CN112180414A

CN112180414A - Airborne equipment synchronization method, airborne synchronization device and intelligent machine

Info

Publication number: CN112180414A
Application number: CN201910586805.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 计平元; 郝佳男
Original assignee: Beijing Tusimple Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Beijing Tusimple Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-07-01
Filing date: 2019-07-01
Publication date: 2021-01-05

Abstract

The embodiment of the application provides an airborne equipment synchronization method. The synchronization method of the airborne equipment comprises the following steps: generating a periodic first signal according to UTC information generated by the satellite positioning equipment, and providing the first signal to the airborne equipment so that the airborne equipment synchronizes a built-in clock thereof with the UTC information when receiving the first signal; a second signal is generated from the PPS signal generated by the satellite positioning device, which is periodic and in phase with the PPS signal, and is provided to the onboard device so that the onboard device performs a predetermined action upon receiving the second signal. The embodiment of the application can realize clock synchronization and trigger synchronization of various sensors in the intelligent machine. In addition, the embodiment of the application also provides an onboard synchronization device and an intelligent machine.

Description

Airborne equipment synchronization method, airborne synchronization device and intelligent machine

Technical Field

The embodiment of the application relates to the technical field of sensors, in particular to an airborne equipment synchronization method, an airborne synchronization device and an intelligent machine.

Background

This section is intended to provide a background or context to the embodiments of the application that are recited in the claims. The description herein is not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.

In smart machines such as autonomous vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles, robots, etc., sensors such as combination navigation, cameras, lidar, etc. are typically used to collect location and environmental information, and Electronic Control Units (ECUs) such as industrial personal computers, servers, Application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) are used to process the data collected by the sensors to complete locating and sensing objects in the surrounding environment and make behavioral decisions based thereon. The process is roughly as follows: the method comprises the steps that position data of an intelligent machine are collected in real time through integrated navigation, image data of the environment around the intelligent machine are collected in real time through a camera, point cloud data of objects around the intelligent machine are collected in real time through a laser radar, and electronic control units such as an industrial personal computer, a server and a special ASIC receive the data of the position, the image and the point cloud collected in real time through a sensor, align the data according to a timestamp, perform fusion processing, position and sense the objects in the environment around the intelligent machine in real time, and then make behavior decisions such as avoidance and lane changing according to positioning and sensing results.

Disclosure of Invention

According to the above process, it can be known whether the positioning and sensing result is accurate and can directly influence the behavior decision made by the intelligent machine, however, the current intelligent machine has the following defects:

firstly, clock sources adopted among different types of sensors and between the sensors and a processor are not uniform, after the various sensors send acquired data to the processor, the processor takes the time when the data are received as a time stamp of the data, on one hand, the time stamp lags behind the time when the data are actually acquired by the sensors, for example, the time stamp is transmitted to the processor after 20ms after the image data are shot by a camera, the current time stamp is added to the image data by the processor, in this case, the image expresses environment information 20ms before the time stamp, and if the speed of the automatic driving vehicle is 90km/h, the automatic driving vehicle drives 0.5m from the position when the image is actually acquired to the position when the time stamp; on the other hand, different data with the same time stamp may actually be the physical world expressing different times, for example, the image data from the camera and the point cloud data from the lidar have the same time stamp, but actually, the real acquisition time of the image data is earlier than that of the point cloud data because the image data generally needs longer transmission time than the point cloud data.

Second, the trigger times for different types of sensors are not uniform. When the sensors of different types acquire information according to respective frequencies, because the triggering time is not uniform, it is difficult to ensure that the sensors can acquire data at the same time, which causes that data alignment is difficult to be realized during subsequent data fusion processing, and the fusion difficulty is increased.

By combining the above factors, the current intelligent machine cannot obtain accurate positioning and sensing results.

In view of the above, the present application provides an on-board device synchronization method, an on-board synchronization apparatus, and an intelligent machine that overcome or at least partially solve the above-mentioned problems.

In a first aspect of embodiments of the present application, there is provided an on-board device synchronization method for an on-board device of an intelligent machine, the method including:

generating a periodic first signal according to coordinated Universal Time (UTC) information generated by satellite positioning equipment, and providing the first signal to airborne equipment so that the airborne equipment synchronizes a built-in clock thereof with the UTC information when receiving the first signal;

a second signal which is periodic and in phase with the PPS signal is generated according to the PPS signal generated by the satellite positioning equipment, and the second signal is provided for the onboard equipment, so that the onboard equipment executes the preset action when receiving the second signal.

In a second aspect of embodiments of the present application, there is provided an onboard synchronization apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

the clock synchronization unit is used for generating a periodic first signal according to coordinated Universal Time (UTC) information generated by the satellite positioning equipment and providing the first signal to the airborne equipment so that the airborne equipment synchronizes a built-in clock thereof with the UTC information when receiving the first signal;

and the trigger synchronization unit is used for generating a second signal which is periodic and has the same phase with the PPS signal according to the PPS signal generated by the satellite positioning equipment, and providing the second signal to the onboard equipment so that the onboard equipment executes a preset action when receiving the second signal.

In a third aspect of the embodiments of the present application, there is provided an onboard synchronization apparatus, including a processor, a memory, and a computer program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, where the processor executes the onboard device synchronization method as described above when the computer program is executed.

In a fourth aspect of embodiments of the present application, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which a computer program is stored, wherein the computer program, when executed by a processor, implements the on-board device synchronization method as described above.

In a fifth aspect of embodiments of the present application, there is provided an intelligent machine comprising: satellite positioning equipment, airborne equipment and an airborne synchronizer;

wherein the onboard synchronization apparatus is configured to receive coordinated Universal Time (UTC) information and Pulse Per Second (PPS) signals generated by a satellite positioning device, and the onboard synchronization apparatus is configured to perform the following functions:

generating a periodic first signal according to the UTC information, and providing the first signal to the airborne equipment so that the airborne equipment synchronizes a built-in clock thereof with the UTC information when receiving the first signal;

and generating a second signal which is periodic and in phase with the PPS signal according to the PPS signal, and providing the second signal to the onboard equipment so that the onboard equipment performs a predetermined action when receiving the second signal.

The technical solution of the present application is further described in detail by the accompanying drawings and examples.

