Cobot Functional Safety ISO/TS 15066 Patent Snapshot
The cobot functional safety space under ISO/TS 15066 is a compact, highly concentrated field where a single specialist — Mantis Robotics Inc — holds a commanding share ahead of industrial incumbents. The field reached its annual filing peak in 2021 and has since plateaued, suggesting the foundational IP framework is maturing while adjacent branches in control systems and machine safety devices remain relatively sparse.
Mantis Robotics leads a concentrated but still-active field
The cobot functional safety evidence snapshot is dominated by Mantis Robotics Inc, which holds the largest position in the ranking, well ahead of all other filers. The top five filers together account for 53% of the combined total of the ranked applicants visible in this query, indicating a highly concentrated visible assignee structure.
A clear two-tier structure exists: Mantis Robotics Inc sits alone at the top, followed by Kuka Systems GmbH, HighRes Biosolutions Inc, the Shenyang Institute of Automation (Chinese Academy of Sciences), and Nachi Fujikoshi Corp in a closely bunched second tier, each holding materially fewer patent families. The gap between the leader and the second tier is substantial.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mantis Robotics Inc | 7 | |
| 2 | Kuka Systems GmbH | 3 | |
| 3 | HighRes Biosolutions Inc | 2 | |
| 4 | Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences | 2 | |
| 5 | Nachi Fujikoshi Corp | 2 | |
| 6 | Indian Institute of Science | 1 | |
| 7 | Autofuel APS | 1 | |
| 8 | Cobot Lift Holding ApS | 1 | |
| 9 | Siasun Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 10 | BAE Systems PLC | 1 |
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Politecnico di Milano | 1 | |
| 12 | Beijing University of Technology | 1 | |
| 13 | Beijing Institute of Technology | 1 | |
| 14 | Guangdong University of Technology | 1 | |
| 15 | B & O KFT | 1 | |
| 16 | Fanuc Ltd | 1 | |
| 17 | ABB Ltd | 1 | |
| 18 | Vaillant GmbH | 1 | |
| 19 | Guangdong Province Robot Innovation Center Co., Ltd. | 1 |
Mantis Robotics’ lead reflects a focused, purpose-built strategy in cobot safety sensing and control, while traditional industrial-robot incumbents such as Kuka, Fanuc, and ABB appear only modestly represented — suggesting the field is not yet a primary battleground for the largest automation OEMs.
Filings from approximately 2024 onward are subject to publication lag and are likely under-counted; conclusions about recent activity should be treated as provisional. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
A 2021 peak followed by a plateau, with B25J overwhelmingly dominant
The annual filing trend reveals a field that surged to a peak in 2021 and has since stabilised at a lower but sustained level, while the technology composition shows near-total concentration in manipulator and robot-related IPC classes.
Annual filing trend
Filings climbed from 2018 onward and peaked sharply in 2021, then eased. Figures for 2024–2026 reflect publication lag and are likely under-counted, so the apparent softness in the most recent period should not be read as a definitive decline.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
B25J (Manipulators & robots) accounts for the overwhelming share of classified records, confirming that hardware-level cobot design is the core IP focus. B67D (Dispensing liquids) appears as a notable secondary cluster, driven by Autofuel APS’s vehicle-refuelling robot work. Control systems (G05B), machine safety devices (F16P), and force-measurement (G01L) each have only modest representation, flagging potential gaps.
↗ 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.
Robotic system for automatic refuelling of vehicles
A robotic refuelling system and method for automatically operating a fuel station for refuelling vehicles includes a first detection unit for identifying the vehicle, a collaborative robot arm, and an adapter tool connected to the collaborative robot arm. The system is configured for detecting and identifying the vehicle, and controlling the collaborative… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 一种协作机器人碰撞安全测试系统和测试方法 | 21 |
| 2 | Working device and operating method | 15 |
| 3 | 一种协作机器人的检测装置 | 5 |
| 4 | Robotic system for automatic refuelling of vehicles | 4 |
| 5 | Robotic system for automatic refuelling of vehicles | 4 |
| 6 | Robot System with Casing Elements | 3 |
| 7 | 协作机器人共融能力测试任务及其综合评价方法 | 3 |
| 8 | Method and related system for safely controlling a… | 3 |
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.
Mantis Robotics Inc
Mantis Robotics Inc holds 7 patent families, the largest position in the field. Its technology emphasis spans B25J 13 (sensor-equipped manipulators), B25J 9 (programme-controlled manipulators), and B25J 19 (safety and monitoring accessories) — a coherent cluster covering the sensing, control, and safety-monitoring stack. Momentum is classified as a new entrant with 5 recent families, indicating the bulk of this portfolio was built within the recent filing window.
families: 7Kuka Systems GmbH
Kuka Systems GmbH holds 3 patent families, placing it second in the ranking. Its focus also spans B25J 19 (safety/monitoring accessories), B25J 13, and B25J 9 — broadly similar sub-classes to Mantis Robotics, but with a much smaller footprint. As an established industrial systems integrator, Kuka’s limited representation here may reflect reliance on standards-based compliance rather than proprietary safety IP as its primary competitive mechanism.
families: 3Frequently asked questions
The current corpus contains 38 patent families in scope globally. This is a compact field relative to broader robotics topics, reflecting the specificity of ISO/TS 15066 as a standards domain.
Mantis Robotics Inc holds the largest position with 7 patent families, well ahead of the next-ranked filer, Kuka Systems GmbH, which holds 3 patent families.
Annual filings peaked in 2021. The field is now in a maturity stage with activity plateaued near that peak. The multi-year window still shows a 7% growth figure, but annual volume has eased from the 2021 high. Figures from 2024 onward are subject to publication lag and are likely under-counted.
The United States is the leading filing jurisdiction, followed by WIPO (PCT) as the second most-used route, then China and Europe (EPO). The strong PCT usage signals that key applicants are pursuing international protection, making US and EP prosecution particularly important to monitor.
Yes. G05B (Control & regulating systems) has only 4 records and F16P (Machine safety devices) has only 2 records — both sparse relative to their technical relevance to ISO/TS 15066 requirements. G01L (Force & pressure measurement) and B23P (Metal working) each have only 1 record, also flagging potential gaps.
Several applicants are identified as new entrants based on their recent filing activity: Mantis Robotics Inc (5 recent families), HighRes Biosolutions Inc (2 recent families), and Nachi Fujikoshi Corp (2 recent families) all show new-entrant momentum, alongside smaller recent positions from Autofuel APS, the Shenyang Institute of Automation, Politecnico di Milano, and two Guangdong-based filers.
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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.
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