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Tesla’s self-driving patent application hints at faster collision response

(Photo: Tesla)

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A recently published Tesla patent application titled “Autonomous Driving System Emergency Signaling” describes a method of quickly communicating emergency information from vehicle sensors feeding into autonomous driving software. The new communication method will improve Autopilot’s response in emergency situations, thereby reducing the probability of accidents.

Tesla’s invention takes latency in data transmission into account as an area of improvement. In general, critical information can get stuck waiting to be processed by a computer after non-critical information that’s ahead of it. Under Tesla’s US Patent Application No. 2019/0138018, critical emergency situations detected by sensors are moved to the front of the line for priority processing and response. Tesla’s invention achieves this using two main approaches.

First, the transmission from sensors that detect an emergency sends their findings to the main computer at a higher transmit power than other messages. Other signals at lower power transmissions are then interpreted as ‘background noise’ compared to the emergency signal. This process is described in the patent application as follows:

When an autonomous driving emergency event is detected by an autonomous driving sensor…the [sensor] transmits the autonomous driving emergency message in a non-assigned time slot at a higher transmit power level than a transmit power level of an autonomous driving sensor…Because the autonomous driving emergency message is transmitted at a higher power level than the transmission from the autonomous driving sensor, the transmission from the autonomous driving sensor may be treated as background noise by the autonomous driving controller to thereby receive and decode of the autonomous driving emergency message.

In a second approach, the autonomous driving sensors that encounter an emergency message are programmed to stop sending signals, and the vehicle’s main computer will direct them to resume communications after receiving the emergency message. This process is described in the patent as follows:

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…if an emergency transmission is detected…the autonomous driving sensor ceases transmitting autonomous driving data. Such cessation may continue for one assigned time slot, for more than one assigned slots, and/or until the autonomous driving sensor receives direction from the autonomous driving controller to continue transmitting autonomous driving data or receives a new…bus time slot assignment from the autonomous driving controller. During this time period…the autonomous driving sensor continues to collect and buffer autonomous driving data.

Several variations of achieving these two main concepts are also described in the application and invention claims, including managing the specifics of the transmit power level differences and reassigning time slots for sensors to communicate on the data bus. Overall, this recent patent application is yet another indicator of Tesla’s continued improvement of its autonomous driving capabilities.

Tesla’s advances in the autonomous driving arena have been touted by CEO Elon Musk and industry experts alike. ARK Invest analyst James Wang recently estimated that the all-electric car maker’s decision to develop its Full Self-Driving computer chip in-house put the company four years ahead of the competition. Musk, for his part, declared the chip the best in the world at Tesla’s Investor Autonomy Day. “It seems improbable. How could it be that Tesla, who has never designed a chip before, would design the best chip in the world? But that is objectively what has occurred,” Elon touted.

While Tesla has yet to roll out the total capabilities of its Full Self-Driving suite, Musk has said on several occasions that the software will be “feature complete” by the end of 2019 with only regulatory hurdles left for full release.

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Accidental computer geek, fascinated by most history and the multiplanetary future on its way. Quite keen on the democratization of space. | It's pronounced day-sha, but I answer to almost any variation thereof.

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Tesla’s new Robotaxi geofence shape is an FU by Elon Musk to the competition

Maybe it’s all pareidolia. But maybe it’s not. After all, Tesla embraced the first geofence expansion for what it appeared to be.

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tesla austin robotaxi geofence and elon musk laugh from meme review

Tesla expanded its Robotaxi geofence in Austin once again early Sunday morning. The new shape seems to be somewhat of a proverbial, and potentially literal, middle finger to the competition.

If you thought the first expansion was a message to the competition and doubters of the company’s ride-hailing service, you probably will believe the second expansion is an even stronger gesture.

Tesla’s first expansion did not go unnoticed, as its shape was particularly recognizable. The company has always operated with a sense of humor, and it embraced what it did. Some, including me, took it as a message to competitors: We can expand in any direction, in any size, at any time. We’ll prove it.”

They picked a shape and went with it:

Tesla’s Robotaxi expansion wasn’t a joke, it was a warning to competitors

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It is evident that Tesla is keeping its humor up to continue to show a few things. The first is that it really can expand in any direction it wants and that’s how it is choosing to show it.

The second, well, maybe it’s an edgier way to show doubters that it is really executing on Robotaxi:

Maybe it’s all pareidolia. But maybe it’s not. After all, Tesla embraced the first geofence expansion for what it appeared to be. This might be a similar occurrence, and it might be sending another message to the competition, critics, and doubters.

