The automotive industry continues to be a hotbed of innovation, with activity driven by developments in artificial technology and machine learning, and growing importance of technologies such as drones, satellite technology and big data. 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 Artificial intelligence in Automotive: Radar for vehicle anti-collision. Buy the report here.

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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, manufacturability analysis, autonomous parking, and lidar for vehicle anti-collision are disruptive technologies that are in the early stages of application and should be tracked closely. Speed profile estimation, smart light dimmers, and driver drowsiness detection are some of the accelerating innovation areas, where adoption has been steadily increasing. Among maturing innovation areas are road slope estimation and adaptive cruise control, which are now well established in the industry.

Innovation S-curve for artificial intelligence in the automotive industry

Radar for vehicle anti-collision is a key innovation area in artificial intelligence

A collision avoidance system is used to alert, warn, or help drivers avoid impending collisions and lower the likelihood of accidents. Many different technologies and sensors, including radar, lasers, cameras, GPS, and artificial intelligence, are used by collision avoidance systems.

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 160+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established automotive companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of radar for vehicle anti-collision.

Key players in radar for vehicle anti-collision – 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 radar for vehicle anti-collision

Company Total patents (2021 - 2023) Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies
Robert Bosch Stiftung 576 Unlock Company Profile
Toyota Motor 536 Unlock Company Profile
General Motors 512 Unlock Company Profile
Alphabet 432 Unlock Company Profile
Denso 387 Unlock Company Profile
Porsche Automobil Holding 313 Unlock Company Profile
Ford Motor 273 Unlock Company Profile
Valeo 248 Unlock Company Profile
Aptiv 199 Unlock Company Profile
Continental 170 Unlock Company Profile
Honda Motor 166 Unlock Company Profile
Hyundai Motor Group 155 Unlock Company Profile
Nissan Motor 142 Unlock Company Profile
Amazon.com 139 Unlock Company Profile
Komatsu 130 Unlock Company Profile
Furukawa 109 Unlock Company Profile
Baidu 108 Unlock Company Profile
Mitsubishi Electric 104 Unlock Company Profile
Uhnder 103 Unlock Company Profile
SSW Partners 96 Unlock Company Profile
Mando 96 Unlock Company Profile
Koito Manufacturing 95 Unlock Company Profile
Sony Group 94 Unlock Company Profile
Kia 90 Unlock Company Profile
Hitachi 87 Unlock Company Profile
Bayerische Motoren Werke 84 Unlock Company Profile
Panasonic 78 Unlock Company Profile
Huawei Investment Holding 68 Unlock Company Profile
Zeppelin-Stiftung 68 Unlock Company Profile
Samsung Group 61 Unlock Company Profile
Mazda Motor 61 Unlock Company Profile
Hyundai Mobis 59 Unlock Company Profile
Tata Motors 58 Unlock Company Profile
Mercedes-Benz Group 57 Unlock Company Profile
LG 55 Unlock Company Profile
Qualcomm 51 Unlock Company Profile
Uatc 47 Unlock Company Profile
Kyocera 43 Unlock Company Profile
Magna International 43 Unlock Company Profile
Honeywell International 39 Unlock Company Profile
Metawave 37 Unlock Company Profile
Zhejiang Geely Holding Group 37 Unlock Company Profile
MaxLinear 37 Unlock Company Profile
BorgWarner 36 Unlock Company Profile
Stella Vermogensverwaltungs 35 Unlock Company Profile
Nidec 35 Unlock Company Profile
Intel 33 Unlock Company Profile
Nio 33 Unlock Company Profile
TomTom 33 Unlock Company Profile
Texas Instruments 31 Unlock Company Profile

Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics

Alphabet is one of the leading patent filers in the radar for vehicle anti-collision innovation area with 432 patents. The patents have been filed primarily to advance fully autonomous vehicles and to develop technologies such as autonomous parking capabilities. The technologies are being developed by Alphabet’s subsidiary Waymo since 2009. Hitachi, General Motors, and Intel are a few other notable patent filers in the same industry.

To further understand how artificial intelligence is disrupting the automotive industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in 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.