Virtual IMU Sensor Fusion for Vehicle Inertial Fault Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle systems rely heavily on physical inertial measurement units (IMUs) which can be costly and complex, and lack effective redundancy and fault detection mechanisms, leading to potential performance degradation or failure during critical operations.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a virtual inertial measurement unit (IMU) that combines and fuses data from various sensors, including wheel speed sensors and visual odometry, to emulate and enhance IMU measurements, providing redundancy and fault detection, and potentially replacing high-performance IMUs to reduce complexity while maintaining performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a physical inertial measurement unit (IMU) is used to measure inertial parameters, then measurement accuracy is maintained, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a virtual IMU that copies the functionality of a physical IMU by using sensor fusion algorithms to estimate inertial parameters from data collected by other sensors (wheel speed sensors, steering angle sensors, etc.). This virtual copy provides the same measurement capabilities without requiring expensive high-performance physical IMU hardware
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical/physical IMU system with a computational/software-based virtual IMU system. Instead of relying on physical accelerometers and gyroscopes, the system uses mathematical models and sensor fusion to compute inertial parameters, substituting hardware with software processing
2Reliability
If a physical inertial measurement unit (IMU) is used, then inertial measurements are provided, but reliability and fault detection capability are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The virtual IMU serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides inertial measurements for normal operation, enables fault detection by comparing with physical IMU data, and offers redundancy backup. This multi-functional approach improves reliability without requiring separate dedicated systems for each function
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback by continuously comparing the virtual IMU measurements with physical IMU measurements to detect faults. When discrepancies exceed thresholds, the system identifies potential IMU failures and can switch to using virtual IMU data, creating a self-monitoring feedback loop that enhances reliability
3Measurement precision
If high-performance IMUs are used to maintain performance, then measurement accuracy is improved, but cost and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses inexpensive standard sensors (wheel speed sensors, steering angle sensors, GPS receivers) that are already present in most vehicles to create a virtual high-performance IMU. Instead of requiring expensive specialized inertial sensors, the system repurposes cheaper, readily available sensors through sophisticated processing algorithms
Data Source
AI summary
A system for measuring vehicle parameters includes an inertial measurement unit configured to measure an inertial parameter of a vehicle, and a virtual measurement unit configured to receive a plurality of measured parameters from one or more other sensors of the vehicle, and emulate the inertial parameter by combining the plurality of measured parameters. The system also includes a controller configured to control vehicle operation based on at least one of the measured inertial parameter and the emulated inertial parameter.