Drawings

The above and other objects, features and advantages of exemplary embodiments of the present application will become readily apparent from the following detailed description read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Several embodiments of the present application are illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in which:

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an example of an intelligent machine according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2 schematically illustrates an example of an onboard synchronization apparatus assisting an onboard device to achieve clock synchronization and trigger synchronization according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates an example of an autonomous vehicle according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIGS. 4A and 4B schematically illustrate clock comparisons of respective on-board devices after clock synchronization and without clock synchronization, respectively, according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 5 schematically illustrates an example of a second signal provided to a lidar and a binocular stereo vision camera according to one embodiment of the present application;

fig. 6A and 6B schematically illustrate a clock comparison of respective on-board devices after trigger synchronization is not achieved and after trigger synchronization is achieved, respectively, according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 7 schematically illustrates an example of an onboard synchronization device in accordance with an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 8 schematically illustrates an example of an intelligent machine according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 9 schematically illustrates an example of an automated driving vehicle fleet according to an embodiment of the present application;

in the drawings, the same or corresponding reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts.

Detailed Description

The principles and spirit of the present application will be described with reference to a number of exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are given solely for the purpose of enabling those skilled in the art to better understand and to practice the present application, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present application in any way. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.

For convenience of understanding, technical terms related to the present application are explained as follows:

"smart machines" are to be broadly interpreted in this application to include any moving object including, for example, aircraft, spacecraft, watercraft, submarines, robots, vehicles (including, but not limited to, automobiles, trucks, vans, semi-trailers, motorcycles, golf carts, off-road vehicles, warehouse transport vehicles, or agricultural vehicles, and vehicles that travel on rails, such as trams or trains, and other rail vehicles), and the like.

In some examples, a "smart machine" may be an unmanned ship, unmanned submarine, autonomous automobile, unmanned aerial vehicle, unmanned spacecraft, robot, etc. that utilizes onboard equipment to automatically perform actions (including, but not limited to, moving in the ocean, land, sky, space, interacting with the outside world with information, performing transportation, exploration, photography, machining, scientific research, military missions, etc.).

The "self-driving vehicle" in the present application may be a vehicle having a manned (such as a family car, a bus, etc.) and a cargo (such as a general truck, a van, a closed truck, a tank truck, a flat truck, a container van, a dump truck, a truck with a special structure, etc.) or a special rescue function (such as a fire truck, an ambulance, etc.) realized by using a self-driving technology.

In other examples, a "smart machine" may be a conventional automobile, aircraft, spacecraft, ship, submarine, robot, etc. that performs actions (including, but not limited to, moving in the ocean, land, sky, space, interacting with the outside world, performing transportation, exploration, photography, machining, scientific research, military missions, etc.) under external (e.g., human or machine) control using onboard equipment.

The term "and/or" herein is merely an association describing an associated object, meaning that three relationships may exist, e.g., a and/or B, may mean: a exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone. In addition, the character "/" herein generally indicates that the former and latter related objects are in an "or" relationship. Moreover, any number of elements in the drawings are by way of example and not by way of limitation, and any nomenclature is used solely for differentiation and not by way of limitation.

The principles and spirit of the present application are explained in detail below with reference to several representative embodiments of the present application.

Fig. 1 is an example of a smart machine 100, the smart machine 100 including a satellite positioning device 101, an onboard synchronization apparatus 102, and a plurality of onboard devices 103. The satellite positioning device 101 is used to provide data for positioning, such as data compliant with NMEA-0183 (National Marine Electronics Association, NMEA) protocol, including but not limited to longitude and latitude, satellite elevation, satellite azimuth, declination, UTC time (accurate to time in minutes and seconds), UTC date (accurate to year, month, day), altitude, etc. The onboard device 103 is various sensors and/or electronic control units mounted on the intelligent device 100. In some examples, on-board device 103 may include, but is not limited to, one or more of a first type of sensor, a second type of sensor, an electronic control unit. Wherein the first type sensor is used for detecting the distance, the speed or the distance and the speed of the object; the second type sensor is used for shooting images; the electronic control unit is used for executing one or more of the following items: receive data from, process data with, or control various connected electronic devices. The on-board synchronization device 102 may be used to assist some or all of the on-board equipment 103 on the intelligent machine 100 in performing clock synchronization and trigger synchronization operations. The clock synchronization refers to that some or all of the on-board devices 103 have the same clock source, and the trigger synchronization refers to that some or all of the on-board devices 103 are triggered to execute a predetermined action at the same time.

In some examples, the satellite positioning device 101 may include, but is not limited to, a global positioning system GPS positioning device, a carrier phase difference RTK positioning device, a beidou satellite positioning system positioning device, a GLONASS positioning system positioning device, a Galileo positioning system positioning device, a global navigation satellite system GNSS positioning device.

In some examples, the first type of sensor may include, but is not limited to, a lidar, millimeter wave radar, ultrasonic radar, a laser range finder, and the like.

In some examples, the second type of sensor may include, but is not limited to, a TOF camera, a binocular stereo vision camera, a structured light depth camera, an infrared camera (near infrared camera or far infrared camera), and the like.

In some examples, the electronic control unit may include, but is not limited to, an industrial personal computer, a server, an application specific integrated circuit, or the like.

Clock synchronization

In the prior art, onboard equipment such as a sensor generally uses a built-in clock to determine time, and the onboard equipment such as an electronic control unit may use the built-in clock to determine time and may synchronize the built-in clock with network time through network time service. Because the built-in clock of the airborne equipment is not synchronous with the external clock or the source of the network time is not accurate, different airborne equipment uses non-uniform time respectively, the clock synchronization among the airborne equipment can not be realized, and great disadvantages are brought to subsequent data processing work (such as time stamping of data, data alignment according to the time stamp and the like).

In some embodiments, on-board synchronization apparatus 102 is configured to generate a periodic first signal from coordinated universal time, UTC, information generated by satellite positioning device 101 and provide the first signal to on-board device 103 to cause on-board device 103 to synchronize its built-in clock with the UTC information upon receipt of the first signal. This allows onboard devices 103 to use UTC information from satellite positioning device 101 to synchronize internal clocks, i.e., so that different onboard devices 103 use satellite time as the same clock source.

The UTC information includes UTC date (to the nearest year, month and day) and/or UTC time (to the nearest year, month, day, hour, minute and second) output by the satellite positioning apparatus 101. In some examples, satellite positioning device 101 may output signals conforming to NMEA-0183 protocol for fields of positioning information GPGGA, current satellite information GPGSA, visible satellite information GPGSV, recommended positioning information GPRMC, ground speed information GPVTG, geographical positioning information GPGLL, and so on. The GPGGA contains UTC time (accurate to the hour, month and day), the GPRMC contains UTC date (accurate to the year, month, day, hour, minute and second) and the GPGLL contains UTC time (accurate to the hour, minute and second). In some examples, onboard sync device 102 may generate the first signal by collecting and parsing out the GPGGA, GPRMC, GPGLL, etc. signals output by satellite positioning equipment 101 to determine UTC date (to the nearest year, month, day) and/or UTC time (to the nearest year, month, day, hour, minute, and second).

