The Association for Advancing Automation (A3) published ISO 21423:2026, a new international standard for communication and interoperability among industrial mobile robots. Developed by ISO Technical Committee 299, it covers automated guided vehicles (AGVs), autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) and similar systems from different suppliers operating in the same facility.
The standard specifies how robots, fleet managers and other equipment exchange information and request actions. Robots can share their location, speed, direction, condition, tasking and availability. According to A3, for users this means fewer cases of robots interfering with each other's paths, higher availability and better efficiency. It also covers communication with machines tended by robots and with ERP systems.
"Companies want to choose the robots that fit their applications and have those robots work together on the same floor," said Carole Franklin, director of standards development for robotics at A3. She said large industrial users have asked for such a standard for years. Adoption is voluntary, and it is not yet known which manufacturers will support it or when.