Across agriculture, automotive, healthcare, and beyond, IBM’s inventors filed a record 8,088 patents in the U.S. in 2016, cementing the company’s top spot on the patent charts for the 24th year in a row.
For the record, that amounts to 22 patents granted each day.
More than 2,700 of these patents are related to cognitive computing, machine learning and the cloud – critical areas for the company behind Watson.
Of the over 8,000 patents, here are a few examples of what the IBM team came up with in ’16:
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US Patent #9,447,448: A system to use drone vehicles to survey, analyze and measure microbial contaminations in farms and hospitals.
US Patent #9,384,661: A method of trip planning that accounts for your cognitive state. If you’re sleep-deprived or just stressed, it suggests a less road-rage inducing route.
US Patent #9,374,649: A smart hearing aid that adjusts to the user’s specific needs. For instance, it could be trained to amplify specific voices or crucial sounds, like a smoke alarm.
This push to innovation is only the beginning of what these new technologies will be doing in the enterprise space: watching makers use these patented technologies in exciting new ways is in the very near future.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many U.S. patents did IBM receive in 2016?
IBM's inventors received a record 8,088 U.S. patents in 2016, which works out to 22 patents granted each day. The total kept IBM at the top of the U.S. patent rankings for the 24th year in a row.
What technology areas did IBM's 2016 patents focus on?
IBM's 2016 patents spanned agriculture, automotive, healthcare and other fields. More than 2,700 of them related to cognitive computing, machine learning and the cloud, which the article described as critical areas for the company behind Watson.
What was IBM's drone-related patent from 2016?
US Patent 9,447,448 covers a system that uses drone vehicles to survey, analyze and measure microbial contamination in farms and hospitals. It was one of the examples highlighted from IBM's record patent total in 2016.
What was IBM's patent for trip planning based on cognitive state?
US Patent 9,384,661 describes a trip-planning method that accounts for the traveller's cognitive state. If a driver is sleep-deprived or stressed, it suggests a route less likely to provoke road rage.
What did IBM's smart hearing aid patent describe?
US Patent 9,374,649, granted to IBM in 2016, describes a smart hearing aid that adjusts to the user's specific needs. For example, it could be trained to amplify particular voices or crucial sounds such as a smoke alarm.