Critical Technology

Advanced Robotics

The capacity to design and manufacture advanced robots, manipulation, locomotion, industrial and humanoid platforms, and the actuation and control technology beneath them. One of the capabilities of Robotics & Autonomous Systems.

International families: 43k2015 to 2024
Leading country: Japan1.3× the next
All families: 169khome filings included
Over five years: Rising2020 to 2024 against the five before

Year by year

Patent families by country of origin and the year of the earliest filing, 2000 to 2025; 2025 is a part year, still filling in. International families are those for which protection was sought beyond one country.

Volume

International patent families in the capability, by the year of the earliest filing.

Source: Global Institute for National Capability (GINC), 2026. Underlying patents from 107 patent offices, IFI CLAIMS and Google

Share by country

Each country's share of the year's international families, in per cent: the capability's five largest countries of origin, 2015 to 2024, and the rest of the world.

Source: Global Institute for National Capability (GINC), 2026. Underlying patents from 107 patent offices, IFI CLAIMS and Google

Country leaderboard

International patent families, 2015 to 2024, by country of origin. Growth compares the latest five full years with the five before.

Ten largest

Japan

United States

China

South Korea

Germany

Switzerland

France

United Kingdom

Taiwan

Italy

11,556

8,601

5,924

4,273

3,892

1,297

977

741

725

662


1	Japan	11,556	27.0%	0.9×	19,595
2	United States	8,601	20.1%	1.1×	13,721
3	China	5,924	13.8%	1.6×	101,508
4	South Korea	4,273	10.0%	1.6×	16,130
5	Germany	3,892	9.1%	1.1×	5,505
6	Switzerland	1,297	3.0%	1.9×	1,552
7	France	977	2.3%	1.2×	1,395
8	United Kingdom	741	1.7%	1.2×	899
9	Taiwan	725	1.7%	0.9×	1,444
10	Italy	662	1.5%	1.6×	935
11	Canada	556	1.3%	1.0×	805
12	Israel	484	1.1%	2.0×	583
13	Netherlands	372	0.9%	1.4×	433
14	Austria	279	0.7%	0.8×	299
15	Sweden	264	0.6%	0.9×	296
16	Denmark	254	0.6%	1.6×	268
17	Singapore	186	0.4%	2.2×	204
18	India	185	0.4%	1.6×	244
19	Australia	171	0.4%	1.2×	195
20	Spain	162	0.4%	1.2×	217
21	Türkiye	110	0.3%	2.2×	214
22	Norway	102	0.2%	0.9×	117
23	Belgium	90	0.2%	1.0×	112
24	Finland	89	0.2%	0.8×	105
25	Ireland	76	0.2%	1.4×	100
26	Russia	71	0.2%	1.0×	414
27	Hong Kong	59	0.1%	1.9×	100
28	Liechtenstein	49	0.1%	3.1×	49
29	Brazil	45	0.1%	1.1×	109
30	Poland	40	0.1%	1.9×	220
31	New Zealand	38	0.1%	0.8×	48
32	Mexico	34	0.1%	0.7×	88
33	Czechia	32	0.1%	1.0×	63
34	Saudi Arabia	30	0.1%	1.1×	61
35	Malaysia	14	0.0%	3.7×	25
36	Hungary	14	0.0%	1.3×	26
37	Luxembourg	13	0.0%	0.9×	14
38	Portugal	13	0.0%	1.6×	19
39	South Africa	7	0.0%	0.8×	8
40	Cayman Islands	7	0.0%	0.2×	9

Applicants

The largest applicants by international patent families, 2015 to 2024: across the world, then within each of the five countries with the most families in Advanced Robotics. Names are as held in the source and are not consolidated across subsidiaries.

