阅读说明：本技术 保持车辆位置准确 (Maintaining vehicle position accuracy ) 是由 S.赛米 M.E.波茨 D.A.博登米勒 C.L.哈伊 S.R.克罗伊尔 于 2020-01-15 设计创作，主要内容包括：实施例包括用于对由多个部件接收的位置数据进行时间校正的方法、系统和计算机可读存储介质。该方法包括通过处理器从一个或多个部件接收车辆位置数据和与车辆位置数据相关的时间戳。该方法还包括通过处理器计算时间戳与从一个或多个部件接收的当前时间之间的时间差。该方法还包括通过处理器使用时间差以及在时间戳与对一个或多个部件中的每个进行确定所发生时之间行驶的距离来确定时间偏移。该方法还包括通过处理器使用对一个或多个部件中的每个的时间偏移来提供校正的车辆位置。(Embodiments include methods, systems, and computer-readable storage media for time correcting position data received by multiple components. The method includes receiving, by a processor, vehicle location data and a timestamp associated with the vehicle location data from one or more components. The method also includes calculating, by the processor, a time difference between the timestamp and a current time received from the one or more components. The method also includes determining, by the processor, a time offset using the time difference and a distance traveled between the time stamp and when the determining for each of the one or more components occurred. The method also includes providing, by the processor, a corrected vehicle position using the time offset for each of the one or more components.)

1. A method for time correcting position data received by a plurality of components, the method comprising:

receiving, by a processor, vehicle location data and a timestamp associated with the vehicle location data from one or more components;

calculating, by a processor, a time difference between the timestamp and a current time received from the one or more components;

determining, by a processor, a time offset using the time difference and a distance traveled between a timestamp and when the determining of each of the one or more components occurred; and

providing, by the processor, a corrected vehicle position using the time offset for each of the one or more components.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying the corrected vehicle position on a vehicle display.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising performing one or more vehicle operations using the corrected vehicle position.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the time offset is used to add a time correction to vehicle position data from each of the one or more components.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the time correction is used to maintain longitudinal and lateral accuracy of vehicle position data from each of the one or more components.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein a time synchronization protocol is used to generate the time stamps and time offsets.

7. A system for time correcting position data received by a plurality of components, the system comprising:

a vehicle; wherein the vehicle includes:

a memory and a processor coupled to the memory; and

a plurality of components, wherein each component provides vehicle position data;

wherein the processor is operable to:

receiving vehicle location data and a timestamp associated with the vehicle location data from each of the plurality of components;

calculating a time difference between the timestamp and a current time received from the one or more components;

determining a time offset using the time difference and a distance traveled between the timestamp and when the determining of each of the one or more components occurred; and

providing a corrected vehicle position using the time offset for each of the one or more components.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the time offset is used to add a time correction to vehicle position data from each of the one or more components.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the time correction is used to maintain longitudinal and lateral accuracy of vehicle position data from each of the one or more components.

10. A computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied thereon, the program instructions being readable by a processor to cause the processor to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 6.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to vehicle positioning, and more particularly to using a time synchronizer to achieve accurate vehicle positioning.

Background

Autonomous vehicles and some non-autonomous vehicles use sensors (such as cameras, radar, L IDAR, global positioning system, and computer vision) to detect the vehicle surroundings, advanced computer control systems will parse the sensed input information to identify the vehicle's location, appropriate navigation paths, and obstacles and related markers.

As autonomous vehicles become more complex, it is important to have an accurate location of each vehicle on the road network. Autonomous vehicles rely on a location estimate for each vehicle on the road network to operate in a safe manner. It is therefore desirable to provide further improvements to maintain the accurate position of each vehicle on the road network.

Disclosure of Invention

In an exemplary embodiment, a method for time correcting position data received by a plurality of components is disclosed. The method includes receiving, by a processor, vehicle location data and a timestamp associated with the vehicle location data from one or more components. The method also includes calculating, by the processor, a time difference between the timestamp and a current time received from the one or more components. The method also includes determining, by the processor, a time offset using the time difference and a distance traveled between the time stamp and when the determining for each of the one or more components occurred. The method also includes providing, by the processor, a corrected vehicle position using the time offset for each of the one or more components.

In addition to one or more features described herein, one or more aspects of the described method display the corrected vehicle position on a vehicle display. Another aspect of the method uses the corrected vehicle position to perform one or more vehicle operations. Another aspect of the method is that the time offset is used to add a time correction to the vehicle position data from each of the one or more components. Another aspect of the method is that time corrections are used to maintain longitudinal and lateral accuracy of the vehicle position data from each of the one or more components. Another aspect of the method is to generate the time stamp and the time offset using a time synchronization protocol. Another aspect of the method is that the time synchronization protocol uses an initial reference clock generated by the master controller.

