Harvesting Robot Sensor Integration Patent Snapshot 2026
The harvesting robot sensor integration space is in early growth, dominated by Chinese and Indian academic institutions with Jiangsu University holding the top position. Activity has expanded sharply over the multi-year window, with filing volume still rising and image-recognition and aerial-platform branches remaining largely uncontested.
Academic institutions lead a nascent, China-centric field
Jiangsu University ranks first among all filers, followed by Yamagata University, Nanchang University, and ST Martins Engineering College — all academic or research-affiliated entities. The top five filers together account for one-third of the combined output of the ranked applicants visible in this query, signalling moderate concentration given the field’s early stage.
The top tier consists entirely of universities and colleges, with a long tail of individual inventors and small firms. This tier structure reflects a field still in the research-prototype phase rather than commercial-scale development.
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jiangsu University | 3 | |
| 2 | Yamagata University | 2 | |
| 3 | Nanchang University | 2 | |
| 4 | ST Martins Engineering College | 2 | |
| 5 | ZHONGKAI UNIV OF AGRI & ENG | 1 | |
| 6 | Suzhou Xundong Gas Technology Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 7 | 42Farms LLC | 1 | |
| 8 | R. Sudarmani | 1 | |
| 9 | S. Mythili | 1 | |
| 10 | R. Sharmeela | 1 |
| # | Applicant | Patent records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | NORTHWEST A & F UNIV | 1 | |
| 12 | Hangzhou Zhuoguangtu Technology Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 13 | AVINASHILINGAM INST FOR HOME SCI & HIGHER EDUCATIO… | 1 | |
| 14 | Dr. J. Jency Joseph | 1 | |
| 15 | K. Pooja | 1 | |
| 16 | A. Reni | 1 | |
| 17 | HENAN UNIV OF SCI & TECH | 1 | |
| 18 | Meta Farmers Co., Ltd. | 1 | |
| 19 | South China Agricultural University | 1 | |
| 20 | K. Pradeep | 1 |
The absence of large agri-tech or robotics corporations in the top ranks indicates that the IP evidence snapshot remains open for industrial entry; any well-resourced player filing a coherent patent programme today would immediately become a prominent assignee.
Figures cover the period 2017–2026; the most recent 18–24 months are under-counted due to standard publication lag, so 2025–2026 totals should be read as floors rather than final counts. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Filings are rising; harvesting mechanics and robot manipulators dominate the technology mix
The annual filing trend and the IPC composition chart together reveal both the pace of growth and the current concentration of inventive effort within specific technical branches.
Annual filing trend
After a dormant period through 2020, filings picked up in 2021 and have trended upward, reaching their highest recorded annual count in 2024. The 300% growth rate over the recent window confirms the field is in active expansion. The 2025–2026 bars are incomplete due to publication lag and should be treated as lower bounds.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
A01D (Harvesting & mowing) and B25J (Manipulators & robots) account for the large majority of classified records, reflecting the core focus on end-effector mechanics and robot-arm design. Vision-related branches — G06V (image/video recognition) and H04N (pictorial communication) — are present but sparse, indicating that sensor-fusion and perception work is under-patented relative to mechanical design.
↗ 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 and system for computer-assisted harvesting
A system for computer-assisted harvesting includes and/or interfaces with: a set of sensors and optionally any or all of: a set of computing and/or processing subsystems (e.g., computers, processors, etc.); a harvesting subsystem (equivalently referred to herein as a harvesting robot); and/or any other components. A method for computer-assisted harvesting… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 一种苹果采摘机器人的末端执行器 | 79 |
| 2 | 一种球形果采摘机器人及采摘方法 | 35 |
| 3 | 一种跨垄双臂协作草莓收获机器人、控制系统及采摘方法 | 27 |
| 4 | 一种七自由度水果采摘机器人及其采摘方法 | 15 |
| 5 | 果蔬采摘机器人的末端执行器 | 12 |
| 6 | 一种苹果采摘机器人的末端执行器 | 8 |
| 7 | 一种连续行走的切接采收机器人及其作业方法 | 2 |
| 8 | Harvesting robot, control method and control progr… | 2 |
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.
Jiangsu University
Jiangsu University holds 3 patent records — the highest count among all filers — with a technology emphasis split between A01D 46 (Harvesting & mowing) and B25J 9 (Manipulators & robots). Its momentum signal is new entrant, meaning its activity is entirely concentrated in the recent filing window, consistent with the field’s post-2020 emergence.
3 patent recordsST Martins Engineering College
ST Martins Engineering College holds 2 patent records and shows the broadest robot-arm sub-class coverage among the top filers, spanning B25J 9, B25J 5, and A01D 46. Its momentum is also new entrant, and with 2 records it ties Yamagata University and Nanchang University for second place — representing the leading challenger cluster.
2 patent recordsFrequently asked questions
The current evidence covers 19 patent families in scope globally, spanning filings from 2017 through 2026.
Jiangsu University leads with 3 patent records, followed by Yamagata University, Nanchang University, and ST Martins Engineering College, each with 2 patent records.
The field is classified as Growth: annual filings are still rising, and the recent-window growth rate is 300%. Activity was near zero before 2021 and has expanded each subsequent year through 2024.
China leads with 15 jurisdictional records, followed by India with 4, Japan with 2, and South Korea and the United States with 1 each.
No co-applicant or collaborative filing relationships are recorded in the current evidence. All filings appear to originate from individual institutions acting independently.
G06V (image/video recognition) has only 3 records, and B64C and B64U (aerial platforms) have 1 record each — all well below the visible A01D harvesting-mechanics and B25J robotics branches. These represent adjacent areas where filing activity has not yet developed proportionally to their technical relevance.
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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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