Global

42,842 international families

FANUC CORP · Japan

FANUC LTD · Japan

LG ELECTRONICS INC · South Korea

SEIKO EPSON CORP · Japan

KAWASAKI HEAVY IND LTD · Japan

SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD · South Korea

1,688

1,281

911

807

802

699

Japan

11,556 international families

FANUC CORP

FANUC LTD

SEIKO EPSON CORP

KAWASAKI HEAVY IND LTD

OMRON TATEISI ELECTRONICS CO

SONY GROUP CORP

1,687

1,281

804

799

430

389

United States

8,601 international families

INTUITIVE SURGICAL OPERATIONS

COVIDIEN LP

AURIS HEALTH INC

BOEING CO

ETHICON LLC

CILAG GMBH INT

586

577

256

241

137

China

5,924 international families

UBTECH ROBOTICS CORP

UBTECH ROBOTICS CORP LTD

ABB SCHWEIZ AG

SHENZHEN INST OF ADV TECH CAS

UNION BROTHER MACHINERY CO LTD

TENCENT TECH SHENZHEN CO LTD

291

215

South Korea

4,273 international families

LG ELECTRONICS INC

SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD

HYUNDAI MOTOR CO LTD

KIA CORP

KIA MOTORS CORP

SEMES CO LTD

911

699

324

274

186

130

Germany

3,892 international families

KUKA DEUTSCHLAND GMBH

2.2% shared · 1,361 families in both

Japan

United States

China

Germany

South Korea

5,464

3,990

2,382

2,036

1,428

Crosswalk

How Advanced Robotics is matched to the patent classifications. The entries below were chosen for it; each stands for itself and everything beneath it in the scheme, 1,445 Cooperative entries in all. A patent family counts when any of its codes, in either scheme and at any office, falls under one of them. Codes since retired are placed under the entries that replaced them.

Entry	Title in the scheme	Why it is chosen	CPC codes	IPC codes	Documents
B25J	Manipulators; chambers provided with manipulation devices	Robots and manipulators: arms, grippers, joints, program control	293	48	1,302,666
B62D57/032	Vehicles characterised by having other propulsion or other ground- engaging means than wheels or endless track, alone or in addition to wheels or endless track with ground-engaging propulsion means, e.g. walking members with alternately or sequentially lifted supporting base and legs; with alternately or sequentially lifted feet or skid	Legged walking machines	1	1	14,638
A61B34/30	Surgical robots	Surgical robots	10	4	198,170
Y10S901/00	Robots	Older US robots collection	50	none	50,958
G05B2219/39	Robotics, robotics to robotics hand	Robot control detail: kinematics, calibration, grasping	466	none	57,525
G05B2219/40	Robotics, robotics mapping to robotics vision	Robot control detail: vision, planning, teleoperation	539	none	77,605
B25J21/00	Chambers provided with manipulation devices	Left out
B25J1/00	Manipulators positioned in space by hand	Left out

CPC and IPC codes are the codes in use on patent documents, at any office, that fall under the entry. Documents is the larger of the two schemes' counts of documents carrying one of them. An entry with no IPC codes can be told apart only in the Cooperative scheme.

The Cooperative codes in use that count towards Advanced Robotics: 1,359 codes on 1,699,272 documents. The 150 most used are listed; the full list is in the cpc-to-capability.csv download.

