Dual SOC Dashcam Power Management for Impact Evidence Capture
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current dashcam systems experience latency in capturing evidence, leading to the loss of vital data, especially in incidents like hit-and-run and vandalism, due to their limited power management during idle or parked states.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a power management system that includes an 'always-on' mode, utilizing a low-power secondary SOC microcontroller to continuously log image and audio data before and during an impact, and seamlessly transition this data to the main SOC for further processing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If the dashcam uses a small internal battery in parking mode with the main SOC in dormant mode, then power consumption is reduced and battery life is extended, but latency in capturing evidence occurs and vital data is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the SOC into two separate microcontrollers: a low-power secondary SOC that remains active during parking mode and a main SOC that handles full functionality when needed. This segmentation allows the system to maintain evidence capture capability without requiring the entire system to remain powered, thus reducing overall power consumption while eliminating latency.
Solution Approach 2:
The secondary SOC continuously monitors and captures evidence data in advance before the main SOC is activated. This preliminary action ensures that no evidence is lost during the transition period, as the secondary SOC is already recording and buffering data before the impact or event occurs, eliminating the latency problem.
2Use of energy by moving object
If the main SOC transitions from dormant mode to active mode upon impact detection, then power consumption is optimized, but data loss occurs during the transition time while firmware loads
Solution Approach 1:
The secondary SOC continuously captures and buffers evidence data before the main SOC is activated. This preliminary action ensures that no evidence is lost during the transition period, as the secondary SOC is already recording and buffering data before the impact or event occurs, eliminating the latency problem.
Solution Approach 2:
The secondary SOC acts as an intermediary between the sensors and the main SOC during the transition period. It temporarily assumes the responsibility of data capture and management, ensuring continuous evidence collection without interruption while the main SOC is being activated. This intermediary role guarantees data completeness during the power state transition.
3Ease of manufacture
If the dashcam is installed without hard-wiring to vehicle battery, then installation simplicity is improved, but continuous power supply for always-on mode is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the SOC into two separate microcontrollers: a low-power secondary SOC that remains active during parking mode and a main SOC that handles full functionality when needed. This segmentation allows the system to maintain evidence capture capability without requiring the entire system to remain powered, thus reducing overall power consumption while eliminating latency.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the power consumption parameters by implementing an always-on mode with the secondary SOC that consumes minimal power. This parameter change enables continuous operation without hard-wiring to the vehicle battery, as the reduced power consumption allows the internal battery to sustain operation for extended periods.
Data Source
AI summary
A system including an image sensor mounted on a vehicle, memory storing data captured by the image sensor, a buffer for temporarily storing data, an inertial measurement unit (IMU) that senses an impact on the vehicle, a switch connected to the image sensor, a main system on chip (SOC) connected to the image sensor via the switch, that stores data in the memory, the main SOC being in a dormant power mode while the vehicle is parked or idle, and in an active power mode while the vehicle is moving, and transitioning from dormant mode to active mode when the IMU senses that the vehicle suffers an impact, and a low-power secondary SOC microcontroller connected to the image sensor via the switch, that manages power of the system and stores data in the buffer, the buffer storing data that was captured prior to and upon the IMU detecting an impact.