IP Library › Granted Patent US 12709294
Granted Patent B2
US 12709294 · App. 18/752,472 · Granted Aug 18, 2026

Data synthesis for autonomous control systems

Inventors: Forrest Nelson Iandola (San Jose, CA); Donald Benton MacMillen (Hillsborough, CA); Anting Shen (Berkeley, CA); Harsimran Singh Sidhu (Fremont, CA); Paras Jagdish Jain (Cupertino, CA)
Assignee: Tesla, Inc.
B60W60/001B60R11/04B60W40/02G05D1/81G06F18/2148G06F18/241G06F30/20G06V10/764G06V10/82G06V20/58B60R2300/301G06F30/15
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12709294
App. No.
18/752,472
Granted
Aug 18, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

An autonomous control system generates synthetic data that reflect simulated environments. Specifically, the synthetic data is a representation of sensor data of the simulated environment from the perspective of one or more sensors. The system generates synthetic data by introducing one or more simulated modifications to sensor data captured by the sensors or by simulating the sensor data for a virtual environment. The autonomous control system uses the synthetic data to train computer models for various detection and control algorithms. In general, this allows autonomous control systems to augment training data to improve performance of computer models, simulate scenarios that are not included in existing training data, and/or train computer models that remove unwanted effects or occlusions from sensor data of the environment.

Claims (66)

1 . A method, comprising:

obtaining, by at least one processor, sensor data comprising first sensor data generated by a first sensor and second sensor data generated by a second sensor, the sensor data generated during operation of a vehicle through an environment;

providing, by the at least one processor, the sensor data to a model to cause the model to generate an output, the model configured to receive the sensor data and output reconstructed sensor data based on the sensor data, the reconstructed sensor data comprising the sensor data generated by the first sensor and updated second sensor data,

wherein the updated second sensor data comprises the second sensor data and augmented data associated with the sensor data generated by the first sensor;

generating, by the at least one processor, one or more control signals based on the reconstructed sensor data; and

providing, by the at least one processor, control data associated with the one or more control signals, the control data configured to cause the vehicle to navigate through the environment based on the reconstructed sensor data.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein obtaining the sensor data generated by the first sensor and the second sensor comprises:

obtaining the first sensor data generated by the first sensor, where the first sensor data is generated by a camera; and

obtaining the second sensor data generated by the second sensor.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein obtaining the sensor data generated by the first sensor and the second sensor comprises:

obtaining the first sensor data generated by the first sensor; and

obtaining the second sensor data generated by the second sensor, the second sensor data generated by a camera.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein obtaining the sensor data generated by the first sensor and the second sensor comprises:

obtaining the first sensor data generated by the first sensor, the first sensor data generated by a first RADAR sensor; and

obtaining the second sensor data generated by the second sensor, the second sensor data generated by a second RADAR sensor.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein obtaining the sensor data generated by the first sensor and the second sensor comprises:

obtaining the first sensor data generated by the first sensor, the first sensor data generated by a first camera; and

obtaining the second sensor data generated by the second sensor, the second sensor data generated by a second camera.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein generating the output based on the sensor data further comprises:

generating, by the model, quality information of the sensor data; and

generating the one or more control signals based on the quality information.

7 . A system comprising:

one or more processors configured to:

obtain sensor data comprising first sensor data generated by a first sensor and second sensor data generated by a second sensor, the sensor data generated during operation of a vehicle through an environment;

provide the sensor data to a model to cause the model to generate an output, the model configured to receive the sensor data and output reconstructed sensor data based on the sensor data, the reconstructed sensor data comprising the sensor data generated by the first sensor and updated second sensor data,

wherein the updated second sensor data comprises the second sensor data and augmented data associated with the sensor data generated by the first sensor;

generate one or more control signals based on the reconstructed sensor data; and

provide control data associated with the one or more control signals, the control data configured to cause the vehicle to navigate through the environment based on the reconstructed sensor data.

8 . The system of claim 7 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

obtain the first sensor data generated by the first sensor, the first sensor data generated by a camera; and

obtain the second sensor data generated by the second sensor.

9 . The system of claim 7 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

obtain the first sensor data generated by the first sensor; and

obtain the second sensor data generated by the second sensor, the second sensor data generated by a camera.

10 . The system of claim 7 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

obtain the first sensor data generated by the first sensor, the first sensor data generated by a first RADAR sensor; and

obtain the second sensor data generated by the second sensor, the second sensor data generated by a second RADAR sensor.

11 . The system of claim 7 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

obtain the first sensor data generated by the first sensor, the first sensor data generated by a camera; and

obtain the second sensor data generated by the second sensor, the second sensor data generated by the camera.

12 . The system of claim 7 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

cause the model to generate quality information of the sensor data; and

generate the one or more control signals based on the quality information.

13 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the quality information includes a category of a plurality of categories associated with the sensor data, wherein the category indicates one or more of rain, ice, light-conditions, or interference.

14 . The system of claim 7 , wherein the augmented data comprises missing data from the second sensor data generated by the second sensor.

15 . A non-transitory computer storage media storing instructions that, when executed by a system of one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

obtain sensor data comprising first sensor data generated by a first sensor and second sensor data generated by a second sensor, the sensor data generated during operation of a vehicle through an environment;

provide the sensor data to a model to cause the model to generate an output, the model configured to receive the sensor data and output reconstructed sensor data based on the sensor data, the reconstructed sensor data comprising the sensor data generated by the first sensor and updated second sensor data,

wherein the updated second sensor data comprises the second sensor data and augmented data associated with the sensor data generated by the first sensor;

generate one or more control signals based on the reconstructed sensor data; and

provide control data associated with the one or more control signals, the control data configured to cause the vehicle to navigate through the environment based on the reconstructed sensor data.

16 . The non-transitory computer storage media of claim 15 , wherein the instructions that cause the system of the one or more processors to obtain the sensor data generated by the first sensor and the second sensor, cause the system of the one or more processors to:

obtain the first sensor data generated by the first sensor, the first sensor data generated by a camera; and

obtain the second sensor data generated by the second sensor.

17 . The non-transitory computer storage media of claim 15 , wherein the instructions that cause the system of the one or more processors to obtain the sensor data generated by the first sensor and the second sensor, cause the system of the one or more processors to:

obtain the first sensor data generated by the first sensor; and

obtain the second sensor data generated by the second sensor, the second sensor data generated by a camera.

18 . The non-transitory computer storage media of claim 15 , wherein the instructions that cause the system of the one or more processors to obtain the sensor data generated by the first sensor and the second sensor, cause the system of the one or more processors to:

obtain the first sensor data generated by the first sensor, the first sensor data generated by a first RADAR sensor; and

obtain the second sensor data generated by the second sensor, the second sensor data generated by a second RADAR sensor.

19 . The non-transitory computer storage media of claim 15 , wherein the instructions that cause the system of the one or more processors to obtain the sensor data generated by the first sensor and the second sensor, cause the system of the one or more processors to:

obtain the first sensor data generated by the first sensor, the first sensor data generated by a camera; and

obtain the second sensor data generated by the second sensor, the second sensor data generated by the camera.

20 . The non-transitory computer storage media of claim 15 , wherein the instructions that cause the system of the one or more processors to generate the output based on the sensor data, cause the system of the one or more processors to:

generate, by the model, quality information of the sensor data; and

generate the one or more control signals based on the quality information.