Mapping Technological Profile of Collaborative Robots by Patent Analysis

From 2011 onwards, thanks to the Industry 4.0 concept referring to the fourth industrial revolution, different technologies have emerged with the main objective of achieving increased productivity. One of the main technologies related to Industry 4.0 is collaborative robots, also known as cobots, whose main feature is an intelligent real-time labor nexus between humans and robots respecting safety standards. Therefore, the aim of this research work is to identify, analyze and map the technological profile of collaborative robots through patents. The results obtained show that the number of patents in recent years has grown exponentially since 2016. The largest number of inventions are concentrated in China, led by different universities, research centers and companies. Other important countries, in terms of development, are Japan and Germany, however, the inventions are mainly led by one company, Fanuc Corporation and Kuka Roboter GmbH. Likewise, it is clear that the technological advances are mainly directed toward technological developments linked to manipulators and hand tools, specifically to safety accessories and program-controlled manipulators. The results of the research provide the community involved in the research and development of collaborative robotics with a solid conceptual review, as well as a current snapshot of the temporal evolution and specialization in the technological field of inventions, obtaining intelligence information about Collaborative Robot technology to support R&D strategies.

Automated summary

This research work aims to identify, analyze, and map the technological profile of collaborative robots through patents. The research shows that the number of patents for collaborative robots has grown exponentially since 2016, with China leading in terms of the number of inventions. Other important countries in terms of development are Japan and Germany. The technological advances in this field mainly focus on manipulators and hand tools, including safety accessories and program-controlled manipulators.