Critical Technology

Uncrewed & Collaborative Systems

The capacity to build uncrewed systems at scale and make them work together: air, ground, surface and underwater platforms, swarming, and the production ecosystems that turn designs into mass. One of the capabilities of Robotics & Autonomous Systems.

International families: 17k2015 to 2024
Leading country: United States1.2× the next
All families: 65khome filings included
Over five years: Falling2020 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

United States

Japan

China

South Korea

Germany

France

United Kingdom

Sweden

Israel

Taiwan

3,995

3,332

3,111

1,460

958

546

453

295

264

221


1	United States	3,995	23.8%	0.7×	8,841
2	Japan	3,332	19.9%	1.2×	6,290
3	China	3,111	18.6%	0.5×	32,050
4	South Korea	1,460	8.7%	1.2×	10,254
5	Germany	958	5.7%	0.8×	1,521
6	France	546	3.3%	0.7×	764
7	United Kingdom	453	2.7%	1.0×	629
8	Sweden	295	1.8%	0.9×	318
9	Israel	264	1.6%	1.0×	350
10	Taiwan	221	1.3%	0.7×	369
11	Canada	198	1.2%	0.9×	326
12	Norway	173	1.0%	0.8×	208
13	Switzerland	150	0.9%	1.4×	185
14	Australia	147	0.9%	1.1×	192
15	Italy	134	0.8%	1.3×	243
16	Türkiye	126	0.8%	4.0×	199
17	India	118	0.7%	0.8×	197
18	Netherlands	107	0.6%	0.9×	161
19	Spain	102	0.6%	1.1×	153
20	Singapore	97	0.6%	1.1×	108
21	Finland	90	0.5%	1.2×	108
22	Russia	69	0.4%	1.6×	283
23	Austria	59	0.4%	0.8×	68
24	Denmark	54	0.3%	0.7×	57
25	Saudi Arabia	49	0.3%	0.8×	94
26	Brazil	36	0.2%	1.4×	88
27	Belgium	32	0.2%	0.5×	44
28	Ireland	32	0.2%	1.1×	44
29	Portugal	27	0.2%	2.0×	31
30	Poland	26	0.2%	1.2×	111
31	Hong Kong	22	0.1%	1.2×	38
32	South Africa	16	0.1%	1.3×	17
33	New Zealand	15	0.1%	0.0×	17
34	Hungary	14	0.1%	2.5×	23
35	Malaysia	10	0.1%	2.3×	19
36	Czechia	9	0.1%	2.0×	25
37	Cayman Islands	8	0.0%	0.0×	12
38	Liechtenstein	7	0.0%	1.3×	8
39	Luxembourg	3	0.0%	2.0×	4
40	Mexico	3	0.0%	0.5×	17

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 Uncrewed & Collaborative Systems. Names are as held in the source and are not consolidated across subsidiaries.

