High-Definition Mapping Patent Landscape 2026
High-Definition Mapping Patent Landscape in 2026
The HD mapping patent field is still expanding on a multi-year basis, though annual volume has eased from its 2023 peak, with 4,942 patent families in scope and filings concentrated heavily in the United States. NVIDIA holds a commanding lead with nearly three times the portfolio of the second-ranked filer, pointing to a sharply tiered competitive structure dominated by a handful of technology-platform players.
NVIDIA leads a highly concentrated field
NVIDIA Corporation is the clear leader in HD mapping IP, ranking first among all applicants. The top five filers together account for 46% of the combined output of the hundred largest filers, confirming that a small group of technology and automotive-software companies sets the competitive agenda.
A pronounced tier gap separates NVIDIA from the chasing pack: Mobileye Vision Technologies ranks second, followed by LG Electronics, HERE Global, and Qualcomm—each with portfolios between roughly one-fifth and one-third the size of NVIDIA’s. Beyond this top tier, the field disperses rapidly across automakers, Tier-1 suppliers, and autonomous-driving start-ups.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NVIDIA Corporation | 996 | |
| 2 | Mobileye Vision Technologies Ltd | 308 | |
| 3 | LG Electronics Inc | 270 | |
| 4 | HERE Global BV | 231 | |
| 5 | Qualcomm Incorporated | 212 | |
| 6 | TORC Robotics Inc | 205 | |
| 7 | Baidu USA LLC | 134 | |
| 8 | Nissan Motor Co Ltd | 105 | |
| 9 | Aurora Operations Inc | 83 | |
| 10 | Toyota Motor Corporation | 77 |
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | PlusAI Inc | 69 | |
| 12 | Hyundai Motor Co Ltd | 69 | |
| 13 | Ford Global Technologies LLC | 65 | |
| 14 | Renault SA | 60 | |
| 15 | GM Global Technology Operations LLC | 58 | |
| 16 | Samsung Electronics Co Ltd | 57 | |
| 17 | HL Klemove Corp | 54 | |
| 18 | Aptiv Technologies AG | 50 | |
| 19 | Nissan North America Inc | 47 | |
| 20 | Five AI Ltd | 44 |
NVIDIA’s concentration in image and video recognition (G06V) combined with AI model computing (G06N) signals a platform approach—building perception and inference infrastructure that underpins many downstream HD mapping applications. This breadth makes it difficult for single-application specialists to match NVIDIA’s cross-domain coverage.
The most recent 18–24 months of data are subject to publication lag and are likely under-counted; trend readings for 2024–2026 should be treated as provisional. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Multi-year growth with a 2023 peak and a broad technology base
Two structural features define the HD mapping landscape: a filing trajectory that climbed sharply from 2017 to a 2023 peak before easing, and a technology mix anchored in vehicle control and machine-vision classes with a long tail of adjacent branches.
Annual filing trend
Filings accelerated rapidly from 156 in 2017 to a peak of 813 in 2023, reflecting the surge in autonomous-vehicle R&D investment over that period. The subsequent drop in 2024 and the low 2025–2026 counts are consistent with normal publication lag and should not be read as a sustained decline. On a recent three-year versus prior three-year comparison, the field remains 6% ahead, confirming continued net expansion.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
Hybrid and joint vehicle control (B60W) is the single largest class, reflecting the systems-integration focus of most HD mapping patents. Image and video recognition (G06V), autonomous navigation (G05D), and distance/navigation instruments (G01C) form a dense core cluster. AI model computing (G06N) and general digital data processing (G06F) are present in meaningful volumes, while traffic control (G08G), radar and positioning (G01S), and wireless networks (H04W) round out the secondary tier. The long tail of low-count classes—spanning agriculture, robotics, and UAVs—indicates exploratory cross-domain filing rather than established sub-fields.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaHighly cited patent families surfaced by the query
Citation-heavy patent families returned by the query. Use this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents.
