Advanced Driver Assistance Systems Accelerate the Era of Self-driving Cars
- Threefold increase in patent applications related to
advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) over six years –
As some car manufacturers such as Hyundai Motor, Benz, and Honda are promoting the commercialization of Level 3 autonomous vehicles that can conditionally self-drive, the advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) technology that supports drivers according to driving conditions is being highlighted.
As ADAS is a technology that recognizes driving conditions via sensors such as cameras, radar, and lidar to automatize some driving functions through such as speed adjustment, etc., the Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) for automatically adjusting the distance from a preceeding vehicle, the Smart Parking Assist System (SPAS) for self-parking, and the Lane Departure Warning (LDW) for warning drivers from drifting out of a lane and the like are being commercialized.
According to McKinsey & Company, an international advisory (consulting) company, the ADAS market is expected to grow 13% annually from $13 billion in 2020 to $43 billion in 2030.
According to the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), patents related to ADAS filed in Korea, the United States, Japan, China, and Europe have been increasing by about 20% annually from the 2,000 cases in 2013, reaching 6,000 cases in 2019.
By country, the percentage of patent applications filed were, in order, China (30.7%), the United States (27.6%), Japan (20.8%), Korea (10.6%), and Europe (10.3%).
By applicant nationality, Japan accounted for 38.4%, followed by China (16.5%), Europe (15.9%), Korea (14.9%), and the United States (11.8%).
Looking at corporate applications, the largest number of applications were from Japanese and Korean complete carmakers, Toyota, Hyundai, Honda, and Nissan, in that order, followed by auto parts makers such as Bosch, Denso, Mando, and Hitachi, etc.
In the case of Korean companies, applications from electronic companies such as LG and Samsung are increasing in addition to those from automakers, and patent applications from small and medium-sized companies such as Stradvision and Tinkware are also steadily being filed.
Looking at patent competitiveness based on registered U.S. patents, the U.S. has a high technology impact index*, leading in the technology to develop fully autonomous vehicles, and Japan has a high market acquisition index**, so it is more focused on preemptively occupying the market by improving convenience and safety.
* The average number of times that a patentee's registered patents have been cited by subsequent patents
** Number of countries entering foreign countries as family patents compared to the number of registered patents of the patentee
[Source: KIPO]
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