UAV Sensor Data Synchronization via Controller Timestamps

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Solution Overview

Problem

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) face clock asynchronization issues among sensors, leading to errors in data analysis due to inconsistent data collection times, which affects the accuracy of tasks performed by the UAV.

Innovation Solution

A method and device for data synchronization in UAVs, where a controller generates a time stamp representing its current clock time and sends it to sensors as instruction information, ensuring that data collected by sensors includes this time stamp, allowing the controller to determine the clock time of data collection and synchronize data from various sensors.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If sensors collect data independently without synchronization, then each sensor can operate autonomously and collect data continuously, but clock asynchronization occurs among sensors leading to errors in data analysis

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata analysis accuracyVSAvoiddata collection time consistency

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The controller generates a time stamp representing current clock time before sending instruction information to sensors. This preliminary timing action ensures that all subsequent data collection operations are referenced to a common time baseline, preventing clock asynchronization issues and maintaining data analysis accuracy.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The sensor returns collected data along with the received time stamp to the controller. This feedback mechanism allows the controller to verify data collection timing and synchronize data from multiple sensors based on the time stamps, ensuring temporal consistency across all sensor data.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

2Measurement precision

If a time stamp system is implemented for synchronization, then data collection timing consistency is improved, but the complexity of data transmission and processing increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata collection timing precisionVSAvoiddata transmission protocol complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The time stamp serves multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as a timing reference for synchronization, an identification marker for data packets, and a sorting key for temporal ordering of data from multiple sensors. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate synchronization mechanisms, thereby limiting the increase in system complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentUS11206123B2Method and device of data synchronization and data collection for aerial vehicle and aerial vehicle

Publication Date: 2021.12.21 SZ DJI TECH CO LTD

AI summary

A method for synchronizing data collected by one or more sensors of an aerial vehicle includes: generating, by a controller of the aerial vehicle, one or more time stamps each representing a clock time of the controller; sending instruction information to one or more sensors external to the aerial vehicle; receiving a plurality of data packets returned from the one or more external sensors corresponding to a number of first clock times; obtaining data collected by a built-in sensor at a number of second clock times; and analyzing, according to the data packets returned by the external sensors and the data collected by the built-in sensor, a flight state of the aerial vehicle. The instruction information carries the one or more time stamps and directs the one or more external sensors to perform data collection. Each second clock time is the same as a corresponding first clock time.