Dual-Port Sensor Architecture for Autonomous Vehicle Redundancy
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current sensor designs for autonomous driving vehicles with redundant in-vehicle computers (IVCs) on a shared platform are prone to costly system replacements due to single-point failures, high-speed signal integrity challenges, and heavy inter-IVC data relay delays, which increase repair and replacement costs.
Innovation Solution
A dual-port sensor design with two Ethernet ports, each connected to a separate in-vehicle computer, allowing for redundant data replication and independent operation, reducing the risk of single-point failures and enabling modular design for cost-effective repairs and replacements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If redundant in-vehicle computers are placed on a shared platform, then system integration is improved, but repair and replacement costs increase due to single-point failures
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor system is divided into two independent ports, each connected to a separate in-vehicle computer. This segmentation allows one computer to fail without affecting the other, enabling independent repair and replacement of individual components rather than requiring whole system replacement.
2Device complexity
If redundant in-vehicle computers share a common connection, then device complexity is reduced, but reliability decreases due to single-point failures
Solution Approach 1:
The connection architecture is segmented into two separate ports instead of one shared connection. Each port independently connects to its own in-vehicle computer, eliminating the single-point failure risk associated with shared connections while maintaining manageable system complexity.
3Loss of information
If sensor data is relayed between in-vehicle computers, then data sharing is improved, but data relay delays increase
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor system creates separate data streams for each in-vehicle computer through dedicated ports. Instead of relaying data between computers, each computer receives its own copy of the sensor data directly from the sensor, eliminating data relay delays while maintaining full data sharing capability.
Data Source
AI summary
A sensor subsystem for vehicles, such as autonomous driving vehicles, has two network ports for which each network port is connectable to one of two in-vehicle computers (IVCs) for control, configuration, status and data transfers between the sensor subsystem and the two IVCs. The two IVCs can be structured as redundant IVCs. The sensor subsystem can replicate sensor data to the redundant IVCs. The sensor data can be raw image data, encoded image data, processed perception data, or a combination of the data. The two IVCs can be implemented with a modular design with each IVC disposed on a platform separate from the platform on which the second of the two redundant IVCs is disposed. The two IVCs can be replaced separately to reduce repair or replacement cost.