Robot Condition Monitoring Patent Snapshot 2026
The robot condition monitoring patent space is heavily concentrated, with ABB-affiliated entities holding the majority of the top-ranked positions and Europe (EPO) as the primary filing jurisdiction. Annual volume peaked in 2021 and has since eased, signalling a maturing field with selective new entrants beginning to emerge.
ABB commands the field; concentration among the top five filers is pronounced
ABB Research Ltd leads the applicant ranking with 7 patent families, followed closely by ABB (Schweiz) AG with 6 and Lam Research Corporation with 5. The top three filers are all either ABB entities or adjacent industrial automation players, establishing a clear first tier.
The top five filers account for 62% of the combined total across the ranked applicants visible in this query, indicating a strongly consolidated visible assignee structure. The gap between the first tier and the remaining applicants — each holding only one or two patent families — is substantial, leaving limited mid-tier competition.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ABB Research Ltd | 7 | |
| 2 | ABB (Schweiz) AG | 6 | |
| 3 | Lam Research Corporation | 5 | |
| 4 | ABB AG (Germany) | 3 | |
| 5 | Yonsei University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation | 2 | |
| 6 | Nanyang Technological University | 1 | |
| 7 | SCHAEFFLER TECHNOLOGIES AG & CO KG | 1 | |
| 8 | Tianjin Saiwei Industrial Technology Co Ltd | 1 | |
| 9 | Seiko Epson Corporation | 1 | |
| 10 | Chongqing Vocational College of Transportation | 1 |
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | GUANGDONG MECHANICAL & ELECTRICAL COLLEGE | 1 | |
| 12 | NOIDA INST OF ENG & TECH | 1 | |
| 13 | Panasonic Holdings Corporation | 1 | |
| 14 | LS Electric Co Ltd | 1 | |
| 15 | RNS Institute of Technology | 1 | |
| 16 | Central South University | 1 | |
| 17 | Chongqing Yujiao Automation Technology Co Ltd | 1 | |
| 18 | Prasanna Kumar Mallappa | 1 | |
| 19 | Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering | 1 |
ABB’s multi-entity presence (ABB Research Ltd, ABB (Schweiz) AG, and ABB AG Germany) suggests coordinated portfolio building across group subsidiaries, effectively reinforcing the lead position. For new entrants or challengers, competing head-on with ABB’s established base would require differentiated technical positioning rather than volume alone.
The most recent 18–24 months of filing data are subject to publication lag and likely under-represent true activity levels; the apparent dip after 2021 should be interpreted with this in mind. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
A 2021 filing spike subsides; manipulator technology dominates the IPC mix
The annual filing trend reveals a sharp 2021 peak followed by reduced activity, while the technology composition is dominated by manipulator and control-systems classes with AI-related branches occupying a smaller but growing share.
Annual filing trend
Filings were negligible before 2018, ramped through 2019–2021, and hit a clear peak of 12 families in 2021 before easing. Years 2024–2025 show partial counts attributable to publication lag and should not be read as confirming a continued decline.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
B25J (Manipulators and robots) overwhelmingly is visible in the IPC composition, followed by G05B (Control and regulating systems) and G06N (AI-based computing). The long tail of single-record branches — spanning measurement, materials testing, power systems, and communications — signals exploratory work at the technology frontier but has not yet consolidated into significant filing clusters.
↗ 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.
Verfahren und System zur Verschleissabschätzung vo…
Die Erfindung betrifft ein Verfahren zur Verschleißermittlung von Achsen eines Roboterarmes eines Industrieroboters, wobei ein Drehmomentenverlauf (54, 56, 58) an wenigstens einer Achse während wenigstens eines Arbeitszyklus des Industrieroboters zur Abschätzung herangezogen wird. Der Drehmomentenverlauf (54, 56, 58) wird auf Drehmomentenverlaufsabschnitte… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A robot system for anomaly detection | 24 |
| 2 | 工业机器人预测性维护管理方法及系统 | 17 |
| 3 | A robot controller with integrated logic functiona… | 14 |
| 4 | A robot system and a method for monitoring a robot… | 14 |
| 5 | Obtaining the gear stiffness of a robot joint gear… | 14 |
| 6 | Obtaining the gear stiffness of a robot joint gear… | 13 |
| 7 | Collaborative robot system on a mobile cart with a… | 11 |
| 8 | Condition monitoring of an industrial robot | 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.
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.
ABB Research Ltd
ABB Research Ltd holds 7 patent families — the largest single-applicant count in scope — focused primarily on B25J (Manipulators and robots). When combined with the 6 families held by ABB (Schweiz) AG and 3 by ABB AG Germany, the ABB group’s aggregate position is commanding. ABB (Schweiz) AG carries a new-entrant momentum signal in the recent period, indicating the group’s filing activity is shifting toward the Swiss entity. The collaboration evidence further identifies ABB (Schweiz) AG as the hub of the most active co-inventor relationships.
patent families: 7Lam Research Corporation
Lam Research Corporation holds 5 patent families and carries a new-entrant momentum trend, meaning it had no prior-period filings in this corpus before its recent activity. Its technical focus spans three B25J sub-classes — B25J 11, B25J 5, and B25J 9 — covering specialized and mobile manipulator configurations, which differ from ABB’s more diagnostics-oriented positioning. This breadth across manipulator sub-types, combined with new-entrant status, marks Lam as the most technically distinct challenger in the current ranking.
patent families: 5Frequently asked questions
The corpus covers 36 patent families in scope globally. This is a relatively small and specialized corpus, reflecting the focused nature of robot-specific condition monitoring as distinct from broader industrial maintenance or general robotics.
ABB Research Ltd leads with 7 patent families, followed by ABB (Schweiz) AG with 6 and Lam Research Corporation with 5. When ABB-affiliated entities are considered together, the group’s combined position is substantially larger than any single competitor.
The lifecycle is classified as Decline, with annual filings easing back from their 2021 peak. New entrants have appeared in the recent period, but the overall filing rate has contracted relative to the peak year.
Europe (EPO) is the leading jurisdiction, followed by the United States and WIPO (PCT) at equal levels. China, India, and South Korea each show lower but non-trivial filing counts.
B25J (Manipulators and robots) is the visible class by a wide margin. G05B (Control and regulating systems) is the second-largest branch, followed by G06N (AI-based computing models). The remaining branches each account for only one or a few records.
The most active co-filing relationships are between ABB (Schweiz) AG and a group of four named inventors — Zhang Jiafan, Sun Heqing, Liu Xuekun, and Chen Changting — each pairing producing 2 joint families. This reflects an internally structured inventor team rather than broad cross-institutional partnerships.
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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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