Company patents
BNSF Railway Company
BNSF Railway Company, surprisingly for a railway, has a significant focus on software and data-driven innovation, with Business Methods & Fintech comprising 17.0% of its portfolio and Image Processing at 13.4%. While categories like Radar / Sonar / Lidar showed rapid growth of +60.0% in 2025, many computing-related areas like Computer Vision and Machine Learning & AI have seen a sharp decline in patenting activity so far in 2026, indicating a potential shift in priorities.
Patent Trend by Technology Area
Yearly patent publications since 2023
Product themes
Product-level themes inferred from filings since 2023, with category chips showing where each theme appears. Select a theme to filter the patents below.
283 US filings (since 2023) · 12 categories · 14 themes
Systems that employ imaging and image processing to automatically detect defects, verify states, or ensure quality control in manufactured goods, printed materials, or industrial processes.
Methods and systems for integrating, transforming, and managing complex or domain-specific data from disparate sources into a unified structure, often for specific applications like social networks, genomics, or business forms.
Systems and methods for controlling electric parking brakes, including their actuators, redundancy features, and diagnostic capabilities for ensuring reliable operation.
Methods and systems for improving the quality of video streams, generating intermediate frames, or continuously locating and following objects within a sequence of images, even under occlusion.
Techniques utilizing various physical principles (e.g., radar, capacitance, ultrasound, thermal, optical, force) to accurately determine the fill level or presence of substances in containers, often under challenging conditions.
Software-driven control strategies, sensor integration, and diagnostic methods for enhancing braking performance, driver assistance systems (ADAS), and autonomous vehicle braking functions.
Systems and methods for accurately controlling the volume, location, and characteristics of sprayed fluids, often involving sensors, feedback, or specific nozzle geometries for precise application.
Innovations in the construction, integration, and operational verification of flow measurement devices, including methods for calibration, fault detection, and structural integrity monitoring.
Automated systems using image processing and artificial intelligence to identify, classify, and assess the extent of damage to structures or objects, supporting maintenance or insurance claims.
Methods and systems for accurately determining the absolute or relative position of an object or device, often integrating satellite navigation (GNSS), inertial measurement units (IMU), and local ranging or wireless communication technologies.
Methods and apparatus for improving the visual fidelity, resolution, or compression efficiency of video signals, often through advanced processing, up-scaling, or neural network-based filters.
Technologies for measuring the flow rate, level, or composition of mixtures containing multiple fluid phases (e.g., liquid-liquid, liquid-gas, liquid-solid suspensions), often employing specialized sensing principles to differentiate components.
Mobile applications and systems leveraging wireless communication and location data (e.g., GPS, RFID, geo-fencing) to provide context-specific services, transactions, or user interactions.
Methods and systems for detecting fluid or gas leaks, or assessing the quality and continuity of seals in containers, systems, or structures. This often involves pressure changes, electrical properties, or acoustic analysis.
Patents
Showing 1-8 of 8
Precise Positioning & Localization