Introduction

Vehicle Interior Monitoring by radar technology is revolutionizing automotive safety and comfort. From detecting child presence to tracking driver alertness, radar sensors provide accurate, non-intrusive monitoring in real time.

Methodology

Phase 1: Understanding the domain, preparation of search string for extraction of patents and published applications

1. A broad understanding of the domain of Vehicle Interior Monitoring by Radar was developed based on information available on free sources.
2. Search strategies were formulated and keyword, class and assignee based search was performed on Patseer database, and a list of ~5000 patents and published applications was extracted based on the search strings.
3. Step 2 was followed by preliminary screening based on title, abstract and claims to identify potentially relevant references. Detailed analysis was done for the potentially relevant patents/ published applications.

Phase 2: Trends analysis:

1. Graphs depicting results of various analysis were prepared.

Please Note: Analysis was performed on one representative member per family.

What are we focusing on?

• Top Assignees
• Prominent Universities/Institutes
• Key Technology Insights
• Litigation & Opposition
• New Entrants
• Technology Transfer
• Technology and Bibliographic Trends

Technology related to Vehicle Interior Monitoring by Radar

• Vehicle Occupant Detection
• Occupant/Object Classification
• Seat Position Detection
• Intrusion Detection
• Detection of biological parameters
• Type of radar used for monitoring

Vehicle Interior Monitoring – Key Highlights

Object/Occupant Classification

• 40 patent families discloses Object/Occupant Classification within the vehicle interior using Radar.
• This Category includes patent families related to Adult Classification (8 patent families), Child Classification (7 patent families) and Animal Classification (3 patent families).

Intrusion Detection

• Total 61 patent families discloses Intrusion Detection using Radar.
• 21 and 15 patent families are originated from Japan and Korea respectively.

Biological Parameter

• Heart Rate is majorly used for Vehicle Interior Monitoring using Radar (94 Patent Families).
• Breath Rate, Gesture/Posture, Eye/Retina/Stare/Gage are disclosed in 80, 80 and 40 patent families respectively for vehicle interior monitoring using radar

Occupant/Seat Position Detection

• Occupant/Seat Position Detection using Radar is disclosed in 194 patent families.
• Doppler Radar, UWB Radar, FMCW Radar and ultrasonic Radar are mostly used for Occupant/Seat Position Detection.

Occupant Monitoring

• Most of the patent families (160) discloses Driver monitoring using Radar.
• Some of the patent families disclose radar-based object detection to detect biometric characteristics to distinguish between child and adult.

Radar

• Most of the patent families (62) are using Doppler type radar for vehicle interior monitoring.
• Ultrasonic Radar, UWB Radar and mm-wave radar was used in 40, 23 and 22 patent families respectively for vehicle interior monitoring.

Vehicle Interior Monitoring – Top Assignees

APTIV is also at fourth position with 19 patent families.

GENERAL MOTORS is at fourth position with 19 patent families.

• Most of the patent families discloses Driver/Passenger monitoring and Occupant/Seat position detection using Rada

PORSCHE is at third position with 26 patent families.

• Out of 26 patent families, 25 patent families are taking priority from DE.
• PORSCHE majorly focus on Driver monitoring using Gesture/Posture detection using Radar.

TOYOTA GROUP is at second position with 35 patent families.

• Out of 35 patent families, one patent family is in collaboration with UNIVERSITY of Electro-Communications.
• TOYOTA has 12 patent families discloses intrusion detection using Radar.

ROBERT BOSCH is the most prominent assignee in this field with over 47 patent families.

• Out of 47 patent families, one patent family is filed in collaboration with MORTON INTERNATIONAL.
• Most of the patent families (19) focus on Occupant/Seat position detection using Radar

About Effectual Services

Effectual Services is an award-winning Intellectual Property (IP) management advisory & consulting firm offering IP intelligence to Fortune 500 companies, law firms, research institutes and universities, and venture capital firms/PE firms, globally.

Through research & intelligence we help our clients in taking critical business decisions backed with credible data sources, which in turn helps them achieve their organisational goals, foster innovation and achieve milestones within timelines while optimising costs.