In another exemplary embodiment, a system for time correcting position data received by a plurality of components is disclosed herein. The system includes a vehicle having a memory, a processor coupled to the memory, and a plurality of components that provide vehicle position data. A processor associated with the vehicle is operable to receive vehicle location data and a timestamp associated with the vehicle location data from each of the plurality of components. The processor is further operable to calculate a time difference between the timestamp and a current time received from the one or more components. The processor is further operable to determine a time offset using the time difference and a distance traveled between the time stamp and when the determining for each of the one or more components occurred. The processor is further operable to provide a corrected vehicle position using the time offset for each of the one or more components.

In yet another exemplary embodiment, a computer-readable storage medium that performs a method for time correcting position data received by a plurality of components is disclosed herein. The computer-readable storage medium includes receiving vehicle location data and a timestamp associated with the vehicle location data from one or more components. The computer-readable storage medium further includes calculating a time difference between the timestamp and a current time received from the one or more components. The computer-readable storage medium further includes determining a time offset using the time difference and a distance traveled between the time stamp and when the determining for each of the one or more components occurred. The computer-readable storage medium further includes providing a corrected vehicle position using the time offset for each of the one or more components.

The above features and advantages and other features and advantages of the present disclosure will be readily apparent from the following detailed description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

Other features, advantages and details appear, by way of example only, in the following detailed description, the detailed description referring to the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a computing environment in accordance with one or more embodiments;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating one example of a processing system for practicing the teachings herein;

FIG. 3 depicts a schematic diagram of an exemplary vehicle control system in accordance with one or more embodiments;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of vehicle components in accordance with one or more embodiments; and

FIG. 5 depicts a flowchart of a method for time correcting position data received by multiple components in accordance with one or more embodiments.

Detailed Description

The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. It should be understood that throughout the drawings, corresponding reference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features. As used herein, the term module refers to a processing circuit, a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitable components that may include an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) and memory that execute one or more software or firmware programs, and/or that provide the described functionality.

FIG. 1 illustrates a computing environment 50 associated with a system for time correcting location data received by a plurality of components, according to an exemplary embodiment, in accordance with one or more embodiments. As shown, the computing environment 50 includes one or more computing devices, such as a server/cloud 54B, and/or a vehicle on-board computer system 54N incorporated into each of a plurality of autonomous or non-autonomous vehicles, connected by a network 150. One or more computing devices may communicate with each other using network 150.

Network 150 may be, for example, a cellular network, a local area network (L AN), a Wide Area Network (WAN) (such as the Internet and WIFI), a dedicated short-range communication network (e.g., V2V communications) (vehicle-to-vehicle), V2X communications (i.e., vehicle-to-all), V2I communications (vehicle-to-infrastructure), and V2P communications (vehicle-to-pedestrian)), or any combination thereof, and may include wired, wireless, fiber-optic, or any other connection network 150 may be any combination of connections and protocols that may support communications between multiple vehicle-onboard computer systems 54N and/or servers/clouds 54B, respectively.

When a cloud is employed rather than a server, server/cloud 54B may serve as a remote computing resource. Server/cloud 54B may be implemented as a model of service delivery for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, network bandwidth, servers, processes, memory, storage, applications, virtual machines, and services), which may be quickly configured and published with minimal administrative effort or interaction with a service provider.

Fig. 2 illustrates a processing system 200 for implementing the teachings herein, according to an exemplary embodiment. Processing system 200 may form at least a portion of one or more computing devices, such as server/cloud 54B and/or vehicle on-board computer system 54N. The processing system 200 may include one or more central processing units (processors) 201a, 201b, 201c, etc. (collectively or collectively referred to as processors 201). The processor 201 is coupled to a system memory 214 and various other components by a system bus 213. Read Only Memory (ROM)202 is coupled to system bus 213 and may include a basic input/output system (BIOS), which controls certain basic functions of the processing system 200.

