Autonomous Vehicle Technology Development: A Patent Survey Based on Main Path Analysis

This study surveys the patents on autonomous vehicles in a systematic and quantitative manner. Autonomous vehicle has been widely discussed recently due to the fast improvement in the related technologies. Aside from investigating the patent owners who are participating in development of autonomous vehicles, we apply main path analysis to uncover the technology developing trajectory. Three major findings are highlighted for further discussion: communication system will be further developed to pursue vehicle-to-everything, the perception technologies will integrate artificial intelligent, and the vehicle makers will cooperate with ICT companies to develop autonomous vehicle. Monitoring these observations may help companies to evaluate their future directions on R&D management, IP management, and business strategy development for autonomous vehicle.