IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2018 - 8

objectively assessed and levels of compli-
ance determined. Ontological Standard
for Ethically Driven Robotics and Auto-
mation Systems, P7007 [8], provides a set
of ontologies with different abstraction
levels that contain concepts, definitions,
and axioms that are necessary to estab-
lish ethically driven methodologies for
the design of robots and automation
systems. Furthermore, Standard for Ethi-
cally Driven Nudging for Robotic, Intelli-
gent and Autonomous Systems, P7008
[9], aims to establish a delineation of
typical nudges (currently in use or that
could be created) that contains concepts,
functions, and benefits necessary to es-
tablish and ensure ethically driven
methodologies for the design of the ro-
botic, intelligent, and autonomous sys-
tems that incorporate them. Nudges as
exhibited by robotic, intelligent, or au-
tonomous systems are defined as overt
or hidden suggestions or manipulations
designed to influence the behavior or
emotions of a user.
These groups are all open to volun-
teer experts who are committed to the

long-term, sustainable, and humanitar-
ian development of technologies. In the
meantime, other SDOs are taking dif-
ferent approaches, keeping their focus
on basic safety and essential perfor-
mance standards. Most importantly,
the International Organization for
Standardization deals with robotics
standards within Technical Committee
299, and its current activities are pre-
sented in the following article, "The
Flourishing Landscape of Robot Stan-
dardization," adapted from the IEEE
Standards Education e-magazine
December 2017 issue (reprinted with
permission) [10].
References
[1] IEEE Robotics and Automation Society. (2017).
Standards. [Online]. Available: http://www.ieee-ras
.org/industry-government/standards
[2] Ontologies for Robotics and Automation, IEEE
1872-2015. [Online]. Available: https://standards
.ieee.org/develop/wg/ORA.html
[3] IEEE Standards Association. (2018). The IEEE
Global Initiative on Ethics of Autonomous and
Intelligent Systems. [Online]. Available: https://

standards.ieee.org/develop/indconn/ec/autonomous_
systems.html
[4] IEEE. (2017, Dec.). Ethically aligned design: A
vision for prioritizing human well-being with
autonomous and intelligent systems technical
report (version two). [Online]. Available: (http://
standards.ieee.org/develop/indconn/ec/ead_v2.pdf)
[5] IEEE Global Initiative on Ethics of Autonomous
and Intelligent Systems. (2018). Ethics in action.
[Online]. Available: https://ethicsinaction.ieee.org/
[6] Glossary Committee. (2017, Oct.) Glossary for
discussion of ethics of autonomous and intelligent
systems. [Online]. Available: http://standards.
ieee.org/develop/indconn/ec/eadv2_glossary.pdf
[7] Transparency of Autonomous Systems, P7001.
(2018). [Online]. Available: http://sites.ieee.org/
sagroups-7008
[8] Ontological Standard for Ethically Driven Robotics
and Automation Systems, P7007. (2018). [Online].
Available: http://sites.ieee.org/sagroups-7007
[9] Standard for Ethically Driven Nudging for
Robotic, Intelligent and Autonomous Systems,
P7008. (2018). [Online]. Available: http://sites.ieee
.org/sagroups-7008
[10] IEEE Standards Education e-Magazine.
(2017, Dec.). [Online]. Available: http://sauniversity
.staging.wpengine.com/issue/december-2017/

The Flourishing Landscape
of Robot Standardization
By Theo Jacobs, Jan Veneman, Gurvinder S. Virk, and Tamás Haidegger

I

nternational standardization in ro-
botics paves the way to the market
for new robotic products, assists to
overcome technical barriers in inter-
national commerce, and fosters market
growth. While safety standards form
the primary basis to establish specific
types of robotic products in helping
create new markets through reducing
safety risks for users as well as reduc-
ing liability risks for manufacturers,
This has been reprinted from IEEE
Standards Education eMagazine,
Dec. 2017, vol. 7, no. 4. Used with
permission.

Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MRA.2017.2787220
Date of publication: 12 March 2018

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IEEE ROBOTICS & AUTOMATION MAGAZINE

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other standards can help to disman-
tle trade barriers, such as standards
on terminology, coordinate systems,
performance benchmarking and in-
teroperability-based modular design.
With the rapid rise of new robotic do-
mains, standardization also had to shift
gears. As the market for (shared space)
robots constantly grows, the demand
for standards in this area also constant-
ly rises. Due to the large variety of ro-
bot designs and application domains,
existing and newly developed stan-
dards usually do not cover all robots in
general but are limited to certain envi-
ronments and robot types. An impor-
tant distinction for standards refers to
industrial applications versus medical
applications versus other (nonindustri-

march 2018

al, nonmedical, nonmilitary) applica-
tions. This article introduces the main
robotics-related standardization activi-
ties at the International Organization
for Standardization (ISO)/Internation-
al Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).
Overview of the Robotic
Standards Process
Since the early 1990s, standards develop-
ment organizations (SDOs) have been
releasing robotics standards. Yet, given
the unprecedented pace of advancement
in this field, SDOs are in a very challeng-
ing position to regulate rising domains
that evolve much faster than the tradi-
tional creation cycle of a technical stan-
dard. The first IEEE robotic standard
came out late (P1872, 2015), born into a
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine - March 2018
