Fastest
Eureka on the web
When you want the answer in the next five minutes.
The agent works the prompt against patents and technical literature, citing every source.
Run your analysis now →https://www.patsnap.com/resources/blog/rd-blog/enhanced-and-synthetic-vision-systems-patent-landscape/ · Patsnap · data cut-off 2026-07-31 · downloaded from the live page
Cockpit Display & Alerting · Patent LandscapeEnhanced and Synthetic Vision Systems: Patents Shaping the Cockpit Display
- One filer holds 321 of 540 records (89.1% for the top five combined) — this field is concentrated at the top with a long tail of single- and double-digit filers behind it.
- Filings fell 76% from 2021 (17) to 2024 (4) , the last year the dataset treats as complete; publication lag means 2025-2026 will still fill in.
- Terrain and navigation classes dominate the claim space , with G01C present in 50.9% of records and G08G in 42.6%, while optical hardware (G02B) sits at just 7.2%.
540
Published Records
89%
Top-5 Share of All Records
-76%
Filing Growth 2021→2024
US
Leading Jurisdiction
Filing growth compares 2021 (17 records) with 2024 (4) — a three-year span. 2024 is the most recent year we treat as complete: publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 onwards are still filling in and any growth rate that ends there would understate the field. Top-5 share is the combined record count of the five largest assignees divided by all 540 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
Published byPatsnap Research··7 min readSourced from Patsnap Eureka
Field Overview
What this landscape covers
Enhanced and synthetic vision systems fuse terrain databases, infrared or other sensor imagery, and position data to render a pilot's view of terrain, runways and obstacles regardless of outside visibility. The claim space tracked here spans terrain database integrity, runway overlay rendering, infrared imaging sensor fusion and obstacle symbology, alongside the positioning accuracy claims that underpin all of them. It sits inside the broader cockpit display and alerting category, where avionics primes have filed steadily since long before the 2015 start of this dataset.
The 540 records in scope run from 2015 through the July 2026 cut-off, giving a decade-long view of how claim activity has shifted from core terrain-rendering mechanics toward sensor fusion and image processing as infrared and radar inputs matured.
Filing activity and technology composition, 2015-2026
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee ranking and totals. Derived from a Patsnap search on Enhanced and Synthetic Vision Systems covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
The Numbers
Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 540 records: how filing activity has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses carry the claim weight. Because a single record can carry several IPC codes, the class shares below sum to more than 100% of the record total.
Filing trend, 2017-2026
Filings peaked at 72 in 2018 and have declined since; 2021 (17) to 2024 (4) is a 76% drop over the last three-year span the dataset treats as complete. 2025 and 2026 show near-zero counts, but publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so those years are still filling in rather than reflecting an actual stop in filing.
Technology composition by IPC subclass
G01C (distance, navigation and gyroscopes) and G08G (traffic control systems) each appear in a plurality of records, reflecting the core function of the technology: placing a vehicle accurately against a terrain model. Image processing (G06T, 17.6%) and optics (G02B, 7.2%) sit further down, marking sensor-fusion and hardware-rendering claims as a smaller but distinct slice of the field.
Shares are the percentage of the 540 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Filing trend and technology composition. Derived from a Patsnap search on Enhanced and Synthetic Vision Systems covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.
Go deeper on Enhanced and Synthetic Vision Systems with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about enhanced and synthetic vision systems and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaRepresentative Filing
A representative claim in this space
Representative Patent
Method of positioning perspective terrain on SVS primary flight displays using terrain database and radio altitude (US7715978B1)
ROCKWELL COLLINS, INC.
The patent describes positioning perspective terrain on a synthetic vision system display using a navigation solution whose vertical component is calculated from a terrain database and a radio-altitude sensing unit. The terrain database supplies elevation above mean sea level; a GNSS sensor can calculate the navigation solution, with the vertical-component calculation varying by phase of flight and switching between sensing-unit data and database data around a rated altitude threshold.Filed by Rockwell Collins, granted 2010-05-11 — abstract trimmed for length.