In some embodiments, on-board synchronization device 102 is configured to periodically acquire a signal containing UTC information from satellite positioning equipment 101 and determine it directly as the first signal. For example, the onboard synchronization device 102 periodically acquires the GPRMC signal output by the satellite positioning apparatus 101 and provides it directly as the first signal to the onboard apparatus 103.

In some embodiments, on-board synchronization device 102 is configured to periodically obtain a signal containing UTC information from satellite positioning apparatus 101, parse the UTC information therefrom, and generate a first signal containing the UTC information based on a precision time protocol PTP (hereinafter PTP protocol) or a network time protocol NTP (hereinafter NTP protocol) for provision to on-board apparatus 103.

Satellite positioning equipment 101 typically periodically outputs a signal containing UTC information, assuming that the period is T0, onboard synchronization device 102 may be configured to adopt N times (N is a positive integer) period T0 as period T1 of the first signal, i.e., onboard synchronization device 102 periodically acquires the signal containing UTC information from satellite positioning equipment 101 according to period T1 and determines it directly as the first signal or parses it therefrom and generates the first signal based on PTP protocol or NTP protocol (hereinafter referred to simply as "directly as or further generating the first signal"). When N is 1, on-board synchronizer 102 collects the signal containing UTC information generated by satellite positioning apparatus 101 once every period T0, and directly generates or re-processes the signal to generate the first signal, which causes on-board synchronizer 103 to periodically update the internal clock to be consistent with the satellite time, and the update frequency is consistent with the frequency at which satellite positioning apparatus 101 generates the signal containing UTC information (e.g., the GPRMC signal). When N > 1, onboard synchronization apparatus 102 collects the UTC information-containing signal generated by satellite positioning device 101 once every N times period T0 as it is or re-processes to generate the first signal, which causes onboard device 103 to periodically update the internal clock to coincide with the satellite time and update the frequency to 1/N of the frequency at which satellite positioning device 101 generates the UTC information-containing signal (e.g., the GPRMC signal).

Fig. 2 shows an example of a smart machine 100, and the smart machine 100 may be any one of an unmanned ship, an unmanned submarine, an autonomous automobile, an unmanned aircraft, an unmanned spacecraft, and a robot.

In the example of fig. 2, the on-board unit 103 comprises 6 second type sensors Sb-1 to Sb-6, 2 first type sensors Sa-1 and Sa-2, and 2 electronic control units Main ECU and Sub ECU. The satellite positioning apparatus 101 is connected to the onboard synchronization device 102 via a serial cable (shown by a solid line). The on-board synchronizer 102 is powered by a 12V DC power supply and is connected with the electronic control unit Main ECU and the first type sensors Sa-1 and Sa-2 through a serial cable. The electronic control unit Main ECU is connected to the second type sensors Sb-1 to Sb-6 and the electronic control unit Sub ECU through network data lines (shown by dotted lines in the figure). In this example, the on-board synchronizer 102 periodically receives a GRRMC signal from the satellite positioning device 101 and provides it as a first signal to the electronic control unit Main ECU and the first type sensors Sa-1 and Sa-2.

In the example of fig. 2, the electronic control unit Main ECU may parse the GRRMC signal provided by the onboard sync device 102 by running software GPSD, parse the UTC date and UTC time therefrom, and synchronize the internal clock of the electronic control unit Main ECU with the parsed UTC date and UTC time. The GPSD program can provide nanosecond-level time synchronization, and the electronic control unit Main ECU is ensured to be accurately synchronized with the satellite time. The electronic control unit Main ECU generates a first signal which is based on NTP protocol and contains UTC date and UTC time by running software chronoy (configured as master mode), the electronic control unit Sub ECU receives the first signal by running software chronoy (configured as slave mode), the UTC date and UTC time are analyzed from the first signal, and a built-in clock of the electronic control unit Sub ECU is synchronized with the UTC date and UTC time obtained by analysis. Software chronoy adopted between the Main ECU and the Sub ECU of the electronic control unit can not only provide nanosecond-level time synchronization, but also realize clock synchronization by using network time service when the first signal provided by the onboard synchronization device 102 cannot normally arrive, that is, the network time service can be used as a backup scheme, and a redundant clock synchronization scheme is provided for onboard equipment 103 such as a server.

In the example of fig. 2, the electronic control unit Main ECU may further generate a first signal based on the NTP protocol and including the UTC date and the UTC time by operating a software NTP (configured as a master mode), and the electronic control unit Sub ECU may further receive the first signal by operating a software NTP (configured as a slave mode), analyze the UTC date and the UTC time from the first signal, and synchronize the internal clock of the electronic control unit Sub ECU with the analyzed UTC date and UTC time. The software NTP can also provide nanosecond-level time synchronization to ensure that the Sub ECU of the electronic control unit is accurately synchronized with the satellite time.

In the example of fig. 2, the electronic control unit Main ECU may further generate a first signal based on a PTP protocol and including the UTC date and the UTC time by operating a software PTP (configured as master mode), and the electronic control unit Sub ECU may further receive the first signal by operating a software PTP (configured as slave mode), parse the UTC date and the UTC time from the first signal, and synchronize the internal clock of the electronic control unit Sub ECU with the parsed UTC date and UTC time. The software PTP can also provide nanosecond-level time synchronization, and ensures that the Sub ECU of the electronic control unit is accurately synchronized with the satellite time.

In the example of fig. 2, the electronic control unit Main ECU may further generate a first signal including the UTC date and the UTC time based on the PTP protocol by operating software PTP (configured as master mode), and the second type sensors Sb-1 to Sb-6 may further receive the first signal by operating software PTP (configured as slave mode), analyze the UTC date and the UTC time from the first signal, and synchronize the internal clocks of the second type sensors Sb-1 to Sb-6 with the analyzed UTC date and UTC time. The software PTP can provide nanosecond time synchronization and ensure that the second type sensors Sb-1 to Sb-6 are accurately synchronized with the satellite time.

