The number of Industry 4.0 technology patent applications in Brazil has increased over the past decade, according to a survey by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI).
In 2008, Brazil filed 1,202 patent applications for inventions related to Industry 4.0 technologies, which represents 5% of the total 23,170 applications placed that year. In 2017, there were 14,634 patents related to the Industry 4.0, which represents 57% of the total of 25,658 patent filings in that year.
For CNI’s Industrial Policy Executive Manager, João Emílio Gonçalves, the growth in the number of patent applications related to Industry 4.0 reflects a worldwide trend. “To become leaders in this technology race, companies are increasingly investing in research and development of industry-enabling technologies 4.0,” he said. He considers that Brazil needs to accelerate the process of implementation of the sector’s technologies.
In the CNI survey, the technologies of this industry were divided into three groups: core technologies, enablers and application sectors. Adding the three groups, 35,196 patents were filed in Brazil in 10 years. The confederation shows that orders increased significantly over the last three years of the review period: almost 75% were placed between 2015 and 2017.
Core technologies allow you to turn a product into a smart device connected to the internet. They include hardware, software, and connectivity technologies. Enabling technologies are those that are built in a complementary way to the switchboards, including innovations related to data analysis, user interface, 3D computing, artificial intelligence, location systems, power systems and security systems.
In the third group of applications are technologies intended for end users and include, for example, personal items such as health or entertainment monitoring, and home innovations such as intelligent alarm, lighting and heating systems. In industry, these are digital technologies that enable increased productivity and more efficient production, CNI explained.
“In addition to the development of Industry 4.0 technologies, we have the challenge in Brazil of adopting them quickly, in order to reduce the difference in productivity between Brazil and its main international competitors,” added Gonçalves.
Source: Agência Brasil
CNI: aumentam pedidos de patentes de tecnologias da Indústria 4.0
