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Starlink aids restoration work following series of earthquakes in Japan

(Credit: KDDI)

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SpaceX’s Starlink internet service is helping Japan’s restoration following the earthquakes on January 1. 

One day into 2024, Japan was hit with a series of quakes called the Noto Peninsula Earthquake. The largest quake hit a maximum seismic intensity of 7. After the Noto Peninsula Earthquake, local Japanese governments and their people started rescue and restoration work. 

Japanese telecommunication operator KDDI is providing Starlink services to Japan’s Self-Defense Forces, electricity companies, local governments, and other organizations to help with the rescue and restoration work. 

KDDI quickly navigated through the aftermath of the earthquakes to establish base stations with people across Japan. Shugo Takagi—Deputy Manager of KDDI’s Solution Business Headquarters and Design Division—estimates that the Japanese telecommunications company has gathered around 200 staff at its base in Kanazawa. 

KDDI has sent and is sending Starlink equipment to companies so they may maintain communication lines as they work on restoring regular utilities and necessities for people affected by the earthquakes.

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“For example, electric power companies are forced to respond on-site in areas where electricity is not available. However, communication services have been disrupted in these disaster-stricken areas. Therefore, there is a high need for so-called satellite mobile phones, including Iridium.

“We will provide you with a satellite phone to support on-site inspections of areas where utility poles are broken, or power lines are down. After that, you will decide that you want to use data communication, so you will deploy Starlink, said Takagi.

Takagi added that the demand for Starlink has increased as restoration continues. He reported that 150 Starlink antennas have been transported to Kanazawa, with 60 available for rent. The KDDI Deputy manager also shared that most people did not know how to use Starlink equipment initially because they were unfamiliar with it. However, people learned how to use Starlink equipment quickly. 

SpaceX and KDDI have worked together in Japan since August 2023, months before the Noto Peninsula Earthquake. The two companies signed an agreement to provide satellite-to-cellular service in Japan. Through Starlink internet connection, SpaceX and KDDI planned to initially offer SMS text with voice and data services to be added later. 

Last week, SpaceX posted pictures of six Starlink satellites with Direct to Cell capability to enable communication in locations without cellular connectivity. Direct to Cell capability would be useful in dead zones and helpful during/after natural disasters like the Noto Peninsula Earthquake.

If you have any tips, contact me at maria@teslarati.com or via X @Writer_01001101.

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Maria--aka "M"-- is an experienced writer and book editor. She's written about several topics including health, tech, and politics. As a book editor, she's worked with authors who write Sci-Fi, Romance, and Dark Fantasy. M loves hearing from TESLARATI readers. If you have any tips or article ideas, contact her at maria@teslarati.com or via X, @Writer_01001101.

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Tesla accused of infringing robotics patents in new lawsuit

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tesla store in New York City
Credit: Tesla

Tesla is being accused of infringing robotics patents by a company called Perrone Robotics, which is based out of Charlottesville, Virginia.

The suit was filed in Alexandria, Virginia, and accuses Tesla of knowingly infringing upon five patents related to robotics systems for self-driving vehicles.

The company said its founder, Paul Perrone, developed general-purpose robotics operating systems for individual robots and automated devices.

Perrone Robotics claims that all Tesla vehicles utilizing the company’s Autopilot suite within the last six years infringe the five patents, according to a report from Reuters.

Tesla’s new Safety Report shows Autopilot is nine times safer than humans

One patent was something the company attempted to sell to Tesla back in 2017. The five patents cover a “General Purpose Operating System for Robotics,” otherwise known as GPROS.

The GPROS suite includes extensions for autonomous vehicle controls, path planning, and sensor fusion. One key patent, U.S. 10,331,136, was explicitly offered to Tesla by Perrone back in 2017, but the company rejected it.

The suit aims to halt any further infringements and seeks unspecified damages.

This is far from the first suit Tesla has been involved in, including one from his year with Perceptive Automata LLC, which accused Tesla of infringing on AI models to interpret pedestrian/cyclist intent via cameras without licensing. Tesla appeared in court in August, but its motion to dismiss was partially denied earlier this month.

Tesla also settled a suit with Arsus LLC, which accused Autopilot’s electronic stability features of infringing on rollover prevention tech. Tesla won via an inter partes review in September.

Most of these cases involve non-practicing entities or startups asserting broad autonomous vehicle patents against Tesla’s rapid iteration.

Tesla typically counters with those inter partes reviews, claiming invalidity. Tesla has successfully defended about 70 percent of the autonomous vehicle lawsuits it has been involved in since 2020, but settlements are common to avoid discovery costs.

