Sensor Trigger Logic for Synchronized Autonomous Driving Capture
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current autonomous driving systems lack efficient mechanisms to control the operations of various sensors, which are critical for precise perception of the driving environment and effective motion planning, as different sensors have different requirements and specifications.
Innovation Solution
A sensor unit with sensor control modules that include delay time control logic, trigger time adjustment logic, and a trigger signal generator, which receive pulse time and trigger time adjustment values from the host system to modify pulse signals and generate trigger signals for sensors, ensuring synchronized and collaborative operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple sensors operate independently without centralized control, then each sensor can function according to its own requirements, but the sensors cannot operate synchronously and cooperatively to precisely perceive the driving environment
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor control module serves multiple sensors simultaneously with a single centralized unit, providing universal control functionality. The module generates trigger signals for multiple different sensor types (LIDAR, cameras, radar) through a unified interface, eliminating the need for separate control mechanisms for each sensor while maintaining individual sensor requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary configuration of sensor operations by pre-setting trigger timings and synchronization parameters before actual sensing begins. The host system configures the sensor control module with operational parameters in advance, allowing sensors to operate synchronously without real-time coordination complexity.
2Measurement precision
If sensors are controlled with simple timing mechanisms, then the control system is simple, but the timing precision and synchronization accuracy of sensor operations are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor control module acts as an intermediary between the host system and multiple sensors, handling all timing precision requirements. It receives configuration from the host system and translates these into precisely timed trigger signals for each sensor, isolating the complexity of timing control from both the host system and individual sensors while achieving high synchronization accuracy.
3Ease of operation
If the host system directly controls each sensor individually, then precise control is achieved, but the communication bandwidth and processing load of the host system are overloaded
Solution Approach 1:
The control function is segmented into two parts: the host system handles high-level configuration and coordination, while the sensor control module handles low-level trigger signal generation and timing. This segmentation offloads the computationally intensive task of generating precise trigger signals from the host system, reducing its processing burden while maintaining ease of operation through the modular architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor control module is self-sufficient in generating and managing trigger signals for all sensors. Once configured by the host system, it autonomously manages the timing and synchronization of all sensor operations without requiring continuous host system intervention, thereby improving host system processing efficiency while maintaining operational simplicity.
Data Source
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AI summary
A sensor unit includes a sensor interface coupled to a number of sensors and a host interface coupled to a host system utilized to autonomously drive the vehicle. The sensor unit further includes sensor control modules corresponding to the sensors. Each sensor control module includes delay time control logic, delay adjustment logic, and a trigger signal generator. The delay time control logic is to receive a pulse time adjustment (PTA) value from the host system. The delay adjustment logic is to receive a trigger time adjustment (TTA) value from the host system. The delay adjustment logic is to modify timing of at least a portion of the pulses of a pulse signal based on the PTA value and the TTA value. The trigger signal generator is to generate a trigger signal based on the modified pulse signal and to transmit the trigger signal to a corresponding sensor.