The automotive industry continues to be a hotbed of innovation, with activity driven by smart car development, advanced driver assistance system, and connectivity, and growing importance of technologies such as bluetooth pairing, wifi configuration, internet access, and E-Payment. 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: NFC networks.
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.
NFC networks is a key innovation area in autonomous vehicles
Near-field communication is a short-range wireless connectivity technology that is used to establish communication by bringing the two devices within a short distance of each other.
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 10+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established automotive companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of NFC networks.
Key players in NFC networks – 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 NFC networks
| Company | Total patents (2010 - 2021) | Premium intelligence on the world's largest companies |
| Sony Group | 82 | Unlock company profile |
| OOO "Carnival" | 60 | Unlock company profile |
| Blaze Mobile | 55 | Unlock company profile |
| Continental | 14 | Unlock company profile |
| Huawei Investment Holding | 11 | Unlock company profile |
| Ford Motor | 10 | Unlock company profile |
| Fortive | 8 | Unlock company profile |
| Samsung Group | 8 | Unlock company profile |
| Robert Bosch Stiftung | 6 | Unlock company profile |
| Honeywell International | 6 | Unlock company profile |
| Broadcom | 6 | Unlock company profile |
| Hyundai Motor Group | 5 | Unlock company profile |
| Bayerische Motoren Werke | 5 | Unlock company profile |
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
Sony Group is one of the leading patent filers in NFC networks. The one-touch function by Sony incorporates NFC technology. By using Sony devices with the one-touch function, users can easily and instantly register and pair their Bluetooth devices to play music and more without the need for any set up. The one-touch function is a reference to these instant connections between devices and the one-touch listening is a reference to the music payback feature made possible across an array of one-touch enabled devices. Some other key patent filers in the NFC network include OOO “Carnival” Blaze Mobile and Ford Motor.
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.