FIG. 2 further depicts an input/output (I/O) adapter 207 and a network adapter 206 coupled to the system bus 213. I/O adapter 207 may be a Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) adapter that communicates with hard disk 203 and/or other storage drive 205 or any other similar component. I/O adapter 207, hard disk 203, and other storage drives 205 are collectively referred to herein as mass storage 204. An operating system 220 for execution on processing system 200 may be stored in mass memory 204. A network adapter 206 interconnects the system bus 213 with an external network 216 (which may be the network 150) to enable the processing system 200 to communicate with other such systems. A screen (e.g., a display monitor) 215 may be connected to the system bus 213 via a display adapter 212, and the display adapter 212 may include a graphics adapter to improve the performance of graphics-intensive applications and video controllers. In one embodiment, network adapter 206, I/O adapter 207, and display adapter 212 may be connected to one or more I/O buses, which are connected to system bus 213 via an intermediate bus bridge (not shown). Suitable I/O buses for connecting peripheral devices, such as hard disk controllers, network adapters, and graphics adapters, typically include common protocols such as Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI). Additional input/output devices are shown connected to system bus 213 via user interface adapter 208 and display adapter 212. The microphone 209, steering wheel/dashboard control 210, and speaker 211 may all be interconnected to the system bus 213 by a user interface adapter 208, which user interface adapter 208 may comprise, for example, a super I/O chip that integrates multiple device adapters into a single integrated circuit.

The processing system 200 may additionally include a graphics processing unit 230. Graphics processing unit 230 is a dedicated electronic circuit designed to manipulate and modify memory to speed up the creation of images in a frame buffer for output to a display. In general, the graphics processing unit 230 is very efficient at manipulating computer graphics and image processing, and has a highly parallel structure, which makes it more efficient than a general purpose CPU for algorithms that process large blocks of data in parallel.

Thus, as configured in FIG. 2, the processing system 200 includes processing capabilities in the form of a processor 201, storage capabilities including a system memory 214 and a mass storage 204, input devices such as a microphone 209 and steering wheel/dashboard controls 210, and output capabilities including a speaker 211 and a display monitor 215. In one embodiment, system memory 214 and a portion of mass storage 204 collectively store an operating system to coordinate the functions of the various components shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 3 depicts typical components of a system 300 associated with an autonomous or non-autonomous vehicle that includes the vehicle on-board computer system 54N. An exemplary vehicle control system 312 may be mounted on the vehicle 310. The vehicle control system 312 is a distributed network of components that may include a control module 322, a communication bus 324, a vehicle battery 326, one or more other control modules (330, 332, 334, 336, and 338), and vehicle sensors (342, 344, 346, 348, and 350). The vehicle control system 312 may also include a proximity sensor (not shown) and a lane marking sensor (not shown).

The vehicle control system 312 may be implemented on a fully autonomous vehicle system, and may be used with any suitable autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle system (e.g., Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) international level 0-5 for vehicle automation, e.g., SAEJ3016, a taxonomy and definition of highway automotive vehicle autopilot system related terms). Further, the vehicle 310 may be a conventional vehicle, a Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV), an Extended Range Electric Vehicle (EREV), a Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV), a motorcycle, a passenger vehicle, an off-road vehicle (SUV), a cross-over vehicle, a truck, a van, a bus, Recreational Vehicles (RVs), or the like.

The control module 322 may include various components described in fig. 2 (e.g., processor, memory, I/O, etc.) and may perform various control and/or communication-related functions. The control module 322 may include a memory 356, a processor 358, and a timer (not shown). The memory 356 may store sensor data from associated sensors (e.g., vehicle sensor data, proximity sensor data, and lane marking sensor data). The memory 356 may also store characteristics and background information related to the vehicle 310, such as information related to stopping distance, deceleration limits, maximum braking performance, turning radius, temperature limits, humidity or precipitation limits, driving habits or other driver behavior data, and so forth.

Processor 358 may execute instructions stored in memory 356 for software, firmware, programs, algorithms, scripts, etc. The control module 322 may be electronically connected to other vehicle devices, modules and systems through appropriate vehicle communications (e.g., network 150) and may interact with them as needed. The timer may be implemented as hardware, software, or a combination thereof.

The vehicle 310 may also include a safety control module 330, an Engine Control Module (ECM)332, an infotainment/entertainment control module 334, a telematics module 336, a GPS module 338 (G L ONASS may also be used), etc. the safety control module 330 may provide various crash or collision sensing, avoidance, and/or mitigation type features.

The infotainment/entertainment control module 334 may provide a combination of information and entertainment to the occupants of the vehicle 310. Information and entertainment may relate to, for example, music, web pages, movies, television programs, video games, and/or other information.

