Cobot Learning-Based Control Patent Landscape 2026
Intel Corporation holds a commanding lead in cobot learning-based control patenting, with the field anchored in manipulator and robot control (B25J) and increasingly intersecting AI computing frameworks. Activity has expanded substantially since 2019 and remains elevated, though annual volume has eased from its 2023 peak.
Intel leads a moderately concentrated field with a diverse challenger tier
Intel Corporation occupies the top position with 17 patent records, giving it more than twice the output of the next-ranked filer, BAE Systems with 8 patent records, followed by Chengdu Qinchuan IoT Technology with 7.
The top five filers account for 34% of the combined output of the hundred largest filers, indicating moderate concentration: Intel’s lead is clear, but a broad challenger tier including defense, semiconductor, and agricultural robotics players prevents any single route from being locked up.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Intel Corporation | 17 | |
| 2 | BAE Systems PLC | 8 | |
| 3 | Chengdu Qinchuan IoT Technology Co Ltd | 7 | |
| 4 | Aigen Inc | 5 | |
| 5 | Lam Research Corporation | 5 | |
| 6 | Fanuc Corporation | 3 | |
| 7 | SAVEETHA INST OF MEDICAL & TECH SCI | 2 | |
| 8 | Baker Hughes Oilfield Operations LLC | 2 | |
| 9 | Centro Ricerche Fiat S.C.p.A. | 2 | |
| 10 | Kidde Fire Protection LLC | 2 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Arya College of Engineering | 2 | |
| 12 | Accenture Global Solutions Ltd | 2 | |
| 13 | Teknologisk Institut | 2 | |
| 14 | Aditya University | 2 | |
| 15 | JIS College of Engineering | 2 | |
| 16 | Southeast University | 2 | |
| 17 | The Research Foundation for the State University of New York | 2 | |
| 18 | KOREA UNIV OF TECH & EDUCATION IND UNIV COOPERATIO… | 2 | |
| 19 | Hoseo University Academic Cooperation Foundation | 2 | |
| 20 | Dr. Neetesh Kumar Gupta | 1 |
Intel’s dominant position, focused heavily on manipulator and robot control alongside business-process data processing, signals that hyperscaler-class compute firms are staking foundational claims in learning-based cobot control, potentially setting licensing reference points for hardware and systems integrators.
Patent records from approximately 2024–2026 are subject to publication lag and are likely under-counted; the apparent recent-year totals should not be interpreted as a ceiling on activity. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Activity surged after 2019 and technology mix is dominated by robotics with growing AI overlap
The filing trend and technology composition together reveal a field that matured rapidly from a near-zero base and now spans a wide but unequal set of IPC branches.
Annual filing trend
Filings were negligible through 2018, then rose sharply from 2019 onward, reaching a peak in 2023 before easing. The 2024–2026 bars are affected by publication lag and understate true current activity; the multi-year trajectory remains expansive relative to the pre-2019 baseline.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
B25J (Manipulators and robots) accounts for the largest share by a wide margin, reflecting the core cobot hardware focus. G06N (AI models and computing) and G05B (Control and regulating systems) form a secondary tier, while G06F, G06Q, and image-processing branches (G06T, G06V) appear at lower shares — pointing to adjacent technical territory that remains comparatively sparse.
↗ 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.
Method for precisely determining an output torque,…
The invention relates to a method for precisely determining an output-side torque, in particular an output-side torque of an actuator gearing mechanism of a joint of a collaborative robot, by means of an artificial intelligence which is designed to output one or more output variables on the basis of input variables, wherein the input variables of the… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Negotiation-based Human-Robot Collaboration via Au… | 42 |
| 2 | Methods and apparatus to train interdependent auto… | 41 |
| 3 | 医疗影像分类方法、装置、介质及电子设备 | 21 |
| 4 | Collaborative robot network with hybrid electro-me… | 18 |
| 5 | Collaborative robot system | 13 |
| 6 | 一种协作机器人多步骤自主装配作业决策方法 | 12 |
| 7 | Collaborative robot system on a mobile cart with a… | 11 |
| 8 | Repetitive task and contextual risk analytics for … | 10 |
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.
What the competitive structure means for R&D investment decisions
Four structural dimensions — maturity, concentration, collaboration, and geography — shape where incremental R&D investment is likely to find differentiated returns.
Field approaching maturity with annual volume eased from its 2023 peak
The lifecycle evidence places this field at a Maturity stage: annual filings have plateaued near their peak following a rapid build-up from 2019. On a multi-year basis the field is substantially larger than it was five years ago, but the era of easy first-mover filing has passed. New entrants should expect to navigate a denser prior-art environment and focus claims on differentiated sub-approaches.
Lifecycle: MaturityModerate concentration leaves meaningful room for challengers
With 34% of the top-hundred filers’ combined output held by the top five, the field is concentrated enough that Intel’s foundational claims warrant freedom-to-operate review, but not so dominated that entry is structurally blocked. The second tier — BAE Systems, Chengdu Qinchuan, Aigen, and Lam Research — spans defense, IoT, agriculture, and semiconductor process control, indicating that application-specific routes remain open.
Concentration: ModerateNo co-applicant relationships detected in current evidence
The collaboration data contains no recorded co-filing relationships within this corpus. This absence may reflect the nascent state of formal R&D partnerships in learning-based cobot control, the tendency of leading commercial filers to prosecute independently, or data coverage limits. Evidence pending on specific bilateral or consortium-level filing activity.
