Could map speed limit data come from machine learning?

[willow_hiller]

I was under the impression that the speed limits in the map data came from some authoritative source, but an experience on the highway today convinced me something else might be going on.

Heading northbound on I-95 just outside of I-495 in Virginia, the highway has a 55 mph speed limit that doesn't change. Parallel to the highway on the left, a HOT lane that has a speed limit of 65 mph runs. On version 12.1.2, my wife and I noticed that every time we passed a 55 mph speed limit sign on the right our Model 3 would say the speed limit was 55, but every time we passed a 65 mph speed limit sign on the left the car would say 65. This happened without fail for a few miles until we merged off onto 495.

I'm not sure if the Model 3 is actually reading the speed limit signs and interpreting them on the fly, but is it possible that the map data is derived from machine learning trained on footage taken from past drives? Tesla could be testing reading signs, and pushing the limits derived from their NNs as map data.

 

[jamnmon66]

Map only. Not reading speed limit signs. Map data is outdated/incomplete and hasn't changed in my area (NE of Denver) since I bought the car about a year ago.

 

[run-the-joules]

Only AP1 can read speed limit signs. From my understanding there is a patent issue.

 

[JBT66]

I had a ton of speed limit updates going from 2019.8.x to 2019.12.x all for the better.

 

[JulienW]

Only AP1 can read speed limit signs. From my understanding there is a patent issue.

I remember reading or hearing that Mobileye has a patent on using a camera to read speed limit signs. And that Tesla was researching ways to get around this and one way is using multiple cameras to read parts of the signs and then combine them. Or something to that effect.

 

[willow_hiller]

Only AP1 can read speed limit signs. From my understanding there is a patent issue.

The nuance in my post might have been lost. Where are the embedded speed limits in the map data derived from?

I'm not saying that the vehicles are actively reading the speed limit signs, but is it possible that Tesla is trying to fix some of the embedded speed limit data by taking some samples of forward camera data, reading them at HQ, and then pushing them with map updates?

I got a massive map data update with 2019.12.1.2, and I thought this speed limit behavior on I-95 was best explained by some sort of sign reading.

 

[MMBTUS]

I had a ton of speed limit updates going from 2019.8.x to 2019.12.x all for the better.

Same here. Major improvement post map update.

 

[Gabbleratchet7]

Lots of incorrect speed limits for my neck of the woods in the Model 3 system. Curiously, I‘ve encountered a few instances where the speed limit is correct in one direction and incorrect in the other on the same stretch of road.

 

[smatthew]

Lots of incorrect speed limits for my neck of the woods in the Model 3 system. Curiously, I‘ve encountered a few instances where the speed limit is correct in one direction and incorrect in the other on the same stretch of road.

It's not just your area. I'm in the SF Bay Area, and I've found residential streets that Tesla thinks are 25 one way and 35 the other.....

 

[jamnmon66]

It's not just your area. I'm in the SF Bay Area, and I've found residential streets that Tesla thinks are 25 one way and 35 the other.....

Ditto NE of Denver

 

[whatthe2]

Probably the same place that traffic data comes from. I find that to be pretty inaccurate a lot of times as well. I'm curious to know where both data comes from.

 

[sreams]

Only AP1 can read speed limit signs. From my understanding there is a patent issue.

What a ridiculous patent to have been granted. It's a safety issue. With a fully self driving car, the cameras need to be able to read speed limit signs, as they may be changed during construction or otherwise. How can such a thing be patented at all?

 

[whatthe2]

What a ridiculous patent to have been granted. It's a safety issue. With a fully self driving car, the cameras need to be able to read speed limit signs, as they may be changed during construction or otherwise. How can such a thing be patented at all?

Ugh, and looks like it expires next 9/20/2030. US20080137908A1 - Detecting and recognizing traffic signs - Google Patents

 

[jamnmon66]

Ugh, and looks like it expires next 9/20/2030. US20080137908A1 - Detecting and recognizing traffic signs - Google Patents

That really sucks. That most likely explains why it hasn't been added yet. Thanks for posting the link.

 

[Kanting]

If I were Tesla, I'd talk to the patent holder. Maybe the royalty is nothing.