In the example of fig. 2, the first type sensors Sa-1 and Sa-2 automatically parse UTC date and UTC time from GRRMC signals provided by the onboard synchronization device 102 and synchronize the built-in clock with the parsed UTC date and UTC time.

In the example of fig. 2, the first type sensors Sa-1 and Sa-2 may be further connected to the electronic control unit Main ECU through network data lines, the electronic control unit Main ECU executes software PTP (configured as master mode) to generate a first signal based on PTP protocol and including UTC date and UTC time, the first type sensors Sa-1 and Sa-2 may receive the first signal through software PTP (configured as slave mode), parse the UTC date and UTC time from the first signal, and synchronize the built-in clocks of the first type sensors Sa-1 and Sa-2 with the parsed UTC date and UTC time. The software PTP may provide nanosecond time synchronization to ensure that the first type sensors Sa-1 and Sa-2 are precisely synchronized with satellite time.

In the example of fig. 2, the electronic control units Main ECU and Sub ECU may be one or more of a server, an industrial personal computer, an application specific integrated circuit, and the like; the first type sensors Sa-1 and Sa-2 can be one or more of sensors such as laser radar, millimeter wave radar, ultrasonic radar and laser range finder; the second type sensors Sb-1 to Sb-6 may be one or more of time of flight TOF cameras, binocular stereo vision cameras, structured light depth cameras, infrared cameras (near infrared cameras or infrared cameras), and the like. The satellite positioning device 101 may be one or more of a GPS positioning device, an RTK positioning device, a beidou satellite positioning system positioning device, a GLONASS positioning system positioning device, a Galileo positioning system positioning device, a GNSS positioning device.

The above example realizes clock synchronization of various onboard devices 103 in the intelligent machine 100, the various onboard devices 103 all use a unified clock source, and since the clock source comes from the satellite positioning device 101, the built-in clocks of the various onboard devices 103 all keep accurate synchronization with the satellite time.

Fig. 3 shows an autonomous driving vehicle 300, in which the autonomous driving vehicle 300 includes satellite positioning devices GNSS, onboard synchronizers Sync Box, and onboard devices such as servers Server 1 and Server 2, LiDAR 1 and LiDAR 2(LiDAR 1 and LiDAR 2 are symmetrically installed on both sides of the vehicle, only one side of which is shown in fig. 3 where LiDAR 1 is located), binocular stereo vision cameras Cam 1 and Cam 2(Cam 1 and Cam 2 are symmetrically installed on both sides of the vehicle, only one side of which is shown in fig. 3 where Cam 1 is located), and the like. In this example, the on-board synchronizer Sync Box periodically receives GRRMC signals from GNSS and generates first signals to be supplied to the servers Server 1 and Server 2, laser radars LiDAR 1 and LiDAR 2, and binocular stereo cameras Cam 1 and Cam 2, so that the built-in clocks of the respective on-board devices are synchronized with the satellite time (UTC date and UTC time).

Fig. 4A is clock data of the onboard apparatuses when the autonomous driving vehicle 300 shown in fig. 3 is not clocked by the scheme of the embodiment of the present application (only millisecond data is shown in fig. 4A, and data such as year, month, day, hour, minute and second are not shown). In fig. 4A, the UTC date of the GNSS output is 01072019 (indicating 7 months and 1 day 2019) and the UTC time 142945.030 (indicating 14 points, 29 minutes, 45 seconds, and 30 milliseconds), and at this time, the built-in clocks of the onboard devices such as the servers Server 1 and Server 2, the laser radars LiDAR 1 and LiDAR 2, and the binocular stereo cameras Cam 1 and Cam 2 are respectively shown in table 1:

TABLE 1

Device name	Clock (CN)
		Server 1	14 o 7/1/14/29 min 45 s 10ms in 2019
Server 2	14 o 7/1/14/29 min, 45 s and 15 ms in 2019
		LiDAR 1	14 o 7/1/14/29 min 45 s 56 ms in 2019
LiDAR 2	14 o 29 min 45 s 97 ms at 7/1/2019
		Cam 1	14 o 7/1/14/29 min 45 s 42 ms in 2019
Cam 2	14 o 29 min 45 s 74 ms at 7/1/2019

Fig. 4B shows clock data of the onboard apparatuses after the autonomous vehicle 300 shown in fig. 3 is clocked by the scheme according to the embodiment of the present application (only millisecond data is shown in fig. 4B, and data such as time, month, day, minute, and second are not shown). In fig. 4B, the GNSS output has UTC date 01072019 (indicating 7 months and 1 day 2019) and UTC time 152945.030 (indicating 15 o' clock, 29 minutes, 45 seconds, and 30 milliseconds). The built-in clocks of airborne devices such as servers Server 1 and Server 2, LiDAR 1 and LiDAR 2, binocular stereo vision cameras Cam 1 and Cam 2 are respectively as shown in table 2:

TABLE 2

Device name	Clock (CN)
		Server 1	15 o 29 min 45 s 30ms at 7/1/15/2019
Server 2	15 o 29 min 45 s 30ms at 7/1/15/2019
		LiDAR 1	15 o 29 min 45 s 30ms at 7/1/15/2019
LiDAR 2	15 o 29 min 45 s 30ms at 7/1/15/2019
		Cam 1	15 o 29 min 45 s 30ms at 7/1/15/2019
Cam 2	15 o 29 min 45 s 30ms at 7/1/15/2019

Comparing fig. 4A and 4B, it can be seen that, after the solution according to the embodiment of the present application is used for clock synchronization, in the autonomous driving automobile 300 shown in fig. 3, the clock signals of the servers Server 1 and Server 2, the LiDAR 1 and LiDAR 2, and the binocular stereo cameras Cam 1 and Cam 2 are well synchronized with the clock signal of the GNSS.

Trigger synchronization

In the prior art, each sensor in the intelligent machine 100 does not have uniform trigger time, and when different sensors acquire information according to respective frequencies, because the trigger time is not uniform, it is difficult to ensure that different sensors can acquire data at the same time, which causes that data alignment is difficult to be achieved when subsequent data is fused, and the fusion difficulty is increased.

According to one embodiment, the onboard synchronization device 102 is further configured to generate a second signal, periodic and in phase with the PPS signal, from the PPS signal generated by the satellite positioning apparatus 101 and to provide the second signal to the onboard apparatus 103, so that the onboard apparatus 103 performs a predetermined action upon receiving the second signal. This enables the onboard devices 103 to be triggered uniformly at the same time, in addition to using a uniform clock source, so as to achieve the purpose that the various sensors respectively collect data at the same time and the collected data have the same timestamp.

