DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Status of Claims
This Final Office Action is in response to the applicant’s amendment/response of 25 September 2025.
Claims 1-23 are currently pending and addressed below.
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments/amendments with respect to the rejection of claims under 35 U.S.C. 103 have been considered but are moot because the new ground of rejection does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claim 8 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 8 recites the limitation "the new or updated attribute" in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 1-3, 5-6, 11-13, 16-17, and 20-23 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Adachi (US 10928523 B2) in view of Arditi (US 20190147331 A1) and further in view of Wheeler et al. (US 20180188045 A1).
a. Regarding claim 1, and similarly with respect to claims 13 and 17, Adachi discloses A computer-implemented method at a server system, (Fig. 1, and column 4 lines 55-56 “The HD map system 100 includes an online HD map system 110”) the server system storing high definition (HD) map data (Fig. 1, 165) representing a road system having a plurality of objects, the HD map data comprising a plurality of map features representing the plurality of objects of the road system, the HD map data provided for use by an automated driving system in an autonomous vehicle, the method comprising: (Fig. 7 and column 13 lines 54-62 “The HD map system provides the vehicle with access to the map data that is relevant for autonomous driving of the vehicle. This includes, for example, features 720a and 720b that are associated with the lane but may not be the closest features to the vehicle. Therefore, the HD map system 100 stores a lane-centric representation of data that represents the relationship of the lane to the feature so that the vehicle can efficiently extract the features given a lane.” ) receiving observational data for the road system, the observational data comprising one or more observations of the road system; (Column 19 lines 44-46 “The online HD map system 110 receives from various vehicles, information describing the data that is stored at the local HD map store 275 of the vehicle” and Column 11 lines 14-22 “The map creation module 410 creates the map from map data collected from several vehicles that are driving along various routes. The map update module 420 updates previously computed map data by receiving more recent information from vehicles that recently travelled along routes on which map information changed. For example, if certain road signs have changed or lane information has changed as a result of construction in a region, the map update module 420 updates the maps accordingly.” ) using the observational data to determine changes in one or more objects of the plurality of objects; identifying one or more map features of the HD map data corresponding to the one or more objects of the road system; (Column 11 lines 14-22 “The map creation module 410 creates the map from map data collected from several vehicles that are driving along various routes. The map update module 420 updates previously computed map data by receiving more recent information from vehicles that recently travelled along routes on which map information changed. For example, if certain road signs have changed or lane information has changed as a result of construction in a region, the map update module 420 updates the maps accordingly.”)
based on the changes in the one or more objects and the identified one or more map features, generating map change data, (Column 11 lines 16-22 “The map update module 420 updates previously computed map data by receiving more recent information from vehicles that recently travelled along routes on which map information changed. For example, if certain road signs have changed or lane information has changed as a result of construction in a region, the map update module 420 updates the maps accordingly.”)
providing the map change data to the autonomous vehicle, wherein the map change data is provided to the autonomous vehicle independently from provision of the HD map data. (Column 5 lines 50-56 “If the online HD map system 110 determines that the vehicle did previously receive that particular portion of the HD map but the corresponding data was updated by the online HD map system 110 since the vehicle last received the data, the online HD map system 110 sends an update for that portion of the HD map stored at the vehicle.”, and column 6 lines 19-22 “The vehicle computing system 120 continuously provides control signals to the vehicle controls 130, thereby causing an autonomous vehicle to drive along a selected route.”)