Global

16,757 international families

SZ DJI TECHNOLOGY CO LTD · China

AUTEL ROBOTICS CO LTD · China

TOYOTA MOTOR CORP · Japan

TOYOTA MOTOR CO LTD · Japan

SHENZHEN AUTEL INTELLIGENT AVIATION TECH CO LTD · China

HYUNDAI MOTOR CO LTD · South Korea

1,149

319

306

303

241

216

United States

3,995 international families

WALMART APOLLO LLC

BOEING CO

FORD GLOBAL TECH LLC

WING AVIATION LLC

QUALCOMM INC

WAL MART STORES INC

170

166

158

155

105

Japan

3,332 international families

TOYOTA MOTOR CORP

TOYOTA MOTOR CO LTD

SONY GROUP CORP

HONDA MOTOR CO LTD

KUBOTA KK

NEC CORP

304

300

174

155

146

141

China

3,111 international families

SZ DJI TECHNOLOGY CO LTD

AUTEL ROBOTICS CO LTD

SHENZHEN AUTEL INTELLIGENT AVIATION TECH CO LTD

SZ DJI INNOVATIONS TECH CO LTD

SHENZHEN DAJIANG INNOVATION TECHNOLOGY CO LTD

SHENZHEN DAOTONG INTELLIGENT AVIATION TECH CO LTD

1,133

319

241

205

144

South Korea

1,460 international families

HYUNDAI MOTOR CO LTD

KIA CORP

LG ELECTRONICS INC

KIA MOTORS CORP

SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD

ELECTRONICS & TELECOMMUNICATIONS RES INST

214

167

151

132

104

Germany

Japan

United Kingdom

China

Spain

286

National Security

Imagery & Geospatial Intelligence

2.5% shared · 537 families in both

United States

China

Japan

Germany

South Korea

963

914

891

665

209

Crosswalk

How Uncrewed & Collaborative Systems is matched to the patent classifications. The entries below were chosen for it; each stands for itself and everything beneath it in the scheme, 194 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
B64U	Unmanned aerial vehicles [uav]; equipment therefor	Uncrewed aerial vehicles and their equipment	220	158	471,218
B64C39/02	Aircraft not otherwise provided for characterised by special use	Uncrewed aircraft under the earlier scheme	5	1	53,120
B63G8/001	Underwater vessels adapted for special purposes, e.g. unmanned underwater vessels; Equipment specially adapted therefor, e.g. docking stations	Uncrewed underwater vehicles and docking stations	6	none	23,488
B63B2035/006	Unmanned surface vessels, e.g. remotely controlled	Uncrewed surface vessels	3	none	6,201
F41H7/005	Unmanned ground vehicles, i.e. robotic, remote controlled or autonomous, mobile platforms carrying equipment for performing a military or police role, e.g. weapon systems or reconnaissance sensors	Uncrewed ground vehicles for military or police roles	1	none	816
G05D1/69	Coordinated control of the position or course of two or more vehicles	Coordinated control of several vehicles	10	7	27,129
G05D1/104	Simultaneous control of position or course in three dimensions specially adapted for aircraft involving a plurality of aircrafts, e.g. formation flying	Formation flying of several aircraft	1	none	7,859
G05D1/0291	Fleet control	Fleet control of ground vehicles	4	none	21,479

