Nvidia patents self-driving car safety checks for moving objects
Nvidia describes a system for autonomous vehicles that calculates the space a car will occupy while driving and compares it to the path of nearby objects. If the paths cross, the car chooses a safety action that is less likely to cause a crash than the default option.
In the filing’s own words
In various examples, a current claimed set of points representative of a volume in an environment occupied by a vehicle at a time may be determined. A vehicle-occupied trajectory and at least one object-occupied trajectory may be generated at the time. An intersection between the vehicle-occupied trajectory and an object-occupied trajectory may be determined based at least in part on comparing the vehicle-occupied trajectory to the object-occupied trajectory. Based on the intersection, the vehicle may then execute the first safety procedure or an alternative procedure that, when implemented by the vehicle when the object implements the second safety procedure, is determined to have a lesser likelihood of incurring a collision between the vehicle and the object than the first safety procedure.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. An autonomous or semi-autonomous machine comprising: one or more central processing units (CPUs); one or more graphics processing units (GPUs); one or more hardware accelerators; and one or more external sensors having one or more fields of view or one or more sensory fields external to the autonomous or semi-autonomous machine, wherein the autonomous or semi-autonomous machine is to: determine, based at least on sensor data obtained using the one or more external sensors, a first trajectory of the autonomous or semi-autonomous machine; determine, based at least on implementing one or more safety procedures at one or more times along the first trajectory, one or more second trajectories associated with the autonomous or semi-autonomous machine; and perform one or more operations based at least on the one or more second trajectories.
Facts
- Company
- Nvidia (NVIDIA Corporation)
- Official title
- Safety procedure analysis for machines
- Patent number
- US12759545B2
- Application number
- 19011224
- Filed
- Jan 6, 2025
- Granted
- Oct 13, 2026
- Inventors
- 4
- Claims
- 20
Classified under
B60W 30/0956 Operations & transportB60W 30/09 Operations & transportB60W 30/095 Operations & transportB60W 60/0015 Operations & transportG05D 1/0231 Physics & computingG05D 1/0242 Physics & computingMore from Nvidia in Cars & transport
- Nvidia patents robotaxi system with AI dispatcher and virtual rails Sep 15, 2026
- Nvidia patents car drowsiness check that uses your body clock Oct 13, 2026
- Nvidia patents 3D camera system to measure passengers in vehicles Oct 13, 2026
- Nvidia patents cruise control that predicts driver's next move Oct 20, 2026
- Nvidia patents dual-brain system for self-driving cars Sep 17, 2026
Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.