TOPIC
Robotics
Stories containing inventions related to Robotics, tracing similar ideas across companies and years through patent drawings.
STORIES
Companies · Canon
In Canon's Patent Drawings, the Camera Keeps Moving Away From the Photographer.
A wearable camera, automatic tracking, a roaming network camera, camera-equipped robot hands, smart glasses, an MR headset, shared mixed reality, and live-video authenticity: nine Canon patents in which the camera stops being something a person simply holds.
Things · Parenting
Baby Care, One Task at a Time: 9 Patents That Hand the Work to Machines
A baby carrier built onto a walking-assistance robot, a stroller that brakes when the adult lets go, a responsive sleep aid, automated formula preparation, a bottle that measures its contents, a diaper that distinguishes urine from feces, an automatic washer and diaper changer, camera-based respiration monitoring, and a pacifier that announces when it falls: nine patents that hand small pieces of baby care to machines.
Companies · LEGO
Building Functions Into Bricks: 10 LEGO Inventions Seen in Patent Drawings
An electronic character that reads markers, a push-button figurine, a 3×3 light-matrix brick, a modular motor, camera/LiDAR sensing, a robotics brain, physical logic bricks, user-designed parts, AR identities built from bricks, and asymmetric play split between the real and virtual worlds.
Things · Travel
How Far Can a Suitcase Transform? 10 Strange Ideas Found in Patents
A suitcase that follows you, becomes a scooter, climbs stairs, unfolds into shelves, changes size, turns into a work table, inflates with air, carries a child, becomes a bed, or weighs itself through the handle.
Companies · Toyota
Ride It, Wear It, Follow It: 8 Toyota Patents for Mobility That Moves Closer to People
An adjustable-wheelbase personal mobility device, a wearable robot, a wheelchair that follows a companion, a moving display experience, morphing seat bolsters, a hitch-mounted robot, an autonomous trolley drive unit, and a locker that drives to the recipient: eight Toyota patents that shrink mobility down toward the human scale.
Companies · Ford
Inside Ford’s Vehicle Patents: Sliding Desks, Folding Steering Wheels and Drones
Seats that face each other, an autonomous-mode theater, a dashboard desk, a tailgate sawhorse, a vehicle-launched drone, delivery-robot assistance, pet mode, outward HUD projection, self-moving repossession, and a tilting steering wheel: ten Ford patent drawings that rethink what a car can become.
Companies · Walmart
Carts Assist, Robots Scan, Drones Deliver: Walmart Patents for a Store That Moves Itself
A cart handle that reads biometrics, a power-assisted cart, an aisle-following unmanned vehicle, shelf-scanning robots, a fully automated store, modular drones, mobile lockers and drone delivery: ten Walmart patent drawings in which retail work starts moving on its own.
Things · Pets
Read the Bark, Take the Walk: 10 Patents Automating Pet Care
From bark-based emotion analysis and smart collars to remote video calls, a dog-scratching robot arm, self-play ball launchers, an autonomous dog-walking vehicle, automatic washing, and a rotating litter box: ten patents that move pieces of pet care from people to machines.
Companies · Panasonic
Wash, Cook, Support, Deliver: Panasonic Patents for Machines That Help
From a hair-washing robot to a bed that separates into a wheelchair, walking assistance, a spherical social robot, and autonomous delivery: ten Panasonic patent drawings trace machines moving closer to everyday human work.
Companies · Honda
Walk, Grasp, Support, Ride, Fly: Honda Patents That Expand Mobility
A hand-holding biped robot, five-finger robot hand, sign-language robot, bodyweight support assist, upper-body assist frame, omnidirectional personal mobility, an automated wheelchair-to-vehicle interface, telepresence robot, a self-moving shopping cart and eVTOL: ten Honda patent drawings that push mobility beyond the car.
Companies · Dyson
What Else Can Air Do? A Tour of Dyson Patents
Air-purifying headphones, a stair-friendly vacuum, an asymmetric robot hand, a bladeless fan, air-knife hand dryers, airflow-based hair curling, green dust illumination and cleaner-maintaining docks: ten Dyson patent drawings.
Things · Food
Electric Taste and Sensor Plates: 10 Patents Rethinking Meals
A burger-flipping robot, a 3D food printer, personalized nutrition from diagnostic samples, AR menus, electrically simulated taste, cartridge-based scent, utensils and plates that measure eating, serving robots and a robotic bartender. Ten patents that make the meal programmable one step at a time.
Companies · LG
Rollable Screens, Transparent Doors and Following Robots: LG Patents
A television that rolls out of sight, a refrigerator door that turns transparent, a robot that finds a wall or floor for projection, a phone that grows sideways, and a vehicle display that changes shape. Ten LG Electronics US patent publications where the boundaries of screens and appliances start to move.
Companies · Samsung
Where Does the Screen Go? 10 Samsung Patents
A display inside a contact lens, a keypad projected onto the hand, a walking-assist wearable robot, a screen that turns into a mirror, rollable displays, and a virtual keyboard pinned to the palm. Ten Samsung Electronics US patent publications reveal devices whose shape and location keep moving.
Companies · Sony
Wigs, Bananas and New Controllers: 10 Sony Patents
A computer hidden in a wig, a banana turned into a game controller, a camera contact lens, hot-and-cold controls, giant spheres under both feet and a robot rebuilt as a giraffe. Ten US Sony patent publications in which the interface takes many different forms.
Companies · Disney
Walking Characters and Flying Ships: 10 Disney Theme-Park Patents
Walking robot actors, huggable soft robots, pirate ships hiding drones, flying pixels, a blade that extends from a lightsaber hilt, moving floors and images suspended in fog. Ten Disney patents that turn the park itself into part of the show.
Things · Wearables
Adding to the Human Body: 10 Patents for Extra Limbs, Senses and Support
A chair you wear on your legs, extra arms on your back, a sixth finger, ultrasound-evoked body sensations, self-lacing shoes, haptic gloves, smart contact lenses, skin-mounted chemical sensors and a wearable airbag. Ten public patents that try to redraw the boundary of the human body.
Companies · Amazon
A Shipping Label That Becomes a Parachute: 10 Amazon Delivery Patents
Airborne warehouses, drone towers, underground conveyors, parachute labels and package handoffs: ten Amazon patents that imagine delivery without today’s familiar infrastructure.
Companies · Google
When Computers Leave the Screen: 10 Google Patents
Sticky car hoods, VR shoes, robot personalities, flying telepresence screens and balloon networks: ten Google patents that sketch some unexpected futures.
Things · Mobility
Walking Cars and Laser Wipers: 10 Unusual Automotive Patents
Walking cars, laser-cleaned windshields, removable controls, AR glass and rotating cabins: ten patents that rethink what a car has to be.
Things · Smart Home
Beds That Disappear and Homes That Unfold: 10 Housing Patents
Beds that disappear into ceilings, robot kitchens, projected bathroom controls and a house that unfolds outward and upward: ten patents that make the fixed parts of a home surprisingly movable.