Formatting sensor data for use in autonomous vehicle communications platform
First Claim
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1. A method of operating a sensor apparatus of an autonomous vehicle, the method comprising:
- upon initializing a master clock on a master processing node for the sensor apparatus, determining whether an external timing signal is available;
upon determining that the external timing signal is not available, setting the master clock using a local timing signal from a low-power clock on the autonomous vehicle;
based on a clock cycle of the master clock, propagating a plurality of pulse timestamp messages from the master processing node to a plurality of sensors of the sensor apparatus;
receiving sensor data from the plurality of sensors; and
formatting the sensor data based at least in part on the plurality of pulse timestamp messages to enable the sensor data to be used for navigating the autonomous vehicle.
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Abstract
A sensor synchronization system for an autonomous vehicle is described. Upon initializing a master clock on a master processing node for a sensor apparatus of the autonomous vehicle, the system determines whether an external timing signal is available. If the signal is not available, the system sets the master clock using a local timing signal from a low-power clock on the autonomous vehicle. Based on a clock cycle of the master clock, the system propagates timestamp messages to the sensors of the sensor apparatus, receives sensor data, and formats the sensor data based on the timestamp messages.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of operating a sensor apparatus of an autonomous vehicle, the method comprising:
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upon initializing a master clock on a master processing node for the sensor apparatus, determining whether an external timing signal is available; upon determining that the external timing signal is not available, setting the master clock using a local timing signal from a low-power clock on the autonomous vehicle; based on a clock cycle of the master clock, propagating a plurality of pulse timestamp messages from the master processing node to a plurality of sensors of the sensor apparatus; receiving sensor data from the plurality of sensors; and formatting the sensor data based at least in part on the plurality of pulse timestamp messages to enable the sensor data to be used for navigating the autonomous vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A sensor synchronization system for an autonomous vehicle, comprising:
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a master processing node for a sensor apparatus of the autonomous vehicle, the master processing node comprising; circuitry for a master clock; and circuitry for a low-power clock that maintains time even when a microcontroller for the master processing node is powered down; a memory that stores instructions for operating the sensor apparatus; and one or more processors that, upon executing the instructions, cause the sensor synchronization system to; upon initializing the master clock, determine whether an external timing signal is available; upon determining that the external timing signal is not available, set the master clock using a local timing signal from the low-power clock; based on a clock cycle of the master clock, propagate a plurality of pulse timestamp messages from the master processing node to a plurality of sensors of the sensor apparatus; receive sensor data from the plurality of sensors; and format the sensor data based at least in part on the plurality of pulse timestamp messages to enable the sensor data to be used for navigating the autonomous vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium containing instructions that, when executed by a processor of a sensor synchronization system for an autonomous vehicle, causes the sensor synchronization system to:
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upon initializing a master clock on a master processing node for a sensor apparatus of the autonomous vehicle, determine whether an external timing signal is available; upon determining that the external timing signal is not available, set the master clock using a local timing signal from a low-power clock on the autonomous vehicle; based on a clock cycle of the master clock, propagate a plurality of pulse timestamp messages from the master processing node to a plurality of sensors of the sensor apparatus; receive sensor data from the plurality of sensors; and format the sensor data based at least in part on the plurality of pulse timestamp messages to enable the sensor data to be used for navigating the autonomous vehicle.
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Specification