Photon Counting Depth Sensor Patents: Leaders & Trends 2026
- 73.3% concentration. The top 5 of 17 ranked assignees hold 44 of all 60 records in scope — a field where claim space near the core technique is already dense.
- Filing peaked in 2021 at 14 records, then fell to 3 by 2024 (-79%), before publication-lag effects make 2025-2026 look artificially quiet.
- One classification dominates: G01S (radar, sonar & positioning) appears in 95.0% of records, while adjacent optics and processing classes stay in the single digits to teens.
Filing growth compares 2021 (14 records) with 2024 (3) — 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 60 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this landscape covers
Photon counting depth sensing uses single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) arrays and direct time-of-flight measurement to build range maps, competing with indirect time-of-flight and structured-light approaches on range resolution, ambient light rejection and eye safety at scale. This landscape covers 60 published records filed between 2015 and the 2026-07-31 cut-off, searched against direct time-of-flight and photon counting terms combined with the specific technical concerns — histogram accumulation, multipath interference, frame rate — that separate a workable sensor from a lab demonstration.
The dataset is small enough that individual filers move the ranking meaningfully, and young enough that the most recent two years are still filling in as publications catch up with filings.
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Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 60 records: how filing activity has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses the claims actually sit in.
A 2021 peak, then a real pullback
Filings rose from zero in 2017 to a peak of 14 in 2021, then declined to 3 by 2024 — a -79% move over that three-year span. Because publication trails filing by roughly 18 months, 2025 and 2026 figures are not yet complete and should not be read as a continuation of the decline.
G01S dominates; everything else is a minority branch
G01S (radar, sonar & positioning) covers 95.0% of the 60 records, confirming that ranging and positioning claims are the backbone of this space. Optical elements (G02B, 18.3%), video/image communication (H04N, 13.3%) and digital processing (G06F, 10.0%) trail well behind, and since records can carry multiple classes these shares add up past 100% by design.
Shares are the percentage of the 60 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Photon Counting for Depth Sensing with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about photon counting for depth sensing and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaThe most-cited records in this dataset
Direct Time Of Flight Distance Measuring System Incorporating In-Pixel Histogram Circuit With Optical Power Control
A direct time-of-flight distance measuring device built on smart-pixel architecture that generates in-pixel histograms from per-pixel single-photon event accumulation, avoiding time-to-digital converters entirely. Optical power control and variable resolution are handled within the pixel array itself, cutting data movement while raising spatial resolution and throughput.Filed by Cognisea Inc., published 2026-07-02 — the newest filing in this dataset and the one furthest from the 2021 peak.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US20170097417A1 | Apparatus for and method of range sensor based on direct time-of-flight and triangulation | 67 |
| 2 | US20200217965A1 | High dynamic range direct time of flight sensor with signal-dependent effective readout rate | 48 |
| 3 | US20220099814A1 | Power-efficient direct time of flight lidar | 12 |
| 4 | US20210396886A1 | Time of flight depth system including an illumination source with addressable illumination blocks | 11 |
| 5 | US20220137192A1 | High resolution low power inter-correlation SPAD assisted time-of-flight sensor | 11 |
| 6 | US20230280468A1 | Addressable projector for dot based direct time of flight depth sensing | 8 |
| 7 | US10942261B2 | Apparatus for and method of range sensor based on direct time-of-flight and triangulation | 6 |
| 8 | US11587247B1 | Synchronous event driven readout of pixels in a detector for direct time-of-flight depth sensing | 5 |
| 9 | US20230236297A1 | Systems and Methods for High Precision Direct Time-of-Flight Lidar in the Presence of Strong Pile-Up | 4 |
| 10 | US20230417908A1 | Periodical correlation detection for background light suppression in direct time-of-flight sensor | 4 |
Citation counts favour older records simply because they have had longer to accumulate citations inside the corpus — treat them as a signal of influence on later filings, not of current commercial relevance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Browse MCP servers →What the numbers mean for a filing decision
Three findings that shape where a new filer should and should not aim inside this space.
Core claim space is already occupied
With the top 5 of the 17 ranked assignees accounting for 44 of all 60 records, the core direct time-of-flight and histogram-accumulation techniques carry dense prior art. A new entrant filing broad claims on SPAD-based ranging or histogram circuits is filing into ground that is already staked out, not open territory.