Telematics module 336 can utilize wireless voice and/or data communication over a wireless carrier system (not shown) and via a wireless network (not shown) to enable vehicle 310 to provide a number of different services, including services related to navigation, telephony, emergency assistance, diagnostics, infotainment, and the like. Telematics module 336 may also utilize cellular communications in accordance with GSM, W-CDMA, or CDMA standards, as well as wireless communications in accordance with one or more protocols implemented in accordance with 3G or 4G standards or other wireless protocols, such as any IEEE 802.11 protocol, WiMAX, or Bluetooth. When used for packet-switched data communications (such as TCP/IP), the telematics module 336 can be configured with a static IP address, or can be set up to automatically receive a dynamically assigned IP address from another device on the network, such as from a router or from a network address server (e.g., a DHCP server).

The GPS module 338 may receive radio signals from a plurality of GPS satellites (not shown). From these received radio signals, the GPS module 338 can determine the vehicle location that can be used to provide navigation and other location-related services. The navigation information may be presented on a display (not shown) within the vehicle 310 or may be presented verbally, such as is done when providing step-by-step navigation. The navigation services may be provided using a dedicated in-vehicle navigation module (which may be part of the GPS module 338), or some or all of the navigation services may be performed by the telematics module 336. In this way, the location information of the vehicle 310 may be transmitted to a remote location for providing navigation maps, map annotations (points of interest, restaurants, etc.), route calculations, etc. to the vehicle 310.

FIG. 3 also illustrates an exemplary battery powered architecture or configuration in which various control modules (e.g., control modules 322 and 330 and 338) are connected directly or indirectly to the vehicle battery 326 via connection 328 such that each control module receives power from the vehicle battery without passing through a relay or other type of switch connected to the ignition unit.

The vehicle sensors 342-350 can provide various vehicle readings and/or other information to the vehicle control system 312. The vehicle sensors 342-348 may be speed sensors that generate readings indicative of the position, speed, and/or acceleration of the vehicle 310. The vehicle sensors 350 may be vehicle dynamics sensors that provide readings indicative of vehicle dynamics, such as lateral acceleration, yaw rate, and the like. The vehicle sensors 342-348 may utilize a variety of different sensors and sensing techniques, including those that use rotating wheel speed, ground speed, accelerator pedal position, gear position, shift lever position, accelerometers, engine speed, engine output, and throttle position and Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) output, among others. Such information may likewise be obtained by ECM 332.

The IMU may be a device that measures how the vehicle is moving using inertial sensors such as accelerometers and gyroscopes. The IMU may be a major component of an inertial navigation system and may measure force, rotational properties (such as pitch, roll and yaw) to allow vehicle navigation.

Although fig. 3 shows a single ECM332, vehicle 310 may include multiple ECMs 332. ECM332 may be distributed throughout vehicle 310 and, in addition, perform various vehicle functions. These vehicle functions may be operator controlled or automated, and are generally referred to herein as control tasks. These control tasks may include, for example, controlling door locks, seat position, cruise control, entertainment system equipment (tuner, CD player, etc.), HVAC, intrusion alarms, interior and exterior lighting, electric window position, engine and vehicle system diagnostics, and the like. Additionally, vehicle location information may be communicated from the GPS module 338 to the ECM332 via a communication bus 324, which may be a Controller Area Network (CAN) or an Ethernet network.

Vehicle sensors 342-348 may be coupled to each of the four wheels of the vehicle and report the rotational speed of the four wheels, respectively. Vehicle dynamics sensors 350 may be mounted under the front seats or at any other suitable location within the vehicle 310 that may be used to sense lateral acceleration, yaw rate, and other related vehicle dynamics. The speed sensor may operate according to optical, electromagnetic or other techniques, and other parameters may be derived or calculated from the speed readings, such as longitudinal or lateral acceleration. Vehicle sensors 342-348 may be used to determine vehicle speed relative to the ground by directing radar, laser, and/or other signals toward known stationary objects and analyzing the reflected signals, or by employing feedback from a navigation unit having GPS and/or telematics capabilities that may be used via a telematics module to monitor the location, motion, status, and behavior of the vehicle. The vehicle sensors 342-350 may send information directly or indirectly to any of the control modules 330-338 and the control module 322.

The vehicle control system 312 may utilize various control modules and vehicle sensors and GPS and/or telematics functions (components) associated with the vehicle to determine position data of the vehicle 310 relative to the road network or a portion thereof (e.g., local position relative to a map, precise position relative to a road lane, vehicle heading, speed, etc.), as well as other vehicles and objects on the road network. Other information from other components within the vehicle (e.g., IMU, body control module, transmission, etc.) may also be used to determine position data, including heading and speed change information, compass indications, wheel clicks/tire rotation rates (turns), gearbox indicators, odometer information, yaw rate, etc. Thus, the position data generated by each component may be combined/stitched together to improve the positioning accuracy of the vehicle 310.

