AMBIENT INTERNET OF THINGS (AIoT) DEVICE AVAILABILITY & REACHABILITY DETECTION & PREDICTION

A method performed by a first network device, the method comprising:

• receiving a first inventory request, wherein the first inventory request identifies an ambient internet of things (AIoT) device and location information associated with the AIoT device;
• sending a message to an AIoT data management (ADM) function to determine whether a second network device is permitted to trigger an inventory procedure with the AIoT device;
• receiving, from the AIoT ADM function, an indication that the second network device is permitted to trigger the inventory procedure with the AIoT device;
• receiving, from the AIoT ADM function, historical information associated with the AIoT device, wherein the historical information comprises information about previous attempts to perform the inventory procedure with the AIoT device;
• determining a first radio access network (RAN) node for accessing the AIoT device based on the historical information associated with the AIoT device;
• and
• sending a second inventory request to the first RAN node, wherein the second inventory request comprises an identifier associated with the AIoT device.