How much do Naïve and Hardware Time Synchronization Methods Affect Multi-Sensor Integrated Positioning?

There is a gap in the quantitative understanding of what effects the varying levels of time synchronization have on positioning accuracy of multi-sensor system. For navigation applications, quantitative knowledge of position errors associated with the synchronization levels is valuable so that error budgets can be reliably assessed. This information is also important for effective system design with multi-sensor setups for vehicle localization. In this research, the experimental comparison of naïve and hardware time synchronization methods, in their effects on positioning is performed. Based on experimental data, it was found that positioning accuracy improved by decimeter level in GNSS-inertial-camera integration, and by meter level in LiDARinertial integration when hardware time synchronization was employed.