The satellite positioning equipment 101 generally periodically outputs the PPS signal, and assuming that the frequency is F0, the onboard synchronization device 102 may be configured to determine a positive integer M according to the type of onboard equipment 103 receiving the second signal, and use M times (M is a positive integer) the frequency F0 as the frequency F2 of the second signal provided to the type of onboard equipment 103. That is, the onboard synchronization device 102 determines the frequency F2 for a certain type of onboard equipment 103 according to the M value corresponding to the type, acquires the PPS signal from the satellite positioning equipment 101, and generates a second signal having the same phase as the PPS signal and the frequency F2. This causes on-board device 103 to be triggered periodically to perform a predetermined action, with a triggering frequency of F2. Where the trigger frequency F2 of the on-board device 103 is equal to M times the frequency F0 (frequency of the PPS signal), the magnitude of M being related to the type of on-board device 103, in some examples, the on-board synchronizer 102 may determine a corresponding value of M for each type of on-board device 103 in advance. In specific implementation, onboard synchronization device 102 may set the value of M with reference to the operating principle of onboard equipment 103, for example, M may be set to 1 for a sensor of the type lidar, millimeter wave radar, ultrasonic radar, laser range finder, etc., and M may be set to 20 for a sensor of the type time of flight TOF camera, binocular stereo vision camera, structured light depth camera, infrared camera (near infrared camera or far infrared camera), etc.

According to one embodiment, the satellite positioning device 101 may be configured to generate a Variable Frequency (VARF) signal having the same phase as its PPS signal, in which case the onboard synchronization means 102 may directly acquire the Frequency-adjustable signal as a second signal to be provided to the onboard device 103 without generating itself. For example, depending on the type of on-board device 103, the satellite positioning device 101 is configured to generate a frequency-tunable signal suitable for triggering on-board devices 103 of that type, and the on-board synchronization device 102 may then directly acquire this signal as a second signal to be provided to the respective on-board device 103.

Through the above-described configuration of the on-board synchronization device 102, the second signal is provided to the various on-board devices 103 such that the various on-board devices 103 are periodically triggered to perform the predetermined action. Although the second signals provided to the various on-board devices 103 may have different frequencies (depending on the type of device receiving the signals), since the second signals provided to the various on-board devices 103 all have the same phase (the same phase as the PPS signal), it is possible to achieve that the different on-board devices 103 are triggered uniformly at the same time.

According to one embodiment, for the first type of sensor, such as a laser radar, a millimeter wave radar, an ultrasonic radar, a laser range finder, etc., the predetermined action performed when triggered is to adjust the angle of the acquired data to a preset angle. For example, when the onboard synchronization device 102 provides the second signal to the laser radar, the laser radar adjusts the emission angle of the laser beam to a preset angle (any angle between 0 and 359 degrees).

According to one embodiment, the predetermined action performed when triggered is to start acquiring image data for a second type of sensor, such as a time of flight TOF camera, a binocular stereo vision camera, a structured light depth camera, an infrared camera (near infrared camera or far infrared camera), etc. For example, when the onboard synchronization device 102 provides the second signal to the binocular stereoscopic camera, the binocular stereoscopic camera immediately starts capturing an image.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 5, the smart machine 100 is an autonomous automobile equipped with a laser radar and a binocular stereoscopic camera. The onboard synchronization device 102 provides a second signal to the lidar and the binocular stereo vision camera of the autonomous vehicle, respectively. The frequency F0 of the PPS signal output by the satellite synchronization device is 1Hz, the frequency F2 of the second signal provided by the onboard synchronization device 102 to the lidar is 1Hz (M is 1), and the frequency F2 of the second signal provided to the binocular stereo camera is 20Hz (M is 20). Therefore, the laser radar is triggered 1 time per second, when the laser radar is triggered, the angle of the laser beam emitted by the laser radar is adjusted to be 0 degree (any angle of 0-359 degrees), the binocular stereoscopic vision camera is triggered 20 times per second, and when the binocular stereoscopic vision camera is triggered, the binocular stereoscopic vision camera starts to shoot images. Assuming that the scanning frequency of the lidar is 10Hz, it is triggered 1 time per second, scanning 10 cycles per second, while the binocular stereo vision camera takes 20 times per second, i.e. the lidar takes 1 cycle, the binocular stereo vision camera takes 2 times. Namely, when the laser radar turns to 0 degree to emit laser beams, the binocular stereo vision camera also starts to shoot images, and the shooting angle of the binocular stereo vision camera is consistent with the collection angle when the laser radar turns to 0 degree, so that the two sensors can simultaneously collect point cloud data and shoot images of the physical world in the angle view range.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2, on-board synchronization device 102 is connected to first type sensors Sa-1 and Sa-2 via a serial cable. The on-board synchronizer 102 determines the corresponding M value and frequency F2 according to the type of the first type sensor Sa-1, then generates a second signal having the corresponding frequency F2 and the same phase as the PPS signal generated by the satellite positioning apparatus 101, and provides the second signal to the first type sensor Sa-1, so that the first type sensor Sa-1 is triggered to adjust the angle of the acquired data to a preset angle. The same triggering operation is performed for the first type sensor Sa-2, which is not described herein. In the example shown in FIG. 2, on-board synchronizer 102 is directly connected to the second-type sensors Sb-1 Sb-6 via shielded wires (shown in phantom). The on-board synchronizer 102 determines the corresponding M value and frequency F2 according to the type of the second type sensor Sb-1, then generates a second signal having the corresponding frequency F2 and the same phase as the PPS signal and supplies it directly to the second type sensor Sb-1 through the serial cable so that the second type sensor Sb-1 starts to collect data. The same triggering operation is performed for the second type sensors Sb-2 to Sb-6, and will not be described herein.

In the embodiment of fig. 2, the triggering of the second type sensors Sb-1 to Sb-6 may also be as follows: the onboard synchronization device 102 transmits the PPS signal generated by the satellite positioning apparatus 101 to the electronic control unit Main ECU, which determines the corresponding M value and frequency F2 according to the type of the second type sensor Sb-1, and then generates a second signal having the corresponding frequency F2 and the same phase as the PPS signal, and provides it to the second type sensor Sb-1 through a network data line, so that the second type sensor Sb-1 starts to collect data. The same triggering operation is performed for the second type sensors Sb-2 to Sb-6, and will not be described herein.