Collaboration: Evidence pendingUnited States leads filings; India and China are active secondary jurisdictions
The United States accounts for the largest share of patent records at 40, followed by India at 21 and China at 17. WIPO PCT filings at 9 and EPO at 7 indicate some applicants are pursuing multi-jurisdictional protection, but the majority of activity is concentrated in three national offices. South Korea, the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, and Turkey are present but at low volumes, suggesting limited systematic protection in manufacturing-heavy European and Asian markets beyond China and Korea.
Geography: US-ledGo beyond the landscape: Eureka’s TRIZ Solution agent breaks down an R&D problem and returns patented concept solutions, each with a technical approach and cited patent & literature evidence.
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
Intel dominates core robotics claims; BAE Systems emphasizes sensing and control
The two leading filers differ in emphasis: Intel concentrates on core manipulator programming and business-process integration, while BAE Systems stacks depth in sensing and feedback control for likely defense-adjacent cobot applications.
Intel Corporation
Intel Corporation leads with 17 patent records, focused primarily on B25J 9 (manipulator programming and path control), with secondary claims in business-process data processing (G06Q 10) and neural-network AI models (G06N 3). Momentum data classifies Intel as a new entrant in the recent filing window — suggesting its 17-record position was built quickly and recently, making it a fast-moving accumulator rather than a long-established incumbent.
patent records: 17BAE Systems PLC
BAE Systems holds 8 patent records with a portfolio spread across B25J 9 (manipulator programming), B25J 13 (operator-controlled manipulators and sensing), and G05B 19 (computer-integrated manufacturing control). This combination points to human-robot interaction and precision control applications consistent with defense and advanced manufacturing use cases. BAE Systems does not appear in the recent-window momentum list, indicating a more established prior filing base.
patent records: 8| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Intel Corporation | 7 | ▲ new entrant |
| Chengdu Qinchuan IoT Technology Co Ltd | 6 | ▲ new entrant |
| Lam Research Corporation | 1 | ▲ new entrant |
| Aigen Inc | 3 | ▲ new entrant |
| 韩国技术教育大学产学协力团 | 2 | ▲ new entrant |
Under-served branches in control systems, AI computing, and image recognition
Several IPC branches appear at materially lower patent-record counts than B25J, pointing to areas where technical overlap with cobot learning exists but dedicated filing is sparse relative to the core robotics class.
G05B · Control & Regulating Systems
G05B appears in 19 patent records — substantial in absolute terms but far below B25J’s 98, leaving a gap in learning-integrated process control and adaptive feedback loops for cobots. As cobots move into tighter closed-loop manufacturing and quality-assurance roles, claims bridging machine-learning inference and real-time regulatory control (G05B 19, G05B 13) represent a plausible adjacent area. Entry could leverage existing G05B competencies from automation incumbents rather than requiring a ground-up robotics stack.
Search this in Eureka →G06V · Image/Video Recognition
G06V (image and video recognition) appears in only 6 patent records, despite visual perception being a foundational capability for learning-based cobot manipulation and human-robot collaboration. The sparsity is notable given the volume of vision-based cobot demonstrations in research literature. Applicants with existing computer-vision portfolios — particularly in industrial inspection or autonomous systems — may find this an accessible entry path for differentiated cobot-perception claims.
Search this in Eureka →How leading applicants differ by IPC technology route
Route coverage across the main technology branches in the current evidence set.
| Player | B25J 9 · Manipulators & robots | G06N 3 · Computing based on AI models | G05B 19 · Control & regulating systems | G06N 20 · Computing based on AI models | B25J 13 · Manipulators & robots |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BAE Systems PLC | Strong · 8 | Absent | Moderate · 4 | Moderate · 2 | Strong · 6 |
| Intel Corporation | Strong · 15 | Emerging · 2 | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Chengdu Qinchuan IoT Technology Co Ltd | Strong · 7 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Aditya University | Strong · 2 | Moderate · 1 | Strong · 2 | Absent | Moderate · 1 |
| Arya College of Engineering | Strong · 2 | Strong · 2 | Absent | Strong · 2 | Absent |
| Aigen Inc | Strong · 5 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
| Lam Research Corporation | Strong · 5 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Absent |
Frequently asked questions
The corpus analyzed contains 103 patent families in scope. This spans filings from 2017 through 2026, with the caveat that records from approximately 2024–2026 are subject to publication lag and are likely under-counted.
Intel Corporation leads with 17 patent records, more than twice the output of the second-ranked filer, BAE Systems PLC at 8 patent records. Intel’s momentum data indicates its position was built rapidly as a new entrant in the recent filing window.
The United States has the highest volume at 40 patent records, followed by India at 21 and China at 17. WIPO PCT and EPO filings indicate some applicants are building multi-jurisdictional coverage, but most activity is concentrated in the US, India, and China.
B25J (Manipulators and robots) is the dominant IPC class with 98 patent records, far ahead of G06N (AI models, 27 records) and G05B (Control and regulating systems, 19 records). This confirms the field is rooted in robot hardware and programming rather than pure software AI.
The field expanded substantially from 2019 onward and reached a peak in 2023. Lifecycle evidence places it at a Maturity stage, with annual volume having eased from that peak. The multi-year trajectory is still well above the pre-2019 baseline, but the pace of new entrants claiming open ground has slowed.
G05B (Control and regulating systems) at 19 patent records and G06V (Image and video recognition) at 6 patent records are the most notable adjacent branches relative to the dominant B25J class. Learning-integrated feedback control and visual perception for cobots are areas where filing density remains low despite clear technical relevance.
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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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