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 Uncrewed & Collaborative Systems: 250 codes on 611,310 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
B64C39/024	Aircraft not otherwise provided for characterised by special use of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV	B64C39/02	In the scheme	38,611
B64U2101/30	UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications for imaging, photography or videography	B64U	In the scheme	33,826
B64U2201/20	Remote controls	B64U	In the scheme	27,350
B64U50/19	Propulsion using electrically powered motors	B64U	In the scheme	19,989
B64U10/14	Flying platforms with four distinct rotor axes, e.g. quadcopters	B64U	In the scheme	19,670
B64U10/13	Flying platforms	B64U	In the scheme	19,297
B64U2201/10	UAVs characterised by their flight controls autonomous, i.e. by navigating independently from ground or air stations, e.g. by using inertial navigation systems [INS]	B64U	In the scheme	18,774
B64U30/20	Rotors; Rotor supports	B64U	In the scheme	11,987
B64U2101/00	UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications	B64U	In the scheme	11,928
B64U20/87	Mounting of imaging devices, e.g. mounting of gimbals	B64U	In the scheme	11,354
B64C39/02	Aircraft not otherwise provided for characterised by special use	B64C39/02	In the scheme	11,129
B64U10/10	Rotorcrafts	B64U	In the scheme	10,622
B63G8/001	Underwater vessels adapted for special purposes, e.g. unmanned underwater vessels; Equipment specially adapted therefor, e.g. docking stations	B63G8/001	In the scheme	10,526
B64U10/25	Fixed-wing aircraft	B64U	In the scheme	8,969
B64U2101/60	UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications for transporting passengers; for transporting goods other than weapons	B64U	In the scheme	8,645
G05D1/0297	Fleet control by controlling means in a control room	G05D1/0291	In the scheme	8,050
G05D1/104	Simultaneous control of position or course in three dimensions specially adapted for aircraft involving a plurality of aircrafts, e.g. formation flying	G05D1/104	In the scheme	7,859
B64U2201/104	UAVs characterised by their flight controls autonomous, i.e. by navigating independently from ground or air stations, e.g. by using inertial navigation systems [INS] using satellite radio beacon positioning systems, e.g. GPS	B64U	In the scheme	6,422
B64U2101/64	UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications for transporting passengers; for transporting goods other than weapons for parcel delivery or retrieval	B64U	In the scheme	6,225
G05D1/0291	Fleet control	G05D1/0291	In the scheme	5,829
B64U2201/00	UAVs characterised by their flight controls	B64U	In the scheme	5,826
B64U20/80	Arrangement of on-board electronics, e.g. avionics systems or wiring	B64U	In the scheme	5,798
G05D1/69	Coordinated control of the position or course of two or more vehicles	G05D1/69	In the scheme	5,705
B64U50/13	Propulsion using external fans or propellers	B64U	In the scheme	5,676
G05D1/695	Coordinated control of the position or course of two or more vehicles for maintaining a fixed relative position of the vehicles, e.g. for convoy travelling or formation flight	G05D1/69	In the scheme	5,586
B64U2101/31	UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications for imaging, photography or videography for surveillance	B64U	In the scheme	5,403
B64C2201/127	Retired code	B64U	Retired, by concordance	4,883
G05D1/6987	Control allocation by centralised control off-board any of the vehicles	G05D1/69	In the scheme	4,749
B64U2101/20	UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications for use as communications relays, e.g. high-altitude platforms	B64U	In the scheme	4,727
B64U30/10	Wings	B64U	In the scheme	4,673
G05D1/692	Coordinated control of the position or course of two or more vehicles involving a plurality of disparate vehicles	G05D1/69	In the scheme	4,662
B64U10/20	Vertical take-off and landing [VTOL] aircraft	B64U	In the scheme	4,574
B64C2201/146	Retired code	B64U	Retired, by concordance	4,526
B64U10/16	Flying platforms with five or more distinct rotor axes, e.g. octocopters	B64U	In the scheme	4,397
B64U2101/40	UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications for agriculture or forestry operations	B64U	In the scheme	4,267
B64U80/25	Transport or storage specially adapted for UAVs with arrangements for servicing the UAV for recharging batteries; for refuelling	B64U	In the scheme	4,013
B64C2201/108	Retired code	B64U	Retired, by concordance	3,898
G05D1/0293	Convoy travelling	G05D1/0291	In the scheme	3,870
B64U2101/26	UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications for manufacturing or servicing for manufacturing, inspections or repairs	B64U	In the scheme	3,867
B64U60/50	Undercarriages with landing legs	B64U	In the scheme	3,848
B63G2008/004	Underwater vessels adapted for special purposes, e.g. unmanned underwater vessels; Equipment specially adapted therefor, e.g. docking stations unmanned autonomously operating	B63G8/001	In the scheme	3,794
B64C2201/141	Retired code	B64U	Retired, by concordance	3,736
G05D1/0295	Fleet control by at least one leading vehicle of the fleet	G05D1/0291	In the scheme	3,730
B64U80/86	Land vehicles	B64U	In the scheme	3,626
B64U2101/45	UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications for releasing liquids or powders in-flight, e.g. crop-dusting	B64U	In the scheme	3,579
B64U50/30	Supply or distribution of electrical power	B64U	In the scheme	3,487
B63G2008/002	Underwater vessels adapted for special purposes, e.g. unmanned underwater vessels; Equipment specially adapted therefor, e.g. docking stations unmanned	B63G8/001	In the scheme	3,473
