Clock Synchronization for Autonomous Vehicle Acquirers
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Solution Overview
Problem
In automatic driving systems, the high cost and internal wiring requirements of externally triggered acquirers make it impractical to synchronize multiple acquirers without external triggers, which is necessary for simultaneous information acquisition in autonomous vehicles.
Innovation Solution
The method involves determining the pose changes of image and calibration acquirers relative to a reference coordinate system at different image acquisition time points, correcting the acquisition times of the calibration acquirers to synchronize with the image acquirers, and performing clock synchronization using predetermined correction time variables to achieve synchronous acquisition without external triggers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If externally triggered acquirers are used to synchronize multiple acquirers, then simultaneous information acquisition is achieved, but cost and device complexity increase due to external wiring requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the trigger signal generation function from external devices and relocates it to the processing device itself. The processing device generates trigger signals internally and transmits them to acquirers through communication modules, eliminating the need for external trigger wiring while maintaining synchronization capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a processing device as an intermediary between multiple acquirers. This processing device receives data from acquirers, generates appropriate trigger signals, and transmits them back to coordinate acquisition timing, thereby achieving synchronization without direct external trigger connections
2Reliability
If externally triggered acquirers are used to synchronize multiple acquirers, then simultaneous information acquisition is achieved, but cost increases due to specialized hardware requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The processing device performs multiple functions: it acts as a data receiver from acquirers, a trigger signal generator, and a coordinator for synchronization. This multi-functional approach eliminates the need for separate external trigger devices, reducing overall system cost while maintaining synchronization capability
Solution Approach 2:
The system achieves self-synchronization where the processing device autonomously generates trigger signals based on received data timestamps and predetermined variables, without requiring external trigger hardware or manual coordination, thereby reducing system cost and complexity
3Device complexity
If acquirers without external trigger are used, then cost and complexity are reduced, but clock synchronization between multiple acquirers becomes difficult to achieve
Solution Approach 1:
The processing device receives data from acquirers along with their timestamps, calculates time differences between acquirers, and uses predetermined correction time variables to generate compensating trigger signals. This feedback mechanism enables clock synchronization without requiring acquirers to have external trigger capabilities
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary timestamp recording at each acquirer, then uses these timestamps to calculate synchronization offsets before generating corrected trigger signals. This preliminary data collection enables subsequent synchronization without requiring acquirers to be externally triggered in real-time
Data Source
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AI summary
Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method and an apparatus for clock synchronization, a device, a storage medium and a vehicle. The method includes: determining a first pose change of an image acquirer with respect to a reference coordinate system at different image acquisition time points; determining a second pose change of a calibration acquirer with respect to the reference coordinate system at different corrected image acquisition time points, in which, the different corrected image acquisition correction time points are determined according to the different image acquisition time points and each predetermined correction time variable; and performing a clock synchronization on the image acquirer and the calibration acquirer according to the first pose change of the image acquirer and the second pose change of the calibration acquirer corresponding to the each correction time variable.