The automotive industry continues to be a hotbed of innovation, with activity driven by autonomous vehicles, safety concerns and electrification, and growing importance of technologies such as traction control, antilock braking and regenerative braking. 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 Internet of Things in Automotive: Sensor-guided brake initiation. 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, acoustic vehicle signalling devices, autonomous parking, and brake pedal sensors are disruptive technologies that are in the early stages of application and should be tracked closely. Vehicle head up displays (HUDs), smart light dimmers, and automatic actuated vehicle doors are some of the accelerating innovation areas, where adoption has been steadily increasing. Among maturing innovation areas are road slope estimation and V2V distance monitoring, which are now well established in the industry.

Innovation S-curve for IoT in the automotive industry

Sensor-guided brake initiation is a key innovation area in IoT

Sensor-guided brake initiation combines sensors, such as radar, video, infrared or ultrasonic to scan for possible objects in front of the vehicle, and then use brake control to prevent collision if an object is detected.

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 sensor-guided brake initiation.

Key players in sensor-guided brake initiation – 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 sensor-guided brake initiation

Company Total patents (2021 - 2023) Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies
Robert Bosch Stiftung 191 Unlock Company Profile
Mando 161 Unlock Company Profile
Continental 113 Unlock Company Profile
Hitachi 94 Unlock Company Profile
Hyundai Mobis 78 Unlock Company Profile
Toyota Motor 78 Unlock Company Profile
Aisin 73 Unlock Company Profile
Porsche Automobil Holding 68 Unlock Company Profile
Hyundai Motor Group 61 Unlock Company Profile
Kia 47 Unlock Company Profile
Honda Motor 47 Unlock Company Profile
Zeppelin-Stiftung 43 Unlock Company Profile
Ford Motor 37 Unlock Company Profile
Ipgate 29 Unlock Company Profile
Stella Vermogensverwaltungs 21 Unlock Company Profile
Nissan Motor 20 Unlock Company Profile
General Motors 19 Unlock Company Profile
COSCO Shipping Holdings 18 Unlock Company Profile
Boeing 17 Unlock Company Profile
Doosan Infracore 13 Unlock Company Profile
Mazda Motor 13 Unlock Company Profile
CTS 12 Unlock Company Profile
NTT 11 Unlock Company Profile
SSW Partners 8 Unlock Company Profile
AB Volvo 8 Unlock Company Profile
ZF Commercial Vehicle Control Systems India 8 Unlock Company Profile
Bayerische Motoren Werke 8 Unlock Company Profile
Autoliv Nissin Brake Systems Japan 8 Unlock Company Profile
Nuova FourB 7 Unlock Company Profile
Valeo Japan 6 Unlock Company Profile
Mercedes-Benz Group 6 Unlock Company Profile
Mitsubishi Motors 6 Unlock Company Profile
Renault 6 Unlock Company Profile
Aptiv 5 Unlock Company Profile
Horiba 5 Unlock Company Profile
Faraday & Future 5 Unlock Company Profile
Haldex Brake Products 5 Unlock Company Profile

Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics

Robert Bosch Stiftung is a key player in the sensor-guided brake initiation innovation area. Bosch’s iBooster initiates full braking in just 190 milliseconds as soon as the sensor-guided brake initiation radar or video sensor notices an imminent collision.  Mando, Hitachi, Continental, Toyota and Hyundai are some of the other key players.

To further understand how IoT is disrupting the automotive industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Internet of Things (IoT) 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.