Simultaneous Triggering and Synchronization of Sensors and Onboard Computers

TL;DR

This paper introduces a versatile, low-cost system for real-time sensor triggering and synchronization in robotics, improving timestamp accuracy crucial for online estimation and performance.

Contribution

It presents a novel system utilizing readily-available components for simultaneous sensor triggering and synchronization, addressing real-time timestamping challenges.

Findings

Demonstrated effective synchronization of high- and low-rate sensors.

Improved online estimation accuracy through better timestamping.

System is versatile and low-cost, suitable for robotics applications.

Abstract

High fidelity estimation algorithms for robotics require accurate data. However, timestamping of sensor data is a key issue that rarely receives the attention it deserves. Inaccurate timestamping can be compensated for in post-processing but is imperative for online estimation. Simultaneously, even online mitigation of timing issues can be achieved through a relaxation of the tuning parameters from their otherwise more performative optimal values, but at a detriment to performance. To address the need for real-time, low-cost timestamping, a versatile system which utilizes readily-available components and established methods for synchronization is introduced. The synchronization and triggering (of both high- and low-rate sensors) capabilities of the system are demonstrated.