Company patents

AeroVironment, Inc.

AeroVironment, Inc. shows a surprising shift in its patent strategy, with a significant decline in its core 'Aircraft & Aerodynamics' category, which makes up 64.7% of its portfolio, experiencing a -33.3% YoY drop so far in 2026, following a -35.7% decline in 2025. This contrasts with an emerging focus on 'Electric Vehicle Propulsion', which saw a +200.0% YoY growth in 2024 and another +100.0% so far in 2026, despite its smaller share of 3.4% of the total portfolio.

Patent Trend by Technology Area

Yearly patent publications since 2023

Product themes

Product-level themes inferred from filings since 2023, with category chips showing where each theme appears. Select a theme to filter the patents below.

207 US filings (since 2023) · 11 categories · 19 themes

Airspace & Drone Traffic Management

Systems and methods for monitoring, controlling, and optimizing the movement of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and other aircraft, including real-time connectivity, flight planning, and route modification.

Aircraft EquipmentTraffic Control Systems
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140since 2023
-17.8%YoY
Flight Stability & Control

Mechanisms and algorithms designed to enhance the stability, precision, and safety of drone flight, including damping systems, rotor dynamics, fault-tolerant control, and transition between flight modes.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Drones)
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66since 2023
-27.3%YoY
Drone Fleet Management

Systems for coordinating multiple drones, managing their operations within an airspace, including real-time connectivity, traffic management, and task allocation for cooperative missions.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Drones)
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59since 2023
-40.9%YoY
Integrated Deployment & Delivery

Solutions for the automated deployment, retrieval, and payload handling of drones, often involving integration with other vehicles or specialized ground infrastructure for specific applications like package delivery.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Drones)
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51since 2023
0.0%YoY
Redundant Flight Control Architectures

Systems and methods for ensuring robust and reliable aircraft control, often involving multiple control computers, adaptive control laws, or sophisticated pilot input interfaces, especially in the presence of failures or environmental disturbances.

Aircraft & Aerodynamics
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38since 2023
-35.7%YoY
Advanced Aircraft Actuation

Design and control of electromechanical or hydraulic actuators for moving aircraft components like wing tips, control surfaces, or landing gear, often focusing on efficiency, redundancy, or specific operational profiles.

Aircraft & Aerodynamics
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31since 2023
-55.6%YoY
Aerodynamic & Structural Optimizationfiltered

Innovations in aircraft airframe design, material usage, and aerodynamic surfaces to improve performance characteristics such as weight, rigidity, short take-off/landing capabilities, or stall resistance.

Aircraft & Aerodynamics
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22since 2023
+400.0%YoY
Electric Propulsion Systems

Integration of electric motors, power generation, and distribution systems for propelling aircraft, including components for coupling motors to propellers and managing electrical power.

Aircraft & AerodynamicsAircraft Equipment
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16since 2023
+25.0%YoY
Aerial Environmental Sensing

Systems and methods for using drones equipped with various sensors (optical, chemical, LiDAR) to collect data for monitoring environmental conditions, inspecting infrastructure, or assessing agricultural assets.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Drones)
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16since 2023
-40.0%YoY
Video Enhancement & Object Tracking

Methods and systems for improving the quality of video streams, generating intermediate frames, or continuously locating and following objects within a sequence of images, even under occlusion.

Image Processing
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9since 2023
0.0%YoY
Hybrid Power & Endurance

Drone propulsion and power architectures combining multiple energy sources, such as internal combustion engines, electric motors, batteries, and generators, to extend flight duration, range, or payload capacity.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Drones)
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8since 2023
0.0%YoY
Advanced Motor Topologies

Development of novel motor architectures beyond traditional radial flux designs, including linear, axial, or multi-armature configurations, often to optimize for specific performance characteristics like torque density or form factor.

Electric Motors & Generators
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8since 2023
-50.0%YoY
Video Quality & Encoding Optimization

Methods and apparatus for improving the visual fidelity, resolution, or compression efficiency of video signals, often through advanced processing, up-scaling, or neural network-based filters.

Pictorial / Video Communications
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6since 2023
0.0%YoY
Autonomous Path Planning

Algorithms and systems for generating, optimizing, and executing trajectories for autonomous vehicles or robots to move through an environment, often involving obstacle avoidance, route validation, and goal reaching.

Aircraft & AerodynamicsUnmanned Aerial Vehicles (Drones)Industrial & Autonomous ControlTraffic Control SystemsNavigation & Geodesy
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6since 2023
-50.0%YoY
Electric Powertrain Efficiency & Control

Methods and components for optimizing the performance, efficiency, and control of electric motors, inverters, and power converters within electric vehicle and hybrid vehicle drivetrains.

Electric Vehicle Propulsion
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4since 2023
-50.0%YoY
Cooperative Driving & Maneuver Planning

Algorithms and systems for planning and executing complex vehicle maneuvers, often involving cooperation with other vehicles or infrastructure, to optimize traffic flow, avoid collisions, or navigate challenging scenarios. This includes lane changes, cut-ins, and traffic congestion.

Vehicle Control Systems
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3since 2023
new
VRU Protection & Localization

Systems and methods for enhancing the safety of vulnerable road users (pedestrians, cyclists) by improving their detection, prediction, and precise localization relative to the vehicle, often leveraging communication technologies and specialized markers.

Vehicle Control Systems
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3since 2023
new
Multi-Agent System Coordination

Methods and systems for managing the interaction, communication, and collaborative tasks among multiple autonomous entities, or between autonomous entities and a central control system or users.

Industrial & Autonomous Control
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3since 2023
new
Stator & Coil Manufacturing

Manufacturing processes and techniques for producing stator cores, windings, and coils, including lamination, impregnation, hairpin winding, and segment coil bending, to improve motor efficiency, power density, or reliability.

Electric Motors & Generators
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3since 2023
n/a

Patents

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