ULTRALOGIC 6G, LLC

In 5G and 6G, a message received with even a single-bit fault generally discarded and a retransmission is requested. However, the faulted message contains a wealth of information that the receiver can use to avoid, or at least mitigate, such faults thereafter. Disclosed is a method for comparing a faulted message with an unfaulted copy, thereby determining which part of the message is faulted, and specifically how it was faulted. For example, the fault may have been an amplitude fault in which a demodulated amplitude differs by one level from the initially modulated amplitude, or it may be a phase fault in which the received phase differs by one phase level, or there may be a displacement by multiple amplitude or phase levels (a non-adjacent fault). Different mitigation strategies are disclosed for each situation, including AI models configured to select a suitable modulation scheme to combat specific faults.

Message faults are an increasing problem for 5G and expected 6G networks, due to growth, crowding, and signal fading problems. Disclosed are procedures for determining which particular message element of a corrupted message is faulted, and optionally the most likely correction. A receiver can identify the faulted message element by measuring the fluctuations, in phase and amplitude, of the waveform of each message element, as well as the modulation quality, frequency offset, and other signal measurements. Faulted message elements are likely to have higher fluctuations, higher modulation deviations, and higher signal irregularities, than the unfaulted ones. Mitigation can then be applied to the faulted message elements, thereby recovering the correct message and avoiding a costly retransmission delay. AI models may enhance the fault detection sensitivity by exploiting correlations between the various waveform measurement parameters, and then may predict the corrected value of the faulted message elements.

In a message modulated according to orthogonal amplitude-modulated component signals in 5G or 6G, the receiver can attempt to recover a corrupted message by evaluating the modulation quality of each component signal in each message element. The modulation quality of each component signal may be determined according to a distance between the amplitude of the component signal and the closest amplitude level of the modulation scheme, as determined by a prior demodulation reference. The modulation quality may also be determined by the SNR and amplitude stability of the component signal. Upon detecting a corrupted message, the receiver can identify the faulted message elements according to modulation quality, and if the faulted message elements are clustered in a portion of the message (as is common), the receiver can request that just the faulted portion be retransmitted, saving time and bandwidth.

Disclosed are methods for avoiding, detecting, and mitigating message faults. Due to the expected large increase in electromagnetic background energy in in dense 5G and 6G networks, message faults are likely to dramatically increase, along with their costs. To avoid intermittent interference, a user device can monitor the noise level and request that the base station store incoming messages while the noise level is too high. Likewise, if a user device receives a faulted message while the noise level is high, the user device can delay the retransmission until the noise subsides. If the user device has received two faulted messages (a likely scenario in crowded urban/industrial/sporting environments), the user device can merge the two versions while selecting the message elements with the best quality (based on modulation, SNR, stability, and other criteria) and may thereby obtain a corrected message version, without resorting to a third transmission of the message.

Polling to determine which user devices wish to transmit, is a time-consuming and resource-intensive process in 5G and 6G. Procedures disclosed herein can provide a fast, extremely compact sequence whereby the base station can determine which users are ready to transmit. First, the base station divides the users into a number of sections, and assigns each user a position in its section. Then, in a “section poll”, the user devices indicate which sections include at least one ready user, and the base station broadcasts a terse listing of these section numbers. Then, in a subsequent “user poll”, the ready users specifically identify themselves, with another compact format. For example, the section poll may use just a single resource element per section, and the user poll may include only those sections that have at least one ready user. These resource-efficient protocols can thereby save energy and time while minimizing background generation.

With increasingly dense wireless traffic in 5G and 6G networks, the incidence of message faults due to interference is increasing, leading to wasted time and energy on multiple re-transmissions. Disclosed are procedures for assembling a fault-free copy of a message from two corrupted copies. First, measure the modulation quality of each message element. A faulted message element usually has poor modulation quality. Then, select the best message elements from each of the two corrupted copies, and test the merged version against an embedded error-detection code. If the merged copy still fails the test, select each of the message elements that are different in the two faulted copies since they are all suspicious, and test each version with the error-detection code. By recovering a message despite reception errors, another transmission is avoided, saving time and energy, and avoiding contributing yet further to the background noise. Many additional aspects are disclosed.

Mobile devices, autonomous sensors and actuators, and myriad other IoT wireless devices demand low-complexity protocols in addition to 5G and 6G protocols. Disclosed are methods for devices to form spontaneous local sidelink networks without involvement of a base station. In a first aspect, a user device can broadcast a hailing message soliciting replies from all devices in range, each reply including the wireless address of the replying user device. In another aspect, each of the user devices in a sidelink network can periodically transmit a semaphore message indicating its wireless addresses, and a new arrival can join the sidelink network by appending its semaphore message to the others. After forming the sidelink network, the user devices can communicate among themselves unicast (addressed to a specific member of the sidelink network). Also disclosed are procedures for recovery from message collisions and transmission of emergency messages. Many other aspects are disclosed.

Disclosed are methods for base stations to indicate the start and end of a downlink message, by prepending and appending demarcations to the message in 5G or 6G. A user device can then readily locate the message by detecting the demarcations, greatly reducing the amount of computation required of the receiver processor. There may be no need for a DCI message alerting the user device of the coming message. Each demarcation may be a brief predetermined bit sequence such as a demodulation reference or an identification code of the intended recipient. The start and end demarcations may be different, and may include a gap of zero or low transmission, to further assist the receiver. The user device may transmit a request message to the base station, requesting that demarcations be applied to the user's downlink messages, and declining the redundant DCI alert messages, thereby saving further energy and network overhead.

Disclosed are systems and methods to determine which specific message elements, of a 5G or 6G message, are faulted. By comparing the amplitude or phase modulation of each message element to a predetermined modulation level, and comparing the difference to a threshold, the faulted message elements can be identified and, potentially, corrected. For example, the modulation scheme may provide two superposed orthogonal signals, thereby providing two amplitude-modulated signals per message element, and a modulation quality can be derived according to the differences between those two amplitudes and the closest predetermined amplitude levels of the modulation scheme. The SNR or SINR of each message element can also be measured and included in the modulation quality determination. Artificial intelligence may enable improved or faster determination of the faulted message elements by including additional input factors. The receiver may then mitigate the message by altering just the faulted message elements, saving re-transmission costs.

Modulation schemes for 5G and 6G are disclosed that can be demodulated accurately even when two transmissions collide. The modulation states are configured to reveal the interference and, in most cases, provide an unambiguous determination of the original content. In other cases, when inevitable ambiguities remain, the number of possible states is greatly reduced, enabling rapid selection of the correct state using error-detection codes. The states of the modulation scheme may include phase modulation or amplitude modulation or both, and may be based on classical amplitude-phase modulation or pulse-amplitude modulation. Each state is structured so that any collision, between any two of the states, produces a readily identified amplitude-phase combination, from which the original message and the intruding message can be deduced. Enhanced network throughput and reliability, with fewer retransmission and dropped messages, may result. Many other aspects are disclosed.