Cobot Flexible Automation Patent Snapshot 2026
The cobot flexible automation patent space is in an early growth stage, with a small corpus dominated by a handful of filers spanning enterprise software, semiconductors, and industrial automation. Activity has been concentrated in the United States, with new entrants appearing in the most recent filing years across multiple geographies.
Accenture and Intel lead a highly concentrated but nascent field
Accenture Global Solutions Ltd and Intel Corp each hold the top position with 2 patent families apiece, followed by a cluster of single-family filers including Aditya University, Electrical Components International Inc, Electronics & Telecomm Research Institute, and Ningbo Xingboyuan Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd.
The top five filers account for 88% of the combined output of the ranked applicants visible in this query — an exceptionally high concentration ratio that reflects the field’s immaturity rather than entrenched incumbency. The gap between the top tier and the rest is effectively zero in absolute terms, meaning any new entrant with a focused filing program could quickly alter the ranking.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Accenture Global Solutions Ltd | 2 | |
| 2 | Intel Corporation | 2 | |
| 3 | Aditya University | 1 | |
| 4 | Electrical Components International Inc | 1 | |
| 5 | ELECTRONICS & TELECOMM RES INST | 1 | |
| 6 | Ningbo Xingboyuan Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. | 1 |
The leaders’ positions signal early positioning by large technology integrators and component suppliers rather than specialist cobot OEMs, leaving room for dedicated robotics firms to establish a stronger footprint.
The most recent 18–24 months of filings are likely under-represented due to standard patent publication lag; counts for 2024–2026 should be treated as provisional minimums. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Filing activity grew from zero before 2021 and remains dominated by manipulator-class patents
Two charts together capture the pace and composition of patenting activity: the annual trend shows when interest emerged and how it has evolved, while the technology-branch breakdown reveals which technical problems are being addressed.
Annual filing trend
No filings were recorded between 2017 and 2020; activity began in 2021 and has continued in each subsequent recorded period. Annual volume has remained low and relatively flat since 2021 — consistent with an early-growth field where the base is still small. Figures for 2024–2026 are provisional and understated due to publication lag.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
B25J (Manipulators & robots) is the visible branch, appearing across all 9 patent families in scope. G05B (Control & regulating systems) and G06F (Electric digital data processing) are secondary branches. G06Q (Business, commerce & admin data processing), B62D (Vehicles & legged-robot locomotion), G01B (Measuring length & dimensions), H01B (Cables, conductors & insulators), and H04L (Digital information transmission) each appear only once, reflecting narrow but diverse application exploration.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaHighly cited patent families surfaced by the query
Citation-heavy patent families returned by the query. Use this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents.
Hierarchical polytope workspace mapping for human-…
Various aspects of techniques, systems, and use cases for robot movement within human-robot collaboration (HRC) areas are disclosed. Convex free-space regions around points of interest in the HRC are detected and updated using one or more sensors. Collision-free motion plans for robots use a Hierarchical Convex Polytope (HCP) region in which the robot is… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Flexible cobot cart for wire harness assembly area | 1 |
Ranked by total forward citations. Citation counts favour older and broadly cited patent families, and broad or adjacent patents may appear when they match the search scope. Treat this section as citation context, not as a curated list of the most topic-specific patents. Some patent titles may be shown in their original, non-English language where an accurate translation could not be guaranteed.
Assignee snapshot from the current evidence set
The applicants below are visible in this query result. Because the evidence set is relatively small, read this section as a directional snapshot rather than a full competitive ranking.
Accenture Global Solutions Ltd
Accenture Global Solutions Ltd holds 2 patent families, focusing on B25J (Manipulators & robots) and G06F (Electric digital data processing) — a combination that points to software-integrated cobot orchestration rather than hardware design. No momentum data places Accenture among the recent new entrants, suggesting its filings represent an established but small position. Its digital-process emphasis differentiates it from hardware-oriented peers.
families: 2Intel Corp
Intel Corp also holds 2 patent families, equal to the leader. Momentum evidence does not list Intel among the flagged new entrants, indicating its position predates the most recent filing cohort. Intel’s participation likely reflects interest in edge-compute and sensing architectures for cobot control, consistent with its broader industrial-AI positioning. With no technology-focus breakdown available in the evidence for Intel specifically, its precise sub-class emphasis remains to be confirmed.
families: 2Frequently asked questions
The current corpus covers 9 patent families in scope. This is a small but actively growing dataset, and recent-year counts are provisional due to publication lag.
Accenture Global Solutions Ltd and Intel Corp each hold 2 patent families, placing them joint at the top of the ranking. They are followed by Aditya University, Electrical Components International Inc, Electronics & Telecomm Research Institute, and Ningbo Xingboyuan Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., each with 1 patent family.
The United States leads with 4 patent records, followed by India with 3 and China with 1. A single WIPO (PCT) filing also appears in the corpus.
The field is classified as Growth. No filings were recorded before 2021; activity has continued in each subsequent year. Annual figures for the most recent periods are understated due to standard publication lag and should be treated as minimums.
B25J (Manipulators & robots) is the visible branch, appearing across all 9 patent families in scope. G05B (Control & regulating systems) and G06F (Electric digital data processing) are the next most frequent branches.
No co-applicant filings are recorded in the current evidence. All identified filings are attributed to single applicants, which is consistent with the field’s early stage. This absence may change as the technology matures and joint development programs formalize.
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Disclaimer. This page is generated from Patsnap Eureka data drawn from a limited snapshot of global patent and scientific-literature records, and is provided for general information and reference only.
Patent data carries inherent limitations: recent filings (typically the most recent 18–24 months) are under-counted due to standard publication lag; counts may be reported at either a patent-family or a patent-record basis and are not always directly comparable; classification, applicant-name, and citation data may contain errors, duplicates, or omissions; and the underlying search query defines and constrains the scope shown. As a result, the analysis may be incomplete or inaccurate and may not reflect the full technology landscape.
Nothing on this page constitutes an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate, or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial, investment, or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Any patent, commercial, or strategic decision should be verified independently and reviewed with qualified patent, legal, and domain professionals. Patsnap makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose of the information presented.