The "Gold Rush" in AI and Robotics Patenting Activity. Do innovation systems have a role?

TL;DR

This study analyzes patenting trends in AI and robotics from 1980 to 2019, revealing distinct trajectories and the influence of innovation systems, with AI-enhanced robotics accelerating post-2010 and varying international patterns.

Contribution

It introduces a novel distinction between traditional robotics and AI-embedded robotics and examines their long-term dynamics across different innovation systems.

Findings

AI-enhanced robotics patenting accelerated after 2010

Structural breaks in patenting activity occurred mainly after 2010

Country-specific differences in AI and robotics integration and patenting structures

Abstract

This paper studies patenting trends in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics from 1980 to 2019. We introduce a novel distinction between traditional robotics and robotics embedding AI functionalities. Using patent data and a time-series econometric approach, we examine whether these domains share common long-run dynamics and how their trajectories differ across major innovation systems. Three main findings emerge. First, patenting activity in core AI, traditional robots, and AI-enhanced robots follows distinct trajectories, with AI-enhanced robotics accelerating sharply from the early 2010s. Second, structural breaks occur predominantly after 2010, indicating an acceleration in the technological dynamics associated with AI diffusion. Third, long-run relationships between AI and robotics vary systematically across countries: China exhibits strong integration between core AI and AI-enhanced robots, alongside a substantial contribution from universities and the public sector, whereas the United States displays a more market-oriented patenting structure and weaker integration between AI and robots. Europe, Japan, and South Korea show intermediate patterns.