Patent Analysis of Representative Future Convergence Industries: Smart Cars, Drones, and Robots
Outlook for Promising Future Products Based on Patent Registrations in Various Countries Over the Past 5 Years

An analysis of patent application trends in representative future convergence industries, such as smart cars, drones, and robots, has revealed the outlines of products and services that are expected to emerge as promising in the future.

Smart cars, which refer to vehicles that are always connected to a network by integrating automotive and IT technologies, are characterized by products and services that contribute to user safety and convenience through enhanced connectivity between the interior and exterior of the vehicle. These include autonomous driving systems, Human Machine Interface (HMI) systems, sensing, accident prevention, and avoidance systems, and driver assistance and passenger support systems.

As the smart car market is a representative convergence-centered technology, joint development between industries is important. Starting with Audi in 2017, numerous automotive companies are planning to launch smart cars (autonomous vehicles) around the 2020s, and Samsung Electronics has secured comprehensive automotive electronics component solutions by recently acquiring the automotive electronics company Harman.


▲ Hyundai Motor Head-Up Display

According to the Korea Institute of Intellectual Property Strategy (KISTA), the country with the highest number of patents in the sensing field (total 5,948) was the smart car patent analysis (1995–present). Among these, the United States ranked first with 2,497 patents, followed by Japan (2,199 patents), Europe (661 patents), and Korea (591 patents). When comparing the patent share by applicant nationality and the share by sub-technology, Japan showed the highest share (39.6%), while Korea ranked fourth (18.9%), particularly leading in electrical and electronic architecture patents (33.5%).

In terms of market share by specific technology among major applicants, Toyota, Denso, and Honda focus on the sensing field, Nissan is strong in the driver assistance field, and Hyundai Motor Company focuses on damage mitigation, HMI, and driver assistance fields. Amidst this, the importance of HUD (Head-Up Display) technology is expected to increase as drivers require more information due to the advancement of smart cars.

Smart cars will be commercialized as information delivery tools with high safety and convenience.

Looking at the patent application trends of major applicants in the HUD field, Denso registered a patent for a 'Head Enhancement Display Device' technology in 2012 that prevents the blurring of a false image by controlling the diffraction width of a light beam through the surface of an optical element part in the screen part, and in 2013, registered a 'Head Enhancement Display Device' technology that suppresses the staining of light intensity projected onto the screen part and allows for a clearer image to be seen.

In 2012, following the technology regarding a method and device for providing augmented reality, Hyundai Motor Company registered a patent for a 'lane change information display device and method using a head-up display,' and in 2013, registered a patent for a head-up display device and method that can provide information to the driver by changing the position according to the distance of obstacles in front of the vehicle.

In response, KISTA PM Lee In-hee stated, “As current smart car head-up display technology is registered with patents focused on improving visibility and driver assistance/safety, there is a high possibility that it will be commercialized in the future as an information delivery tool with high safety and convenience.”

Drones have many patented technologies for information transmission displays and ground information management.

The unmanned aircraft industry, known as UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle), UA (Unmanned Aircraft), or drone, is also growing. The global unmanned aerial vehicle market, which was valued at $5.2 billion in 2010, is expected to see its development budget alone increase to $21 billion by 2019.

▲ AERO VIRONMENT Drone (YouTube screen)

Drones, evolving into practical robots, are breaking away from conventional frameworks and developing into future-oriented forms, such as carrying passengers and operating as unmanned systems. For instance, as they continue to evolve to become integrated into daily life through applications like police work and urban patrols, they are expected to be applied to various fields including photography/hobbies, precision agriculture, infrastructure management, parcel delivery, and cargo transport.

Looking at the number of UAV patents by country (from 1995 to recent filings), patents related to ground control and control systems accounted for the largest share (1,110 cases). This was followed by the United States (595 cases), followed by Korea (182 cases), Japan (182 cases), and Europe (151 cases). The patent share by applicant nationality was occupied by the United States (47.4%), Korea (17%), Japan (12.1%), and others.

Looking at the company's patent cases, Boeing, which currently possesses technology that measures location using multiple cameras and determines surrogate commands, is highly likely to release a survey drone product in one to two years that can control the drone to measure the diameter of a tree or obtain information and verify location using a sensor system, and in three to four years, introduce a product that enables real-time detection of objects by calculating continuous images.

Accordingly, the current autonomous flight system is expected to enable various drone services in the future through the convergence of technologies, based on information transmission display technology and patented ground information management technology.

Intelligent robots evolve into humanoid robots fused with artificial intelligence

"Intelligent robots," possessing autonomy based on perception, judgment, and movement, represent a convergence field within the living room that coexists in our living spaces. As the service robot market expands, the commercialization of intelligent robots is accelerating.

SoftBank’s Pepper, a leader in the intelligent robot market, was the first humanoid robot targeting the consumer market and signaled the opening of the era of cloud-connected robot assistants. Pepper, which went on sale in June 2015, can recognize and simulate human emotions thanks to its built-in 'emotion engine'. Recently, this robot, which works in home appliance stores and acts as a companion for elderly people living alone, is also working to enhance Pepper's artificial intelligence in partnership with IBM and Microsoft.

▲ SoftBank's Pepper homepage

Based on the number of patent applications for intelligent robots, the United States leads the market with 10,360 applications, accounting for 49% of the total. In terms of annual application trends, Korea has been filing the second-highest number of patent applications since 2009, following the United States, particularly driven by patents related to robot vacuum cleaners from Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics. Looking at the share by subcategory, the United States holds the highest share in personal robots (42.4%) and smart production systems (41.6%), while Japan holds the highest share in professional robots (31.3%).

Korea was found to have the smallest gap with leading countries in specialized robots (22.9%), while the gap was the widest in smart production systems (12.8%). An analysis of major applicants over the past five years revealed that Korea concentrated its patents on personal robots (such as cleaning robots from Samsung and LG), while in the specialized robot sector, Samsung Heavy Industries held the most patents related to inspection and maintenance robots. The United States showed strength in patents for smart production systems compared to other countries, while Japan demonstrated balanced development in both personal and specialized robots.

PM Lee In-hee predicted, “From a patent-based perspective, technology development is currently moving in the direction of improving the hardware and software levels of robots, while from a long-term future perspective, it is expected to evolve in the direction of enhancing robot autonomy through convergence with artificial intelligence.”