In today's era of rapid technological advancement, robotics has become a focal point of global attention. From industrial robots efficiently operating on production lines, to household robots providing convenient services in people's lives, and special-purpose robots performing tasks in hazardous environments, robots are integrating into various industries and daily life at an unprecedented pace.
International Standards for Robots
Generally, the main international standardization organizations are ISO, IEC, and ITU. Of course, if the robot product is for export and also has Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or 5G capabilities, then ITU certification is required. However, this certification requirement is no different from that of other products.
First, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is best known for its management standards, such as ISO 9000. ISO 14000. and management system standards in the automotive industry. Its approach to technical standards differs from that of the IEC; it focuses more on technical research and places less emphasis on testing requirements. However, ISO was one of the earliest organizations to research in the field of robotics, and it established the ISO/TC299 organization specifically to develop robot standards.
The second organization is the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). Under the IEC, there is an international conformity assessment organization called IECEE. This organization effectively combines standards and testing and certification assessments. Because of IECEE, many standards developed by the IEC have been adopted as national standards in various countries, or are equivalent to international trade standards. Within IECEE, there is a CB scheme, and CB certification is like a passport for robot companies. The testing reports issued by this organization are universally accepted.
The third organization is the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). This organization allows individuals to register and has developed many robot-related standards.
The last is Underwriters Laboratories (UL), which is actually a company. UL certification is not mandatory, but it is linked to insurance. Generally, if a product is to be sold in the United States, insurance companies will only accept insurance for the product after it has passed UL standard testing and assessment. Therefore, UL has become a de facto mandatory standard.
Xing Lin pointed out that the American standard is the ANSI standard. ANSI is an organization similar to my country's National Standardization Committee. The actual standards can be developed by various private organizations, such as electrical research institutes. In other countries, any standard developed by any organization can become an ANSI standard as long as it is adopted by the government.
What does ISO/TC299 include?
ISO's robotics standards primarily rely on ISO/TC299. a committee spun off from ISO's TC184. which initially focused on automation products. Among the many types of robots, industrial robots are the most widely used, mainly in the 3C industry, automotive industry, and other physical domains. These applications all stem from the evolution of automated assembly lines.
TC299 has several working groups. In addition to the communication group, advisory group, and gap and structure group responsible for overall coordination, it is also divided into several subgroups based on standard content, including terminology and characteristics, service robot safety, industrial safety, service robot performance, and medical robots. Given the special nature of the medical field, it is regulated by the FDA in the United States and the CFDA in China. The development of medical robot applications such as smart healthcare and telemedicine requires close collaboration with the medical system. Therefore, medical robot standards are jointly developed with IEC/SC62A-IEC/SC62D in the medical field. It also involves aspects such as modularity and management systems for service robots.
Currently, TC299 has published 25 standards, broken down as follows: 2 standards in the basic robotics field; 11 standards in the industrial robotics field; 4 standards in the service robotics field (it is worth noting that China has a wide variety of service robots with diverse forms, exceeding traditional robot definitions, thus leading to numerous domestic standards, while international service robot standards focus on basic research and common technologies, resulting in a relatively smaller number of standards); 3 standards in other categories of robots (including medical robots); 2 application standards; and 3 medical electrical equipment standards.
In addition to the 25 published standards, there are 9 standards currently under development, including 3 robotics technology standards, 2 industrial robot standards, and 4 service robot standards.
In 2020. ISO also published the new standard ISO/TR 23482-1:2020. where TR stands for Technical Report. This report is used in conjunction with the 13482 standard, which is the standard to be followed for service robot safety testing. Specifically, ISO/TR 23482-1:2020 supplements the testing methods for personal care robots, providing supporting explanations for the design-related and risk assessment-related test parameters in the 13482 standard. Since ISO/TR 23482-1:2020 is a technical report and specifically targets personal care robots, its test methods are not applicable to all types of robots. Industry professionals should note that if the title contains the word "general," the test method covers all robots in the 13482 standard; for test methods with other titles, their applicability needs to be determined based on the corresponding relationship.
IEC Robot Standards Details
Within the IEC organization, there is now a dedicated robot standards committee, and TC129 was recently established specifically to develop standards for power robots.
The detailed standards within IEC, in addition to TC129. are shown in the figure below, and these are all relatively mature technical committees. For example, the standards for robotic vacuum cleaners are developed in TC61 and TC59. which respectively define their performance and safety standards. In addition, other fields also involve research related to robots to varying degrees.
Currently, IEC has published the following robot-related standards: IEC TR 61000-3-15:2011. IEC TR 60601-4-1:2017. IEC TR 63094:2017. IEC 62714-1:2018 RLV Redline version, etc.
IEEE and UL Standards Related to Robotics
IEEE is an organization that individuals can register to participate in. The standards it currently researches are fundamental standards, related to theoretical research. IEEE has two main standards related to robotics: one is the IEEE 1873 standard, which specifies the data representation of environmental maps for mobile robots performing navigation tasks; the other is IEEE 1872. which defines concepts and relationships, essentially providing a data table and glossary to create a unified platform for subsequent discussions.
UL also has two standards related to robotics: one is applicable to robots operating below 600V, meeting ISO 10218-1 and 10218-2. and covers assessment requirements for robots used in component handling, inspection and assembly, testing machines, and automated storage systems; the other is the 3300 standard, which is currently under revision. It covers safety requirements for service, communication, and information functions, and applies to a wide range of robots, specifically educational and entertainment robots.
The development and revision of the UL 3300 standard is quite challenging because UL invites people from around the world who are interested in the topic to participate. Anyone who is interested and sufficiently professional can participate in the working group's standard development and revision process.
Currently, there are significant differences among countries regarding the classification of educational and entertainment robots. For example, there is still considerable debate about whether smart speakers or small devices like Tmall Genie in my country fall under the category of educational and entertainment robots.
Furthermore, from children's training to adolescent and adult training, all are broadly considered educational robots, but their forms differ significantly. Some may be presented in the form of AI, while others may have accompanying hardware and platforms. Therefore, this standard will undergo a long revision process during its application. In addition, there are other widely recognized standardization organizations, such as OMG and ASTM.
In summary, the international standards system for robotics exhibits characteristics of diversification and specialization, built by multiple authoritative organizations such as ISO, IEC, IEEE, and UL, covering comprehensive specifications from basic terminology and performance safety to specific application scenarios. Although each organization has differences in standard development style and focus, their collaboration and complementarity promote the standardized development of the global robotics industry. In the future, as emerging technologies (such as AI and 5G) become deeply integrated with robotics, and as application scenarios continue to expand, the updating and iteration of international standards will face more challenges and opportunities. Further strengthening cross-organizational collaboration and balancing technological innovation with safety requirements will be crucial to supporting the high-quality global development of the robotics industry.
