Robotics

Humanoids get their safety rulebook as first certification standard lands

A long-awaited international standard defines how human-shaped robots must behave around people, clearing the path from fenced warehouses to public spaces.

By James Park, Robotics Correspondent — GENEVA

GENEVA — The humanoid robotics industry received its rulebook on Monday: the first international safety standard specifying how human-shaped robots must move, yield and fail around people — the regulatory key that unlocks deployment beyond fenced industrial floors.

The standard caps contact forces and speeds near humans, mandates legible movement — machines must telegraph intent the way people do — and requires certified safe-stop behaviour under every failure mode, including power loss mid-stride.

Manufacturers uniformly welcomed the clarity — several had co-written it — and the first certifications are expected within a year, with hospitals and retail among the first waiting deployment categories.

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