High definition mapping for autonomous systems and…
In various examples, a high definition (HD) map is provided that includes a segmented data structure that allows for selective access to desired road segments and corresponding layers of map data. For example, the HD map may be segmented into a series of tiles that may correspond to a geographic region, and each of the tiles may include any number of road… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Systems and methods for safe and reliable autonomo… | 1,021 |
| 2 | Autonomous vehicle system | 647 |
| 3 | Autonomous vehicle speed calibration | 476 |
| 4 | Safety procedure analysis for obstacle avoidance i… | 388 |
| 5 | Behavior-guided path planning in autonomous machin… | 349 |
| 6 | Real-time detection of lanes and boundaries by aut… | 347 |
| 7 | Event data recordation to identify and resolve ano… | 330 |
| 8 | Systems and methods for computer-assisted shuttles… | 325 |
Ranked by total forward citations. Citation counts favour older and broadly cited patent families, and broad or adjacent patents may appear when they match the search scope. Treat this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents. Some patent titles may be shown in their original, non-English language where an accurate translation could not be guaranteed.
What the structure means for HD mapping R&D investment
United States shapes the risk and opportunity profile for any new entrant or fast-follower in this space.
Growth stage with easing annual volume
The lifecycle evidence classifies HD mapping as a Growth-stage field. Multi-year filing volume remains ahead of the prior three-year window, but annual output eased after the 2023 peak. New entrants can still establish meaningful positions, though differentiation is increasingly necessary as core perception and control classes fill up.
Growth stageSharp tier gap favors incumbents
The top five filers hold 46% of the hundred largest filers’ combined output, and NVIDIA alone accounts for a disproportionate share of that. This level of concentration means that freedom-to-operate analysis is essential before committing R&D resources to the core B60W and G06V classes. Adjacent or application-specific branches carry lower blocking risk.
High concentrationNissan–Renault alliance dominates co-filing
The most active co-filing pair is Nissan North America and Renault, with 52 jointly filed patent families—consistent with the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance’s shared autonomous-driving programs. A secondary collaboration links Nissan North America with the University of Massachusetts (15 families), indicating academic partnership on foundational research. Mobileye Vision Technologies and Intel have four co-filed families, reflecting their ownership relationship. Other pairings are sparse, suggesting the broader ecosystem operates largely through independent filing rather than formal IP alliances.
Alliance-drivenUS-centric with limited Asia-Pacific presence
The United States accounts for the largest share of patent records, followed by the European Patent Office and WIPO PCT filings. China ranks fourth, while Germany, India, and the United Kingdom form a secondary tier. South Korea and Japan—home to major automotive OEMs active in the ranking—show notably lower record counts, suggesting that many Asia-Pacific players are prioritizing US and European protection over domestic filings. Entrants targeting Asian markets may find relatively lower patent density in those jurisdictions.
US-dominantGo beyond the landscape: Eureka’s TRIZ Solution agent breaks down an R&D problem and returns patented concept solutions, each with a technical approach and cited patent & literature evidence.
| Applicant | Collaborator | Co-filings |
|---|---|---|
| Nissan North America Inc | Renault SA | 52 |
| Nissan North America Inc | 马萨诸塞大学 | 15 |
| Baidu USA LLC | Baidu Netcom Science & Technology (Beijing) Co Ltd | 14 |
| Mobileye Vision Technologies Ltd | Intel Corporation | 4 |
| Nissan North America Inc | NASA | 2 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
NVIDIA accelerates; Mobileye and LG Electronics pull back sharply
The momentum data reveal a bifurcating competitive landscape: compute-platform players are increasing their filing pace while several established automotive-software and OEM-adjacent filers have significantly reduced recent activity.
NVIDIA Corporation
NVIDIA leads the corpus with 996 patent families and is accelerating: recent filings are up 74% versus the prior three-year period. Its technology emphasis is concentrated in image and video recognition (G06V 20 and G06V 10) and AI model computing (G06N 3), reflecting a perception-infrastructure strategy that spans autonomous vehicles, robotics, and simulation. This broad platform approach, combined with rising filing momentum, widens the gap between NVIDIA and all other applicants.
families: 996Qualcomm Incorporated
Qualcomm ranks fifth with 212 patent families and is gaining momentum at +67% in recent filings versus the prior three-year window. Its focus spans image recognition (G06V 20), autonomous vehicle control (B60W 60), and navigation control (G05D 1), positioning it as a semiconductor and connectivity challenger targeting the edge-compute layer of HD mapping systems. This trajectory contrasts with the declining momentum seen at Mobileye (down 74%) and LG Electronics (down 88%), suggesting Qualcomm is the most credible near-term challenger among the established names.
