What the revised robot standards and the machinery regulation change about who may approve a robot. ISO 10218 was revised in February 2025 for the first time since 2011 and dropped the collaborative robot as a category: only the application can still be collaborative. From 20 January 2027 software that performs a safety function by learning has to go through a notified body, and since January 2025 not one standard of ISO or IEC origin has been listed in the Official Journal.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the "collaborative robot" (cobot) no longer exist in the revised standard?+
In February 2025 the industrial-robot safety standard was revised for the first time since 2011, and the word half the market sells on disappeared: ISO 10218 no longer recognises a collaborative robot, only a collaborative application. Safety now lies in how you deploy a robot, not in the device as a label.
What does the Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 change from 20 January 2027?+
On 20 January 2027 Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 replaces the Machinery Directive, with no transition period for new machines. Anyone placing a machine on the market after that date falls immediately under the new regime.
Why must self-learning safety software go through a notified body?+
The regulation requires software that performs a safety function in a self-learning way to go through a notified body. Software that adapts its own behaviour can no longer be approved by self-declaration alone — an external party must assess conformity.
Why is the usual shortest route to a CE marking blocked?+
The shortest route normally runs through a harmonised standard published in the Official Journal. Since January 2025 no standard of ISO or IEC origin has been listed there, because ISO and IEC are litigating at the General Court against the free provision of their texts. The standard exists, but the bridge to the CE marking sits with a court.
Who will be allowed to declare that a robot is safe alongside a human?+
That is the central question that shifted over the past two years: not whether a robot can work safely alongside a human, but who may declare that it does. The answer lies in an interplay of revised standards, a new regulation and a pending copyright case in Luxembourg.