Smart Irrigation Patents: Who Leads, Where the Gaps Are 2026
- Filing is still accelerating, not maturing. Annual filings roughly quadrupled from 14 in 2017 to 57 in the most recent year, with the peak year so far at 62 — the curve has not flattened.
- India now files more than the US or China. India leads receiving-office volume at 148 records, ahead of the United States at 131 and China at 116, a distribution most competitor-scans would not predict.
- AI and connectivity layers are catching up to the mechanical base. G06N (AI models) already appears in 51 records and H04L (digital transmission) in 45, against 133 for core control systems — the software layer is being claimed early, not after the fact.
Filing growth compares 2021 (10 records) with 2024 (43) — a three-year span. 2024 is the most recent year we treat as complete: publication lags filing by roughly 18 months, so 2025 onwards are still filling in and any growth rate that ends there would understate the field. Top-5 share is the combined record count of the five largest assignees divided by all 458 records in scope (CR5), not by the ranked leaders only.
What this patent set actually covers
This landscape tracks 458 patent families filed between 2015 and 2026 that combine irrigation control terminology — scheduling, drip valve control, water delivery optimisation, automated valve control — with the core IPC classes for horticultural water regulation (A01G25) and general control systems (G05D7). It is a claims-first view: a family counts here because its text and classification tie irrigation hardware to a control or scheduling logic, not because it merely mentions irrigation in passing.
The mix skews toward applied control engineering rather than pure agronomy. Horticulture and forestry classifications (A01G) dominate as the subject-matter base, but control and regulating systems (G05B), business/data-processing (G06Q) and AI-model classifications (G06N) all appear at meaningful volume, showing that scheduling logic and decision software are being claimed alongside the physical valve and sensor hardware rather than left as unpatented add-ons.
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Filing trend and technology composition
Two views of the same 458-family set: how filing volume has moved year over year, and which IPC subclasses carry the claim weight.
Growth has not levelled off
From 14 filings in 2017 to a midpoint of 19 in 2022 and 57 in the most recent full year, with 2025 the peak so far at 62. Because publication typically lags filing by around 18 months, the most recent year's count is an undercount of actual filing activity, not a slowdown.
Control and software layers are substantial, not incidental
A01G (horticulture/forestry) anchors the set at 438 records, but G05B (control systems, 133), G06Q (data processing, 106), G05D (non-electric control, 72), G06N (AI models, 51) and H04L (digital transmission, 45) show that scheduling algorithms, remote communication and decision logic are being claimed as first-class subject matter alongside the physical irrigation hardware.
Shares are the percentage of the 458 records in scope. A patent can carry several IPC classes, so the shares add up to more than 100%.
Go deeper on Smart Irrigation System Irrigation with Eureka
This page is one run against one query. Ask Eureka your own question about smart irrigation system irrigation and every answer comes back with the patent numbers behind it.
Try EurekaThe patents everyone else in this space cites
Drip irrigation control assembly
A drip irrigation control assembly for selectively turning off nipples on a drip irrigation system includes a nipple fluidly coupled to a drip irrigation tube for irrigating a plant. A cap is positionable on the nipple to inhibit fluid from dripping. A pair of wings is provided, each coupled to and extending outwardly from the cap, for gripping and twisting the cap.Filed by an individual inventor rather than a corporate assignee — a reminder that mechanical drip-control hardware still attracts standalone filings even as software-layer claims from larger entities grow around it.
| # | Publication no. | Patent title | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US5870302A | Evapotranspiration remote irrigation control system | 351 |
| 2 | US5696671A | Evapotranspiration forecasting irrigation control system | 248 |
| 3 | US20090099701A1 | Remote Access to Irrigation Control Systems | 214 |
| 4 | US20120239211A1 | Volumetric budget based irrigation control | 137 |
| 5 | US20070191991A1 | Irrigation Controller Communication System | 116 |
| 6 | US5229649A | Light-energized electronics energy management system | 113 |
| 7 | US20160202679A1 | Automated irrigation control system | 99 |
| 8 | US20140129039A1 | Irrigation Control Systems and Methods | 92 |
| 9 | US20120303168A1 | System and method for smart irrigation | 76 |
| 10 | US7532954B2 | System and method for weather based irrigation control | 75 |
Citation counts accumulate over time, so older filings dominate this list by construction — read it as a map of foundational technique, not of current commercial relevance.
Each row carries its publication number; clicking a row searches Eureka by that number.
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Four read-throughs of the same dataset, aimed at where a new filing would land rather than at the dataset itself.
Filing is genuinely global, not US-anchored
India's receiving-office count edges out both the US and China, which is unusual for a control-systems category. A freedom-to-operate check limited to USPTO and CNIPA prior art would miss the largest single office in this dataset.
The category is still in its filing-acceleration phase
Volume roughly quadrupled from 2017 to the most recent year, with the prior-year peak still ahead of the midpoint trend. Occupied claim space today is a snapshot of a fast-moving target, not a settled map.
Foundational cites sit on evapotranspiration-based scheduling
The most-cited records in the set are evapotranspiration-driven control systems from the 1990s-2000s. Newer filings citing them tend to add remote access, volumetric budgeting or AI-based scheduling on top of that base logic rather than replacing it.
