Company patents
Topcon Positioning Systems, Inc.
Topcon Positioning Systems, Inc. surprisingly shows a broad patent portfolio, with a significant 44.9% in Radar / Sonar / Lidar, despite a notable decline of -66.7% in this category so far in 2026. While many categories like Navigation & Geodesy and Antennas saw sharp declines in 2025 and 2026, the company maintained some activity in Material & Chemical Analysis, which saw consistent patenting in 2024, 2025, and so far in 2026.
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.
69 US filings (since 2023) · 12 categories · 27 themes
Methods and systems for accurately determining the absolute or relative position of an object or device, often integrating satellite navigation (GNSS), inertial measurement units (IMU), and local ranging or wireless communication technologies.
Systems and methods for electronically steering or shaping antenna beams by controlling the phase and amplitude of signals fed to individual elements in an array, including calibration techniques and multi-antenna configurations.
Systems and methods for enabling earth-moving machines to perform tasks with reduced or no human intervention, often leveraging predictive models, sensor fusion, and coordinated multi-machine operations.
Design and manufacturing techniques for incorporating antenna structures directly into electronic devices, product housings, or materials, often under constraints of space, aesthetics, or environmental factors.
Antennas engineered to operate effectively across a wide continuous range of frequencies (broadband) or multiple distinct frequency bands, often requiring specific radiating element geometries or impedance matching circuits.
Innovations in the mechanical design, modularity, and enhanced functionality of excavator attachments and implements, including multi-axis rotation, specialized grapples, and integrated compaction tools.
Integration and processing of data from diverse sensors (e.g., magnetometers, odometers, IMUs, vision sensors) to achieve robust and accurate positioning, especially in environments where GPS is unreliable or unavailable.
Techniques for encoding digital data onto analog carrier signals using complex constellation diagrams, multi-level signaling, or layered approaches, often combined with error correction codes, to achieve higher data rates, improved spectral efficiency, or extended range.
Utilizing optical sensors and image processing to detect, classify, and analyze crops, terrain features, or harvested material to inform automated machine actions and decision-making.
Dynamically adjusting machine parameters such as cutting height, travel speed, or power output in response to real-time environmental conditions, crop characteristics, or operational goals.
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.
Integration of diverse sensors and machine perception algorithms to gather and interpret data about the machine's environment, its own state, and subsurface conditions for improved operation, safety, and mapping.
Methods for designing, transmitting, and utilizing specific reference signals (e.g., DMRS, SRS, PT-RS) to enable accurate channel estimation, interference measurement, synchronization, or sensing in wireless communication systems.
Technologies for non-contact measurement of distance, position, or 3D properties of a target object, often involving active emission and detection of light or radio frequency waves, including target tracking.
Methods and apparatus for performing non-standard or highly specific excavation tasks, such as underwater harvesting, material screening, or earth removal with structural reinforcement.
Technologies for efficiently collecting, conveying, separating, and managing harvested materials, including quality control, blending for desired parameters, and processing of biomass.
Techniques and structures used to reduce unwanted electromagnetic coupling, scattering, or interference between multiple antennas, different frequency bands, or sensitive electronic components within a device.
Systems and methods for accurately measuring and compensating for position, orientation, and movement errors in mechanical systems, often for manufacturing, robotics, or optical alignment.
Systems that employ imaging and image processing to automatically detect defects, verify states, or ensure quality control in manufactured goods, printed materials, or industrial processes.
Methods and apparatus for detecting objects and determining their three-dimensional position and orientation (pose) using imagery or point cloud data, often for navigation, surveying, or environmental understanding.
Innovations in the mechanical design and functionality of cutting, collecting, or processing components directly interacting with crops or ground cover.
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.
Technologies for generating and utilizing detailed spatial maps within confined or structured environments like care facilities, construction sites, or industrial warehouses, often for robot navigation or asset tracking.
Techniques used by sensing systems to identify the presence, location, and characteristics of objects or unusual conditions in an environment, including methods to suppress false positives or 'ghost' detections.
Innovations in the physical components and architectures of radar, lidar, and sonar systems, including antenna design, RF signal generation, beam steering mechanisms, and optical elements for improved performance.
Techniques for generating, updating, and utilizing highly detailed digital maps that include lane-specific information, and for precisely determining a vehicle's position within these lanes, often using sensor data.
Techniques and components for improving the efficiency, control, and responsiveness of hydraulic systems in heavy machinery, often involving variable displacement pumps, pressure regulation, and flow control.
Patents
Showing 1-10 of 13
Remote Tracking and Ranging