Sidelink anchor group for sidelink position estimation

1. A method of operating a user equipment (UE), comprising:

transmitting, to a position estimation entity, a request to schedule an on-demand sidelink positioning reference signal (PRS) position estimation session of the UE;

receiving, from the position estimation entity, a sidelink PRS response that comprises assistance data associated with a sidelink anchor group for the on-demand sidelink PRS position estimation session;

transmitting, to the sidelink anchor group, a sidelink PRS trigger to trigger the on-demand sidelink PRS position estimation session in accordance with respective sidelink PRS pre-configurations of the sidelink anchor group, wherein the sidelink PRS trigger comprises an indication of a sidelink zone in which the UE is located; and

performing a sidelink PRS exchange with one or more sidelink anchors of the sidelink anchor group in association with the on-demand sidelink PRS position estimation session.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

transmitting a measurement report based on the sidelink PRS exchange to the position estimation entity.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the sidelink PRS trigger is transmitted via multicast or broadcast.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the sidelink PRS trigger designates a maximum range between the UE and a respective sidelink anchor for the respective sidelink anchor to accept the sidelink PRS trigger.

5. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

receiving, from at least one sidelink anchor of the sidelink anchor group, a sidelink PRS trigger response.

6. The method of claim 5 ,

wherein the sidelink PRS trigger response indicates acceptance or rejection of the sidelink PRS trigger, and

wherein the sidelink PRS exchange comprises blind decoding or descrambling only for SL PRS sidelink anchors from which a respective sidelink PRS trigger response that indicates acceptance of the sidelink PRS trigger is received.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the sidelink PRS exchange comprises blind decoding or descrambling for SL PRS for each sidelink anchor among the sidelink anchor group.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the assistance data comprises a sidelink anchor group identifier, a private key, a resource grant for transmission of a sidelink PRS trigger from the UE to the sidelink anchor group, a sidelink PRS configuration associated with the sidelink anchor group for the on-demand sidelink PRS position estimation session, a sidelink anchor identifier for a based sidelink PRS trigger from the UE to the sidelink anchor group, or a combination thereof.

9. A user equipment (UE), comprising:

a memory;

at least one transceiver; and

at least one processor communicatively coupled to the memory and the at least one transceiver, the at least one processor configured to:

transmit, via the at least one transceiver, to a position estimation entity, a request to schedule an on-demand sidelink positioning reference signal (PRS) position estimation session of the UE;

receive, via the at least one transceiver, from the position estimation entity, a sidelink PRS response that comprises assistance data associated with a sidelink anchor group for the on-demand sidelink PRS position estimation session;

transmit, via the at least one transceiver, to the sidelink anchor group, a sidelink PRS trigger to trigger the on-demand sidelink PRS position estimation session in accordance with respective sidelink PRS pre-configurations of the sidelink anchor group, wherein the sidelink PRS trigger comprises an indication of a sidelink zone in which the UE is located; and

perform a sidelink PRS exchange with one or more sidelink anchors of the sidelink anchor group in association with the on-demand sidelink PRS position estimation session.

10. The UE of claim 9 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

transmit, via the at least one transceiver, a measurement report based on the sidelink PRS exchange to the position estimation entity.

11. The UP of claim 9 , wherein the sidelink PRS trigger is transmitted via multicast or broadcast.

12. The UE of claim 9 , wherein the sidelink PRS trigger designates a maximum range between the UE and a respective sidelink anchor for the respective sidelink anchor to accept the sidelink PRS trigger.

13. The UE of claim 10 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

receive, via the at least one transceiver, from at least one sidelink anchor of the sidelink anchor group, a sidelink PRS trigger response.

14. The UE of claim 13 ,

wherein the sidelink PRS trigger response indicates acceptance or rejection of the sidelink PRS trigger, and

wherein the sidelink PRS exchange comprises blind decoding or descrambling only for SL PRS sidelink anchors from which a respective sidelink PRS trigger response that indicates acceptance of the sidelink PRS trigger is received.

15. The UE of claim 9 , wherein the sidelink PRS exchange comprises blind decoding or descrambling for SL PRS for each sidelink anchor among the sidelink anchor group.

16. The UE of claim 9 , wherein the assistance data comprises a sidelink anchor group identifier, a private key, a resource grant for transmission of a sidelink PRS trigger from the UE to the sidelink anchor group, a sidelink PRS configuration associated with the sidelink anchor group for the on-demand sidelink PRS position estimation session, a sidelink anchor identifier for a based sidelink PRS trigger from the UE to the sidelink anchor group, or a combination thereof.