This dataset tracks 15 published patent families matching drone inspection, leading-edge protection, lightning damage, structural health monitoring and in-situ repair claims combined with wind-motor and testing IPC classes. That is a small corpus for a decade of coverage, which means the field is still forming rather than saturated. Broader searches using different keyword combinations may surface additional adjacent filings not captured by this specific query.

The dataset includes GE, LM Wind Power and GE Renewable Energy Spain among the assignees, alongside smaller specialists such as STME, a structural-monitoring company. No single assignee dominates by volume here; the field reads as a long tail with GE-affiliated entities holding some of the more cited foundational filings, including the lightning-strike repair method in US20250290491A1.

Every record in this dataset carries the F03D classification for wind motors and turbines, since blade structure claims are the anchor of the field. Robotics claims fall under B25J, structural testing under G01M, and control-system claims under G05B — but each of those secondary classes appears in only one to three of the 15 records, showing that most patenting still centres on the blade hardware itself rather than the equipment used to inspect or repair it.

The filing trend is a U-shape rather than a steady climb: a tracked peak of 5 filings in 2019, a drop to zero at the 2022 midpoint, and renewed activity heading toward 2026. Because patent publication typically lags filing by about 18 months, the apparent slowdown in recent years is likely an artefact of that lag rather than a real pause, and the 2026 figure in particular should be read as a floor, not a ceiling.

The clearest gaps sit in the classes adjacent to the F03D core: autonomous drone flight planning for blade scanning, robotic end-effectors for in-situ repair, and sensor placement strategies for structural health monitoring all have only a handful of claims across the whole dataset. A first claim drafted specifically around one of these methods — rather than around the blade structure generally — has more room to stand without colliding with existing art.