The consumer industry continues to be a hotbed of patent innovation. Activity is driven by convenience, sustainability, technology, and operational efficiency, and growing importance of technologies such as robotics, artificial intelligence, and autonomous delivery. In the last three years alone, there have been over 662,000 patents filed and granted in the consumer industry, according to GlobalData’s report on Robotics in consumer: autonomous delivery management. Buy the report here.
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According to GlobalData’s Technology Foresights, which uses over 116,000 patents to analyze innovation intensity for the consumer industry, there are 30+ innovation areas that will shape the future of the industry.
Autonomous delivery management is a key innovation area in robotics
Autonomous delivery systems often use robotics for deliveries with minimal human intervention. These vehicles use laser sensors, cameras, and radar to get help while navigating their path. Autonomous delivery robots are a great addition to companies’ delivery fleets for last-mile deliveries, which cause significant pollution in cities. Leading companies in this space are using electric vehicles for delivery purposes.
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GlobalData’s analysis also uncovers the companies at the forefront of each innovation area and assesses the potential reach and impact of their patenting activity across different applications and geographies. According to GlobalData, there are 50+ companies, spanning technology vendors, established consumer companies, and up-and-coming start-ups engaged in the development and application of autonomous delivery management.
Key players in autonomous delivery management – a disruptive innovation in the consumer industry
‘Application diversity’ measures the number of applications identified for each patent. It broadly splits companies into either ‘niche’ or ‘diversified’ innovators.
‘Geographic reach’ refers to the number of countries each patent is registered in. It reflects the breadth of geographic application intended, ranging from ‘global’ to ‘local’.
Patent volumes related to autonomous delivery management
Source: GlobalData Patent Analytics
The leading companies in the autonomous delivery management powered by robotics space in terms of patents filed are Nuro, Walmart, and Cox Enterprises. In September 2022, Nuro entered into a ten-year agreement with Uber Eats to provide robotic food delivery capabilities to the latter. The two companies decided to deploy autonomous delivery vehicles in Mountain View and Houston cities of California and Texas, respectively.
In terms of application diversity, Emerging Automotive is the leading company in this space, while Samsung Group and Oshkosh are in the second and third positions, respectively.
By means of geographic reach, Nuro leads the pack, followed by FedEx and Nio.
Robotics and artificial intelligence have been making giant strides. Their application in home delivery has been growing rapidly because of their convenience and accuracy.
To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the consumer industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Robotics in Consumer.
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GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.
GlobalData’s Patent Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official offices around the world. Textual analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.
