The technology industry continues to be a hotbed of innovation, with activity driven by the amalgamation of technological progress, heightened connectivity, and the urgency for businesses to enhance efficiency and competitiveness in an ever-changing marketplace, as well as growing importance of technologies related to vehicle safety and control systems, actuators, object detection and recognition systems, and sensors. The combination of these technologies enables vehicles to navigate parking areas autonomously and safely, improving the convenience, efficiency, and safety for drivers. In the last three years alone, there have been over 3.6 million patents filed and granted in the technology industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Innovation in Artificial Intelligence: Autonomous parking. 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.
300+ innovations will shape the technology industry
According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which plots the S-curve for the technology industry using innovation intensity models built on over 2.5 million patents, there are 300+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.
Within the emerging innovation stage, finite element simulation, ML-enabled blockchain networks, and generative adversarial network (GAN) are disruptive technologies that are in the early stages of application and should be tracked closely. Demand forecasting applications, intelligent embedded systems, and deep reinforcement learning are some of the accelerating innovation areas, where adoption has been steadily increasing. Among maturing innovation areas, wearable physiological monitors, smart lighting, and smart climate control systems, are now well established in the industry.
Innovation S-curve for artificial intelligence in the technology industry
Autonomous parking is a key innovation area in artificial intelligence
Autonomous parking technology enables vehicles to autonomously park without human intervention. This advanced system employs sensors, cameras, and algorithms to detect available parking spaces, determine optimal entry and exit paths, and control the vehicle's steering, acceleration, and braking. By automating the parking process, autonomous parking contributes to the reduction of traffic congestion and simplifies the overall parking experience.
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 50+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established technology companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of autonomous parking.
Key players in autonomous parking – a disruptive innovation in the technology 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 autonomous parking
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
Ford Motor is one of the leading patent filers in autonomous parking. The company’s patents are aimed at a vehicle hitch assistance system including an imaging system, a steering system, a dead reckoning system, and a controller. The controller determines a hitch location within a vehicle exterior image received from the camera system, derives a vehicle path to align a hitch ball of the vehicle with the hitch location, and controls the steering system to guide the vehicle along the path including tracking the location of the vehicle using information received from the dead reckoning system.
Other prominent patent filers in the space include Intel and Tata Motors.
In terms of geographic reach, Tata Motors leads the pack, followed by Kubota and NSK. In terms of application diversity, Chongqing Jinkang New Energy Vehicle holds the top position, followed by NOV and Kubota.
The significance of autonomous parking lies in its ability to improve efficiency, safety, accessibility, and sustainability in the realm of parking. By addressing parking challenges, the technology has the potential to transform urban mobility, enhance the overall driving experience, and contribute to more liveable and efficient cities.
To further understand how artificial intelligence is disrupting the technology industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Artificial Intelligence (AI) – Thematic Intelligence.
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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.