Most-cited records in scope
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20090079839A1 | Vehicle diagnostics based on information communicated between vehicles | 525 |
| 2 | US20160275801A1 | Unmanned Aerial Systems Traffic Management | 360 |
| 3 | US20090293012A1 | Handheld synthetic vision device | 280 |
| 4 | US20080215204A1 | Methods, apparatus and systems for enhanced synthetic vision and multi-sensor data fusion to improve operatio… | 217 |
| 5 | US7737965B2 | Handheld synthetic vision device | 200 |
| 6 | US6157891A | Positioning and ground proximity warning method and system thereof for vehicle | 187 |
| 7 | US8947531B2 | Vehicle diagnostics based on information communicated between vehicles | 186 |
| 8 | US20080243383A1 | Integrated collision avoidance enhanced GN&C system for air vehicle | 162 |
| 9 | US20040169663A1 | Systems and methods for providing enhanced vision imaging | 160 |
| 10 | US8234068B1 | System, module, and method of constructing a flight path used by an avionics system | 146 |
Citation counts favour older records that have had more time to accumulate citations within the searched corpus; treat them as a signal of influence rather than current importance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Citation counts and representative records. Derived from a Patsnap search on Enhanced and Synthetic Vision Systems covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
Run it yourself
Put your own technology through the same analysis
Where to run it
For builders
MCP server & REST API
When it has to run inside your own pipeline.
Patent search, landscape analysis and assignee resolution as MCP tools. Drop them into any agent framework, or call REST directly.
Browse MCP servers →Signal Check
What the filing pattern tells a decision-maker
Three cross-cuts of the same dataset point in the same direction: activity is real but has slowed from its 2018 peak, and the claim space is held tightly by a small group of avionics and defense primes.
Concentration
89.1%
top 5 of 540 records
Five assignees hold the field
The top five filers combined account for 89.1% of all 540 records in scope, with the leader alone responsible for 321. Tenth place holds just 5 records, so the ranked leaders sit on almost all the prior art and everyone else files in ones and twos.
43 companies make up the entire ranked list.
Momentum
-76%
2021 to 2024
Filing volume has contracted sharply
Annual filings dropped from 17 in 2021 to 4 in 2024, a 76% fall over the last three-year span the dataset treats as complete. That follows a 2018 peak of 72, suggesting the initial land-rush on core terrain and display mechanics is over.
2025-2026 figures are still filling in due to publication lag.
Claim shape
50.9% / 7.2%
G01C vs G02B share of 540 records
Navigation claims outweigh optics claims
G01C (navigation and gyroscopes) appears in 50.9% of records versus 7.2% for G02B (optical elements), showing that most claim activity protects positioning and data-fusion logic rather than the physical sensor hardware.
Classes overlap, so shares are not mutually exclusive.
Eureka AI Agent
Looking for what nobody has claimed yet?
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to enhanced and synthetic vision systems, with the prior art for and against each one.
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Co-assignee relationships and derived observations. Derived from a Patsnap search on Enhanced and Synthetic Vision Systems covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
Who Is Filing
The competitive set
A small group of avionics, defense and aerospace primes accounts for nearly all activity, with a long tail of single-digit filers behind them. Recent-year momentum across the leaders reads flat to zero, consistent with the broader slowdown from the 2018 peak, though publication lag means the very latest filings have not surfaced yet.
Leader
321 records
single largest filer
One filer dominates the ranking
The top-ranked assignee holds 321 of the 540 records in scope, an order of magnitude ahead of the rest of the field, spanning terrain-rendering, sensor-fusion and display-integration claims.
Leader position held across the full 2015-2026 window.
Long tail
43 companies
entire ranked list
A steep drop after the top ranks
Fifth place holds 13 records and tenth place just 5, meaning most of the 43 ranked companies are filing occasionally rather than building sustained portfolios in this specific claim space.
Includes aircraft OEMs, avionics suppliers and one government aerospace agency.
Collaboration
10 pairs
co-assignee pairings
Co-filing is limited and inventor-driven
Only 10 co-assignee pairs appear in the dataset, the strongest tied to the same small set of named inventors repeating across filings, which points to internal cross-team collaboration rather than formal joint ventures.
Strongest pairs recur at 3-4 shared filings.
Recent-year momentum among the leaders
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Honeywell International Inc. | 0 | -100% |
| Rockwell Collins, Inc. | 0 | — |
| Thales SA | 0 | -100% |
| Bombardier Inc. | 0 | -100% |
| Lockheed Martin Corporation | 0 | — |
| Elbit Systems Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Oshkosh Corporation | 0 | — |
| Mercury Computer Systems, Inc. | 0 | — |
Source: Patsnap Eureka. Assignee-level momentum. Derived from a Patsnap search on Enhanced and Synthetic Vision Systems covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
Next Steps
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to a field with an entrenched leader, a shrinking filing rate, and a handful of specific sub-areas still open for new claims.
