Ultra-Wideband Positioning Patent Landscape 2026
Ultra-Wideband Positioning Patent Landscape in 2026
ASSA ABLOY AB holds the largest position in UWB positioning IP, with the field reaching maturity after peak activity in 2021. A moderately concentrated top tier—access-control specialists, drone-autonomy players, and consumer-electronics giants—competes across wireless networking and radar-based ranging routes.
ASSA ABLOY leads a moderately concentrated field of 655 patent families
ASSA ABLOY AB ranks first with 71 patent families, nearly double the second-ranked Verity AG at 33, establishing a clear lead over the rest of the top tier.
The top five filers—ASSA ABLOY AB, Verity AG, Apple Inc., Cisco Technology Inc., and Qualcomm Inc.—together account for 33% of the combined output of the hundred largest filers, indicating moderate rather than extreme concentration. A meaningful second tier of consumer-electronics and automotive names sits within reach of the leaders.
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ASSA ABLOY AB | 71 | |
| 2 | Verity AG | 33 | |
| 3 | Apple Inc. | 27 | |
| 4 | Cisco Technology Inc. | 25 | |
| 5 | Qualcomm Inc. | 21 | |
| 6 | Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | 20 | |
| 7 | Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. | 16 | |
| 8 | Robert Bosch GmbH | 10 | |
| 9 | BMW AG (Bayerische Motoren Werke AG) | 10 | |
| 10 | ZTE Corporation | 9 |
| # | Applicant | Patent families | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Zainar Inc. | 9 | |
| 12 | Telcordia Technologies Inc. | 9 | |
| 13 | Beijing Xiaomi Mobile Software Co., Ltd. | 9 | |
| 14 | Avago Technologies International Sales Pte. Ltd. | 8 | |
| 15 | Lenovo (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. | 8 | |
| 16 | Rombit NV | 8 | |
| 17 | ADB Safegate BV | 8 | |
| 18 | Denso International America Inc. | 7 | |
| 19 | Deutsche Telekom AG | 7 | |
| 20 | Sonitor Technologies AS | 7 |
ASSA ABLOY’s dominance in access-control applications (G07C, H04W) signals that physical-access and keyless-entry use cases have driven the most disciplined IP accumulation. New entrants Qualcomm, Samsung Electronics, and Verity AG all show strong recent momentum, compressing the gap in the wireless-networking and drone-positioning branches.
Patent publication typically lags filing by 18–24 months, so 2024–2026 counts understate actual activity; the landscape should be re-read as filings continue to publish. Longer-window growth, applicant concentration, and technology-route coverage are therefore more reliable signals than the latest-year bar alone.
Activity peaked in 2021 and has plateaued; wireless networking dominates the technology mix
The filing trend and IPC composition together reveal a field that expanded rapidly from 2018, hit peak volume in 2021, and has since settled near that level. The IPC breakdown shows heavy concentration in wireless and positioning standards classes with a long tail of application-specific branches.
Annual filing trend
Annual filings surged from single-digit levels in 2017 to a peak of 132 in 2021, then eased to the 70–122 range. The 2024–2026 bars are under-counted due to publication lag and should not be read as a continuing decline.
↗ Hover for values · click a bar to ask EurekaTechnology composition
H04W (wireless communication networks) is the dominant class, reflecting that UWB positioning is primarily implemented within cellular and short-range wireless standards. G01S (radar, sonar and positioning) is the second-largest class, representing core ranging and time-of-flight techniques. H04B, H04L, G07C, and G06F form a mid-tier of transmission, data-processing, and access-control activity, while a long tail of 70-plus IPC classes captures application verticals from automotive to healthcare.
↗ 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.
