Which standards apply to industrial robot safety?

• A. ISO 9001
• B. IEC 61508
• C. ISO 10218-1 and ISO 10218-2
• D. ISO/TS 15066

Answer: (C)

Industrial robot safety is governed by standards that specify the safety requirements for robots themselves and for how they are integrated into systems and production lines. The primary standards for this are ISO 10218-1 and ISO 10218-2. ISO 10218-1 covers safety requirements for the robots themselves, while ISO 10218-2 addresses the safety of robot systems and their integration, including risk assessments, safeguarding, and the behavior of the control systems. Together they define how to design, install, operate, and verify safe robot performance in industrial environments.

ISO/TS 15066 is related but focused on collaborative robots and provides additional guidance for human–robot collaboration; it supplements the 10218 family rather than replacing it for traditional industrial robots. IEC 61508 offers a general functional-safety framework for safety-related systems but is not robot-specific. ISO 9001 pertains to quality management and does not address robot safety requirements.