Dual node composite image system architecture

Abstract

When employing a multi-node computing architecture for commercial articulated vehicles to generate a composite surround view of the vehicle, each processing node is associated with a vehicle segment. Each node has its own processor, memory and sensors. A master-slave relationship exists in the architecture. The segment processors collect, format, manage and package their local information. Communication between nodes is controlled by the master node, which can limit, adjust, subsample and alter the information and information flow from the slave nodes. The slave nodes can be freely recombined, using a pre-established communication standard or a format agreed upon at combination time.

1 - 24 . (canceled) 
     
     
         25 . A system that facilitates generating composite vehicle data using a multi-node computer architecture for an articulated vehicle, comprising:
 a first set of one or more sensors that capture data from a first portion of the articulated vehicle;   a first processing node that receives captured data from the first set of one or more sensors;   a second set of one or more sensors that capture data from a second portion of the articulated vehicle;   a second processing node that receives captured data from the second set of one or more sensors, generates a reduced data set from the captured data from the second set of one or more sensors, and transmits the reduced data set to the first processing node;   wherein the first processing node is configured to generate composite data for the articulated vehicle from the captured sensor data received from the first set of one or more sensors and the reduced data set received from the second processing node.   
     
     
         26 . The system according to  claim 25 , wherein the first processing node is configured to control the amount and type of data transmitted by the second processing node. 
     
     
         27 . The system according to  claim 26 , wherein the first processing node detects errors in data transmission from the second processing node, and controls the amount and type of data transmitted by the second processing node in order to remove at least one of redundant pixels, unchanging pixels, and unnecessary pixels. 
     
     
         28 . The system according to  claim 25 , wherein the second processing node is configured to measure bandwidth available to transmit data to the first processing node, and to generate the reduced data set to accommodate the available data transmission bandwidth. 
     
     
         29 . The system according to  claim 25 , wherein the reduced data set is generated by at least one of data compression, subsampling, and reduced transmission frequency, in order to reduce bandwidth consumption. 
     
     
         30 . The system according to  claim 25 , wherein the second processing node is further configured to receive and relay to the first processing node sensor information for one or more monitored parameters of the second portion of the articulated vehicle. 
     
     
         31 . The system according to  claim 30 , wherein the first processing node is further configured to detect that a data link between the first and second processing nodes is overloaded, and to instruct the second processing node to reduce data flow of at least one of the image data and the sensor information transmitted over the data link. 
     
     
         32 . The system according to  claim 31 , wherein the second processing node is configured to reduce data flow by subsampling data received from the second set of one or more sensors when generating the reduced data set. 
     
     
         33 . The system according to  claim 25 , wherein the first processing node is an electronic control unit (ECU) in a tractor portion of the articulated vehicle, and wherein the second processing node is an ECU in a trailer portion of the articulated vehicle. 
     
     
         34 . A method for generating composite vehicle data using a multi-node computer architecture for an articulated vehicle, comprising:
 receiving, at a first processing node, data captured by a first set of one or more sensors from a first portion of the articulated vehicle;   receiving, at a second processing node, data captured from a second portion of the articulated vehicle by a second set of one or more sensors;   generating, by the second processing node, a reduced data set from the captured data from the second set of one or more sensors, and transmitting the reduced data set to the first processing node; and   generating, by the first processing node, composite data for the articulated vehicle from the captured sensor data received from the first set of one or more sensors and the reduced data set received from the second processing node.   
     
     
         35 . The method according to  claim 34 , further comprising controlling, by the first processing node, the amount and type of data transmitted by the second processing node. 
     
     
         36 . The method according to  claim 35 , further comprising, at the first processing node, detecting errors in data transmission from the second processing node, and controlling the amount and type of data transmitted by the second processing node in order to remove at least one of redundant pixels, unchanging pixels, and unnecessary pixels. 
     
     
         37 . The method according to  claim 34 , further comprising, at the second processing node, measuring bandwidth available to transmit data to the first processing node, and generating the reduced data set to accommodate the available data transmission bandwidth. 
     
     
         38 . The method according to  claim 34 , further comprising generating the reduced data set by at least one of data compression, subsampling, and reduced transmission frequency, in order to reduce bandwidth consumption. 
     
     
         39 . The method according to  claim 34 , further comprising, at the second processing node, receiving and relaying to the first processing node sensor information for one or more monitored parameters of the second portion of the articulated vehicle. 
     
     
         40 . The method according to  claim 39 , further comprising, at the first processing node, detecting that a data link between the first and second processing nodes is overloaded, and instructing the second processing node to reduce data flow of at least one of the image data and the sensor information transmitted over the data link. 
     
     
         41 . The method according to  claim 40 , further comprising, at the second processing node, reducing data flow by subsampling data received from the second set of one or more sensors when generating the reduced data set. 
     
     
         42 . The method according to  claim 34 , wherein the first processing node is an electronic control unit (ECU) in a tractor portion of the articulated vehicle, and wherein the second processing node is an ECU in a trailer portion of the articulated vehicle. 
     
     
         43 . A multi-node computer architecture configured to generate composite vehicle data for an articulated vehicle, comprising:
 a first processing node configured to receive data captured by a first set of one or more sensors from a first portion of the articulated vehicle;   a second processing node configured to receive data captured from a second portion of the articulated vehicle by a second set of one or more sensors;   wherein the second processing node is further configured to generate a reduced data set from the captured data from the second set of one or more sensors, and to transmit the reduced data set to the first processing node; and   wherein the first processing node is further configured to generate composite data for the articulated vehicle from the captured sensor data received from the first set of one or more sensors and the reduced data set received from the second processing node.   
     
     
         44 . The multi-node computer architecture according to  claim 43 , wherein the second processing node is further configured to measure bandwidth available to transmit data to the first processing node, and to generate the reduced data set to accommodate the available data transmission bandwidth by at least one of data compression, subsampling, and reduced transmission frequency.