The location data may be communicated to each control module and vehicle sensors, GPS and telematics components of the vehicle control system 312. For example, using a CAN bus to serially transmit position data to each component in the vehicle control system 312, time delays may be introduced due to delays (e.g., time delays in the vehicle network) and/or jitter (i.e., time delays due to additional network traffic from other components, such as the steering and Automatic Braking System (ABS)). The CAN bus acts as a communication bridge between all ECUs, sensors and components within the vehicle.

Thus, each component may receive location data at a different time. Receiving location data at different times can be problematic because the vehicle 310 may change location relative to the transmitted location data as it travels. The change in position is exacerbated when the vehicle 310 is traveling rapidly and/or functions using vehicle position as an input are performed asynchronously. For example, network and software delay/jitter may reach-170 milliseconds (ms) in some cases. Thus, when the vehicle is traveling at 80mph, the position error (latitudinal and/or longitudinal) may be equal to 6 meters in 170 ms.

In autonomous or highly automated vehicle applications, a 6 meter position error can be problematic, particularly in levels 4 and 5 of the SAE J3016 level of vehicle automation. Thus, operation of an autonomous or non-autonomous vehicle under such conditions cannot occur reliably.

FIG. 4 depicts components of a system 400, or portions thereof, associated with each of a plurality of autonomous or non-autonomous vehicles including a vehicle on-board computer system 54N, which addresses the position error discussed with respect to FIG. 3, in accordance with one or more embodiments. The system 400 may include a number of components (e.g., an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU)405, a sensor fusion module 410, a security gateway 415, an infotainment unit 420, a telematics module 425, a mapping application 430, and additional components described in fig. 3). The IMU405, infotainment unit 420, and telematics module 425 may operate in a manner similar to the IMU, infotainment/entertainment, and telematics modules described in fig. 3, respectively.

The mapping application 430 may be a high-definition map of a road network or a portion thereof. High definition maps may provide a representation of a road network, including road and road attributes (such as lane models, traffic signs, road fixtures, lane geometry, etc.), which may be used for high precision positioning of vehicles, environmental awareness, planning and decision-making, and real-time navigation of autonomous and/or non-autonomous vehicles. The mapping application 430 may also use the location data provided by the telematics module 425 to provide the location of the vehicle relative to the high definition map. Security gateway 415 may connect the different components of system 400 in a secure manner (i.e., to manage and distinguish between legitimate and non-legitimate communications between the components).

The sensor fusion module 410 may be used to combine data from multiple components and/or sensors (e.g., the control modules 322, 330 and the vehicle sensors 342 and 350) to gain more insight into the operation of the vehicles within the road network and the surrounding environment that is not possible using data from each component or sensor alone. The sensor fusion module 410 may utilize a probabilistic approach that uses statistical inferences from multiple observations, such as kalman filtering. Accordingly, the sensor fusion module 410 may merge/stitch the location data, motion data, and map data provided by the IMU405, telematics module, and mapping application 430 to more accurately sense the environment surrounding the vehicle.

In addition to exchanging location data, motion data, and map data between components of the system 400, each component may also utilize a network time synchronization protocol and timestamps generated by the respective components to account for delays and/or jitter between the components when communicating location data between the ECU and the IMU405, the sensor fusion module 410, the security gateway 415, the infotainment unit 420, the telematics module 425, and the mapping application 430 of the system 400. The time synchronization protocol may be based on an initial reference clock generated by a GPS clock associated with the telematics module 425 (i.e., the master controller) upon receiving vehicle location information from a GPS satellite.

Furthermore, the initial reference may also be a local clock of the master ECU. Thus, all components in a vehicle network participating in a time synchronization protocol may have a common understanding of time (although independent of the absolute time source), and thus may be able to understand the timestamp received from any other component. Thus, accurate vehicle positioning as described herein does not require an initial reference clock to be generated by the GPS clock; it is sufficient that the reference clock is the clock of the master component. The time stamp may be associated with data generated by the ECU, IMU405, sensor fusion module 410, security gateway 415, infotainment unit 420, telematics module 425, and mapping application 430 for determining the vehicle location.