In the embodiment of fig. 2, the triggering of the second type sensors Sb-1 to Sb-6 may also be as follows: the electronic control unit Main ECU judges whether the first type sensors Sa-1 and Sa-2 are triggered or not by detecting whether the angles of the data collected by the first type sensors Sa-1 and Sa-2 are preset angles or not (for example, the first type sensors Sa-1 and Sa-2 send information containing self collection angles to the electronic control unit Main ECU in real time), and if the first type sensors Sa-1 and Sa-2 are triggered, the electronic control unit Main ECU immediately sends trigger signals to the second type sensors Sb-1 to Sb-6 so that the second type sensors are triggered to start to collect data. This also allows the second type sensors Sb-1 to Sb-6 to be triggered at the same time as the first type sensors Sa-1 and Sa-2. It should be noted that, this triggering method does not generate the second signal having the specific frequency F2 according to the type of the second type sensors Sb-1 to Sb-6, and the electronic control unit Main ECU detects whether the angle at which the first type sensors Sa-1 and Sa-2 collect data is the preset angle, which takes a certain time, so that the triggering signals sent to the second type sensors Sb-1 to Sb-6 are relatively delayed, and therefore, the effect of this triggering method is inferior to the aforementioned two triggering methods.

In the embodiment of fig. 2, the electronic control units Main ECU and Sub ECU may be one or more of a server, an industrial personal computer, an application specific integrated circuit, and the like; the first type sensors Sa-1 and Sa-2 can be one or more of sensors such as laser radar, millimeter wave radar, ultrasonic radar and laser range finder; the second type sensors Sb-1 to Sb-6 may be one or more of a time of flight TOF camera, a binocular stereo vision camera, a structured light depth camera, an infrared camera, and the like. The satellite positioning device 101 may be one or more of a GPS positioning device, an RTK positioning device, a beidou satellite positioning system positioning device, a GLONASS positioning system positioning device, a Galileo positioning system positioning device, a GNSS positioning device.

The embodiment realizes synchronous triggering of various sensors in the intelligent machine 100, so that the various sensors can acquire data at the same time, obtain data with the same timestamp, ensure that the data with the same timestamp are used for expressing the physical world at the same time, and facilitate alignment processing of the data of the various sensors.

In the autonomous vehicle 300 shown in fig. 3, the onboard synchronization apparatus Sync Box periodically receives PPS signals from GNSS and generates second signals to be provided to onboard devices such as laser radars LiDAR 1 and LiDAR 2, binocular stereo cameras Cam 1 and Cam 2, so that the onboard devices are synchronously triggered and acquire data. Wherein the acquisition frequency of the GNSS is 100Hz, the frequency of the GNSS output PPS signal is 1Hz, the frequency F2 of the second signal supplied by the onboard synchronization apparatus Sync Box to the LiDAR 1 and LiDAR 2 is 10Hz, and the frequency F2 of the second signal supplied by the onboard synchronization apparatus Sync Box to the binocular stereo vision cameras Cam 1 and Cam 2 is 20 Hz.

Fig. 6A is a time of data acquisition of the satellite positioning devices GNSS, the LiDAR 1 and LiDAR 2, and the binocular stereo cameras Cam 1 and Cam 2 when the autonomous vehicle 300 shown in fig. 3 does not employ the solution of the embodiment of the present application for trigger synchronization. In FIG. 6A, the GNSS collects positioning data every 10ms between 0ms and 150ms under test, the LiDAR 1 starts to collect point cloud data when turning to the same predetermined angle in 10ms and 110ms respectively, the LiDAR 2 starts to collect point cloud data when turning to the same predetermined angle in 20ms and 120ms respectively, Cam 1 starts to shoot images in 30, 80 and 130ms respectively, and Cam 2 starts to shoot images in 40, 90 and 140ms respectively.

Fig. 6B is a time of data acquisition of the satellite positioning devices GNSS, the LiDAR 1 and LiDAR 2, and the binocular stereo cameras Cam 1 and Cam 2 when the autonomous vehicle 300 shown in fig. 3 does not employ the solution of the embodiment of the present application for trigger synchronization. In FIG. 6B, the GNSS collects positioning data every 10ms between 0ms and 150ms under test, LiDAR 1 and LiDAR 2 start to collect point cloud data when turning to the same predetermined angle in 20ms and 120ms respectively, and Cam 1 and Cam 2 start to shoot images in 20ms, 70ms and 120ms respectively. Comparing fig. 6A and 6B, it can be seen that the satellite positioning devices GNSS, the LiDAR 1 and LiDAR 2, and the binocular stereo vision cameras Cam 1 and Cam 2 are triggered and acquire data at 20ms, 120ms simultaneously. That is, at 20ms and 120ms, the satellite positioning data of the autonomous vehicle 300 shown in fig. 3, the point cloud data of its surrounding environment, and the image data of its surrounding environment are collected at the same time, and these data have the same collection time and timestamp, and the result of data fusion using these data can effectively support the autonomous vehicle 300 to make a reasonable and accurate decision.

FIG. 9 illustrates an autonomous vehicle queue 900 that includes a plurality of autonomous vehicles 300 as shown in FIG. 3. Each autonomous automobile 300 in the queue can realize clock synchronization and trigger synchronization of various onboard devices on the same autonomous automobile according to the scheme provided by the embodiment of the application, and the clock synchronization and trigger synchronization of various onboard devices on all autonomous automobiles 300 in the queue 900 can be realized due to the fact that the used clock sources are satellite time, so that guarantee is provided for completing high-precision data synchronization among different vehicles in the whole queue 900, and the communication speed and the control effect of the whole queue 900 are effectively improved.

An example of an on-board synchronization device 102 is shown in FIG. 7. The on-board synchronization device 102 comprises a clock synchronization unit 701, which may be configured to generate a periodic first signal from the UTC information generated by the satellite positioning apparatus 101 and to provide said first signal to the on-board apparatus 103, so that the on-board apparatus 103 synchronizes its built-in clock with said UTC information upon reception of said first signal. In some examples, the clock synchronization unit 701 is configured to periodically acquire a signal containing UTC information from the satellite positioning device 101 and directly determine it as the first signal; alternatively, UTC information generated by satellite positioning device 101 is periodically acquired and a first signal based on the PTP protocol and containing UTC information is generated or a first signal based on the NTP protocol and containing UTC information is generated. In some examples, the clock synchronization unit 701 is further configured to determine a period T0 during which the satellite positioning device 101 generates UTC information, and determine a period T0 of N times the period T1 of the first signal. The on-board synchronization device 102 comprises a trigger synchronization unit 702 configured to generate a second signal, which is periodic and in phase with the PPS signal, from the PPS signal generated by the satellite positioning apparatus 101 and to provide the second signal to the on-board apparatus 103, so that the on-board apparatus 103 performs a predetermined action upon receiving the second signal. In some examples, the trigger synchronization unit 702 is further configured to determine the frequency F0 of the PPS signal generated by the satellite positioning device 101, and to determine the positive integer M according to the type of the onboard device 103 receiving the second signal, and to determine the frequency F0 multiplied by M as the frequency F2 of the second signal sent to the onboard device 103. In some examples, the trigger synchronization unit 702 is further configured to provide a second signal to the first type of sensor to cause the first type of sensor to adjust the angle of the collected data to a preset angle upon receiving the second signal; the second signal is provided to the second type of sensor such that the second type of sensor begins collecting data upon receipt of the second signal.

