농업분야에 적용이 가능한 산업용 ICT 융합 개인보호 및 편이장비 특허동향 분석

This study identified technological trends through an analysis of patents for the industrialization of personal protection and convenience equipment using information and communication technology (ICT) as a part of efforts to prevent farm work-related disasters. The analysis was conducted on patents registered and published between January 1974 and May 2016 by the world’s five largest intellectual property offices, including the KIPO, USPTO, JPO, EPO, and SIPO. The results of the analysis indicate that the US (36.8%) and South Korea (30.9%) led technological research and development (R&D) with frequent patent applications. An analysis of the technological market revealed that these countries are in the growth and maturity stages, in which the number of patents and number of patent applicants grow rapidly. In terms of the technological market shares of major countries, the US recorded the highest market shares in the field of sensing systems for workers’ dangerous conditions and convenience protection equipment based on the internet of things (IoT) convergence. South Korea marked the highest share of 41.8% in the field of sensing devices for dangerous conditions in the working environment. An analysis of the trend of patent applications by specific technologies disclosed the following results: sensing systems for workers’ dangerous conditions accounted for the highest share (49.2%), followed by IoT convergence-based convenience protection equipment (26.3%) and sensing devices for dangerous conditions in the working environment (24.6%). Based on this study, ICT-based personal protection and convenience equipment technologies are expected to be actively developed in the future. It will be necessary to secure national competitiveness through R&D investments and commercialization in personal protection and convenience equipment appropriate for farm work as well as through the acquisition of patent technologies and intellectual property rights.