Normative Safety Regulations for Collaborative Robots

Collaborative robots (cobots) are designed to operate alongside humans in shared workspaces, enhancing efficiency and flexibility. Like all machines and robots, they are regulated by the EU Machinery Regulation and must bear the CE marking before market introduction. While the regulation provides broad and general safety requirements, harmonized standards such as ISO 12100, ISO 13849, and IEC 62061 offer more specific guidance for achieving safety in machinery design. For industrial robots, ISO 10218 outlines safety requirements, with the technical specification ISO/TS 15066 further address- ing unique considerations of collaborative industrial robots. By providing a comprehensive overview of these regulations and standards, this paper aims to guide manufacturers through the critical steps required for achieving legal compliance and ensuring safe market introduction of cobots in Europe.