Depth sensor used in vehicle-related patent analysis

To maximize cost savings, quality, and production efficiency in today's world, the demand for sensors has also increased exponentially. Thanks to continuous research and development of sensors, there are currently more varieties of sensors — one of them being depth sensors. Applications of sensors include contactless human-machine interactions, object detection using spatial 3D relationships, gaming, smart appliances, robots, driverless cars, and security monitoring, to name a few. The current study conducted a patent search among patents granted to Taiwan, China, and the US. A folding diagram of patents granted to these countries shows that the numbers of patents granted to Taiwan and US both declined in 2014 and 2015, while the number of patents granted to China trended upwards (Figure 2). As shown in the IPC comparison chart (Figure 7), the numbers of patents granted to all three countries for the subclass of G06T have remained relatively high. This study would later group patents with similar properties into patent portfolios, formulate strategies specific to each portfolio, and combine different patents to create larger economic value than the value created by the individual patent alone.