Adachi fails to explicitly disclose the map change data including instructions describing a change to an attribute of a map feature and processable by the autonomous vehicle to modify existing HD map data stored in the automated driving system to incorporate corresponding the changes in the one or more objects; and
Arditi teaches the map change data including instructions describing a change ([0044] “if the HD map is inaccurate, the driving capabilities and safety of an autonomous vehicle may be compromised. Since the real world modeled by the HD map may change, the HD map would need to be updated as well to reflect the change in the real world.”, [0048] “The map-updating operation may begin at step 750, where the system may send sensor data and associated data gathered at that particular location to a server. In particular embodiments, the server may be associated with a transportation management system that manages a fleet of autonomous vehicles… the server may also perform a comparison of the received data (and any objects detected therefrom) with a server-copy of the HD map to determine whether a mismatch exists… if the server determines that the current HD map does not include the detected object, the server may update the server-copy of the HD map as well as the local copies of the HD map on autonomous vehicles.”, [0058] “the system 800 may receive sensor data, associated metadata, and/or environmental data from individual data-gathering vehicles or autonomous vehicles. Through the interface 801, the system 800 may also send instructions to an autonomous vehicle system 850 to update local HD map, HD map 845 or portions thereof (e.g., map data associated with a particular location), latent representations of map data, and/or the trained machine-learning model 820 or portions thereof (e.g., the CNN and/or the DCNN).”, and [0061] “where the autonomous vehicle system 850 receives updated map data from the HD Map System 800 … Once updated, the HD map data 876 may continue to be used by the driving/navigation module 860 to assist with the vehicle's autonomous driving operations.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention with reasonable expectations of success to modify the map updating system of Adachi to incorporate sending instructions to an autonomous vehicle to update the stored map data as taught by Arditi for the purpose of providing the vehicle the most up to date map, allowing the vehicle to safely navigate.
However, Adachi in combination with Arditi fails to explicitly disclose the map change data including instructions describing a change to an attribute of a map feature
Wheeler et al. teaches the map change data including instructions describing a change to an attribute of a map feature ([0106] “The HD map system 110 determines 1016 a set of changes to the HD map 510, if the confidence value is above the threshold value. The HD map system 110 determines whether changes should be made to the landmark map 520. For example, the HD map system 110 determines whether one or more attributes (e.g., a location, a geometric shape, a semantic information) of an existing landmark object needs to be changed, whether an existing landmark object should be removed, and whether a new landmark object should be added and associated attributes. The HD map system 110 creates a change record for a particular landmark object that should be modified, added, or removed.”, [0107] “The HD map system 110 applies the set of changes to the HD map 510 to update the map. For example, the HD map system 100 modifies an existing landmark object, adds a new landmark object, or removes an existing landmark object according to the set of changes. The HD map system 1100 may monitor the consistency of the landmark map 510 when applying the changes”, and see at least [0108] and Figure 14)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention with reasonable expectations of success to modify the map updating system of Adachi in combination with Arditi to incorporate changes for an HD map as taught by Wheeler et al. for the purpose of providing “the updated HD map to the plurality of vehicles so that they may use a more accurate HD map while driving”. ([0149], Wheeler et al.)
b. Regarding claim 2, Adachi in view of Arditi and Wheeler et al. discloses The method of claim 1,
Adachi discloses wherein the observational data comprises one or more of: data from sensor-equipped passenger vehicles; observation reports provided by humans such as vehicle users; and data from earthquake information service providers. (Column 5 lines 22-29 “The online HD map system 110 receives 115 data collected by sensors of a plurality of vehicles 150, for example, hundreds or thousands of cars. The vehicles provide sensor data captured while driving along various routes and send it to the online HD map system 110. The online HD map system 110 uses the data received from the vehicles 150 to create and update HD maps describing the regions in which the vehicles 150 are driving. “ and Column 16 lines 10-13 “HD map is determined by the HD map system by aggregating data collected by several vehicles that pass through the geographical region and capture sensor data.”)
c. Regarding claim 3, Adachi in view of Arditi and Wheeler et al. discloses The method of claim 1,
Adachi discloses wherein using the observational data to determine changes in the one or more objects comprises one or more of: determining a change in absolute position; determining a change in relative position; determining a change in geometry; determining a change of type; and determining a change of existence. (Column 11 lines 14-22 “The map creation module 410 creates the map from map data collected from several vehicles that are driving along various routes. The map update module 420 updates previously computed map data by receiving more recent information from vehicles that recently travelled along routes on which map information changed. For example, if certain road signs have changed or lane information has changed as a result of construction in a region, the map update module 420 updates the maps accordingly.”)