Map claims against the leader's portfolio
Before drafting in terrain-rendering or runway-overlay claims, check how the top filer's 321 records are structured to avoid overlapping an occupied claim space.
Explore assignee portfolios in EurekaProbe the under-claimed branches
Sensor-fusion symbology and database-integrity monitoring show fewer records relative to the core navigation classes, making them worth a closer freedom-to-operate look.
Run a white space search in EurekaTrack the post-2024 filing gap
With 2025-2026 counts still filling in due to publication lag, revisit this trend in a future quarter to see whether the 2021-2024 decline continues or reverses.
Set up trend monitoring in EurekaSource: Patsnap Eureka. Forward-looking reading of the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Enhanced and Synthetic Vision Systems covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
Frequently Asked
Common questions about this landscape
One assignee holds 321 of the 540 records in scope, far ahead of the next four combined, which together bring the top five to 89.1% of all records. This concentration means the leading assignee's portfolio effectively defines the boundaries of the occupied claim space in terrain rendering, sensor fusion and display integration. Any new entrant should map their intended claims against that portfolio before drafting, since the remaining 43 ranked companies hold comparatively small numbers of records by comparison.
No. Filings peaked at 72 in 2018 and fell to 4 by 2024, a 76% drop from the 17 filed in 2021, which is the most recent three-year span the dataset treats as complete. Counts for 2025 and 2026 appear even lower, but publication typically lags actual filing by around 18 months, so those most recent years are not yet a reliable read on current activity. The honest read is a field that filed heavily in the late 2010s and has since slowed rather than one that has stopped outright.
The claim space centers on positioning and navigation: G01C (distance, navigation and gyroscopes) appears in 50.9% of the 540 records and G08G (traffic control systems) in 42.6%. Aircraft equipment (B64D), radar and positioning (G01S), and image processing (G06T) each appear in roughly a sixth to a fifth of records, covering sensor fusion and rendering. Optical hardware (G02B) is the smallest slice at 7.2%, suggesting most protection sits in software and data-fusion logic rather than physical sensor design.
US7715978B1, assigned to Rockwell Collins, claims a method for positioning perspective terrain on a synthetic vision display using a navigation solution whose vertical component draws on a terrain database and radio-altitude sensing, with the calculation method switching by flight phase. It is a foundational terrain-positioning mechanism rather than a broad system claim, so it constrains a specific method of vertical-position calculation rather than synthetic vision displays generally. Anyone building similar functionality should review its specific claim language on sensing-unit thresholds and phase-of-flight switching before assuming freedom to operate.
The clearest gaps sit in branches adjacent to the dense navigation-and-terrain core: infrared sensor fusion for obstacle symbology, terrain database integrity monitoring, and multi-sensor position-error bounding for combined vision displays all carry far fewer records than the core G01C and G08G classes. These are technically specific enough to support a defensible first claim without directly overlapping the leading assignee's core portfolio. A freedom-to-operate search focused on these sub-areas is a more productive starting point than filing directly against runway-overlay or terrain-rendering claims, which are the most crowded.
Answers are grounded in the same dataset. Derived from a Patsnap search on Enhanced and Synthetic Vision Systems covering 2015–2026, data cut-off 2026-07-31. Counts reflect published records only and shift as new filings publish.Run this in Eureka MCP
Research Enhanced and Synthetic Vision Systems in depth with Eureka
Go past this page: query the whole enhanced and synthetic vision systems corpus yourself, in your own scope.
Every answer comes back with patent numbers you can open.
Disclaimer. This page is generated from Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent and scientific-literature records, and is provided for general information and reference only.
Patent data carries inherent limitations: recent filings (typically the most recent 18–24 months) are under-counted due to standard publication lag; counts may be reported at either a patent-family or a patent-record basis and are not always directly comparable; classification, applicant-name, and citation data may contain errors, duplicates, or omissions; and the underlying search query defines and constrains the scope shown. As a result, the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing on this page constitutes an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate, or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial, investment, or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Any patent, commercial, or strategic decision should be verified independently and reviewed with qualified patent, legal, and domain professionals. Patsnap makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose of the information presented.
Machine translation. Assignee and organisation names originally recorded in Chinese, Japanese or Korean have been rendered into English by an AI translation step so that the tables stay readable. These renderings are best-effort and may not match a company's registered English name; the original name is what the underlying patent record carries, and it is what any Eureka query launched from this page uses.