Multiplexing Sensor Data for Autonomous Vehicle Simulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional simulation systems for autonomous vehicles fail to accurately simulate sensor and hardware faults, leading to inaccurate outcomes and safety risks, as they do not provide a mechanism for accurately aligning and timing sensor data from multiple sources before it reaches the software systems.
Innovation Solution
A system that multiplexes and encodes sensor data from various sources, such as cameras and lidar sensors, with timestamp and supplemental data, allowing for realistic fault simulations by injecting faults at the appropriate time and location within the vehicle's systems, thereby exposing a comprehensive set of systems to simulated faults.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional simulation systems are used without multiplexing sensor data, then the system complexity is reduced, but the accuracy of fault simulation and safety assessment deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments sensor data from multiple sources into separate channels, with each channel carrying data from a specific sensor along with its timestamp and control information. This segmentation enables independent processing and accurate timing of each sensor's data, improving fault simulation accuracy while maintaining manageable system complexity through modular organization
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a multiplexer as an intermediary device that receives sensor data from multiple sensors, encodes it with timestamps and control information, and outputs it through a single communication channel. This intermediary enables synchronized fault injection and accurate timing without requiring complex direct connections between all system components
2Measurement precision
If sensor data from multiple sources is processed without multiplexing and timing alignment, then the processing speed is faster, but the accuracy of scenario simulation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by encoding timestamps and control information with sensor data before the data reaches the simulation system. This pre-preparation of timing information enables accurate scenario simulation and fault injection without requiring complex real-time synchronization processing, thus maintaining high processing speed while achieving precise timing alignment
3Ease of operation
If faults are injected directly into software components, then the ease of operation is improved, but the reliability of fault simulation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses the multiplexer and demultiplexer as intermediaries to inject faults at the data transmission level rather than directly in software components. The control information embedded in the multiplexed data streams enables fault injection that mimics real sensor and hardware failures, providing both ease of operation through centralized control and high reliability by simulating faults at the appropriate layer in the system architecture
Data Source
AI summary
The described techniques relate to a simulation system that multiplexes sensor data from multiple sensors and outputs the multiplexed sensor data in channels corresponding to the multiple sensors to appropriate vehicle systems at an appropriate time based on encoded timestamp data. In examples, a multiplexer may receive sensor datasets associated with different sensors. The multiplexer may encode the different sensor datasets with timestamp data and supplemental data to generate an encoded dataset. The multiplexer may output the encoded dataset to a video output port to transmit the encoded dataset to a demultiplexer. The demultiplexer receives the encoded dataset from the video output port, and separates the encoded dataset into channels corresponding to the sensors from which the sensor data was received. The demultiplexer may output the datasets in the respective channels at a time (or times) indicated in the timestamp data and according to the supplemental data.