Code	Title	Under entry	How placed	Documents
A61B34/30	Surgical robots	A61B34/30	In the scheme	77,009
B25J9/1664	Program controls characterised by programming, planning systems for manipulators characterised by motion, path, trajectory planning	B25J	In the scheme	46,902
B25J9/1697	Vision controlled systems	B25J	In the scheme	44,106
B25J11/00	Manipulators not otherwise provided for	B25J	In the scheme	43,146
A61B34/37	Leader-follower robots	A61B34/30	In the scheme	29,517
B25J5/007	Manipulators mounted on wheels or on carriages mounted on wheels	B25J	In the scheme	27,323
A61B2034/301	Surgical robots for introducing or steering flexible instruments inserted into the body, e.g. catheters or endoscopes	A61B34/30	In the scheme	24,324
B25J9/161	Hardware, e.g. neural networks, fuzzy logic, interfaces, processor	B25J	In the scheme	23,394
B25J19/00	Accessories fitted to manipulators, e.g. for monitoring, for viewing; Safety devices combined with or specially adapted for use in connection with manipulators	B25J	In the scheme	22,953
B25J13/08	Controls for manipulators by means of sensing devices, e.g. viewing or touching devices	B25J	In the scheme	22,566
B25J9/1679	Program controls characterised by the tasks executed	B25J	In the scheme	22,560
B25J9/163	Program controls characterised by the control loop learning, adaptive, model based, rule based expert control	B25J	In the scheme	21,727
B25J19/02	Sensing devices	B25J	In the scheme	20,381
B25J9/16	Program controls	B25J	In the scheme	20,217
B25J19/023	Optical sensing devices including video camera means	B25J	In the scheme	20,184
B25J9/1602	Program controls characterised by the control system, structure, architecture	B25J	In the scheme	19,558
B25J15/0616	Gripping heads and other end effectors with vacuum or magnetic holding means with vacuum	B25J	In the scheme	18,501
A61B34/35	Surgical robots for telesurgery	A61B34/30	In the scheme	17,193
B25J9/0009	Constructional details, e.g. manipulator supports, bases	B25J	In the scheme	16,893
B25J9/0006	Exoskeletons, i.e. resembling a human figure	B25J	In the scheme	15,334
A61B2034/305	Details of wrist mechanisms at distal ends of robotic arms	A61B34/30	In the scheme	15,215
B25J9/1694	Program controls characterised by use of sensors other than normal servo-feedback from position, speed or acceleration sensors, perception control, multi-sensor controlled systems, sensor fusion	B25J	In the scheme	14,945
B25J15/08	Gripping heads and other end effectors having finger members	B25J	In the scheme	14,288
B25J9/1674	Program controls characterised by safety, monitoring, diagnostic	B25J	In the scheme	14,229
A61B2034/302	Surgical robots specifically adapted for manipulations within body cavities, e.g. within abdominal or thoracic cavities	A61B34/30	In the scheme	13,627
B25J9/1666	Avoiding collision or forbidden zones	B25J	In the scheme	13,329
B25J9/1692	Calibration of manipulator	B25J	In the scheme	12,929
B25J5/00	Manipulators mounted on wheels or on carriages	B25J	In the scheme	12,830
B25J9/1612	Program controls characterised by the hand, wrist, grip control	B25J	In the scheme	12,791
B25J9/1633	Program controls characterised by the control loop compliant, force, torque control, e.g. combined with position control	B25J	In the scheme	12,739
B25J13/00	Controls for manipulators	B25J	In the scheme	12,621
B25J13/085	Force or torque sensors	B25J	In the scheme	12,597
B62D57/032	Vehicles characterised by having other propulsion or other ground- engaging means than wheels or endless track, alone or in addition to wheels or endless track with ground-engaging propulsion means, e.g. walking members with alternately or sequentially lifted supporting base and legs; with alternately or sequentially lifted feet or skid	B62D57/032	In the scheme	12,348
B25J9/1689	Teleoperation	B25J	In the scheme	12,306
B25J18/00	Arms	B25J	In the scheme	12,080
B25J9/1676	Avoiding collision or forbidden zones	B25J	In the scheme	12,008
B25J11/008	Manipulators for service tasks	B25J	In the scheme	11,851
B25J15/00	Gripping heads and other end effectors	B25J	In the scheme	11,720
Y10S901/01	Mobile robot	Y10S901/00	In the scheme	10,942
