Techniques for establishing directional communications via a configurable reflective surface
This disclosure provides systems, methods and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for establishing directional communications between two communication nodes via a configurable reflective surface. In some aspects, an assisting node (AN) may control a reflection characteristic (which may dictate or influence how signals reflect off of the configurable reflective surface) in accordance with parameters or configurations for directional communication between the two communication nodes. For example, the AN may use a first beam for directional communication with the first node and a second beam for directional communication with the second node, and the AN may control the reflection characteristic in accordance with an inferred incident direction of signaling at the configurable reflective surface and a desired reflected direction of the signaling from the configurable reflective surface that are associated with the first beam and the second beam, respectively.
1. An assisting node (AN), comprising:
a processing system that includes one or more processors and one or more memories coupled with the one or more processors, the processing system configured to cause the AN to:
establish a signaling radio bearer (SRB) with a first node using a first radio frequency (RF) band;
communicate with the first node in accordance with:
a parameter for directional reception of signals that indicates a first direction of incident signaling from the first node, and
the established SRB;
communicate with a second node in accordance with a parameter for directional transmission of signals that indicates a second direction of reflected signaling to the second node; and
control a reflection characteristic of a configurable reflective surface in accordance with the parameter for directional reception of signals and the parameter for directional transmission of signals.
2. The AN of claim 1 , wherein, to control the reflection characteristic of the configurable reflective surface, the processing system is further configured to cause the AN to:
control, for transmissions from the first node to the second node, the reflection characteristic of the configurable reflective surface in accordance with the first direction of incident signaling from the first node and in accordance with the second direction of reflected signaling to the second node.
3. The AN of claim 1 , wherein, to control the reflection characteristic of the configurable reflective surface, the processing system is further configured to cause the AN to:
control, for transmissions from the second node to the first node, a second reflection characteristic of the configurable reflective surface in accordance with a third direction of incident signaling from the second node and with a fourth direction of reflected signaling to the first node.
4. The AN of claim 1 , wherein, to control the reflection characteristic of the configurable reflective surface, the processing system is further configured to cause the AN to:
select, from a lookup resource stored at the AN, a parameter for the reflection characteristic of the configurable reflective surface that is associated with the parameter for directional reception of signals and the parameter for directional transmission of signals; and
control the reflection characteristic of the configurable reflective surface in accordance with the selected parameter.
5. The AN of claim 1 , wherein the processing system is further configured to cause the AN to:
obtain, from the first node, an indication associated with a link establishment between the first node and the second node, wherein communicating with the second node in accordance with the parameter for directional transmission of signals is associated with obtaining the indication.
6. The AN of claim 1 , wherein the processing system is further configured to cause the AN to:
perform a beam sweeping procedure using a second RF band to establish the parameter for directional reception of signals, wherein communicating with the first node is associated with performing the beam sweeping procedure.
7. The AN of claim 6 , wherein performing the beam sweeping procedure using the second RF band is associated with the establishing of the SRB with the first node using the first RF band.
8. The AN of claim 1 , wherein the processing system is further configured to cause the AN to:
use a same parameter for directional reception as used for establishing the SRB with the first node using the first RF band to establish the parameter for directional reception of signals, wherein communicating with the first node is associated with using the same parameter for directional reception.
9. The AN of claim 1 , wherein the processing system is further configured to cause the AN to:
switch from communicating with the first node in accordance with the parameter for directional reception of signals to communicating with the first node in accordance with a second parameter for directional reception of signals that indicates a third direction of incident signaling from the first node; and
control the reflection characteristic of the configurable reflective surface in accordance with the second parameter for directional reception of signals.
10. The AN of claim 1 , wherein the processing system is further configured to cause the AN to:
switch from communicating with the second node in accordance with the parameter for directional transmission of signals to communicating with the second node in accordance with a second parameter for directional transmission of signals that indicates a fourth direction of reflected signaling to the second node; and
control the reflection characteristic of the configurable reflective surface in accordance with the second parameter for directional transmission of signals.
11. The AN of claim 1 , wherein the processing system is further configured to cause the AN to:
switch from communicating with the first node in accordance with the parameter for directional reception of signals to communicating with the first node in accordance with a second parameter for directional reception of signals that indicates a third direction of incident signaling from the first node; and
output, to the second node, an indication associated with a status of signal propagation via the configurable reflective surface associated with the switching.
12. The AN of claim 1 , wherein the processing system is further configured to cause the AN to:
perform a refinement procedure associated with the reflection characteristic of the configurable reflective surface in accordance with a detected condition satisfying a threshold.
13. The AN of claim 12 , wherein, to perform the refinement procedure, the processing system is further configured to cause the AN to:
output, to the first node and the second node, an indication of a set of parameters for the reflection characteristic of the configurable reflective surface;
cycle the reflection characteristic of the configurable reflective surface between the set of parameters for the reflection characteristic over a plurality of training occasions;
obtain, from at least one of the first node or the second node, a message indicating a parameter of the set of parameters; and
control the reflection characteristic of the configurable reflective surface in accordance with the indicated parameter.
14. The AN of claim 13 , wherein, to obtain the message indicating the parameter of the set of parameters, the processing system is further configured to cause the AN to:
obtain a measurement report indicating a signal strength associated with signaling during each training occasion of the plurality of training occasions, the indicated parameter being associated with a training occasion of the plurality of training occasions associated with a highest indicated signal strength; or
obtain an indication of the training occasion of the plurality of training occasions.