d. Regarding claim 5, Adachi in view of Arditi and Wheeler et al. discloses The method of claim 1,
Wheeler et al. teaches wherein the map change data comprises instruction describing a change to an attribute of a map feature relative to the HD map data stored in the server system. ([0106] “The HD map system 110 determines 1016 a set of changes to the HD map 510, if the confidence value is above the threshold value. The HD map system 110 determines whether changes should be made to the landmark map 520. For example, the HD map system 110 determines whether one or more attributes (e.g., a location, a geometric shape, a semantic information) of an existing landmark object needs to be changed, whether an existing landmark object should be removed, and whether a new landmark object should be added and associated attributes. The HD map system 110 creates a change record for a particular landmark object that should be modified, added, or removed.”, [0107] “The HD map system 110 applies the set of changes to the HD map 510 to update the map. For example, the HD map system 100 modifies an existing landmark object, adds a new landmark object, or removes an existing landmark object according to the set of changes. The HD map system 1100 may monitor the consistency of the landmark map 510 when applying the changes”, and see at least [0108] and Figure 14) It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention with reasonable expectations of success to modify the map updating system of Adachi in combination with Arditi and Wheeler et al. to incorporate the teachings of Wheeler et al. for the same reasons stated in the motivation of claim 1.
c. Regarding claim 6, Adachi in view of Arditi and Wheeler et al. discloses The method of claim 1,
Adachi discloses wherein the map change data comprises one or more replacement map features to directly replace the one or more map features of the HD map data. (Column 5 lines 44-56 “The online HD map system 110 receives from various vehicles, information describing the data that is stored at the local HD map store 275 of the vehicle. If the online HD map system 110 determines that the vehicle does not have certain portion of the HD map stored locally in the local HD map store 275, the online HD map system 110 sends that portion of the HD map to the vehicle. If the online HD map system 110 determines that the vehicle did previously receive that particular portion of the HD map but the corresponding data was updated by the online HD map system 110 since the vehicle last received the data, the online HD map system 110 sends an update for that portion of the HD map stored at the vehicle.”)
d. Regarding claim 11, and similarly with respect to claims 16 and 20, Adachi in view of Arditi and Wheeler et al. discloses The method of claim 1,
Wheeler et al. teaches wherein the server system further stores HD map metadata, (“HD map store 165”, [0081]) the metadata comprising levels of confidence in the HD map data for the plurality of map features, (Fig.5 and [0065] “The occupancy map 530 comprises spatial 3-dimensional (3D) representation of the road and all physical objects around the road. The data stored in an occupancy map 530 is also referred to herein as occupancy grid data. The 3D representation may be associated with a confidence score indicative of a likelihood of the object existing at the location.”) wherein the method further comprises: based on the observational data, generating updated metadata for the identified one or more map features to reflect updated levels of confidence in the identified one or more map features in the map change data as compared to the respective levels of confidence for the identified one or more map features in the HD map metadata; and ([0103] “the online HD map system 110 increases the confidence value associated with each landmark object that corresponds to one or more match records. The online HD map system 110 decreases the confidence value associated with each landmark object that corresponds to one or more mismatch records of the second type. The amount of confidence value adjustment can be determined based on various factors such as the original confidence value associated with a landmark object, a location of the landmark object, a geographic region (e.g., an urban area, a suburban area, etc.) where the landmark object is located, the number of match records or mismatch records to which the landmark object corresponds, and the like. For one or more mismatch records of the first type that correspond to an unverified detected object at a particular location, the online HD map system 110 analyzes the raw sensor data associated with the mismatch records to detect the landmark object that is not represented in the landmark map 520. The HD map system 110 may further classify the detected landmark object. The online HD map system 110 determines a confidence value for the detected object using the associated raw sensor data.”)