Momentum is uneven, not broad-based
Most of the historically active assignees show zero filings in the latest year, while one filer posted a sharp increase. That pattern is consistent with a field where a handful of firms are still actively prosecuting while others have moved on or gone quiet in the visible record — not evidence the whole field has cooled.
Ranging claims dominate; modulation optics is thin
G01S records outnumber the smallest tracked class, G02F (optical control & modulation), by a wide margin. That gap between the dominant ranging class and the thinly filed optics-control class points to where claim density is lightest relative to the field's overall size.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to photon counting for depth sensing, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and where the gaps sit
The ranking covers all 17 assignees the data endpoint returns for this search — not a top-50 or top-100 cut. A single leader holds 12 records, with the count falling to 4 by fifth place and 2 by tenth.
One clear leader, then a fast drop-off
The leading assignee holds 12 of the 60 records in scope, roughly three times the fifth-place count of 4. That gap is the clearest sign of where institutional depth in this specific technique currently sits.
The tail thins quickly past the top ten
By tenth place, filing counts have dropped to 2 records, and the top 10 combined already account for 96.7% of all 60 records. Entrants outside this group are filing in small numbers against an otherwise concentrated field.
A small number of firms co-file repeatedly
Five co-assignee pairings appear in the dataset, with the strongest pairs each filing together multiple times. This points to sustained joint development between specific research partners rather than one-off co-filings, concentrated among firms already active in the sensor and semiconductor space.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| COGNISEA INC | 5 | +400% |
| Meta Platforms Technologies, LLC | 0 | — |
| Sense Photonics, Inc. | 0 | — |
| Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation | 0 | — |
| Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. | 0 | — |
| Sony Depthsensing Solutions SA/NV | 0 | — |
| The University Court of the University of Edinburgh | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis
The dataset points to specific next steps depending on whether the goal is freedom-to-operate, portfolio strategy, or spotting an entry point.
Check freedom-to-operate against the leader's claims
With one assignee holding 12 of 60 records and the top 5 covering 73.3% of the field, any new filing near histogram accumulation or direct time-of-flight ranging should be checked against the leading holders' claim scope first.
Run a claim comparison in EurekaTrack the assignees still filing after the 2021 peak
Filing fell -79% from 2021 to 2024 overall, but recent-year momentum is uneven across assignees. Watching which specific filers remain active post-peak is more informative than the aggregate trend line.
Monitor assignee activity in EurekaDraft into the lighter-filed optics and processing classes
G02F, G06T and G01B each cover a small single-digit-to-low-teens share of the 60 records compared with G01S's 95.0%. These branches carry less prior art density and are worth a closer prior-art check before assuming they are closed.
Explore white space in EurekaCommon questions about this landscape
In this dataset of 60 records, one assignee leads with 12 records, well ahead of the fifth-ranked filer at 4. The top 5 of the 17 ranked assignees together account for 73.3% of all 60 records, so the field is concentrated among a small group rather than spread evenly. That said, the ranking reflects only the assignees this search returns, not every company active in the broader direct time-of-flight market.
Filing activity peaked at 14 records in 2021 and had fallen to 3 by 2024, a -79% decline over that span. However, publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so the apparent drop-off in 2025 and 2026 is partly an artifact of records not yet being published rather than a confirmed slowdown. The 2021-to-2024 comparison is the most reliable read available in this data.
G01S, covering radar, sonar and positioning, appears in 95.0% of the 60 records and is effectively the backbone classification for this technology. Optical elements (G02B) and pictorial communication (H04N) follow at 18.3% and 13.3% respectively, with digital processing, measuring, pulse-technique and optical-modulation classes each covering smaller minority shares. Because a single record can carry several classes, these percentages overlap rather than sum to 100%.
The lightest-filed classes relative to the dominant G01S ranging classification are G02F (optical control & modulation, 5.0% of records) and G06T (image data processing, 6.7%). These branches — power control schemes, variable-resolution pixel addressing, and optical modulation specific to SPAD arrays — carry less claim density than core ranging and histogram-accumulation techniques, making them a more promising starting point for new filings than the crowded core.
US20260186107A1, filed by Cognisea Inc. and published 2026-07-02, describes a direct time-of-flight distance measuring system using in-pixel histogram circuitry with optical power control, avoiding time-to-digital converters by accumulating single-photon events per pixel against a global clock. It is the newest filing in this 60-record dataset. Anyone designing a smart-pixel histogram architecture with in-pixel power control should review its claim scope directly rather than relying on the abstract alone.
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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.
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.