Smart light technology for the future
The majority of the large number of patents ZKW applied in 2020 are for technologies and sensors used in autonomous driving. “One of these inventions, for example, ensures an optimal view of camera sensors at night, by providing targeted illumination of the area around the vehicle with an intelligent headlamp” explain developers Thomas Reiter, Christoph Bierwipfl and Stefan Weissensteiner. Often, sensors can become dirty and cause problems. If their sensing capacity is greatly impacted, this can make autonomous vehicle operation impossible. Because of this, ZKW developed a solution for cleaning the sensor area – for instance using high-frequency vibrations or a targeted jet of water – and applied it for a patent.

Austria one of the most innovative nations
Overall, a total of 2,737 inventions were applied at the Patent office last year. Despite the pandemic, Austria was once again at the top of the rankings for international patent applications. The country was 6th in the EU and 11th in the world as a whole, proof of the force of innovation of Austrian companies. Austria was above-average in the EU for climate protection technologies, in particular.