Interval-based time synchronisation of sensor data in a mobile robot

This paper addresses the problem of time synchronisation of odometry and vision data in a mobile robot. The overall aim is to improve robot localisation by combining vision with odometry data without restricting the motion of the robot. We propose a novel method of synchronising the times of the odometry and image data using an interval paradigm, from the discrete timestamped data sets alone. The interval paradigm provides guaranteed bounds on the absolute time difference between the two data sets. A significant enhancement of the proposed method is also proposed. Simulation of the proposed method is described and the method has been successfully applied to the time synchronisation of odometry and image data in a mobile robot.