These robots are allowed in the United States, but the next generation won’t be, says Uncle Sam.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) “Covered List,” originally published in 2021, identifies communications equipment and services that it says pose a threat to national security.On 28 July, the FCC addedmobile, communicating robots weighing more than 2 kilograms and power inverterscommonly used insolar panelsto the list, meaning that new products from any foreign country in these categories are no longer eligible for import.
The move is a Department of Defense–driven expansion of scattered federal efforts tofurther limit U.S. exposureto potentially sensitive Chinese technology, but it may impose major changes on theroboticsindustry in allied countries, too.
There are twoimportant definitionshere. The first is what an “advanced robotic device” is, and the second is what “unacceptable risk” means.Dronesalready went through their own round of this sort of regulation, so they’re exempt from this particular restriction, as areconnected vehiclesandmedical devices. As far as the FCC is concerned, “advanced robotic devices” aremobilesystems that incorporate on-board sensing and communications and have some …
As to the risks, the U.S. government says that foreign advanced robotic devices represent “acybersecurityrisk that threatens the security of critical infrastructure and thus the safety and security of U.S. persons.” There seem to be two main points to the justification,found in Appendix C. The first is thatmobile robotsare important to both the economy and the military, so the United States needs its own supply chain and industrial base rather th…
As part ofits justificationfor why foreign robots are a security risk, the DOD citesIEEE Spectrum’sarticle on a critical vulnerability in robots from Unitree, based in Hangzhou,China, along with several other news articles and reports about Chinese robotics. And despite the FCCswearingup and down that this action is “country neutral” and “not targeted at any country or countries,” U.S. national security sources toldSpectrumthat the perceived thre…
It’s unclear what China is going to do about this—but how about the rest of the world? How can foreign companies that make advanced robotic devices get them cleared for FCC authorization? Amongmany, many other things, you’ll need to provide “a detailed, time-bound plan to establish or expand manufacturing in the United States for the advanced robotic device.”
Because China also produces a large fraction of robot components, even for robots assembled in the United States, it will have strong leverage in any related negotiations until U.S.robotics companiesfurther diversify their supply chains.
Applicants must also submit their applications to the DOD and FCC by 1 January 2028, which is unfortunate for anyone who wants to develop an advanced robotic device after that point.
Some American robotics companies may benefit in the local market from the newfound lack of competition in the commercial market.Brendan Schulman,Boston Dynamics’ vice president of policy, wrote an enthusiasticendorsement of the ban on LinkedIn: “I sense that this is just the first round in a series of policies that will define the success and growth of the industry for decades to come.” On the other hand, third-country buyersmay just stick to Chi…
But not all companies expect major changes from the new regulation. American customers “need to know they can audit the technology, get support quickly, and keep the system operating without depending on a fragile overseas supply chain,”Nic Radford, the CEO of the U.S. humanoid robotics companyPersona, tellsIEEE Spectrum. In other words, he figures some customers wouldn’t have wanted Chinese humanoids anyway.
Philipp Frey, vice president of strategy for the Swiss quadruped companyANYbotics, agrees. He says their enterprise customers in the United States “increasingly evaluate robots on long-term reliability, cybersecurity, software capability, safety certification, serviceability, and ecosystem integration, not on hardware cost alone.”
ANYboticsalso plans to apply for conditional approval of future products, Frey says. That will involve a national-security review by the DOD or theDepartment of Homeland Security, disclosing company beneficial ownership, supply-chain risks, and declaring a plan for establishing a significant manufacturing presence in the United States.
Gavin Kenneally, CEO of the U.S. quadruped companyGhost Robotics, is more explicit about the risks that Chinese robot strategy poses to the United States. “Active and purposefulspywareis deployed inside the U.S. on Chinese robots. Examples of predatory pricing abound. And this isn’t just a competition between U.S. and Chinese robotics companies; it’s between private U.S. companies and China’s coordinated national strategy,” Kenneally tellsSpectru…
So is an industry-wide ban the best way to guard against threats? American approaches to Chinese technology security risks have been “ad hoc and fragmented,” wrote the Brookings Institution sociologistKyle Chanin areportpublished 9 July. Chan called for the Bureau of Industry and Security, part of the Department of Commerce, to centralize federal information gathering and decision-making on how to handle risky foreign devices. He also called for …
That would allow American industry to continue benefiting from partnerships with Chinese manufacturers in less sensitive links of the supply chain, Chan argues. Those links will evolve over time, requiring continued assessment, but without those partnerships, crude bans “could make it more difficult for American startups and researchers to develop new software and end up slowing innovation across the U.S. robotics ecosystem,” he writes.
Lucas Laursenis the technology policy editor atIEEE Spectrum. He covers how emerging technologies are changing the balance of power between companies, governments, and individuals. The rest of the time, he worries about his own balance on a bicycle, skis, or the side of a mountain.
Evan Ackermanis a senior editor atIEEE Spectrum. Since 2007, he has written over 6,000 articles on robotics and technology. He has a degree in Martian geology and is excellent at playing bagpipes.
If China had not been such a bad actor (proven stolen tech and active implanted spys), this would not be necessary.
It makes no sense to ban the hardware, just the software. These foreign companies could collaborate with US developers so that we can build our own software for the robot’s hardware.