Analysis Of Patent Filing Trends On Self-Driving Technologies And MaaS-related Technologies

The combined effect of robust technology development and the prevalence of businesses based on the ICT utilization has served to promote the concept of Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) which integrates various forms of transportation services into one seamless service. MaaS allows users to combine the most appropriate transportation services based on their mobility needs with smartphone apps and offers them efficient and cost-effective routes to specific destinations. Of all the MaaS-related technologies, ride-hailing and car sharing have been drawing the most attention amongst the public. Multimodal transportation systems, which provide effective and comfortable transportation services available on demand, have also been becoming popular along with these technologies. This article analyzes patent filing trends in the self-driving technology and MaaS-related technology fields at the major five IP offices in the U.S., Europe, China, Korea, and Japan between 2014 and 2018.