B25J17/00	Joints	B25J	In the scheme	10,761
B25J9/1661	Program controls characterised by programming, planning systems for manipulators characterised by task planning, object-oriented languages	B25J	In the scheme	10,752
B25J9/1682	Dual arm manipulator; Coordination of several manipulators	B25J	In the scheme	10,539
B25J9/104	Program-controlled manipulators characterised by positioning means for manipulator elements with cables, chains or ribbons	B25J	In the scheme	10,470
B25J11/005	Manipulators for mechanical processing tasks	B25J	In the scheme	10,442
B25J11/0085	Cleaning	B25J	In the scheme	10,276
B25J5/02	Manipulators mounted on wheels or on carriages travelling along a guideway	B25J	In the scheme	10,082
B25J19/06	Safety devices	B25J	In the scheme	10,077
B25J9/06	Program-controlled manipulators characterised by multi-articulated arms	B25J	In the scheme	9,824
B25J9/102	Gears specially adapted therefor, e.g. reduction gears	B25J	In the scheme	9,588
B25J13/088	Controls for manipulators by means of sensing devices, e.g. viewing or touching devices with position, velocity or acceleration sensors	B25J	In the scheme	9,557
B25J9/1687	Assembly, peg and hole, palletising, straight line, weaving pattern movement	B25J	In the scheme	9,366
B25J15/0019	End effectors other than grippers	B25J	In the scheme	9,176
B25J9/126	Rotary actuators	B25J	In the scheme	9,001
B25J9/00	Program-controlled manipulators	B25J	In the scheme	8,930
B25J9/0084	Program-controlled manipulators comprising a plurality of manipulators	B25J	In the scheme	8,923
B25J15/0052	Gripping heads and other end effectors multiple gripper units or multiple end effectors	B25J	In the scheme	8,886
B25J11/0095	Manipulators transporting wafers	B25J	In the scheme	8,603
A61B34/32	Surgical robots operating autonomously	A61B34/30	In the scheme	8,474
B25J9/08	Program-controlled manipulators characterised by modular constructions	B25J	In the scheme	8,339
B25J9/0093	Program-controlled manipulators co-operating with conveyor means	B25J	In the scheme	8,031
B25J9/1671	Program controls characterised by programming, planning systems for manipulators characterised by simulation, either to verify existing program or to create and verify new program, CAD/CAM oriented, graphic oriented programming systems	B25J	In the scheme	8,005
B25J9/1653	Program controls characterised by the control loop parameters identification, estimation, stiffness, accuracy, error analysis	B25J	In the scheme	7,797
B25J9/10	Program-controlled manipulators characterised by positioning means for manipulator elements	B25J	In the scheme	7,588
B25J9/1656	Program controls characterised by programming, planning systems for manipulators	B25J	In the scheme	7,567
B25J9/042	Cylindrical coordinate type comprising an articulated arm	B25J	In the scheme	7,412
B25J13/006	Controls for manipulators by means of a wireless system for controlling one or several manipulators	B25J	In the scheme	7,400
B25J15/10	Gripping heads and other end effectors having finger members with three or more finger members	B25J	In the scheme	7,033
B25J15/0009	Gripping heads and other end effectors comprising multi-articulated fingers, e.g. resembling a human hand	B25J	In the scheme	6,981
B25J9/12	Program-controlled manipulators characterised by positioning means for manipulator elements electric	B25J	In the scheme	6,608
B25J11/0075	Manipulators for painting or coating	B25J	In the scheme	6,540
B25J19/021	Optical sensing devices	B25J	In the scheme	6,246
B25J9/1669	Program controls characterised by programming, planning systems for manipulators characterised by special application, e.g. multi-arm co-operation, assembly, grasping	B25J	In the scheme	6,077
B25J13/06	Control stands, e.g. consoles, switchboards	B25J	In the scheme	5,972
B25J9/162	Mobile manipulator, movable base with manipulator arm mounted on it	B25J	In the scheme	5,964
B25J9/04	Program-controlled manipulators characterised by movement of the arms, e.g. cartesian coordinate type by rotating at least one arm, excluding the head movement itself, e.g. cylindrical coordinate type or polar coordinate type	B25J	In the scheme	5,795
