Patents

Patent applications related to robotics decreased by 33% per year on average in the food industry since 2020

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The global food industry experienced a 33% decline in annual average growth rate (AAGR) in the number of robotics-related patent applications between 2020 and 2022. The total number of robotics-related grants increased by an AAGR of 13% during the same period, according to GlobalData's patent analytics database.

Notably, the number of robotics-related patent applications in the food industry was 114 since 2020, while 71 applications were granted. 

The top five companies by filings accounted for 90% of patent applications

Analysis of patent applications by assignee shows that Nuro filed the most robotics patents within the food industry since 2020. The company filed 56 robotics-related patents since 2020.  

It was followed by Lely (4 applications), Government of South Korea (2 applications), VIVID ROBOTICS (2 applications) and Anhui Polytechnic University (1 application) among others. 

The top five companies by grants accounted for 72% of successful patent grants

Analysis of patent grants by assignee shows that Nuro was granted 15 patents related to robotics within the food industry since 2020. It was followed by Robo Technologies (2 grants), X-Therma (2 grants), Anhui University of Science and Technology (1 grant) and BeeHex (1 grant). 

Patent activity was driven by China with a 34% share of total patent publications

The largest share of robotics-related patent publications in the food industry since 2020 was held by China with 34%, followed by the US (27%) and Japan (13%).

GlobalData, the leading provider of industry intelligence, provided the underlying data, research, and analysis used to produce this article.   

GlobalData’s Patents Analytics tracks patent filings and grants from official patent offices around the world. Proprietary analysis and official patent classifications are used to group patents into key thematic areas and link them to specific companies across the world’s largest industries.