South Korea Sets Standards For Delivery Robot Elevator Use

The Korea Agency for Technology and Standards announced at an international forum on robot technology and standards held at the Millennium Hilton Seoul Hotel that it will enact two types of Korean Industrial Standards (KS) with respect to indoor robot deliveries and their safe use of elevators, The Korea Bizwire reports. For robots to use elevators or operate within buildings, it is important to ensure that any contact with humans is without danger. Because of this, new standards are required for speed control, protective braking to prevent collisions or dangerous contact with humans, overcoming height differences and the prevention of falls and stumbling. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, in collaboration with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, has been pushing for the enactment of KS for safety requirements, evaluation methods and indoor robot deliveries aimed at allowing robots to safely enter and exit elevators. The agency’s latest move to enact KS for indoor robot deliveries is part of efforts to broaden the scope of areas in which robots can operate.