The case is Perrone Robotics Inc v Tesla Inc, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, No. 25-02156. Tesla has not yet listed an attorney for the case, according to the report.

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Tesla has passed a critical self-driving milestone Elon Musk listed in Master Plan Part Deux

Tesla China announced that the company’s Autopilot system has accumulated 10 billion kilometers of driving experience.

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Tesla has passed a key milestone, and it was one that CEO Elon Musk initially mentioned more than nine years ago when he published Master Plan, Part Deux. 

As per Tesla China in a post on its official Weibo account, the company’s Autopilot system has accumulated over 10 billion kilometers of real-world driving experience.

Tesla China’s subtle, but huge announcement

In its Weibo post, Tesla China announced that the company’s Autopilot system has accumulated 10 billion kilometers of driving experience. “In this respect, Tesla vehicles equipped with Autopilot technology can be considered to have the world’s most experienced and seasoned driver.” 

Tesla AI’s handle on Weibo also highlighted a key advantage of the company’s self-driving system. “It will never drive under the influence of alcohol, be distracted, or be fatigued,” the team wrote. “We believe that advancements in Autopilot technology will save more lives.”

Tesla China did not clarify exactly what it meant by “Autopilot” in its Weibo post, though the company’s intense focus on FSD over the past years suggests that the term includes miles that were driven by FSD (Beta) and Full Self-Driving (Supervised). Either way, 10 billion cumulative miles of real-world data is something that few, if any, competitors could compete with.

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Elon Musk’s 10-billion-km estimate, way back in 2016

When Elon Musk published Master Plan Part Deux, he outlined his vision for the company’s autonomous driving system. At the time, Autopilot was still very new, though Musk was already envisioning how the system could get regulatory approval worldwide. He estimated that worldwide regulatory approval will probably require around 10 billion miles of real-world driving data, which was an impossible-sounding amount at the time. 

“Even once the software is highly refined and far better than the average human driver, there will still be a significant time gap, varying widely by jurisdiction, before true self-driving is approved by regulators. We expect that worldwide regulatory approval will require something on the order of 6 billion miles (10 billion km). Current fleet learning is happening at just over 3 million miles (5 million km) per day,” Musk wrote. 

It’s quite interesting but Tesla is indeed getting regulatory approval for FSD (Supervised) at a steady pace today, at a time when 10 billion miles of data has been achieved. The system has been active in the United States and has since been rolled out to other countries such as Australia, New Zealand, China, and, more recently, South Korea. Expectations are high that Tesla could secure FSD approval in Europe sometime next year as well. 

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SpaceX maintains unbelievable Starship target despite Booster 18 incident

It appears that it will take more than an anomaly to stop SpaceX’s march towards Starship V3’s refinement.

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Credit: SpaceX/X

SpaceX recently shared an incredibly ambitious and bold update about Starship V3’s 12th test flight. 

Despite the anomaly that damaged Booster 18, SpaceX maintained that it was still following its plans for the upgraded spacecraft and booster for the coming months. Needless to say, it appears that it will take more than an anomaly to stop SpaceX’s march towards Starship V3’s refinement. 

Starship V3 is still on a rapid development path

SpaceX’s update was posted through the private space company’s official account on social media platform X. As per the company, “the Starbase team plans to have the next Super Heavy booster stacked in December, which puts it on pace with the test schedule planned for the first Starship V3 vehicle and associated ground systems.” 

SpaceX then announced that Starship V3’s maiden flight is still expected to happen early next year. “Starship’s twelfth flight test remains targeted for the first quarter of 2026,” the company wrote in its post on X. 

Elon Musk mentioned a similar timeline on X earlier this year. In the lead up to Starshp Flight 11, which proved flawless, Musk stated that “Starship V3 is a massive upgrade from the current V2 and should be through production and testing by end of year, with heavy flight activity next year.” Musk has also mentioned that Starship V3 should be good enough to use for initial Mars missions.

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Booster 18 failure not slowing Starship V3’s schedule

SpaceX’s bold update came after Booster 18 experienced a major anomaly during gas system pressure testing at SpaceX’s Massey facility in Starbase, Texas. SpaceX confirmed in a post on X that no propellant was loaded, no engines were installed, and personnel were positioned at a safe distance when the booster’s lower section crumpled, resulting in no injuries.

Still, livestream footage showed significant damage around the liquid oxygen tank area of Booster 18, leading observers to speculate that the booster was a total loss. Booster 18 was among the earliest vehicles in the Starship V3 series, making the failure notable. Despite the setback, Starship V3’s development plans appear unchanged, with SpaceX pushing ahead of its Q1 2026 test flight target.

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