The United States bans foreign robots

The US government is targeting China with a new ban on the import of “advanced robotic devices” and power transformers made in foreign countries. I mentioned it earlier before Reuters. in Announcement on TuesdayThe FCC says the ban would include “mobile” robots, such as human models and quadcopter models — but it is not limited to robots that walk around.

China is also home to The world’s leading manufacturers of power transformers – Sungrow and the already blacklisted Huawei company – which is often used in solar panel arrays and other renewable energy systems. In its announcement, the FCC cites “unacceptable risks to the national security of the United States or the safety or security of persons in the United States” as the reason for the ban.

Frequently Asked Questions page published by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). An “advanced robotic device” is defined as a machine capable of “locomotion, obstacle avoidance, navigation, or movement on land”; It comes with a sensor that detects the surrounding environment; It contains a chip to connect to the network. It must also weigh more than 4.4 pounds (including its docking station, if it has one).

Under this definition, even future robotic vacuum cleaners would be automatically banned if they didn’t get a waiver. The FCC does not appear to limit this ban to legged robots. In reality, National security decision Which the FCC explicitly uses to justify the move EdgeReports About the security vulnerability in DJI’s Romo robovac.

Similar to The US government’s ban on foreign-made routersCompanies can request a waiver if they want to continue bringing new products into the United States, but the waiver request does not include any requirements to improve the safety of those robots or inverters. US-based products will also not be subject to the ban, so individuals and companies can continue to use existing robots and transformers.

As before, the US government appears to be primarily concerned with this matter where These devices are designed and manufactured before they receive a waiver, and each applicant must submit a detailed plan to begin manufacturing them in the United States instead. Sources say Reuters The FCC “is expected to exempt many non-Chinese suppliers from the restrictions.”

The FCC says today that all robots and power adapters can continue to get security and compliance updates through January 1, 2029 thanks to… Additional waiverBut the agency is once again misleading the public about how these updates work. Companies currently do not need to inform the FCC when they push security updates to their devices.