Autonomous Systems Without Governance
AMRs, industrial robots, autonomous vehicles, and surgical platforms increasingly execute real-world physical actions — moving, altering trajectory, displacing objects — without any standardized mediation layer between AI inference and actuation.
2013
Priority Date
Predates the commercial AMR boom by ~5 years
$158M
Brokered Market
Total 2024 patent transactions (Richardson Oliver)
13
Independent Claims
Across 2 granted patents, 4+ family filings
The Patent Architecture — Two Granted Grants
US12086834B2 — Parent Patent
Granted Sep 10, 2024 · Expires Apr 19, 2034 · 20 claims (3 independent)
Core architecture: Sensing + Metadata + Action → Real-World Effect. Claim 1 defines a sensing network, a sensed-event processing system encapsulating events with rich metadata (time, location, threat level, human danger level), and a decision support system generating user-selectable action options that "actuate and effect an action in the real-world external to the system."
① The "user" is explicitly defined as a software-based intelligence — directly extending scope to fully autonomous AI systems without human-in-the-loop.
US12340395B2 — Child Patent
Granted Jun 24, 2025 · Expires Nov 8, 2033 · 23 claims (3 independent)
Three independent claims span apparatus, system, and method. Claim 1 covers a "robotic user... notification processing system... communicate selectable action options... such that the selection... would cause the machine to move, alter its movement, or move or physically alter an object external to the vehicle."
Claim 19 (Method) covers sensing, encapsulating, communicating action options, and effecting machine movement — method claims can survive product design-arounds.
20
Claims
Parent
23
Claims
Child
2013
Priority Date
Parent patent priority