the desired beam direction as a function of time during the wireless communication based at least in part on the known usage of the geographical area for wireless communication.
27. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:
a processor;
memory in electronic communication with the processor; and
instructions stored in the memory, the instructions being executable by the processor to:
determine an estimated position of a receiver relative to a transmitter based at least in part on known usage of a geographical area for wireless communication;
search over a subset of possible directions for a desired beam direction for wireless communication from the transmitter to the receiver based at least in part on the estimated position of the receiver; and
steer a transmission beam to the receiver based at least in part on the searching.
28. The apparatus of claim 27 , wherein the memory further comprises instructions being executable by the processor to:
determine an estimated location of the transmitter relative to the receiver based at least in part on the known usage of the geographical area for wireless communication; and
search for a second desired beam direction for wireless communication from the receiver to the transmitter based at least in part on the estimated location of the transmitter.
29. A non-transitory computer-readable medium for wireless communication in a wireless device, the non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable code for:
determining an estimated position of a receiver relative to a transmitter based at least in part on known usage of a geographical area for wireless communication;
searching over a subset of possible directions for a desired beam direction for wireless communication from the transmitter to the receiver based at least in part on the estimated position of the receiver; and
steering a transmission beam to the receiver based at least in part on the searching.
30. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 29 , further storing computer-executable code for:
determining an estimated location of the transmitter relative to the receiver based at least in part on the known usage of the geographical area for wireless communication; and
searching for a second desired beam direction for wireless communication from the receiver to the transmitter based at least in part on the estimated location of the transmitter.