B25J11/0005	Manipulators having means for high-level communication with users, e.g. speech generator, face recognition means	B25J	In the scheme	5,731
B25J15/0253	Gripping heads and other end effectors servo-actuated comprising parallel grippers	B25J	In the scheme	5,623
B25J15/0014	Gripping heads and other end effectors having fork, comb or plate shaped means for engaging the lower surface on a object to be transported	B25J	In the scheme	5,603
A61B2034/306	Wrists with multiple vertebrae	A61B34/30	In the scheme	5,396
B25J17/02	Wrist joints	B25J	In the scheme	5,383
B25J19/0075	Means for protecting the manipulator from its environment or vice versa	B25J	In the scheme	5,301
B25J13/089	Determining the position of the robot with reference to its environment	B25J	In the scheme	5,289
A61B2034/303	Surgical robots specifically adapted for manipulations within body lumens, e.g. within lumen of gut, spine, or blood vessels	A61B34/30	In the scheme	5,190
B25J13/02	Hand grip control means	B25J	In the scheme	5,069
B25J9/0081	Program-controlled manipulators with leader teach-in means	B25J	In the scheme	5,063
B25J9/1605	Simulation of manipulator lay-out, design, modelling of manipulator	B25J	In the scheme	5,040
B25J15/04	Gripping heads and other end effectors with provision for the remote detachment or exchange of the head or parts thereof	B25J	In the scheme	5,030
B25J9/106	Program-controlled manipulators characterised by positioning means for manipulator elements with articulated links	B25J	In the scheme	5,022
B25J19/0029	Means for supplying energy to the end effector arranged within the different robot elements	B25J	In the scheme	5,001
B25J9/1628	Program controls characterised by the control loop	B25J	In the scheme	4,980
B25J15/0028	Gripping heads and other end effectors with movable, e.g. pivoting gripping jaw surfaces	B25J	In the scheme	4,926
B25J9/0087	Dual arms	B25J	In the scheme	4,885
B25J9/046	Revolute coordinate type	B25J	In the scheme	4,730
B25J19/0025	Means for supplying energy to the end effector	B25J	In the scheme	4,656
B25J9/0003	Home robots, i.e. small robots for domestic use	B25J	In the scheme	4,644
B25J19/0095	Means or methods for testing manipulators	B25J	In the scheme	4,546
B25J19/04	Viewing devices	B25J	In the scheme	4,537
Y10S901/47	Optical	Y10S901/00	In the scheme	4,515
Y10S901/02	Arm motion controller	Y10S901/00	In the scheme	4,488
B25J9/023	Cartesian coordinate type	B25J	In the scheme	4,435
B25J19/005	Accessories fitted to manipulators, e.g. for monitoring, for viewing; Safety devices combined with or specially adapted for use in connection with manipulators using batteries, e.g. as a back-up power source	B25J	In the scheme	4,350
B25J5/005	Manipulators mounted on wheels or on carriages mounted on endless tracks or belts	B25J	In the scheme	4,287
B25J19/0091	Shock absorbers	B25J	In the scheme	4,283
B25J9/0096	Program-controlled manipulators co-operating with a working support, e.g. work-table	B25J	In the scheme	4,220
Y10S901/09	Closed loop, sensor feedback controls arm movement	Y10S901/00	In the scheme	4,092
B25J18/025	Arms extensible telescopic	B25J	In the scheme	4,082
B25J15/12	Gripping heads and other end effectors having finger members with flexible finger members	B25J	In the scheme	4,017
B25J11/0065	Polishing or grinding	B25J	In the scheme	3,961
B25J15/0206	Gripping heads and other end effectors servo-actuated comprising articulated grippers	B25J	In the scheme	3,959
B25J11/0045	Manipulators used in the food industry	B25J	In the scheme	3,933
B25J19/022	Optical sensing devices using lasers	B25J	In the scheme	3,805
B25J13/087	Controls for manipulators by means of sensing devices, e.g. viewing or touching devices for sensing other physical parameters, e.g. electrical or chemical properties	B25J	In the scheme	3,755
B25J15/0683	Details of suction cup structure, e.g. grooves or ridges	B25J	In the scheme	3,752
B25J15/02	Gripping heads and other end effectors servo-actuated	B25J	In the scheme	3,720
B25J9/1684	Tracking a line or surface by means of sensors	B25J	In the scheme	3,699
B25J18/04	Arms extensible rotatable	B25J	In the scheme	3,664