B64C2201/12	Retired code	B64U	Retired, by concordance	3,441
B64U10/60	Tethered aircraft	B64U	In the scheme	3,373
G05D1/693	Coordinated control of the position or course of two or more vehicles for avoiding collisions between vehicles	G05D1/69	In the scheme	3,233
B64U30/26	Ducted or shrouded rotors	B64U	In the scheme	3,201
B64C2201/042	Retired code	B64U	Retired, by concordance	3,191
B64U30/12	Variable or detachable wings, e.g. wings with adjustable sweep	B64U	In the scheme	3,181
B64U50/34	In-flight charging	B64U	In the scheme	3,160
B64U80/70	Transport or storage specially adapted for UAVs in containers	B64U	In the scheme	3,149
B64U50/14	Propulsion using external fans or propellers ducted or shrouded	B64U	In the scheme	3,113
B64U70/90	Launching from or landing on platforms	B64U	In the scheme	2,943
B64C2201/027	Retired code	B64U	Retired, by concordance	2,937
B64U50/37	Charging when not in flight	B64U	In the scheme	2,821
B64U2201/102	UAVs characterised by their flight controls autonomous, i.e. by navigating independently from ground or air stations, e.g. by using inertial navigation systems [INS] adapted for flying in formations	B64U	In the scheme	2,797
B64U30/293	Foldable or collapsible rotors or rotor supports	B64U	In the scheme	2,778
B64C2201/024	Retired code	B64U	Retired, by concordance	2,763
B64U50/31	Supply or distribution of electrical power generated by photovoltaics	B64U	In the scheme	2,717
B64U70/30	Launching, take-off or landing arrangements for capturing UAVs in flight by ground or sea-based arresting gear, e.g. by a cable or a net	B64U	In the scheme	2,692
B64U50/11	Propulsion using internal combustion piston engines	B64U	In the scheme	2,631
B64C2201/128	Retired code	B64U	Retired, by concordance	2,506
B64U20/70	Constructional aspects of the UAV body	B64U	In the scheme	2,397
B63G2008/005	Underwater vessels adapted for special purposes, e.g. unmanned underwater vessels; Equipment specially adapted therefor, e.g. docking stations unmanned remotely controlled	B63G8/001	In the scheme	2,355
B64U2201/202	Remote controls using tethers for connecting to ground station	B64U	In the scheme	2,336
B64U30/297	Tilting rotors	B64U	In the scheme	2,263
B63B2035/006	Unmanned surface vessels, e.g. remotely controlled	B63B2035/006	In the scheme	2,260
B63B2035/007	Unmanned surface vessels, e.g. remotely controlled autonomously operating	B63B2035/006	In the scheme	2,157
B64U70/83	Vertical take-off or landing, e.g. using rockets using parachutes, balloons or the like	B64U	In the scheme	2,132
B64U30/29	Constructional aspects of rotors or rotor supports; Arrangements thereof	B64U	In the scheme	2,092
B64U70/00	Launching, take-off or landing arrangements	B64U	In the scheme	2,055
B64U10/00	Type of UAV	B64U	In the scheme	2,002
B64U2101/32	UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications for imaging, photography or videography for cartography or topography	B64U	In the scheme	1,936
B64U30/24	Coaxial rotors	B64U	In the scheme	1,900
B63B2035/008	Unmanned surface vessels, e.g. remotely controlled remotely controlled	B63B2035/006	In the scheme	1,784
B63G2008/007	Underwater vessels adapted for special purposes, e.g. unmanned underwater vessels; Equipment specially adapted therefor, e.g. docking stations unmanned remotely controlled by means of a physical link to a base, e.g. wire, cable or umbilical	B63G8/001	In the scheme	1,782
B64U70/93	Portable platforms for use on a land or nautical vehicle	B64U	In the scheme	1,774
B64U20/30	Constructional aspects of UAVs for safety, e.g. with frangible components	B64U	In the scheme	1,759
B64U10/30	Lighter-than-air aircraft, e.g. aerostatic aircraft	B64U	In the scheme	1,702
B64U50/39	Battery swapping	B64U	In the scheme	1,657
B64U20/50	Foldable or collapsible UAVs	B64U	In the scheme	1,653
B64U70/70	Launching or landing using catapults, tracks or rails	B64U	In the scheme	1,649
B64U70/20	Launching, take-off or landing arrangements for releasing or capturing UAVs in flight by another aircraft	B64U	In the scheme	1,643
B64U10/17	Helicopters	B64U	In the scheme	1,634
B64U2101/15	UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications for conventional or electronic warfare	B64U	In the scheme	1,619
B64U2101/67	UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications for transporting passengers; for transporting goods other than weapons the UAVs comprising tethers for lowering the goods	B64U	In the scheme	1,576
B63G2008/008	Docking stations for unmanned underwater vessels, or the like	B63G8/001	In the scheme	1,558
B64U30/299	Rotor guards	B64U	In the scheme	1,555
B64U20/40	Modular UAVs	B64U	In the scheme	1,525
B64U40/10	On-board mechanical arrangements for adjusting control surfaces or rotors; On-board mechanical arrangements for in-flight adjustment of the base configuration for adjusting control surfaces or rotors	B64U	In the scheme	1,520
B64C39/022	Tethered aircraft	B64C39/02	In the scheme	1,488
B64C2201/123	Retired code	B64U	Retired, by concordance	1,483
B64U2101/35	UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications for science, e.g. meteorology	B64U	In the scheme	1,460
B64U70/99	Means for retaining the UAV on the platform, e.g. dogs or magnets	B64U	In the scheme	1,457
B64U10/80	UAVs characterised by their small size, e.g. micro air vehicles [MAV]	B64U	In the scheme	1,434
B64U20/65	Composite materials	B64U	In the scheme	1,418
G05D1/6985	Control allocation using a lead vehicle, e.g. primary-secondary arrangements	G05D1/69	In the scheme	1,404
B64U70/95	Means for guiding the landing UAV towards the platform, e.g. lighting means	B64U	In the scheme	1,397