providing the updated metadata to the autonomous vehicle, (Figure 14, 1416) wherein the updated metadata is provided to the autonomous vehicle independently from provision of the HD map data. ([0035] “the online HD map system 110 sends portions of the HD map data to the vehicles in a compressed format so that the data transmitted consumes less bandwidth. The online HD map system 110 receives from various vehicles, information describing the data that is stored at the local HD map store 275 of the vehicle. If the online HD map system 110 determines that the vehicle does not have certain portion of the HD map stored locally in the local HD map store 275, the online HD map system 110 sends that portion of the HD map to the vehicle… the online HD map system 110 sends an update for that portion of the HD map stored at the vehicle. This allows the online HD map system 110 to minimize the amount of data that is communicated with the vehicle and also to keep the HD map data stored locally in the vehicle updated on a regular basis.)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention with reasonable expectations of success to modify the map updating system of Adachi in combination with Arditi and Wheeler et al. to incorporate confidence levels for detected objects as taught by Wheeler et al. for the purpose of “providing the right data that is sufficiently accurate and up-to-date for safe navigation of autonomous vehicle”. (Wheeler et al., [0005])
e. Regarding claim 12, Adachi in view of Arditi and Wheeler et al. discloses The method of claim 1,
Adachi discloses wherein the map change data is configured to indicate one or more changes to be applied to the one or more map features to provide one or more updated map features. (Column 11 lines 16-22 “The map update module 420 updates previously computed map data by receiving more recent information from vehicles that recently travelled along routes on which map information changed. For example, if certain road signs have changed or lane information has changed as a result of construction in a region, the map update module 420 updates the maps accordingly.” and Column 14 lines 4-14 “The HD map system 100 stores objects or data structures representing lane elements that comprise information representing geometric boundaries of the lanes; driving direction along the lane; vehicle restriction for driving in the lane, for example, speed limit, relationships with connecting lanes including incoming and outgoing lanes; a termination restriction, for example, whether the lane ends at a stop line, a yield sign, or a speed bump; and relationships with road features that are relevant for autonomous driving, for example, traffic light locations, road sign locations and so on.”)
f. Regarding claim 21, Adachi in view of Arditi and Wheeler et al. discloses The method of claim 1,
Wheeler et al. teaches wherein the instructions include one or more of: a first instruction for setting an attribute of a first object in the HD map data to a first specified value; and a second instruction for setting an attribute of a second object in the HD map data to a result of summing: an existing value of the attribute of the second object in the HD map data; and a second specified value. ([0035] “If the online HD map system 110 determines that the vehicle does not have certain portion of the HD map stored locally in the local HD map store 275, the online HD map system 110 sends that portion of the HD map to the vehicle. If the online HD map system 110 determines that the vehicle did previously receive that particular portion of the HD map but the corresponding data was updated by the online HD map system 110 since the vehicle last received the data, for example, to address a map discrepancy, the online HD map system 110 sends an update for that portion of the HD map stored at the vehicle. This allows the online HD map system 110 to minimize the amount of data that is communicated with the vehicle and also to keep the HD map data stored locally in the vehicle updated on a regular basis.”, [0062] “For example, if certain road signs have changed or lane information has changed as a result of construction in a region, the map update module 420 updates the maps accordingly.”, [0063] “The spatial location of a lane comprises the geometric location in latitude, longitude and elevation at high precision, for example, at or below 10 cm precision. The semantic information of a lane comprises restrictions such as direction, speed, type of lane (for example, a lane for going straight, a left turn lane, a right turn lane, an exit lane, and the like), restriction on crossing to the left, connectivity to other lanes and so on. The landmark map may further comprise information describing stop lines, yield lines, spatial location of cross walks, safely navigable space, spatial location of speed bumps, curb, and road signs comprising spatial location and type of all signage that is relevant to driving restrictions. Examples of road signs described in an HD map include traffic signs, stop signs, traffic lights, speed limits, one-way, do-not-enter, yield (vehicle, pedestrian, animal), and so on.”). Examiner Notes: See “setting an attribute” to a value as updating a portion of the HD map that contains any of attributes detailed in para 62-63 (i.e., spatial location at or below 10cm precision).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention with reasonable expectations of success to modify the map updating system of Adachi in combination with Arditi and Wheeler et al. to incorporate sending an update of a portion of an HD map with attribute values as taught by Wheeler et al. for the purpose of “minimize the amount of data that is communicated with the vehicle and also to keep the HD map stored locally in the vehicle updated on a regular basis.” (Wheeler et al., [0035])