B25J17/0266	Two-dimensional joints comprising more than two actuating or connecting rods	B25J	In the scheme	3,551
B25J19/0004	Braking devices	B25J	In the scheme	3,478
B25J9/026	Gantry-type	B25J	In the scheme	3,412
B25J17/0258	Two-dimensional joints	B25J	In the scheme	3,344
B25J9/1065	Program-controlled manipulators characterised by positioning means for manipulator elements with articulated links with parallelograms	B25J	In the scheme	3,313
B25J15/0061	Gripping heads and other end effectors multiple gripper units or multiple end effectors mounted on a modular gripping structure	B25J	In the scheme	3,310
B25J3/00	Manipulators of leader-follower type, i.e. both controlling unit and controlled unit perform corresponding spatial movements	B25J	In the scheme	3,309
B25J15/06	Gripping heads and other end effectors with vacuum or magnetic holding means	B25J	In the scheme	3,264
B25J13/084	Tactile sensors	B25J	In the scheme	3,231
B25J18/06	Arms flexible	B25J	In the scheme	3,231
B25J15/0608	Gripping heads and other end effectors with vacuum or magnetic holding means with magnetic holding means	B25J	In the scheme	3,144
G05B2219/40202	Human robot coexistence	G05B2219/40	In the scheme	3,141
B25J9/1638	Program controls characterised by the control loop compensation for arm bending/inertia, pay load weight/inertia	B25J	In the scheme	3,121
B25J9/1651	Program controls characterised by the control loop acceleration, rate control	B25J	In the scheme	3,121
B25J15/0033	Gripping heads and other end effectors with gripping surfaces having special shapes	B25J	In the scheme	3,082
B25J13/003	Controls for manipulators by means of an audio-responsive input	B25J	In the scheme	3,056
Y10S901/46	Sensing device	Y10S901/00	In the scheme	2,963
B25J9/1607	Calculation of inertia, jacobian matrixes and inverses	B25J	In the scheme	2,900
B25J9/02	Program-controlled manipulators characterised by movement of the arms, e.g. cartesian coordinate type	B25J	In the scheme	2,878
B25J9/14	Program-controlled manipulators characterised by positioning means for manipulator elements fluid	B25J	In the scheme	2,862
B25J3/04	Manipulators of leader-follower type, i.e. both controlling unit and controlled unit perform corresponding spatial movements involving servo mechanisms	B25J	In the scheme	2,861
B25J15/0023	Gripper surfaces directly activated by a fluid	B25J	In the scheme	2,816
B25J15/0066	Gripping heads and other end effectors multiple gripper units or multiple end effectors with different types of end effectors, e.g. gripper and welding gun	B25J	In the scheme	2,719
B25J19/0054	Cooling means	B25J	In the scheme	2,682
B25J9/1045	Program-controlled manipulators characterised by positioning means for manipulator elements with cables, chains or ribbons comprising tensioning means	B25J	In the scheme	2,667
B25J17/0283	Three-dimensional joints	B25J	In the scheme	2,656
G05B2219/40053	Pick 3-D object from pile of objects	G05B2219/40	In the scheme	2,636
B25J9/142	Program-controlled manipulators characterised by positioning means for manipulator elements fluid comprising inflatable bodies	B25J	In the scheme	2,619
B25J11/0055	Cutting	B25J	In the scheme	2,617
B25J7/00	Micromanipulators	B25J	In the scheme	2,567
B25J9/1641	Program controls characterised by the control loop compensation for backlash, friction, compliance, elasticity in the joints	B25J	In the scheme	2,564
B25J17/0208	Compliance devices	B25J	In the scheme	2,551
G05B2219/40298	Manipulator on vehicle, wheels, mobile	G05B2219/40	In the scheme	2,467
B25J13/081	Touching devices, e.g. pressure-sensitive	B25J	In the scheme	2,460

Match: Direct

The capability is itself a technology or a kind of physical system, and the classification names it. Glove boxes and hand-held manipulators are carved out; exoskeletons (B25J9/0006) are also counted under Human-Machine Interfaces. The crosswalk is a first pass that nobody has reviewed.

Advanced Robotics

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Country leaderboard

Ten largest

Applicants

Global

Japan

United States

China

South Korea

Germany

Similar capabilities

Crosswalk

Other capabilities in Robotics & Autonomous Systems