families: 212| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA Corporation | 497 | ▲ +74% |
| Mobileye Vision Technologies Ltd | 35 | ▼ -74% |
| LG Electronics Inc | 26 | ▼ -88% |
| HERE Global BV | 59 | ▼ -47% |
| Qualcomm Incorporated | 117 | ▲ +67% |
| TORC Robotics Inc | 181 | ▲ new entrant |
| CreateAI Inc | 130 | ▲ 6.8× vs prior 3-yr |
| Baidu USA LLC | 5 | ▼ -95% |
Under-served branches adjacent to the HD mapping core
Several IPC classes sit at meaningful absolute volumes but hold lower shares relative to the dominant B60W and G06V clusters, suggesting they remain less contested within this corpus. These are observations of relative sparsity; technical merit and entry paths vary by branch.
G08G · Traffic control systems
G08G holds 689 patent records—substantial in absolute terms but only 5% of the IPC distribution—placing it below the core perception and control classes. HD mapping data feeding into real-time traffic management and vehicle-to-infrastructure signaling is a plausible extension. Entry paths could involve co-development with road operators or smart-city infrastructure vendors, where incumbent HD mapping players have limited existing coverage.
Search this in Eureka →G01S · Radar, sonar & positioning
G01S (radar, sonar, and positioning) appears 527 times in the corpus but accounts for only 4% of the IPC distribution, despite LiDAR and radar being foundational HD mapping sensors. The relative sparsity may reflect that sensor hardware is patented separately from mapping software. Teams working on sensor-map fusion, long-range radar localization, or 4D radar HD map generation could find a less crowded claim space within this branch.
Search this in Eureka →How leaders differ by technology route
Strength of each leader across the main technology routes.
| Player | B60W 60 · Hybrid/joint vehicle control | G05D 1 · Control of non-electric variables | G06V 20 · Image/video recognition | B60W 30 · Hybrid/joint vehicle control | G01C 21 · Distance, navigation & gyroscopes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA Corporation | Strong · 300 | Strong · 260 | Strong · 505 | Moderate · 152 | Emerging · 80 |
| Mobileye Vision Technologies Ltd | Moderate · 98 | Strong · 134 | Moderate · 77 | Strong · 207 | Strong · 155 |
| LG Electronics Inc | Strong · 78 | Strong · 122 | Moderate · 56 | Strong · 89 | Strong · 84 |
| HERE Global BV | Moderate · 61 | Strong · 97 | Moderate · 62 | Absent | Strong · 129 |
| Qualcomm Incorporated | Strong · 68 | Strong · 51 | Strong · 72 | Strong · 46 | Moderate · 31 |
| TORC Robotics Inc | Strong · 133 | Absent | Moderate · 56 | Moderate · 58 | Absent |
| DeepMap Inc | Absent | Strong · 116 | Absent | Absent | Strong · 99 |
Frequently asked questions
The corpus analyzed contains 4,942 patent families. Filing activity grew rapidly from 2017, reached a peak of 813 annual filings in 2023, and has eased since, though the most recent years are under-counted due to publication lag.
NVIDIA Corporation is the leading applicant with 996 patent families, nearly three times the count of the second-ranked filer, Mobileye Vision Technologies, which holds 308 patent families. NVIDIA’s recent momentum is also the strongest among established players, up 74% in recent filings.
Hybrid and joint vehicle control (B60W) is the largest class, followed by image and video recognition (G06V), navigation control (G05D), and distance and navigation instruments (G01C). AI model computing (G06N) and digital data processing (G06F) form a significant secondary cluster.
The United States hosts the largest volume of patent records, followed by the European Patent Office and WIPO PCT. China ranks fourth, with Germany, India, and the United Kingdom forming a secondary tier. South Korea and Japan show comparatively lower record counts despite having significant OEM filers in the applicant ranking.
TORC Robotics is flagged as a new entrant with 181 recent patent families. A company recorded in the evidence as having an approximately 6.8-times increase versus the prior three-year period shows the largest proportional jump among tracked players, though this likely reflects a small prior base. Qualcomm is up 67% and NVIDIA up 74%, making them the most active established filers by momentum.
The most active co-filing relationship is between Nissan North America and Renault, with 52 jointly filed patent families, consistent with their shared Alliance autonomous-driving programs. Nissan North America also co-filed 15 families with the University of Massachusetts and 2 with NASA. Mobileye Vision Technologies and Intel share 4 co-filed families. Beyond these pairings, collaboration is sparse, and most players file independently.
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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.
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