c. Regarding claim 22, Adachi in view of Arditi and Wheeler et al. discloses The method of claim 1
Wheeler et al. teaches wherein the instructions include an instruction for causing a specified deformation in a given object in the HD map data. ([0035] “If the online HD map system 110 determines that the vehicle does not have certain portion of the HD map stored locally in the local HD map store 275, the online HD map system 110 sends that portion of the HD map to the vehicle. If the online HD map system 110 determines that the vehicle did previously receive that particular portion of the HD map but the corresponding data was updated by the online HD map system 110 since the vehicle last received the data, for example, to address a map discrepancy, the online HD map system 110 sends an update for that portion of the HD map stored at the vehicle. This allows the online HD map system 110 to minimize the amount of data that is communicated with the vehicle and also to keep the HD map data stored locally in the vehicle updated on a regular basis.”, and [0108] “the online HD map system 110 verifies the existing occupancy maps and updates the existing occupancy maps. If an object (e.g., a tree, a wall, a barrier, a road surface) moves, appears, or disappears, then the occupancy map is updated to reflect the changes. For example, if a hole appears in a road, a hole has been filled, a tree is cut down, a tree grows beyond a reasonable tolerance, etc, then the occupancy map is updated. If an object's appearance changes, then the occupancy map is updated to reflect the changes. For example, if a road surface's reflectance and/or color changes under different lighting conditions, then the occupancy map is updated to reflect the changes.”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention with reasonable expectations of success to modify the map updating system of Adachi in combination with Arditi and Wheeler et al. to incorporate sending an update of an HD map with object representations (3D) as taught by Wheeler et al. for the purpose of providing the vehicle with the most up to date map, allowing an autonomous vehicle to safely navigate.
d. Regarding claim 23, Adachi in view of Arditi and Wheeler et al. discloses The method of claim 1
Wheeler et al. teaches wherein the instructions include an instruction for newly creating or removing one or more attributes of a given object in the HD map data. ([0035] “If the online HD map system 110 determines that the vehicle does not have certain portion of the HD map stored locally in the local HD map store 275, the online HD map system 110 sends that portion of the HD map to the vehicle. If the online HD map system 110 determines that the vehicle did previously receive that particular portion of the HD map but the corresponding data was updated by the online HD map system 110 since the vehicle last received the data, for example, to address a map discrepancy, the online HD map system 110 sends an update for that portion of the HD map stored at the vehicle. This allows the online HD map system 110 to minimize the amount of data that is communicated with the vehicle and also to keep the HD map data stored locally in the vehicle updated on a regular basis.”, and [0106] “the HD map system 110 determines whether one or more attributes (e.g., a location, a geometric shape, a semantic information) of an existing landmark object needs to be changed, whether an existing landmark object should be removed, and whether a new landmark object should be added and associated attributes. The HD map system 110 creates a change record for a particular landmark object that should be modified, added, or removed.”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention with reasonable expectations of success to modify the map updating system of Adachi in combination with Arditi and Wheeler et al. to incorporate sending an update of an HD map with newly creating or remove attribute(s) corresponding to an object as taught by Wheeler et al. for the purpose of providing the vehicle with the most up to date map, allowing an autonomous vehicle to safely navigate.
Claims 4,9,14, and 18 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Adachi (US 10928523 B2) in view of Arditi (US 20190147331 A1), in view of Wheeler et al. (US 20180188045 A1), and further in view of Gaal et al. (US 20200263995 A1).
a. Regarding claim 4, Adachi in view of Arditi and Wheeler et al. discloses The method of claim 1,
Adachi discloses wherein using the observational data to determine changes in the one or more objects (Column 11 lines 14-22 “The map creation module 410 creates the map from map data collected from several vehicles that are driving along various routes. The map update module 420 updates previously computed map data by receiving more recent information from vehicles that recently travelled along routes on which map information changed. For example, if certain road signs have changed or lane information has changed as a result of construction in a region, the map update module 420 updates the maps accordingly.”)
However, Adachi in combination with Arditi and Wheeler et al. fails to explicitly disclose comprises using the observational data to determine changes in the one or more objects that meet a change map requirement for updating the HD map data.
