The automotive industry continues to be a hotbed of innovation, with activity driven by the need for enhanced driving experience, safety, and emission standards, and growing importance of technologies such as sensors, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. In the last three years alone, there have been over 1.2 million patents filed and granted in the automotive industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Innovation in Automotive: Collision avoidance braking control system.
However, not all innovations are equal and nor do they follow a constant upward trend. Instead, their evolution takes the form of an S-shaped curve that reflects their typical lifecycle from early emergence to accelerating adoption, before finally stabilising and reaching maturity.
Identifying where a particular innovation is on this journey, especially those that are in the emerging and accelerating stages, is essential for understanding their current level of adoption and the likely future trajectory and impact they will have.
290+ innovations will shape the automotive industry
According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which plots the S-curve for the automotive industry using innovation intensity models built on over 619,000 patents, there are 290+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.
Within the emerging innovation stage, resilient spoke wheels, auto-transmission lubrication circuits, and ignition switching engines are disruptive technologies that are in the early stages of application and should be tracked closely. Engine purge actuators, electro-dynamic braking, and adsorptive vapour recovery system estimation are some of the accelerating innovation areas, where adoption has been steadily increasing. Among maturing innovation areas are collision avoidance braking control system and direct injection type engines, which are now well established in the industry.
Innovation S-curve for the automotive industry
Collision avoidance braking control system is a key innovation area in automotive
A brake control system for collision avoidance includes a vehicle sensor and an object detection system that generates signals to activate a vehicle's electric brakes to avoid accidents. The system either warns the driver about possible collision and/or assists with safely manoeuvring the vehicle by employing auto breaks.
GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies. According to GlobalData, there are 20+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established automotive companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of collision avoidance braking control system.
Key players in collision avoidance braking control system – a disruptive innovation in the automotive industry
‘Application diversity’ measures the number of different applications identified for each relevant patent and broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.
‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of different countries each relevant patent is registered in and reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.
Patent volumes related to collision avoidance braking control system
| Company | Total patents (2010 - 2021) | Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies |
| Alphabet | 62 | Unlock company profile |
| Denso | 30 | Unlock company profile |
| Hyundai Mobis | 25 | Unlock company profile |
| Toyota Motor | 23 | Unlock company profile |
| Mando | 19 | Unlock company profile |
| Robert Bosch Stiftung | 18 | Unlock company profile |
| Hitachi | 17 | Unlock company profile |
| Aisin | 16 | Unlock company profile |
| General Motors | 14 | Unlock company profile |
| Continental | 14 | Unlock company profile |
| Kia | 13 | Unlock company profile |
| Hyundai Motor Group | 13 | Unlock company profile |
| LG | 10 | Unlock company profile |
| Aptiv | 9 | Unlock company profile |
| SZ DJI Technology | 8 | Unlock company profile |
| Mitsubishi Electric | 8 | Unlock company profile |
| Ford Motor | 8 | Unlock company profile |
| Shenzhen Goodix Technology | 6 | Unlock company profile |
| Canon | 5 | Unlock company profile |
| Subaru | 5 | Unlock company profile |
| Zhejiang Geely Holding Group | 5 | Unlock company profile |
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
Alphabet is one of the leading patent filers in collision avoidance braking control system, providing various technologies and sensors like Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Lane Departure Warning (LDW), and Lane Keep Assist (LKA). The company currently holds 62 filed patents in the collision avoidance braking control system segment. Other companies innovating in the collision avoidance braking control system segment are Denso, General Motors, and Aisin.
To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the automotive industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Automotive.
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GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.
GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.
