AI in Autonomous Vehicles

AI Autonomous driving technology is trending, and the trend is especially noticeable in Korea’s patent data. This according to Founders Legal’s foreign counsel, Kim, Hong & Associates.

According to the firm, while general AI patent filings in Korea increased by 5% in 2019, the number of AI autonomous driving-related patent applications increased at an annual average rate of 9% during the period of 2016 to 2020.

In terms of key technologies, infrastructure technologies used to support the autonomous function represented the bulk of filings at 46%. Meanwhile, 28% of the Korean patent filings represented cognition technology, 18% represented judgment technology, and 8% represented control technology.

Large enterprises accounted for 23% of these filings, which included Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics, and Mando.

AI Car Companies Driving the Trend

Market Reports recently projected that the global autonomous vehicle market is estimated to reach $2,044.93 billion by 2030, a CAGR of 39%, and the global automotive players are competing to dominate the future of mobility.

According to Business Korea, the number of patents owned by Hyundai Motor Group is expected to cross 50,000 by the end of the year. The company specifically stated, “We are strengthening the securing of advanced patents related to autonomous driving, mobile-linked services, hydrogen fuel cells, and electric vehicles in order to dominate the future technology sector.”

In addition to innovating the technology, many major players are competing through acquisition.

Toyota Motor Corp., for example, recently acquired US-based software firm Renovo to further accelerate their fully autonomous vehicle development. Earlier this year, Toyota had purchased Lyft’s self-driving unit and invested in Ricecell, a fleet IoT automation company.

It is clear that the autonomous vehicle industry and innovation are booming, and it has been for some time. Companies continue to make huge strides in their plans to develop new technologies to bring fully autonomous vehicles to the market.

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