Removable automotive LIDAR data collection POD
A vehicle agnostic removable pod can be mounted on a vehicle using one or more legs of a pod mount. The removable pod can collect and time stamp a variety of environmental data as well as vehicle data. For example, environmental data can be collected using a sensor suite which can include an IMU, 3D positioning sensor, one or more cameras, and/or a LIDAR unit. As another example, vehicle data can be collected via a CAN bus attached to the vehicle. Environmental data and/or vehicle data can be time stamped and transmitted to a remote server for further processing by a computing device.
1. A method of scalable vehicle data collection, the method comprising:
receiving environmental data from a plurality of sensors of a removable pod attached to a vehicle in an environment using a pod mount, wherein the plurality of sensors includes at least an inertial measurement unit (IMU), a three dimension (3D) positioning sensor, a camera, and a Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) unit, the vehicle being a non-autonomous vehicle;
receiving vehicle data from a Controller Area Network (CAN) bus, wherein the removable pod is connected to the CAN bus;
recording, using a computing device connected to the removable pod, the combined environmental data and the vehicle data;
determining, using the computing device, time stamps for each instance of the environmental data and time stamps for each instance of the vehicle data recorded by the computing device; and
transmitting, using the computing device, an aggregation of the time stamped instances of environmental data and the time stamped instances of vehicle data to a remote server;
wherein the non-autonomous vehicle is collecting data in the same area with an autonomous vehicle.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the pod mount is a tripod mount with three legs, wherein a height one or more of the three legs is adjustable.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein each of the three legs attach to the vehicle using a suction cup.
4. The method of claim 2 , wherein each of the three legs attach to the vehicle using a magnet.
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising calibrating a position of the removable pod on the vehicle using a user interface of the computing device.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein calibrating the position of the removable pod on the vehicle comprises measuring a set of vehicle dimensions using the plurality of sensors.
7. The method of claim 5 , wherein calibrating the position of the removable pod on the vehicle comprises identifying the vehicle using the user interface of the computing device to obtain a known set of vehicle dimension measurements of the vehicle.
8. The method of claim 5 , wherein calibrating the position of the removable pod on the vehicle comprises confirming the position of the removable pod by receiving positioning environmental data from the plurality of sensors.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein a plurality of removable pods are attached to a plurality of non-autonomous vehicles, and the plurality of removable pods receive environmental data in the same environment.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein transmitting the time stamped instances of environmental data and the time stamped instances to the remote server of vehicle data for plurality of removable pods attached to the plurality of non-autonomous vehicles further comprises:
storing the time stamped instances of environmental data and time stamped instances of vehicle data for the plurality of removable pods on the remote server; and
determining an aggregation of the stored time stamped instances of environmental data and the time stamped instances of vehicle data for each removable pod in the plurality of removable pods.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein determining an aggregation of the stored time stamped instances of environmental data and the time stamped instances of vehicle data for each removable pod further comprises:
determining an aggregation of the stored time stamped instances of environmental data and the time stamped instances of vehicle data for each removable pod in the plurality of removable pods with an external data source.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the vehicle is selected from a group consisting of a car, a truck, a motorcycle, a moped, a tractor trailer, and a bus.
13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the computing device is selected from a group consisting of a laptop computer, a tablet computer, and a cellular telephone.
14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the removable pod is powered by a power source in the vehicle selected from a group consisting of a DC power source and a USB port.
15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the 3D positioning sensor is selected from a group consisting of Global Positioning System, Global Navigation Satellite System, BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, Galileo, and combinations thereof.
16. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving vehicle data from a CAN bus comprises the CAN bus interfacing with an On Board Diagnostic II (OBDII) port in the vehicle.
17. A system comprising one or more processors and memory operably coupled with the one or more processors, wherein the memory stores instructions that, in repose to execution of the instructions by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the steps, comprising:
receiving environmental data from a plurality of sensors of a removable pod attached to a vehicle in an environment using a pod mount, wherein the plurality of sensors includes at least an inertial measurement unit (IMU), a three dimension (3D) positioning sensor, a camera, and a Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) unit, the vehicle being a non-autonomous vehicle;
receiving vehicle data from a Controller Area Network (CAN) bus, wherein the removable pod is connected to the CAN bus;
recording, using a computing device connected to the removable pod, the combined environmental data and the vehicle data;
determining, using the computing device, time stamps for each instance of the environmental data and time stamps for each instance of the vehicle data recorded by the computing device; and
transmitting, using the computing device, an aggregation of the time stamped instances of environmental data and the time stamped instances of vehicle data to a remote server;
wherein the non-autonomous vehicle is collecting data in the same area with an autonomous vehicle.
18. A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions, that, when executed by one or more processors cause the one or processors to perform the steps comprising:
receiving environmental data from a plurality of sensors of a removable pod attached to a vehicle in an environment using a pod mount, wherein the plurality of sensors includes at least an inertial measurement unit (IMU), a three dimension (3D) positioning sensor, a camera, and a Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) unit, the vehicle being a non-autonomous vehicle;
receiving vehicle data from a Controller Area Network (CAN) bus, wherein the removable pod is connected to the CAN bus;
recording, using a computing device connected to the removable pod, the combined environmental data and the vehicle data;
determining, using the computing device, time stamps for each instance of the environmental data and time stamps for each instance of the vehicle data recorded by the computing device; and
transmitting, using the computing device, an aggregation of the time stamped instances of environmental data and the time stamped instances of vehicle data to a remote server;
wherein the non-autonomous vehicle is collecting data in the same area with an autonomous vehicle.
19. A method of scalable vehicle data collection, the method comprising:
receiving environmental data from a plurality of sensors of a removable pod attached to a vehicle in an environment using a pod mount, wherein the plurality of sensors includes at least an inertial measurement unit (IMU), a three dimension (3D) positioning sensor, a camera, and a Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) unit;
receiving vehicle data from a Controller Area Network (CAN) bus, wherein the removable pod is connected to the CAN bus;
recording, using a computing device connected to the removable pod, the combined environmental data and the vehicle data;
determining, using the computing device, time stamps for each instance of the environmental data and time stamps for each instance of the vehicle data recorded by the computing device;
transmitting, using the computing device, an aggregation of the time stamped instances of environmental data and the time stamped instances of vehicle data to a remote server; and,
wherein a plurality of removable pods are attached to a plurality of non-autonomous vehicles, and the plurality of removable pods receive environmental data in the same environment.
20. A method of scalable vehicle data collection, the method comprising:
receiving environmental data from a plurality of sensors of a removable pod attached to a vehicle in an environment using a pod mount, wherein the plurality of sensors includes at least an inertial measurement unit (IMU), a three dimension (3D) positioning sensor, a camera, and a Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) unit;
receiving vehicle data from a Controller Area Network (CAN) bus, wherein the removable pod is connected to the CAN bus;
recording, using a computing device connected to the removable pod, the combined environmental data and the vehicle data;
determining, using the computing device, time stamps for each instance of the environmental data and time stamps for each instance of the vehicle data recorded by the computing device;
transmitting, using the computing device, an aggregation of the time stamped instances of environmental data and the time stamped instances of vehicle data to a remote server; and,
wherein transmitting the time stamped instances of environmental data and the time stamped instances to the remote server of vehicle data for plurality of removable pods attached to a plurality of non-autonomous vehicles further comprises:
storing the time stamped instances of environmental data and time stamped instances of vehicle data for the plurality of removable pods on the remote server; and
determining an aggregation of the stored time stamped instances of environmental data and the time stamped instances of vehicle data for each removable pod in the plurality of removable pods.