Gaal et al. teaches comprises using the observational data to determine changes in the one or more objects that meet a change map requirement for updating the HD map data. ([0064] “the validation module 201 processes the sensor data to validate the digital map data for the road segment… If the localized geo-coordinates of the detected known feature are more than a threshold distance (e.g., beyond an accuracy threshold of the corresponding sensors or other designated threshold value) from the recorded known location in the digital map data, then the validation module 201 can determine that the feature has moved. In other words, the measured deviation of the detected/observed feature from its known location represented in the digital map data exceeds an accuracy criterion. To determine that a feature is new, the validation module 201 can determine that an observed feature in the sensor data does not associate with any known feature of the digital map data. To determine that a known feature is missing, the validation module 201 can determine that the sensor data does not indicate that the feature is mapped in the digital map data but is nonetheless not present in the collected sensor data.” and [0130] “the live map 105 can also include campaign data records 1309 for storing sensor campaign definition parameters, sensor data requests, collective sensor data, and/or any other related data (e.g., change detections, detected map features, etc.). In one embodiment, the campaign data records 1309 can be associated with segments of a road link or designated geographic areas. In one embodiment, the campaign data records 1309 can be associated with one or more of the node records, road segment records of the geographical layer 1303 and/or geometry layer 305 or portions thereof (e.g., smaller or different segments than indicated in the road segment records, individual lanes of the road segments, etc.) to provide management of campaigns to validate, discover, and/or update map data.”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention with reasonable expectations of success to modify the map updating system of Adachi in combination with Arditi and Wheeler et al. to incorporate a validation system of sense objects as taught by Gaal et al. for the purpose of determining features that are new or changed to accurately updating a map.
b. Regarding claim 9, and similarly with respect to claims 14 and 18, Adachi in view of Arditi and Wheeler et al. discloses The method of claim 1,
Adachi discloses wherein the HD map data covers a specified geographical area (Column 5 lines 26-29 “The online HD map system 110 uses the data received from the vehicles 150 to create and update HD maps describing the regions in which the vehicles 150 are driving.” and comprises a plurality of layers,(Fig. 4, Column 10 lines 9-10 “the various layers of instructions in the HD Map API of a vehicle computing system”)
wherein the map change data covers the same specified geographical area such that it may be processed as if it were a layer of the HD map data. (Column 5 lines 46-56 “If the online HD map system 110 determines that the vehicle does not have certain portion of the HD map stored locally in the local HD map store 275, the online HD map system 110 sends that portion of the HD map to the vehicle. If the online HD map system 110 determines that the vehicle did previously receive that particular portion of the HD map but the corresponding data was updated by the online HD map system 110 since the vehicle last received the data, the online HD map system 110 sends an update for that portion of the HD map stored at the vehicle.”)
However, Adachi in combination with Arditi and Wheeler et al. fails to explicitly teach each layer comprising a different type of map data for the specified geographical area
Gaal et al. teaches each layer comprising a different type of map data for the specified geographical area ([0127] “(1) a geographical layer 1301 for defining nodes, road segments, the connections between them, and additional attributes; (2) a geometry layer 1305 for defining geometrical shapes of the map features like roads, terrain features, geographical boundaries, etc.;” and [0128] “the geographical layer 1303 can include road segment data records which store data on links or segments representing roads, streets, or paths. This data can be used in the calculated route or recorded route information for determination of one or more personalized routes. The geographical layer 1303 can also include node data records that store end points corresponding to the respective links or segments of the road segment data records 1305.”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention with reasonable expectations of success to modify the mapping system of Adachi in combination with Arditi and Wheeler et al. to incorporate map layers corresponding to different type of data as taught by Gaal et al. for the purpose of updating the map by individual layers as needed for efficient processing.
Claims 7 and 8 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Adachi (US 10928523 B2) in view of Arditi (US 20190147331 A1), in view of Wheeler et al. (US 20180188045 A1), and further in view of Nakamura et al. (US 20120065811 A1).
a. Regarding claim 7, Adachi in view of Arditi and Wheeler et al. discloses The method of claim 1,
However, Adachi in combination with Arditi and Wheeler et al. fails to explicitly disclose wherein the map change data comprises a new or updated attribute of the one or more map features.