Co-filing clusters are small and inventor-driven
The strongest co-assignee links in the set are individual-inventor pairs filing together repeatedly, rather than large joint-venture style consolidation. That points to a fragmented ownership structure even where filing volume is concentrated.
Eureka can read the same corpus for gaps instead of for coverage: under-claimed branches adjacent to smart irrigation system irrigation, with the prior art for and against each one.
Who is filing, and who has slowed down
Recent-year momentum diverges sharply across assignees in this set — a handful are still filing, most have gone quiet in the latest year.
SR University is the one assignee still accelerating
SR University filed 4 records in the latest year, doubling its prior-year count. Among the assignees tracked for recent momentum, it is the only one moving up rather than flat or down.
Established irrigation brands show reduced recent output
Rain Bird Corporation (Rain Bird) filed only 1 record in the latest year, down 50% year over year, and several other named assignees — including Nelson Irrigation Corporation, MANNA IRRIGATION LTD and WaterPoint Data Systems — show zero filings in the latest year.
Academic filers can appear and disappear quickly
Lovely Professional University went from active filing to zero in the latest year, a full year-over-year drop. University-affiliated filers in this set tend to move in short bursts tied to funded projects rather than sustained programmes.
| Assignee | Recent year | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| SR UNIVERSITY | 4 | +100% |
| Rain Bird Corporation | 1 | -50% |
| Nelson Irrigation Corporation | 0 | — |
| MANNA IRRIGATION LTD | 0 | — |
| WaterPoint Data Systems | 0 | — |
| Lovely Professional University | 0 | -100% |
| SOLATROL | 0 | — |
| South China Agricultural University | 0 | — |
Where to take this analysis next
The numbers above point to specific follow-up work rather than a single conclusion.
Map the AI-scheduling overlap
G06N appears in 51 records alongside core irrigation control classes — worth isolating which of those pair AI forecasting with valve or scheduling claims versus mentioning AI only in passing.
Explore AI-irrigation overlap in EurekaTrack India filings by applicant type
India's 148 receiving-office records outweigh the US and China individually; segmenting by domestic versus foreign applicant would clarify whether this is local R&D or foreign filers seeking India coverage.
Run an India-specific search in EurekaWatch the momentum leaders quarter over quarter
SR University's +100% YoY jump against a field of otherwise flat or declining assignees is the kind of signal that can reverse quickly; a standing monitor would catch the next move early.
Set up assignee monitoring in EurekaCommon questions about smart irrigation patents
This dataset tracks 458 patent families filed between 2015 and 2026 that combine irrigation control terminology with the relevant IPC classes. Annual filings grew from 14 in 2017 to 57 in the most recent year, with a peak so far of 62 in the prior year, so the category is still in an accelerating phase rather than a mature or declining one. Because publication typically lags filing by about 18 months, even the most recent year's count understates true filing activity.
India leads receiving-office volume with 148 records, ahead of the United States at 131 and China at 116, with WIPO/PCT, European and Australian filings well behind those three. That ordering is not what most people assume going in, and it means a prior-art or freedom-to-operate search limited to the US and China would miss the single largest filing office in this space. Anyone building a competitive watch list for this field should include Indian patent office records as a primary source, not an afterthought.
Both, and increasingly together. Horticulture and forestry classifications (A01G) form the largest base at 438 records, but AI-model classifications (G06N) already appear in 51 records and digital-transmission classifications (H04L) in 45, meaning scheduling algorithms and remote communication layers are being claimed as core subject matter rather than as incidental features. A search focused only on physical valve or sensor hardware would miss a meaningful share of the software-layer claims already on file.
The most-cited records in this set are evapotranspiration-based irrigation control systems, including older US filings on evapotranspiration remote and forecasting control, along with later additions covering remote access, volumetric water budgeting and irrigation controller communication. Citation counts accumulate over time, so this list is naturally weighted toward older, foundational filings rather than the most commercially active current technology. Treat it as a map of the prior-art base that newer AI-scheduling and remote-control claims build on, not as a ranking of present-day market leaders.
Relative to the dense core of control and scheduling claims, sub-areas such as soil-moisture sensor fusion for valve timing, volumetric water-budget optimisation, AI-driven evapotranspiration forecasting and remote valve-communication protocols show thinner claim density in this dataset. That does not mean these areas are unclaimed, but that fewer families currently occupy them compared with the core control-system space. A first filing there would still need a full clearance search against the foundational evapotranspiration-control patents that anchor this field's citation network.
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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.
Nothing on this page constitutes an exhaustive prior-art, novelty, freedom-to-operate, or validity search, nor does it constitute legal, financial, investment, or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as such. Any patent, commercial, or strategic decision should be verified independently and reviewed with qualified patent, legal, and domain professionals. Patsnap makes no warranties, express or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose of the information presented.
Machine translation. Assignee and organisation names originally recorded in Chinese, Japanese or Korean have been rendered into English by an AI translation step so that the tables stay readable. These renderings are best-effort and may not match a company’s registered English name; the original name is what the underlying patent record carries, and it is what any Eureka query launched from this page uses.