Connected Robot / Industrial IoT Patent Snapshot 2026
This is a nascent, highly concentrated field: 7 patent families in scope are dominated by a single applicant, Cognibotics, holding 3 of the top records, with the United States as the primary filing jurisdiction. Activity is in a growth stage, with the 2024 cohort representing the largest annual cluster to date, though recent-year counts remain subject to publication lag.
Cognibotics leads a tightly concentrated early-stage field
Cognibotics holds the top position with 3 patent records, followed by six applicants — Fanuc Robotics North America, Hitachi, System Engineering Mega Solution, Aika (Nantong) Intelligent Technology, Guizhou University of Engineering Science, and ABB Technology — each with 1 patent record.
The top five filers account for 78% of the combined output of the ranked applicants visible in this query, signaling extreme concentration. The tier gap between the leader and all challengers is currently two-to-one, which is large for a field of this size.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cognibotics AB | 3 | |
| 2 | Fanuc Robotics North America Inc | 1 | |
| 3 | Hitachi Ltd | 1 | |
| 4 | System Engineering Mega Solution Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 5 | Aika (Nantong) Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 6 | Guizhou University of Engineering Science | 1 | |
| 7 | ABB Technology AB | 1 |
Cognibotics’s lead, focused squarely on manipulator and robot kinematics (B25J sub-classes), positions it as the de facto reference point for IP strategy in this space. New entrants must either differentiate technically or accept navigating around a small but disproportionately cited prior-art base.
The most recent filing years are under-counted due to standard patent publication lag; the apparent plateau in 2025–2026 should not be read as a slowdown. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Intermittent filing bursts with a 2024 peak; manipulator hardware dominates the technology mix
The annual filing trend reveals a field that has grown in bursts rather than steadily, while the technology composition chart shows that manipulator and robot hardware claims far outweigh connectivity and software classes.
Annual filing trend
Filing activity was sporadic from 2017 through 2023, with isolated peaks in 2020 and 2022, then accelerated to its highest annual cluster in 2024. The 2025 and 2026 bars are structurally under-counted due to publication lag and should not be interpreted as zero activity.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
B25J (Manipulators & robots) is visible in with 15 patent records, far ahead of G05B (Control & regulating systems) at 4. Connectivity-oriented classes — H04W (Wireless communication networks), H04Q (Switching & selecting), and G01S (Radar, sonar & positioning) — each register only 1 record, indicating that the IoT and wireless integration layer remains sparsely covered relative to the mechanical core.
↗ 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.
Surgical robotic arm support systems and methods o…
A surgical robotic arm support system may include a base and at least one post and/or a connection for coupling a robot arm to the support system. The base may be configured to at least partially surround a surgical table. The at least one post may have a first end supported on the base and a second end configured to support a robotic arm. The at least one… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Surgical robotic arm support systems and methods o… | 275 |
| 2 | Surgical robotic arm support systems and methods o… | 73 |
| 3 | Industrial robot comprising a portable operating u… | 67 |
| 4 | Multiple robot arm tracking and mirror jog | 44 |
| 5 | An industrial robot comprising a portable operatin… | 23 |
| 6 | A calibration tool, a robot unit and a method for … | 7 |
| 7 | Industrial robot | 7 |
| 8 | 一种多工业机器人之间的智能化协同作业方法及系统 | 6 |
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.
Cognibotics
Cognibotics holds 3 patent records — the largest share of any applicant in this landscape — concentrated in B25J sub-classes covering manipulator kinematics, joints, and control interfaces (B25J 9, B25J 13, B25J 17). Its momentum trend is flagged as a new entrant with all 3 records appearing in the recent period, indicating a deliberate and rapid IP build-out rather than a legacy position.
patent records: 3System Engineering Mega Solution Co., Ltd.
System Engineering Mega Solution holds 1 patent record and is identified as a new entrant with recent-period activity (trend: new entrant), with technology focus on B25J 9 (robot manipulators) and G01S 17 (LiDAR/optical positioning) — a pairing that suggests integration of spatial sensing into robot control, an area where coverage remains sparse across the broader landscape.
patent records: 1Frequently asked questions
The evidence covers 7 patent families in scope, with patent records distributed across 7 applicants and 7 IPC technology classes. The United States is the lead filing jurisdiction with 6 patent records.
Cognibotics leads with 3 patent records, concentrated in B25J sub-classes covering manipulator kinematics and control interfaces (B25J 9, B25J 13, B25J 17). Its filings are all recent, indicating a deliberate and rapid IP build-out.
The field is classified as Growth. Annual filings are still rising and the 2024 cohort represents the highest annual cluster on record. The most recent years are under-counted due to publication lag, so current totals understate actual activity.
B25J (Manipulators & robots) is visible in with 15 patent records. The connectivity-oriented classes — H04W (Wireless communication networks), H04Q (Switching & selecting), and G01S (Radar, sonar & positioning) — each have only 1 record, representing the sparsest coverage in the landscape.
No co-applicant relationships are present in the current evidence. All activity to date appears to be from solo filers, which means no defensive patent pools or licensing consortia have formed in this landscape yet.
The United States leads with 6 patent records, followed by China and WIPO (PCT) at 3 each. Europe (EPO), Japan, Australia, and Canada each have only 1 record, indicating thin secondary jurisdiction coverage that competitors could exploit through targeted national filings.
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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.
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