The structure shown in fig. 7 is intended to correspond to a number of functional blocks. This is for illustrative purposes only. Fig. 7 is not intended to define a strict division between different parts of the hardware on the chip or between different programs, procedures or functions in software. In some embodiments, some or all of the signaling techniques described herein will be fully or partially coordinated by a processor functioning under software control. The software may be embodied in a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium having stored thereon processor-executable instructions for implementing some or all of the signaling processes described herein. The on-board synchronization device 102 may be implemented by any suitable device including devices that perform other functions in the smart machine 100. In one example, the on-board synchronization device 102 may be implemented by a server.

An example of a smart machine 800 is shown in fig. 8. The smart machine 800 in fig. 8 may generally include: a power system 801, a sensor system 802, a control system 803, a peripheral system 804, and a computer system 805. In particular embodiments, more, fewer, or different systems may be included.

The power system 801 is a system that provides powered motion, including, for example: engine/motor, transmission and wheels/tires, power unit.

Sensor system 802 may include a plurality of sensors for sensing information about the environment in which it is located, and one or more actuators for changing the position and/or orientation of the sensors. The sensor system 802 may include any combination of positioning sensors (integrated navigation device, satellite navigation device, inertial measurement unit IMU), image sensors (camera, etc.), object detection sensors (radar, lidar), and/or acoustic sensors, among others; in addition, the sensor system 802 may also include a sensor for monitoring (e.g., O)₂Monitors, fuel gauges, engine thermometers, etc.).

The control system 803 may include a combination of mechanical devices that control wheels, propellers, etc., such as steering units, throttle, and brake units.

Peripheral systems 804 may include devices that interact with external devices and/or users, such as wireless communication systems, touch screens, microphones, and/or speakers.

Computer system 805 may be configured to send data to, receive data from, interact with, and/or control one or more of power system 801, sensor system 802, control system 803, and peripheral system 804. Computer system 805 may be communicatively coupled to one or more of power system 801, sensor system 802, control system 803, and peripheral system 804 via a system bus, network, and/or other connection mechanism. The computer system 805 includes a processor and data storage. The processor may include one or more general-purpose processors and/or one or more special-purpose processors. In the case where the processor includes a plurality of processors, these processors can operate alone or in combination. The data storage device may include one or more volatile and/or one or more non-volatile storage components, such as optical, magnetic, and/or organic storage devices, and may be integrated in whole or in part with the processor. In some embodiments, the data storage device may contain instructions, e.g., program logic, executable by the processor to perform various vehicle functions). The data storage device may also contain other instructions, including instructions to send data to, receive data from, interact with, and/or control one or more of the power system 801, the sensor system 802, the control system 803, and the peripheral system 804. The computer system 805 may additionally or alternatively include other components. In some embodiments, the computer system 805 may be an industrial personal computer, a server, or an electronic control unit such as an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC).

The intelligent machine 800 shown in fig. 8 includes a satellite positioning device, an onboard device, and an onboard synchronization device.

The satellite positioning device is configured for providing data for positioning, for example data according to the NMEA-0183 protocol. In some examples, the satellite positioning device may be a global positioning system GPS positioning device, a carrier phase difference RTK positioning device, a beidou satellite positioning system positioning device, a GLONASS positioning system positioning device, a Galileo positioning system positioning device, a global navigation satellite system GNSS positioning device.

The onboard devices are various sensors and/or electronic control units mounted on the smart machine 800. In some examples, the onboard device may include, but is not limited to, a first type of sensor for detecting object distance, velocity, or distance and velocity of an object; a second type sensor for capturing an image; and the electronic control unit is used for controlling the first type sensor and/or the second type sensor and/or receiving and/or processing data collected by the first type sensor and the second type sensor. In some examples, the first type of sensor may be a lidar, millimeter wave radar, ultrasonic radar, or a laser range finder, among other sensors; the second type of sensor may be a time of flight TOF camera, a binocular stereo vision camera, a structured light depth camera or an infrared camera (near infrared camera, far infrared camera), etc. The electronic control unit can be an industrial personal computer, a server or an application-specific integrated circuit and the like.

The onboard synchronization device is configured to receive UTC information and PPS signals generated by the satellite positioning equipment, generate a periodic first signal according to the UTC information and provide the first signal to the onboard equipment so that the onboard equipment synchronizes a built-in clock of the onboard equipment with the UTC information when receiving the first signal; a second signal is generated from the PPS signal that is periodic and in phase with the PPS signal, and is provided to the on-board device such that the on-board device performs a predetermined action upon receiving the second signal. Other configurations of the onboard synchronizers can be found in the descriptions of the various examples above, and are not described in detail here. And with the above configuration, the on-board synchronization device may be used to assist some or all of the on-board devices on the intelligent machine 800 in completing clock synchronization and triggering synchronization operations. The clock synchronization means that some or all of the on-board devices have the same clock source, and the trigger synchronization means that some or all of the on-board devices are triggered to execute a predetermined action at the same time.

The structure shown in fig. 8 is intended to correspond to a number of functional blocks. This is for illustrative purposes only. Fig. 8 is not intended to define a strict division between different parts of hardware or between different programs, procedures, or functions in software.

In some examples, the on-board device may be any suitable electronic device (e.g., various types of sensors or processors) in power system 801, sensor system 802, control system 803, peripheral system 804, or computer system 805 described above, or any suitable electronic device (e.g., various types of sensors or processors) included in power system 801, sensor system 802, control system 803, peripheral system 804, or computer system 805 described above.

