Co-Processor Sensor Timestamp Synchronization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sensor fusion systems face inaccuracies and desynchronization in timestamping due to delays in data transmission and buffering between sensors and application processors, leading to inconsistent and unreliable data synchronization across multiple sensors.
Innovation Solution
A method utilizing a co-processor to provide hardware-based timestamps for sensor data, capturing precise timestamps at the time of data collection and associating them with the data, which are then structured and sequenced for accurate synchronization and delivery to the application processor.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If software-based timestamping is used in the application processor, then the system can process sensor data, but timestamp accuracy deteriorates due to transmission and buffering delays
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by generating timestamps at the sensor level before data transmission occurs. The co-processor captures the exact moment when sensor data becomes available and attaches the timestamp immediately, eliminating subsequent delays that would occur if timestamping were performed later in the application processor after data has been transmitted and buffered.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a co-processor as an intermediary between the sensors and the application processor. This co-processor specifically handles timestamp generation and data synchronization, acting as a mediator that ensures accurate timing information is captured and associated with sensor data before it reaches the main application processor for further processing.
2Reliability
If data is buffered between sensors and application processor, then data can be processed systematically, but synchronization reliability deteriorates due to desynchronization
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback by having the co-processor continuously monitor and track timestamps from multiple sensors, comparing them against a reference time source. This feedback mechanism allows the system to detect and correct timing drift or desynchronization issues, ensuring that data from different sensors remains synchronized even as it moves through the buffering and processing pipeline.
Solution Approach 2:
The co-processor serves as an intermediary that manages the complexity of synchronizing data from multiple sensors. It handles the intricate task of timestamp correlation, data buffering coordination, and synchronization enforcement, thereby improving reliability without requiring the application processor to directly manage these complex synchronization details.
3Measurement precision
If multiple sensors operate independently, then each sensor can function autonomously, but data consistency deteriorates across sensors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the timestamping and synchronization functions of multiple independent sensors into a unified system managed by the co-processor. By combining timestamp generation and data correlation into a single coordinated process, the system ensures that data from independently operating sensors remains consistent and synchronized, allowing the application processor to process the merged data stream efficiently without needing to handle each sensor's timing independently.
Data Source
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Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
Example methods and systems for synchronizing data received from multiple sensors of a device are provided. A method may be performed by a device having an application processor configured to function based on an operating system and a co-processor configured to receive data from sensors of the device. The method may comprise determining an interrupt by a sensor of the device, and providing, by the co-processor, a timestamp of the interrupt that is indicative of a time that the sensor has data for output. The method also comprises receiving the data for output from the sensor, associating the timestamp of the interrupt by the sensor with the received data, associating together data received from multiple sensors into data structures based on timestamps of the data, and providing the data structures to the application processor in sequence based on the timestamps of the data.