UWB localization device and method
A UWB localization device comprising a UWB receiver with a first and second antenna device for receiving UWB signals from a UWB transmitter; a UWB shield arranged between the antenna devices; and a processing unit. The processing unit is configured to determine, by processing properties of the UWB signals, a first and a second time of arrival of UWB signals… (excerpt from the patent abstract)
| # | Patent | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Distributed localization systems and methods and s… | 159 |
| 2 | Methods and systems for scheduling the transmissio… | 109 |
| 3 | Physical access control systems with localization-… | 99 |
| 4 | Ultra-wideband radios for time-of-flight-ranging a… | 55 |
| 5 | Method of remote powering and detecting multiple U… | 54 |
| 6 | Anticipatory location-based mobile communication m… | 46 |
| 7 | Wirelessly coupled accessory system for an electro… | 44 |
| 8 | User equipment positioning apparatus and methods | 42 |
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 structure means for R&D investment and competitive positioning
Four structural dimensions—maturity, concentration, collaboration, and geography—shape the risk-return profile for new entrants and incumbents alike.
Field has plateaued near its 2021 peak
Annual filings have plateaued near their peak, placing UWB positioning in the Maturity stage. The multi-year corpus of 655 patent families reflects a technology that has moved past early exploration. Incremental differentiation—algorithm tuning, hardware integration, and application-layer specialization—now drives most new filings rather than foundational protocol innovation.
Lifecycle: MaturityModerate concentration with an active second tier
The top five filers hold 33% of the hundred largest filers’ combined output, leaving meaningful room for challengers. The gap between first-ranked ASSA ABLOY AB (71 patent families) and the next cluster (Verity AG at 33, Apple at 27, Cisco at 25, Qualcomm at 21) is real but not prohibitive. Samsung Electronics and Qualcomm both entered the top tier recently with new-entrant momentum, indicating the ranking is still fluid.
Moderate concentrationRobert Bosch GmbH is the most active co-filer
Robert Bosch GmbH has recorded joint filings with four individual co-inventors—Wang Wei, Zeng Zhuoqi, Liu Steven, and Yu Huajun—each pair generating two co-filed patent families. This pattern suggests Bosch is engaging external talent for specific UWB-ranging implementations rather than relying solely on internal R&D. No other co-filing pairs appear in the evidence at comparable volume.
Bosch-led co-filingChina and the United States lead jurisdiction coverage
China leads jurisdiction-level patent records, followed by the United States and the EPO. PCT and Indian filings add meaningful international reach. Germany, Australia, and Canada form a secondary protective layer. The China-US pairing as the two largest markets means competitive IP strategy must address both prosecution environments; EPO coverage extends protection into the broader European market.
China & US leadGo 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.
| Applicant | Collaborator | Co-filings |
|---|---|---|
| Robert Bosch GmbH | Wang Wei | 2 |
| Robert Bosch GmbH | Zeng Zhuoqi | 2 |
| Robert Bosch GmbH | Liu Steven | 2 |
| Robert Bosch GmbH | Yu Huajun | 2 |
Co-filing pairs, ranked by the number of jointly-filed patent families.
ASSA ABLOY anchors access control; Samsung and Qualcomm are the fastest-rising challengers
The leader holds a commanding family count built on access-control and wireless-network classes, while multiple new entrants are compressing the gap in wireless-positioning routes.
ASSA ABLOY AB
ASSA ABLOY AB holds 71 patent families, the largest position in the corpus. Its filings concentrate in G07C 9 (access and checking devices), H04W 4, and H04W 12—reflecting a strategy centered on UWB-enabled keyless entry and physical access control. Recent momentum shows a 73% decline from its prior three-year base, consistent with a maturing core portfolio rather than active expansion.
71 patent familiesSamsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Samsung Electronics holds 20 patent families and enters as a new entrant with strong recent activity (17 families in the recent window). Its technical emphasis spans H04W 64 (location services within wireless networks), H04W 4, and G01S 5 (radio-based positioning)—a broad wireless-and-ranging profile that positions it across consumer-device and standards-body routes. Qualcomm Inc. (21 patent families, also a new entrant with 14 recent families) shares a similar H04W 64 and H04W 12 focus, making these two the most aggressive late-stage entrants to watch.