15. The AN of claim 12 , wherein the detected condition comprises at least one of:
a measured signal quality associated with at least one of the communicating with the first node in accordance with the parameter for directional reception of signals or the communicating with the second node in accordance with the parameter for directional transmission of signals; or
an availability of multiple parameters for the reflection characteristic of the configurable reflective surface in accordance with the parameter for directional reception of signals and the parameter for directional transmission of signals.
16. A method for wireless communication at an assisting node (AN), comprising:
establishing a signaling radio bearer (SRB) with a first node using a first radio frequency (RF) band;
communicating with the first node in accordance with:
a parameter for directional reception of signals that indicates a first direction of incident signaling from the first node, and
the established SRB;
communicating with a second node in accordance with a parameter for directional transmission of signals that indicates a second direction of reflected signaling to the second node; and
controlling a reflection characteristic of a configurable reflective surface in accordance with the parameter for directional reception of signals and the parameter for directional transmission of signals.
17. The method of claim 16 , wherein controlling the reflection characteristic of the configurable reflective surface comprises:
controlling, for transmissions from the first node to the second node, the reflection characteristic of the configurable reflective surface in accordance with the first direction of incident signaling from the first node and in accordance with the second direction of reflected signaling to the second node.
18. The method of claim 16 , wherein controlling the reflection characteristic of the configurable reflective surface comprises:
controlling, for transmissions from the second node to the first node, a second reflection characteristic of the configurable reflective surface in accordance with a third direction of incident signaling from the second node and with a fourth direction of reflected signaling to the first node.
19. The method of claim 16 , wherein controlling the reflection characteristic of the configurable reflective surface comprises:
selecting, from a lookup resource stored at the AN, a parameter for the reflection characteristic of the configurable reflective surface that is associated with the parameter for directional reception of signals and the parameter for directional transmission of signals; and
controlling the reflection characteristic of the configurable reflective surface in accordance with the selected parameter.
20. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:
receiving, from the first node, an indication associated with a link establishment between the first node and the second node, wherein communicating with the second node in accordance with the parameter for directional transmission of signals is associated with receiving the indication.
21. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:
performing a beam sweeping procedure using a second RF band to establish the parameter for directional reception of signals, wherein performing the beam sweeping procedure using the second RF band is associated with the establishing of the SRB with the first node using the first RF band, and wherein communicating with the first node is associated with performing the beam sweeping procedure.
22. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:
using a same parameter for directional reception as used for establishing the SRB with the first node using the first RF band to establish the parameter for directional reception of signals, wherein communicating with the first node is associated with using the same parameter for directional reception.
23. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:
switching from communicating with the first node in accordance with the parameter for directional reception of signals to communicating with the first node in accordance with a second parameter for directional reception of signals that indicates a third direction of incident signaling from the first node; and
controlling the reflection characteristic of the configurable reflective surface in accordance with the second parameter for directional reception of signals.
24. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:
switching from communicating with the second node in accordance with the parameter for directional transmission of signals to communicating with the second node in accordance with a second parameter for directional transmission of signals that indicates a fourth direction of reflected signaling to the second node; and
controlling the reflection characteristic of the configurable reflective surface in accordance with the second parameter for directional transmission of signals.
25. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:
switching from communicating with the first node in accordance with the parameter for directional reception of signals to communicating with the first node in accordance with a second parameter for directional reception of signals that indicates a third direction of incident signaling from the first node; and
transmitting, to the second node, an indication associated with a status of signal propagation via the configurable reflective surface associated with the switching.
26. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:
performing a refinement procedure associated with the reflection characteristic of the configurable reflective surface in accordance with a detected condition satisfying a threshold.
27. The method of claim 26 , wherein performing the refinement procedure comprises:
transmitting, to the first node and the second node, an indication of a set of parameters for the reflection characteristic of the configurable reflective surface;
cycling the reflection characteristic of the configurable reflective surface between the set of parameters for the reflection characteristic over a set of multiple training occasions;
receiving, from at least one of the first node or the second node, a message indicating a parameter of the set of parameters; and
controlling the reflection characteristic of the configurable reflective surface in accordance with the indicated parameter.
28. The method of claim 27 , wherein receiving the message indicating the parameter of the set of parameters comprises:
receiving a measurement report indicating a signal strength associated with signaling during each training occasion of the set of multiple training occasions, the indicated parameter being associated with a training occasion of the set of multiple training occasions associated with a highest indicated signal strength; or
receiving an indication of the training occasion of the set of multiple training occasions.
29. The method of claim 26 , wherein the detected condition comprises at least one of:
a measured signal quality associated with at least one of the communicating with the first node in accordance with the parameter for directional reception of signals or the communicating with the second node in accordance with the parameter for directional transmission of signals; or
an availability of multiple parameters for the reflection characteristic of the configurable reflective surface in accordance with the parameter for directional reception of signals and the parameter for directional transmission of signals.
30. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:
transmitting a discovery signal associated with the AN and the configurable reflective surface, wherein communicating with the first node in accordance with the parameter for directional reception of signals and communicating with the second node in accordance with the parameter for directional transmission of signals is associated with transmitting the discovery signal.