The expansion was a near-doubling of the geofence Tesla offered previously. After the initial geofence covered just about 20 square miles, Tesla was able to more than double it to 42 square miles with the first growth. This new geofence shape was just under double, and is about 80 square miles.

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Tesla’s rapid expansion has impressed many, especially considering the service area has roughly doubled for the second time in well under two months. The Robotaxi service was first offered on June 22.

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Tesla executes ‘a must’ with Musk as race to AI supremacy goes on: Wedbush

Dan Ives of Wedbush says Tesla made the right move getting Elon Musk his pay package.

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Steve Jurvetson, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) executed what Wedbush’s Dan Ives called “a must” this morning as it finalized a new pay package for its CEO Elon Musk.

The move helped give Musk his first meaningful compensation at Tesla since 2017, when the company offered a pay package that was based on performance and proven growth. That package was approved by shareholders on two separate occasions, but was denied to Musk both times by the Delaware Chancery Court.

On Monday, Tesla announced on X that it had created a new package that would give 96 million shares of restricted stock to Musk to compensate him for the “immense value generated for Tesla and all our shareholders.”

The details of the pay package are designed to retain Musk, who has voiced some concerns about his control of Tesla, as “activist shareholders” have used lawsuits to disrupt the previously approved package.

You can read all the details of it here:

Tesla rewards CEO Elon Musk with massive, restricted stock package

Ives says Musk’s retention is ‘a must’

Ives said in a note to investors on Monday that with the raging AI talent war that Tesla made a smart move by doing what it could to retain Musk.

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He wrote:

“With the AI talent war now fully underway across Big Tech, we believe this was a strategic move to keep TSLA’s top asset, Musk, would stay focused at the company with his priority being to bolster the company’s growth strategy over the coming years. With this interim award increasing Musk’s voting rights upon this grant, which Musk honed in on and mentioned was increasingly important to incentivize him to stay focused on the matters at hand, this was a strategic move by the Board to solidify Musk as CEO of Tesla over the coming years with this framework for Musk’s pay package and greater voting control removing a major overhang on the story.”

He went on to say:

“While the groundwork is now in place for the next few years, it will be critical for the Tesla Board of Directors to get this long-term compensation strategy in place prior to the company’s November 6th shareholder meeting which would address the elephant in the room and remove a significant overhang on the stock.”

Wedbush maintained its Outperform rating and its $500 price target on the stock.

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk reveals ideal timeline for insane self-driving feature

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has extremely optimistic expectations for Full Self-Driving progress by the end of 2025.

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Credit: Tesla

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has revealed his ideal timeline for what would likely be the most insane self-driving feature: the ability for drivers to play video games at the wheel.

There are a handful of videos out there of drivers already performing this task. Nobody using Tesla’s Full Self-Driving suite should perform these activities, as the company maintains the system is not fully autonomous.

Drivers are responsible for the vehicle and should be prepared to take over.

Tesla has put a lot of faith in its development of Full Self-Driving and has made tremendous strides over the past few years. Capabilities have gotten more refined and accurate through various methods, including data collection and hardware improvements.

Tesla kicks Robotaxi geofence expansion into high gear in Austin

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It has gotten so good that Tesla launched a Robotaxi platform in Austin, Texas, on June 22. Passengers can hop in the back of a Model Y and will be transported around the city in a confined geofence that is about 90 square miles in size. There is nobody in the driver’s seat, but there is a Safety Monitor in the passenger’s seat.

Tesla launched a similar experience in California’s Bay Area last week, but the company has placed the Safety Monitor in the driver’s seat for that region for the time being.

Eventually, Tesla will get to a point where no monitor is needed, and the vehicles will be able to drive themselves. Many believe that it is a few years away, but Musk believes Tesla could achieve it very soon.

After a video of someone playing Grand Theft Auto in their Cybertruck while operating Full Self-Driving was shared on the social media platform X, Musk said this capability would be available in “probably 3 to 6 months, depending on regulatory approval in your city and state.”

It is important to remember that Musk has been very optimistic regarding autonomy timelines with Tesla projects. We heard for many years that the company would have self-driving vehicles “by the end of the year,” and those projects did not come to fruition.

While there was progress, there were no fully autonomous vehicles or software versions for customers.

With that being said, Tesla has made tremendous strides in its quest for autonomous vehicles this year, and launching a Robotaxi platform was a huge step in the right direction.

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