International Overview of Eye Tracking Technologies Using Patent Bases

This work presents an international overview on eye tracking technology from the perspective of Industrial Property, more specifically of Patents. In this sense, a methodology of Technological Prospection using the Derwent Innovation patent base is addressed. The results show the growth in the number of patent requirements about eye tracking technology from 1998 to 2018, which is more accelerated from 2010. The results also show the United States (US) as the international leader in the development of this technology, both in the number of patent requirements in the country, which is an indicator of interest in protecting this technology, and in the number of companies involved. On the other hand, the results also indicate that, since 2015, the Chinese Office is the international leader in the number of patent requirements, leaving the US Office in second place. International data were stratified in different areas of technological development, with the aid of the International Patent Classification (IPC), with emphasis on the area of eye tracking for surgery and eye diagnosis, followed by eye tracking for human-machine interface purposes.