International Standards on robotics are prepared within the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Standards comprise safety, performance criteria, modularity, and vocabulary.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is the worldwide federation of national standards organizations. Standards concerning robots are prepared by ISO Technical Committee 299 with the title “Robotics”.

Safety standardization is a very important issue at ISO/TC 299. Safety standards have been developed for the industrial robotics sector (ISO 10218-1, ISO 10218-2, ISO/TS 15066) as well as for the non-industrial (service) robotics sector (ISO 13482). Other topics for robot standardization activities at ISO/TC 299 include: performance criteria, modularity, and vocabulary.

More information about ISO/TC 299 “Robotics” including a list of published standards as well as a list of standards under development can be found at the ISO webpage.

Robot definitions at ISO

IFR members use the definitions contained in the international standard ISO 8373 “Vocabulary” when compiling statistics of industrial robots in particular countries for example. A robot is defined as "a programmed actuated mechanism with a degree of autonomy to perform locomotion, manipulation or positioning". 

Accordingly, an industrial robot is defined to be an “automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multipurpose manipulator, programmable in three or more axes, which can be either fixed in place or fixed to a mobile platform for use in automation applications in an industrial environment.”

A mobile robot is a "robot able to travel under its own control". A mobile robot can be a mobile platform with or without manipulators. In addition to autonomous operation, a mobile robot can have means to be remotely controlled. A mobile platform following a predetermined path indicated by markers or external guidance commands, typically used for logistic tasks in industrial automation is also referred to as Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) or Driverless Industrial Truck. Standards for such vehicles are developed by ISO/TC 110.

Please also refer to the more detailed definitions of industrial robots and service robots.