The network time synchronization protocol may be implemented using a predetermined protocol (e.g., IEEE 802.1AS — timing and synchronization protocol). Additionally, each component may utilize multiple network time synchronization protocols and/or timestamps, which may be configured at runtime to carry time synchronization frames in the event of a failure of the original network time synchronization protocol and/or timestamp transmission.

The initial reference clock and time stamp of the data used to determine the vehicle position allows the components of the system 400 to be time corrected at run time, which can be used to accurately interpret the vehicle position. The initial reference clock and time stamp may be used to calculate one or more time offset variances for data exchange (e.g., hop-by-hop data exchange) between or among components of system 400. For example, a time offset of 1 (e.g., 50ms) may be generated when exchanging location data between the telematics module 425 and the infotainment unit 420. Time offset 2 may be generated when exchanging location data between infotainment unit 420 and security gateway 415. Time offset 3 may be generated when exchanging location data between security gateway 415 and sensor fusion module 410. The time offset of 4 may be generated when exchanging map data between the mapping application 430 and the sensor fusion module 410. A time offset of 5 (e.g., 10ms) may be generated when exchanging motion data between the IMU405 and the sensor fusion module 410. Time offset 6 may be generated when data is exchanged between IMU405 and mapping application 430. The time offset variances associated with the data generated by each component of the system 400 are all referenced to a common clock and may be used to synchronize the data exchanged between the components to be combined/stitched together to determine vehicle position. Thus, the vehicle position can be accurately maintained between the components of the vehicle. Without such a time stamp method, it is difficult to maintain vehicle position accuracy due to network delay variation caused from one cycle execution to another cycle execution at the time of operation.

FIG. 5 depicts a flow diagram of a method 500 for implementing a method for time correcting position data received by a plurality of components in accordance with one or more embodiments. At blocks 505 and 510, a timestamp and corresponding vehicle location data (e.g., GPS data, yaw rate, compass, etc.) may be received by a computer system (e.g., vehicle onboard computer system 54N) from one or more vehicle components. At block 515, the vehicle on-board computer system 54N may calculate a time difference between the current time and the time associated with the timestamp.

At block 520, the vehicle on-board computer system 54N may determine the distance traveled by the vehicle since the timestamp was generated by each of the one or more vehicle components. At block 525, the vehicle on-board computer system 54N may determine a time offset variance using the calculated time difference and the determined distance traveled. Each time offset variance may be related to vehicle position data generated by a given component of the vehicle at block 510. At block 530, the vehicle on-board computer system 54N may calculate a corrected position fix using the time offset variance associated with the vehicle position data generated by the vehicle component.

At block 535, the vehicle on-board computer system 54N may use the corrected localized position to more accurately reflect the position of the vehicle, which is displayed on a local map stored by the vehicle. Further, the vehicle on-board computer system 54N may use the corrected position location to control one or more autonomous/non-autonomous functions (e.g., navigation, lane change, turning, speed, braking, etc.) associated with operating the vehicle.

Accordingly, embodiments disclosed herein describe a system that can utilize a network time synchronization protocol for time stamping and maintain vehicle position accuracy throughout the network. Network time synchronization protocols can be used to provide time corrections in real time, which can be used to maintain vertical and horizontal accuracy. Time correction is used to account for delays and/or jitter that may occur in the vehicle network.

Technical effects and benefits of the disclosed embodiments include, but are not limited to, mitigating a decrease in vehicle position data accuracy due to delay and/or jitter. Additionally, autonomous and non-autonomous vehicles employing the disclosed embodiments operate with increased safety because vehicle location data accuracy is maintained while traversing a road network.

The present disclosure may be a system, method, and/or computer-readable storage medium. The computer readable storage medium may include computer readable program instructions thereon for causing a processor to perform aspects of the present disclosure.

The computer readable storage medium may be a tangible device that can retain and store the instructions for use by the instruction execution device. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic memory device, a magnetic memory device, an optical memory device, an electromagnetic memory device, a semiconductor memory device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of the computer-readable storage medium includes the following: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a Random Access Memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), a Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), a memory stick, a mechanically encoded device, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. As used herein, a computer-readable storage medium should not be construed as a transitory signal per se, such as a radio wave or other freely propagating electromagnetic wave, an electromagnetic wave propagating through a waveguide or other transmission medium (e.g., optical pulses traveling through a fiber optic cable), or an electrical signal transmitted through an electrical wire.

The computer-readable program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other devices to produce a computer-implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer, other programmable apparatus or other devices implement the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

While the foregoing disclosure has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope thereof. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the disclosure without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the disclosure not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but that the disclosure will include all embodiments falling within its scope.