20 patent families| Applicant | Recent (3 yrs) | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| ASSA ABLOY AB | 15 | ▼ -73% |
| Apple Inc. | 5 | ▼ -76% |
| Cisco Technology Inc. | 12 | ▲ +20% |
| Qualcomm Inc. | 14 | ▲ new entrant |
| Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | 17 | ▲ new entrant |
| Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. | 1 | ▼ -92% |
| Verity AG | 9 | ▲ new entrant |
| Robert Bosch GmbH | 1 | ▲ new entrant |
Under-served adjacent branches worth watching
Several IPC classes appear in the corpus at lower relative share compared with the dominant H04W cluster. These observations identify branches where UWB positioning intersects adjacent disciplines with limited current IP density, which may represent areas where differentiated filings could face less incumbent overlap.
G06N · Computing based on AI models
G06N accounts for 2% of IPC-level records in the corpus—sparse relative to the dominant wireless-networking classes. Applying machine-learning inference to UWB range measurements (e.g., learned multipath mitigation, probabilistic occupancy mapping) is technically plausible and increasingly feasible given commodity AI accelerators. The entry path for a well-resourced team would be to combine existing UWB ranging patents with novel ML-based error-correction or context-inference claims, a space where few dedicated filings currently exist.
Search this in Eureka →G05D · Control of non-electric variables
G05D represents 2% of IPC-level records, capturing UWB’s role in autonomous-vehicle and drone motion control. Verity AG’s focus on G05D 1 (autonomous flight control) shows the technical path is proven, yet the branch remains lightly populated relative to the wireless-network classes. Teams working on indoor robot navigation, warehouse automation, or precision-landing systems could find this an adjacent branch with room for differentiated filings, provided they can navigate Verity AG’s existing G01S and G05D positions.
Search this in Eureka →How leaders diverge by technology route
Strength of each leader across the main technology routes.
| Player | H04W 4 · Wireless communication networks | H04W 64 · Wireless communication networks | G01S 5 · Radar, sonar & positioning | H04B 1 · Transmission (general) | G07C 9 · Time/attendance & checking devices |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASSA ABLOY AB | Strong · 57 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Strong · 70 |
| Verity Studios AG | Strong · 19 | Absent | Strong · 19 | Strong · 17 | Absent |
| Apple Inc. | Strong · 22 | Absent | Strong · 20 | Moderate · 11 | Absent |
| Cisco Technology Inc. | Strong · 13 | Strong · 10 | Strong · 9 | Strong · 15 | Absent |
| Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. | Strong · 14 | Strong · 16 | Strong · 13 | Absent | Absent |
| Verity AG | Strong · 14 | Absent | Strong · 14 | Strong · 13 | Absent |
| BMW AG (Bayerische Motoren Werke AG) | Strong · 9 | Absent | Absent | Absent | Strong · 6 |
Frequently asked questions
The analysis covers 655 patent families in scope globally. China and the United States are the two largest jurisdiction destinations for these filings.
ASSA ABLOY AB leads with 71 patent families, focused on physical access-control applications. Verity AG (33), Apple Inc. (27), Cisco Technology Inc. (25), and Qualcomm Inc. (21) complete the top five.
Annual filings peaked in 2021 at 132. The field has since plateaued in the 70–122 range annually. Note that 2024–2026 counts are under-counted due to the 18–24 month publication lag.
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Qualcomm Inc., and Verity AG all entered as new entrants in the most recent filing window. Cisco Technology Inc. shows a 20% increase over its prior three-year base. By contrast, ASSA ABLOY AB and Apple Inc. show declining recent activity.
H04W (wireless communication networks) is by far the largest class, followed by G01S (radar, sonar and positioning) and H04B (transmission). G07C (access and checking devices) reflects the strong physical-access-control application vertical.
G06N (AI models) and G05D (control of non-electric variables, including autonomous navigation) each represent approximately 2% of IPC-level records in the corpus, making them relatively sparse compared with the dominant H04W cluster. A61B (diagnosis and surgery) and B25J (manipulators and robots) are further examples of application verticals with limited current IP density.
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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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