Increase in Patent Applications related to Autonomous-Parking Technology
Imagine that a driver arrives at a department store and gets out of the car after selecting an autonomous-parking mode. The car then automatically moves through the parking lot and parks itself in a vacant parking space, and after that the car pays the parking fees and waits at the entrance of the department store for its driver to come back. Such autonomous driving technology has been developing recently, and it is anticipated that autonomous parking technology in particular will soon be realized. In a reflection of this tendency, patent applications related to autonomous parking technology have been steadily increasing.
According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), the number of patent applications related to autonomous parking technology constituted an average of 60 cases annually before 2014; however, the number rapidly increased after 2015 to an average of 105 such cases annually.
It is analyzed that this tendency is caused by technology development being accelerated after the Vienna Convention was revised in 2014 as an international convention related to autonomous driving vehicles and in response to the government’s Autonomous Driving Road Map announced in 2015.
Applications during the most recent 10 years contain 223 cases related to indicating parking lot vacancy (29%), 218 cases related to responding to dynamic traffic conditions (28%), 122 cases of collision avoidance systems (16%) and 107 cases of detecting and measuring traffic (14%).
Especially, the technology field of indicating parking lot vacancies comprised the majority among filed applications, and from this it seems that the biggest issue demanding resolution is finding a vacant parking space, and this is being reflected in the applications filed.
Meanwhile, the ratio of small and medium-sized businesses was relatively high among such filed applications: 234 applications were filed by small and medium-sized businesses (30%), 191 applications by major companies (24%), 138 applications by foreign companies (18%), 108 applications by universities and research institutes (13%) and 104 applications by individuals.
It is analyzed that small and medium-sized businesses and individuals filed relatively many applications related to indicating parking lot vacancies, whereas major companies, foreign companies, universities and research institutes filed a relatively large number of applications in the field of responding to dynamic traffic conditions.
It is also analyzed that small and medium-sized businesses mostly pursued technology development related to the application field of improving existing parking facilities, which is relatively easy to control, and otherwise, major companies, universities and research institutes mostly had technology development in the basic field of transportation traffic control using signaling systems fused with sensors, etc.
The chief of the Robotic Automation Examination Department of KIPO stated, that “Among autonomous driving services, autonomous parking services which involve moving slowly within relatively restricted areas are noticeably the first field to become commercialized.” The chief further stated, “It is anticipated that developments from the study of navigation directions using A.I technology, parking location indication fused with IoT Technology and the field of communication between vehicles and objects utilizing 5G technology will continue to increase.”
1. Annual filing trend by technical field (‘09~’18)
2. Filing trend by type of applicant (‘09~’18)
[Source: KIPO]