The automotive industry continues to be a hotbed of innovation, with activity driven by the need for accessible, reliable transportation and vehicle safety, and growing importance of technologies such as LiDAR, radar and signal processing. 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 Autonomous vehicles in Automotive: Wheel torque distribution monitoring. Buy the report here.
According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over 619,000 patents to analyse innovation intensity for the automotive industry, there are 290+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.
Wheel torque distribution monitoring is a key innovation area in autonomous vehicles
A torque vectoring system electronically administers how that power is dispersed. It does this by utilising small clutches within the differential that exactly control how much torque is sent to each wheel, and therefore how much the wheel is permitted to slip.
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 30+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established automotive companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of wheel torque distribution monitoring.
Key players in wheel torque distribution monitoring – 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 wheel torque distribution monitoring
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
Toyota is the key player in wheel torque distribution monitoring. Toyota and Toyoda Machine Works have developed a new electronically controlled four-wheel drive 4WD system called Active Torque Control 4WD. The system utilises optimum driving force distribution and delivers good handling characteristics and low fuel consumption. Honda, Porsche SE, Tata Motors, Nissan and Hitachi are some of the other key players.
To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the automotive industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Autonomous Vehicles.
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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.