B64U70/97	Means for guiding the UAV to a specific location on the platform, e.g. platform structures preventing landing off-centre	B64U	In the scheme	1,376
B64C39/026	Aircraft not otherwise provided for characterised by special use for use as personal propulsion unit	B64C39/02	In the scheme	1,375
B64U70/80	Vertical take-off or landing, e.g. using rockets	B64U	In the scheme	1,351
B64U50/12	Propulsion using turbine engines, e.g. turbojets or turbofans	B64U	In the scheme	1,348
B64U80/82	Airborne vehicles	B64U	In the scheme	1,328
B64U30/40	Empennages, e.g. V-tails	B64U	In the scheme	1,290
B64U10/70	Convertible aircraft, e.g. convertible into land vehicles	B64U	In the scheme	1,267
B64U50/38	Charging when not in flight by wireless transmission	B64U	In the scheme	1,196
B64U70/92	Portable platforms	B64U	In the scheme	1,195
B64U60/40	Undercarriages foldable or retractable	B64U	In the scheme	1,185
B64C2201/165	Retired code	B64U	Retired, by concordance	1,143
B64U80/84	Waterborne vehicles	B64U	In the scheme	1,131
B64U30/21	Rotary wings	B64U	In the scheme	1,120
B64U2101/29	UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications for manufacturing or servicing for cleaning	B64U	In the scheme	1,099
B64U50/32	Supply or distribution of electrical power generated by fuel cells	B64U	In the scheme	1,091
B64U2101/55	UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications for life-saving or rescue operations; for medical use	B64U	In the scheme	1,089
B64U10/40	Ornithopters	B64U	In the scheme	1,035
B64C2201/066	Retired code	B64U	Retired, by concordance	1,021
B64U2101/25	UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications for manufacturing or servicing	B64U	In the scheme	957
B64C2201/021	Retired code	B64U	Retired, by concordance	950
B64U50/23	Transmission of mechanical power to rotors or propellers with each propulsion means having an individual motor	B64U	In the scheme	950
B64U70/50	Launching from storage containers, e.g. from submarine missile tubes	B64U	In the scheme	947
B64C2201/145	Retired code	B64U	Retired, by concordance	924
B64U2101/47	UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications for releasing liquids or powders in-flight, e.g. crop-dusting for fire fighting	B64U	In the scheme	889
B64U20/96	Cooling using air	B64U	In the scheme	871
B64U20/83	Electronic components structurally integrated with aircraft elements, e.g. circuit boards carrying loads	B64U	In the scheme	859
B64U20/60	UAVs characterised by the material	B64U	In the scheme	858
B64U2101/10	UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications for generating power to be supplied to a remote station, e.g. UAVs with solar panels	B64U	In the scheme	831
F41H7/005	Unmanned ground vehicles, i.e. robotic, remote controlled or autonomous, mobile platforms carrying equipment for performing a military or police role, e.g. weapon systems or reconnaissance sensors	F41H7/005	In the scheme	816
B64U40/20	On-board mechanical arrangements for adjusting control surfaces or rotors; On-board mechanical arrangements for in-flight adjustment of the base configuration for in-flight adjustment of the base configuration	B64U	In the scheme	804
B64U70/60	Take-off or landing of UAVs from a runway using their own power	B64U	In the scheme	793
B64C2201/14	Retired code	B64U	Retired, by concordance	750
B64U60/00	Undercarriages	B64U	In the scheme	750
B64U80/10	Transport or storage specially adapted for UAVs with means for moving the UAV to a supply or launch location, e.g. robotic arms or carousels	B64U	In the scheme	747
B64U20/00	Constructional aspects of UAVs	B64U	In the scheme	746
B64C2201/18	Retired code	B64U	Retired, by concordance	744
B64U2101/61	UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications for transporting passengers; for transporting goods other than weapons for transporting passengers	B64U	In the scheme	723
B64U2101/69	UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications for transporting passengers; for transporting goods other than weapons the UAVs provided with means for airdropping goods, e.g. deploying a parachute during descent	B64U	In the scheme	719
B64C2201/126	Retired code	B64U	Retired, by concordance	716
B64U2101/70	UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications for use inside enclosed spaces, e.g. in buildings or in vehicles	B64U	In the scheme	713
B64U10/50	Glider-type UAVs, e.g. with parachute, parasail or kite	B64U	In the scheme	705
B64U2101/18	UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications for conventional or electronic warfare for dropping bombs; for firing ammunition	B64U	In the scheme	699
B64U50/35	In-flight charging by wireless transmission, e.g. by induction	B64U	In the scheme	688
B64U50/33	Supply or distribution of electrical power generated by combustion engines	B64U	In the scheme	680
B64U80/40	Transport or storage specially adapted for UAVs for two or more UAVs	B64U	In the scheme	655
B64U30/291	Detachable rotors or rotor supports	B64U	In the scheme	647
B64U80/30	Transport or storage specially adapted for UAVs with arrangements for data transmission	B64U	In the scheme	637
B64U60/10	Undercarriages specially adapted for use on water	B64U	In the scheme	628

Match: Direct

The capability is itself a technology or a kind of physical system, and the classification names it. Aerial systems are well covered in both schemes; underwater, surface and ground uncrewed vehicles are CPC only. The crosswalk is a first pass that nobody has reviewed.

Uncrewed & Collaborative Systems

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Applicants

Global

United States

Japan

China

South Korea

Germany

Similar capabilities

Crosswalk

Other capabilities in Robotics & Autonomous Systems