The automotive industry continues to be a hotbed of innovation, with activity driven by driver safety, passenger comfort and dependable interface between driver and vehicle, and growing importance of technologies such as touch-based 3D gesture recognition and swipe gestures. 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 Cloud in Automotive: Gesture-sensing AR/VR interfaces.
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, EV discharge prediction, manufacturability analysis, and AI-assisted CAD are disruptive technologies that are in the early stages of application and should be tracked closely. Vehicle head up displays (HUDs), gesture-sensing AR/VR interfaces, and instrument cluster dashboard are some of the accelerating innovation areas, where adoption has been steadily increasing. Among maturing innovation areas are HUD dashboards and remote trip monitoring, which are now well established in the industry.
Innovation S-curve for cloud in the automotive industry
Gesture-sensing AR/VR interfaces is a key innovation area in cloud
Gesture-based interfaces and technology enable users to manipulate devices and change objects in the VR environment using their hands and other body parts.
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 70 companies, spanning technology vendors, established automotive companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of gesture-sensing AR/VR interfaces.
Key players in gesture-sensing AR/VR interfaces – 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 gesture-sensing AR/VR interfaces
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
Apple is the top player in gesture-sensing AR/VR interfaces. The Apple Watch’s assistive touch helps users who have difficulty touching the screen or pressing the buttons. The built-in sensors can help answer calls, control an onscreen pointer, and launch a menu of actions using hand gestures. Porsche Automobil, Microsoft, Cox Enterprises and Honda are the other key players in gesture-sensing AR/VR interfaces.
To further understand how cloud is 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.
