Jul 28, 2021 Patents on self-driving technology have exploded in recent years. Of firms leading the way in terms of sheer volume, you'll recognize a leading search engine's name ... Big tech companies have been promising an autonomous trucking revolution for years now, but even with billions poured into the technology and thousands of new patents filed over the last five years, manned trucks still will continue to rule the road for the forseeable future. What stands to change that? A recent report from Patent Forecast, a company that tracks competition and innovation in the intellectual property space, suggests that while competition is heating up among tech firms, and some clear winners and losers may take shape, we're far from full visibility or even an ETA on the delivery of reliable unmanned systems.