A new standard containing safety requirements for robots has been published. The new robot safety standard consists of two parts. Part 1 specifies safety requirements of the design and construction of a robot. Part 2 provides guidance for safety of the integration and installation of robots.
Part 1 was published in 2006 but has now been revised and published in a third edition, EN ISO 10218-1:2011. Part 2 was published in its first edition in the autumn of 2011, EN ISO 10218-2:2011. The standard gives requirements for measures against hazards in a robot system. Some of the requirements have been in practice for a long time, while other requirements are new. Examples of requirements are limitations of the robot work area, safety requirements for control systems and required protection when working in a robot cell.
The standard has been developed by a committee of technical experts from USA, Canada, Japan and several European countries. It is harmonized with the machinery directive within EU. The work is now continuing to develop a technical specification (TS) providing the guidelines for collaborative robots (collaboration between a human operator and a robot).