Nakamura et al. teaches wherein the map change data comprises a new or updated attribute of the one or more map features. ([0090] “The update input portion 51 is a terminal for inputting data that correspond to a change in an actual road. The data that are input specify the content that is to be newly added, changed, deleted, and the like with respect to the road network data 63 and the feature data 64 that are stored in the map database 61 that is provided in the server device 2. For example, in a case where a new road has actually been constructed, intersection data, connection data, road data, shape data … Furthermore, in a case where, for example, the shape of an existing road has been changed because the road has been enlarged or the like, shape data such as the shape interpolation points and the like that conform to the changed shape of the road are input as new data from the update input portion 51. Additionally, in a case where a traffic regulation for a specific road, such as the speed limit or the like, has been changed, attribute information that pertains to the road, such as the speed limit or the like, is input as new data from the update input portion 51.”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention with reasonable expectations of success to modify the map updating system of Adachi in combination with Arditi and Wheeler et al. to incorporate updated attribute of a map feature as taught by Nakamura et al. for the purpose of accurately updating a map, allowing an autonomous vehicle to safely navigate.
b. Regarding claim 8, Adachi in view of Arditi and Wheeler et al. discloses The method of claim 1,
However, Adachi in combination with Arditi and Wheeler et al. fails to explicitly disclose wherein the new or updated attribute comprises one or more of: a new or updated absolute position; a new or updated relative position; a new or updated geometry; a new or updated class; and a cryptographic hash of the one or more map features
Nakamura et al. teaches wherein the new or updated attribute comprises one or more of: a new or updated absolute position; a new or updated relative position; a new or updated geometry; a new or updated class; and a cryptographic hash of the one or more map features. ([0090] “The update input portion 51 is a terminal for inputting data that correspond to a change in an actual road. The data that are input specify the content that is to be newly added, changed, deleted, and the like with respect to the road network data 63 and the feature data 64 that are stored in the map database 61 that is provided in the server device 2. For example, in a case where a new road has actually been constructed, intersection data, connection data, road data, shape data … Furthermore, in a case where, for example, the shape of an existing road has been changed because the road has been enlarged or the like, shape data such as the shape interpolation points and the like that conform to the changed shape of the road are input as new data from the update input portion 51. Additionally, in a case where a traffic regulation for a specific road, such as the speed limit or the like, has been changed, attribute information that pertains to the road, such as the speed limit or the like, is input as new data from the update input portion 51.”)
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention with reasonable expectations of success to modify the map updating system of Adachi in combination with Arditi, and Wheeler et al. to incorporate the teachings of Nakamura et al. for purpose of accurately updating a map, allowing an autonomous vehicle to safely navigate.
Claims 10, 15 and 19 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Adachi (US 10928523 B2) in view of Arditi (US 20190147331 A1), in view of Wheeler et al. (US 20180188045 A1), and further in view of Akinori Asahara “Locally Differential Map Update Method with Maintained Road Connections for Telematics Services”, 2008.
a. Regarding claim 10, and similarly with respect to claims 15 and 19, Adachi in view of Arditi and Wheeler et al. discloses The method of claim 1,
However, Adachi in combination with Arditi and Wheeler et al. fails to explicitly disclose wherein a size of the map change data is orders of magnitude smaller than a size of the HD map data.
Akinori Asahara teaches wherein a size of the map change data is orders of magnitude smaller than a size of the HD map data. (Page 11 “The map data size is 1 GB for personal navigation devices and over 10 GB for HDDs used in car navigation systems.” and page 12 “Differential Map Update (DMU) methods, in which only changed features of maps are distributed such as [9], have been developed to reduce distribution data size. … For example, with a map of Japan, the size of difference data created four months after the original map was released is more than 70 MB.”).
It would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention with reasonable expectations of success to modify the map updating system of Adachi in combination with Arditi and Wheeler et al. to incorporate the reduced distribution data size of map updates as taught by Akinori Asahara for the purpose of reducing load and increasing speeds of the data update process.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/MISA H NGUYEN/Examiner, Art Unit 3666
/ANNE MARIE ANTONUCCI/Supervisory Patent Examiner, Art Unit 3666
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