Driverless tech keeps auto industry leaders ahead of internet giants

At the 2016 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held in Las Vegas last week, driverless cars were the highlight of the show. According to the latest report on intellectual property and technology by Thomson Reuters, from 2010 to 2015, there were more than 22,000 invention patents related to autonomous vehicle technology, and in the process, some companies have emerged as industry leaders in this field . The latest research report 'The State of Autonomous Vehicle Innovation 2016' released by Thomson Reuters analyzes the global innovation activities in the field of autonomous vehicle technology in the past six years and predicts the future development trend of autonomous vehicles. Here are some of the key findings from the report: Established automakers, not Silicon Valley tech companies, are leading the charge. Automotive giants such as Toyota, Bosch, Denso, Hyundai, GM, and Nissan have become global leaders in the innovation of driverless technology. Toyota alone has obtained more than 2,000 patents for new inventions in driverless technology, the number of patents equal to that of Bosch. twice. The Asian region is ready to vigorously develop the automobile industry. The Asian region is the leader in this area. 11 of the top 20 companies in the global autonomous driving technology innovation ranking are from Asia. The time for cooperation is ripe. Although the leading companies in the automotive industry occupy an advantageous position in autonomous driving technology innovation, there are still many professional technology companies and research institutions that hold a large number of important patents related to autonomous driving. Among them, LG, Samsung, Google, Boeing, IBM, Amazon, Carnegie Mellon University and MIT have contributed a large number of new patents in this field in the past six years. Apple is poised to strike a car deal with Tesla. According to Thomson Reuters intellectual property and technology analysts, Apple will make a similar announcement after the International Consumer Electronics Show. Although Apple is not a major innovator in this area (there is only one invention in the field of autonomous driving), looking at the patent portfolios owned by the two companies as a whole, it is foreseeable that the cooperation between Apple and Tesla is bound to be Promote significant growth for both companies. “While the use of driverless cars will not be a commonplace scenario in 2016, there are data to suggest that such a scenario is likely to become a reality in the next few years,” said Vin Caraher, global president of intellectual property and technology at Thomson Reuters. The analysis of patent activity not only revealed some predictable leaders, but also some unexpected discoveries. We will wait and see for the next year when the relevant invention patents are put into use with exciting results.”