Identifying a beam in 5g wireless communication systems

Abstract

Various embodiments disclosed herein provide for optimizing identification of a beam in a massive multiple-input multiple output (MIMO) system. The receiver device can select a beam to use for a transmission, and generate channel state information based on a selection of either a single stage beam selection process or a two stage beam selection process. According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the receiver can select which beam selection process to use based on the context of the receiver device. The receiver can select which beam selection process to use based on the long term signal to noise ratio, or the correlation metrics associated with the receiver and transmitter, or based on the path loss between the transmitter and receiver, or based on the location of the receiver relative to the transmitter.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A receiver device, comprising:
 a processor; and   a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising:
 determining whether to select a beam for a transmission from a transmitter device to the receiver device according to a single stage beam selection protocol or a two stage beam selection protocol, wherein the determining comprises:
 in response to a context of the receiver device satisfying a criterion, selecting the beam according to the two stage beam selection protocol, and 
 in response to the context of the receiver device not satisfying the criterion, selecting the beam according to the single stage beam selection protocol; and 
 
 transmitting channel state information associated with the beam to the transmitter device via an uplink control channel. 
   
     
     
         2 . The receiver device of  claim 1 , wherein the context of the receiver device satisfying the criterion comprises a signal strength of a reference signal received by the receiver device being determined to be above a threshold signal strength. 
     
     
         3 . The receiver device of  claim 1 , wherein the context of the receiver device satisfying the criterion comprises a signal to noise ratio at the receiver device being determined to be below a threshold signal to noise ratio. 
     
     
         4 . The receiver device of  claim 1 , wherein the context of the receiver device satisfying the criterion comprises a distance between the receiver device and the transmitter device being determined to be above a threshold distance. 
     
     
         5 . The receiver device of  claim 1 , wherein the context of the receiver device satisfying the criterion comprises a path loss between the transmitter device and the receiver device being determined to be above a threshold path loss. 
     
     
         6 . The receiver device of  claim 1 , wherein the selecting of the beam according to the single stage beam selection protocol comprises selecting the beam based on identifying the beam and the channel state information that corresponds to a highest throughput of a group of beams. 
     
     
         7 . The receiver device of  claim 1 , wherein the selecting of the beam according to the two stage beam selection protocol comprises selecting the beam of a group of beams that has a highest signal power, and after the selecting of the beam, determining the channel state information for the beam. 
     
     
         8 . A method, comprising:
 determining, by a user equipment comprising a processor, whether to select a beam for a transmission from network equipment to the user equipment according to a single stage beam selection protocol or a two stage beam selection protocol, wherein the determining comprises:
 in response to a context of the user equipment satisfying a criterion, selecting the beam according to the two stage beam selection protocol, and 
 in response to the context of the user equipment not satisfying the criterion, selecting the beam according to the single stage beam selection protocol; and 
   transmitting, by the user equipment, channel state information associated with the beam to the network equipment via an uplink control channel.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the context of the user equipment satisfying the criterion comprises a signal strength of a reference signal received by the user equipment being above a threshold signal strength. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the context of the user equipment satisfying the criterion comprises a signal to noise ratio at the user equipment being below a threshold signal to noise ratio. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the context of the user equipment satisfying the criterion comprises a distance between the user equipment and the network equipment being above a threshold distance. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the context of the user equipment satisfying the criterion comprises a path loss between the network equipment and the user equipment being above a threshold path loss. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the selecting of the beam according to the single stage beam selection protocol comprises selecting the beam based on identifying the beam and the channel state information that corresponds to a highest throughput of a group of beams. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the selecting of the beam according to the two stage beam selection protocol comprises selecting the beam of a group of beams that has a highest signal power, and after the selecting of the beam, determining the channel state information for the beam. 
     
     
         15 . A non-transitory machine-readable medium, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processor of network equipment, facilitate performance of operations, comprising:
 determining whether to select a beam for a transmission from a first device to a second device according to a single stage beam selection protocol or a two stage beam selection protocol, wherein the determining comprises:
 in response to a context of the second device satisfying a criterion, selecting the beam according to the two stage beam selection protocol, and 
 in response to the context of the second device not satisfying the criterion, selecting the beam according to the single stage beam selection protocol; and 
   transmitting channel state information associated with the beam to the first device via an uplink control channel.   
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the context of the second device satisfying the criterion comprises a signal strength of a reference signal received by the second device being above a threshold signal strength. 
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the context of the second device satisfying the criterion comprises a signal plus interference to noise ratio at the second device being below a threshold signal plus interference to noise ratio. 
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the context of the second device satisfying the criterion comprises a distance between the first device and the second device being above a threshold distance. 
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the context of the second device satisfying the criterion comprises a path loss between the first device and the second device being above a threshold path loss. 
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the selecting of the beam according to the single stage beam selection protocol comprises selecting the beam based on identifying the beam and the channel state information that corresponds to a highest throughput of a group of beams, and the selecting of the beam according to the two stage beam selection protocol comprises selecting the beam of the group of beams that has a highest signal power, and after the selecting of the beam, determining the channel state information for the beam.