In some examples, the on-board synchronization device may be implemented by any suitable electronic device (e.g., various types of sensors or processors) in the power system 801, the sensor system 802, the control system 803, the peripheral system 804, or the computer system 805 described above.

In some examples, the smart machine 800 may be an unmanned ship, unmanned submarine, autonomous automobile, unmanned aerial vehicle, unmanned spacecraft, robot that utilizes onboard equipment to automatically perform actions (including, but not limited to, moving in the ocean, land, sky, space, interacting with the outside world, performing transportation, exploration, photography, machining, scientific research, military missions, etc.). In other examples, the smart machine 800 may also be a conventional automobile, aircraft, spacecraft, ship, submarine, robot, etc. that performs actions (including but not limited to moving in the ocean, land, sky, space, interacting with the outside world, performing transportation, exploration, photography, machining, scientific research, military missions, etc.) with onboard equipment under external (e.g., human or machine) control.

The applicant hereby discloses in isolation each individual feature described herein and any combination of two or more such features, to the extent that such features or combinations are capable of being carried out based on the present specification as a whole in the light of the common general knowledge of a person skilled in the art. Whether or not such feature or combination of features addresses any of the problems disclosed herein, and does not limit the scope of the claims. The applicant indicates that aspects of the present application may consist of any such individual feature or combination of features. In view of the foregoing description it will be evident to a person skilled in the art that various modifications may be made within the scope of the application.

Claims

1. An on-board device synchronization method for an on-board device of an intelligent machine, the method comprising:

2. The on-board unit synchronization method of claim 1, wherein generating the periodic first signal based on UTC information generated by the satellite positioning unit comprises:

periodically acquiring a signal containing UTC information from satellite positioning equipment, and directly determining the signal as a first signal; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

periodically acquiring UTC information generated by the satellite positioning equipment, and executing one of the following steps:

generating a first signal based on a precision time protocol, PTP, and including the UTC information;

generating a first signal based on the network time protocol NTP and containing the UTC information.

3. The on-board device synchronization method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a period T0 for the satellite positioning equipment to generate UTC information;

determining N times the period T0 as the period T1 of the first signal, wherein N is a positive integer.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein generating a first signal based on NTP and containing said UTC information comprises: and generating a first signal which is based on a network time protocol NTP and contains the UTC information by adopting software chronony or software NTP.

5. The on-board unit synchronization method according to claim 2, wherein periodically acquiring UTC information generated by the satellite positioning unit comprises:

signals containing UTC information are periodically acquired from the satellite positioning equipment and parsed therefrom.

6. The on-board device synchronization method according to claim 2, wherein providing the first signal to the on-board device comprises one or more of:

providing a first signal determined directly from the signal containing the UTC information or a first PTP-based signal to a first type sensor;

providing a first PTP-based signal to a second type of sensor;

the first signal determined directly from the signal containing the UTC information, the first PTP-based signal, or the first NTP-based signal is supplied to the electronic control unit.

7. The on-board device synchronization method according to any one of claims 2, 5 and 6, wherein the signal containing UTC information is a recommended positioning information (GPRMC) signal.

8. The on-board device synchronization method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining the frequency F0 of the PPS signal generated by the satellite positioning equipment;

determining a positive integer M according to the type of the on-board device receiving the second signal, and determining M times of the frequency F0 as the frequency F2 of the second signal sent to the on-board device.

9. The on-board device synchronization method according to claim 1, wherein the second signal is provided to the on-board device so that the on-board device performs a predetermined action upon receiving the second signal, and the predetermined action comprises one or more of the following:

providing the second signal to a first type sensor so that the first type sensor adjusts the angle of the acquired data to a preset angle when receiving the second signal;

providing the second signal to a second type of sensor to cause the second type of sensor to begin collecting data upon receipt of the second signal.

10. The on-board device synchronization method according to any one of claims 6 and 9, wherein the on-board device comprises one or more of the following:

a first type of sensor for detecting one or both of a distance, a velocity, or both of an object;

a second type sensor for capturing an image;

an electronic control unit.

11. The on-board device synchronization method according to claim 10,

the first type of sensor comprises one or more of: laser radar, millimeter wave radar, ultrasonic radar, laser range finder;

the second type of sensor comprises one or more of: a time of flight TOF camera, a binocular stereo vision camera, a structured light method depth camera, an infrared camera;

the electronic control unit includes one or more of: industrial personal computers, servers or application specific integrated circuits.

12. The on-board device synchronization method according to claim 11,

providing the second signal to a first type sensor so that the first type sensor adjusts the angle of the collected data to a preset angle when receiving the second signal, comprising: providing the second signal to a laser radar so that the laser radar adjusts the emission angle of the laser beam to a preset angle when receiving the second signal;

providing the second signal to a second type of sensor to cause the second type of sensor to begin collecting data upon receipt of the second signal, comprising: and providing the second signal to the binocular stereoscopic vision camera so that the binocular stereoscopic vision camera starts to shoot images when receiving the second signal.

13. The on-board device synchronization method of claim 12, wherein providing the second signal to a binocular stereo vision camera comprises:

directly providing the second signal to the binocular stereoscopic vision camera through a signal line connected with the binocular stereoscopic vision camera; alternatively, the first and second electrodes may be,

the second signal is generated by the electronic control unit and provided to the binocular stereoscopic vision camera through the network data line.

14. The on-board device synchronization method of claim 1, wherein the satellite positioning device comprises one or more of:

the positioning system comprises a global positioning system GPS positioning device, a carrier phase difference RTK positioning device, a Beidou satellite positioning system positioning device, a GLONASS positioning system positioning device, a Galileo positioning system positioning device and a global navigation satellite system GNSS positioning device.

15. An airborne synchronization apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

16. An onboard synchronization apparatus comprising a processor, a memory and a computer program stored on the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the processor executes the onboard synchronization method according to any one of claims 1 to 14 when executing the computer program.

17. A computer-readable storage medium, on which a computer program is stored, the computer program being configured to, when executed by a processor, implement the on-board device synchronization method according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

18. An intelligent machine, comprising: satellite positioning equipment, airborne equipment and an airborne synchronizer;

19. The smart machine of claim 18, wherein the onboard equipment comprises one or more of:

a second type sensor for capturing an image;

an electronic control unit.

20. The intelligent machine of claim 19,

21. The smart machine of claim 18, wherein the satellite positioning device comprises one or more of:

22. The smart machine of claim 18, wherein the smart machine is an unmanned ship, an autonomous automobile, an unmanned spacecraft, an unmanned aerial vehicle, or a robot.