Multi-Sensor Trigger Synchronization for Precise Data Capture
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Multi-sensor systems often face asynchronous data collection due to control or transmission delays, leading to mismatched sensor data that can cause undesirable noises and errors in scene perception.
Innovation Solution
Generate synchronized trigger signals using a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and local timers to ensure sensors collect data simultaneously, compensating for transmission delays and accounting for sensor characteristics like frame rate, phase, and polarity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If sensors operate independently without synchronization, then each sensor can function autonomously with its own timing, but the collected sensor data becomes asynchronous representing different times causing measurement errors and noise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the timing control of multiple sensors into a single unified trigger signal system. A host device generates and distributes synchronized trigger signals to multiple sensors, consolidating what would otherwise be independent timing mechanisms into one coordinated system, thereby achieving temporal synchronization while managing complexity through centralization.
Solution Approach 2:
The host device acts as an intermediary between the timing source and individual sensors. It receives timing information (such as GNSS signals), processes it, and generates appropriate trigger signals for each sensor, accounting for transmission delays and sensor-specific characteristics. This intermediary role enables precise synchronization without requiring direct peer-to-peer coordination between sensors.
2Measurement precision
If trigger signals are transmitted to multiple sensors simultaneously, then data collection can be synchronized, but transmission delays and sensor characteristics cause timing mismatches
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary calculations of transmission delays and sensor characteristics before generating trigger signals. The host device computes compensation values based on known sensor properties and estimated transmission times, then adjusts the trigger signal timing in advance to pre-correct for expected delays, ensuring that all sensors effectively capture data at the same reference time despite physical transmission variations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent dynamically adjusts trigger signal parameters such as timing offsets, pulse widths, and phases based on sensor-specific characteristics and transmission conditions. By changing these parameters individually for each sensor while maintaining a common reference framework, the system compensates for transmission delays and sensor variations, achieving synchronized data collection across heterogeneous sensors.
3Adaptability or versatility
If different sensor types are used in the multi-sensor system, then the system gains versatility for different sensing tasks, but each sensor requires customized trigger parameters complicating the synchronization
Solution Approach 1:
The host device implements a universal trigger signal generation mechanism that can accommodate multiple sensor types through a standardized interface and configuration framework. By defining a common trigger signal format and centralized control logic that can be parameterized for different sensor characteristics, the system achieves multi-functionality without requiring separate synchronization systems for each sensor type.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by customizing specific trigger parameters (such as pulse width, phase, and timing offsets) for each sensor based on its individual characteristics, while maintaining the overall synchronization framework. This allows each sensor to receive locally optimized trigger signals tailored to its specific requirements without compromising the global synchronization achieved through the centralized host device.
Data Source
AI summary
This disclosure relates to signal synchronization of a multi-sensor system. In one aspect, a method includes identifying a trigger signal by a processor on a circuit, where the circuit is coupled to multiple groups of sensors. Each group has one or more sensors and each sensor has a respective sensor type. For each senor in each group of the multiple groups of sensors, a synchronized trigger signal is generated using the identified trigger signal based at least on the respective sensor types. The synchronized trigger signals, once received by corresponding sensors, cause the corresponding sensors to synchronously collect sensor data for a particular scene. The synchronized trigger signals is transmitted to corresponding sensors in the multiple groups of sensors for controlling execution of data collection.