Humanoid Robot Patents: China Most, U.S. Best?

Screenshot of a MLex study connected robot patents globally complete the past six years.

John Koetsier

China has the astir patents successful the humanoid robot space, and it’s not moreover close. But, according to a caller LexisNexis analysis of robot patents complete the past six years, individual U.S. patents thin to beryllium stronger and higher-quality.

The study by LexisNexis Intellectual Property Solutions dug done much than 26,000 patent families tied to 3 technologies astatine the bosom of building a walking, moving humanoid: relationship systems, morphology (the assemblage itself), arsenic good arsenic power and readying systems.

China’s stock of morphology-related humanoid patents is now 73% of the full world total, and nary 1 other is close. South Korea sits a distant 2nd astatine 11%, Japan 3rd astatine 7%, and the U.S. 4th astatine conscionable 5%. The numbers displacement a small erstwhile you facet successful patent strength: China is astatine 63%, the U.S. captures 11% of the astir valuable patents, and Japan 10%.

Over the past decade, Chinese patent activity astir doubled successful relationship systems, grew astir 2.5x successful morphology, and jumped astir 5x successful power and readying architectures. Morphology filings spiked sharply starting successful 2023, correct erstwhile humanoids went from laboratory curiosity to venture-capital obsession.

All of this activity lines up neatly pinch Beijing’s business policy.

China flagged robotics arsenic strategical successful its 14th Five-Year Plan backmost successful 2021, prioritizing precisely the building blocks humanoids need: integrated joints, physics skin, bionic perception, intelligent control. Its newest Five-Year Plan, published successful March, names embodied AI arsenic 1 of six "future industries" to nurture done 2030.

Quality complete quantity?

LexisNexis doesn’t conscionable count earthy numbers of patents. Its Patent Asset Index weighs a portfolio by really beardown its patents really are, judged by really often different inventions build connected them and really broadly they’re protected crossed markets.

By that measure, China’s lead shrinks.

China still leads morphology, but pinch 63% of world portfolio spot versus 73% earthy volume. Other state rankings displacement too. By sheer count, South Korea ranks 2nd successful morphology patents, followed by Japan, past the U.S. dormant last. Switch to portfolio strength, and the U.S. moves to 2nd spot globally, down only China. In different words, American inventors clasp astir one-twentieth of the patents but astir one-tenth of the value.

And, crossed each 3 exertion categories, U.S. patents scored the highest mean value of anyone.

Patent winners by earthy count:

• China — 73%
• South Korea — 11%
• Japan — 7%
• United States — 5%

Patent winners portfolio quality:

• China — 63%
• United States — 11%
• Japan — 10%
• South Korea — 7%

But whichever measurement you look astatine it, China’s winning

It’s each good and bully to look astatine mean patent strength, but some successful earthy numbers and successful wide portfolio quality, China is successful the lead. And not conscionable by a little.

Interestingly, 9 of the 10 organizations pinch the strongest patent positions crossed the 3 halfway humanoid technologies are companies whose business extends good beyond humanoids. (That makes sense: humanoids don’t needfully fresh into 1 tidy patent class. They’re stitched together from AI models, cognition systems, batteries, compact actuators, information systems and fleet software.) That includes business robotics veterans Fanuc and Kawasaki Heavy Industries, AI and computing players Alphabet and Nvidia, surgical-robotics master Intuitive Surgical, Samsung, positive the Chinese Academy of Sciences. For astir of them, humanoid-specific patents dress up little than 10% of their full portfolio.

When you rank dedicated humanoid startups by patent strength, six of the apical 10 are Chinese, including Fourier, Agibot and LimX Dynamics. Germany’s Agile Robots and American humanoid robot startups for illustration Figure AI, Apptronik and Agility Robotics besides deed the apical 10.

China’s UBTech stands alone, however, arsenic the only existent humanoid pure-play among the wide top-ranked holders. The 3 halfway humanoid technologies dress up much than a 4th of its portfolio.

How the U.S. overseas robot prohibition could effect this

Patents are a starring indicator. They show wherever R&D is happening earlier it shows up successful a storage aliases connected a mill floor. The marketplace they're racing toward is enormous, pinch Goldman Sachs eyeing a astir $38 cardinal humanoid market by 2035 and Morgan Stanley floating $5 trillion by 2050 erstwhile you fold successful proviso chains and support.

But now the U.S. is fundamentally banning Chinese – and each overseas – robots from American markets. This is apt to alteration those forecasts.

Of course, a market-access prohibition and a patent lead are 2 very different levers, and the prohibition touches only 1 of them. Patents are territorial and don’t attraction astir import rules: China’s 73% stock of morphology filings sits successful patent offices astir the world sloppy of whether a azygous Unitree humanoid ever clears U.S. customs again. Walling China disconnected from its largest export marketplace pressures commercialization, not innovation, but could yet effect invention levels if commercializations domestically and astir the remainder of the world is insufficient.

Of course, cutting disconnected Chinese hardware hands home players for illustration Figure, Apptronik and Agility a protected runway arsenic good arsenic a powerful inducement to build retired each the actuators, sensors and power stacks they need.

Over time, that should construe into a greater amount of U.S. patent filings, not conscionable higher-quality ones. The drawback of people is that an import prohibition doesn’t extremity Chinese firms from holding U.S. patents, truthful American manufacturers whitethorn find themselves designing astir — aliases licensing — Chinese IP connected halfway morphology.

The likeliest result is an progressively bifurcated race: China pinch volume, the U.S. pinch quality.

But the U.S. is going to commencement building immoderate amount very soon, and there’s already immoderate very bully value successful China.