Knightshade
Well-Known Member
Tesla Publishes Patent: 'Estimating object properties using visual image data' for Enhancing Autonomous Driving Systems
Tesla has published a patent 'Estimating object properties using visual image data.' The disclosed invention helps to receive data based on an image captured with a vehicle camera in order to partially identify the distance of an object from a vehicle.www.tesmanian.com
Eh, Mobileye has patents on estimating distance from camera input going back to at least 2006.
Much like how everyone here was saying for years the "reason" Tesla could never read speed limits on AP2+ was because Mobileye held the patent on THAT, there's lots of ways to skin the same cat....
And a lot of very generally worded patents (especially ones that are doing variations of things already patented previously) aren't necessarily a roadblock to anyone- the USPTO folks are generally....very not technical.... so it's not uncommon for patents that shouldn't be granted due to prior art or being overly general but using words they don't understand getting granted anyway, Most commonly, if this results in lawsuits or anything at all, they end with either the newer patent being tossed if it's REALLY egregious, or if it's genuinely something different but not enough so it'd be easy to convince a jury it's different, in some kind of cross-licensing settlement that isn't usually super material to anything other than large bills from IP lawyers. (exceptions exist of course)
All that said- depending on the numbers, and how long Elon wants to keep it exclusive to Tesla- there's also always the option to just license the tech directly to other car makers.
Which is more in legacys wheelhouses anyway, and might be cheaper to quarterly results than a huge moonshot "copy FSD" program would.
Tesla can't build 80 million new cars a year.
Is RT revenue so great they'd rather keep it exclusive for only a few extra years- versus collect licensing fees on FSD tech in everyone elses cars for a LOT of years?