Humanoid robots in factories:
risks, safety and standards.
A humanoid robot moves through the same spaces as people and stays upright only as long as its motors keep it balanced. That gives it different risks from a robot arm fenced inside a cell. There is no published safety standard specific to humanoids yet: today the general rules on machinery, industrial robots and workplace safety apply. Here is what they are and how to proceed.
Status of the standards as of 11 November 2026. This guide is for information and doesn't replace advice from your safety officer or a safety engineer.
The risks specific to a humanoid
- Falling: a biped stays balanced only through active control: a fault, a power loss or a knock can make it fall. Unlike a fixed arm, switching it off doesn't make it safe, and a robot weighing tens of kilos falling is a hazard to anyone nearby.
- Collisions with people: it moves through aisles, warehouses and shared workstations, often carrying a load: speed, distances, visibility and its ability to stop in time all matter.
- Crushing and pinching: hands, arms and joints can trap fingers or limbs, especially while picking and placing objects.
- Software behaviour: many humanoids use AI models to perceive and move: their behaviour has to be verified on the real task, not just in demos.
- Batteries: lithium batteries need suitable charging areas and procedures against overheating and fire.
- Cybersecurity: a robot connected to the network and business systems must be protected from unauthorised access and commands, because an attack can become a physical hazard.
- Work organisation: flows, pace and roles change: people need to be informed, trained and involved, or the robot becomes a source of stress and errors.
The rules that apply today
Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230
Replaces Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC and applies from 20 January 2027; until then the Directive applies. It adds requirements for autonomous mobile machinery, for behaviour that evolves through learning and for protection against tampering and cyber attacks. The robot must carry a CE marking and a declaration of conformity.
EN ISO 10218-1 and 10218-2:2025
The safety standards for industrial robots, revised in February 2025: Part 1 covers the robot, Part 2 the application and the cell. Part 2 absorbed most of ISO/TS 15066 on collaborative robots: "collaborative" now describes the application, not the robot. They are the closest reference for assessing a humanoid at work.
ISO 25785-1 (draft)
The first standard designed for industrial mobile robots that stay upright through active control, such as biped humanoids. It is still a committee draft (ISO/CD), not a published standard: no humanoid can claim certification against it today.
Italy: Legislative Decree 81/2008
The employer must assess all risks (art. 28) and redo the assessment when the production process changes significantly (art. 29(3)), a duty it cannot delegate (art. 17). Equipment provided to workers must be compliant and suitable (arts. 70 and 71), and workers informed and trained in its use (art. 73). The workers' safety representative must be consulted on the risk assessment (art. 50).
How to deploy a humanoid safely
- 01 Pick the task and the area
Start with repetitive work in a zone where the presence of people is limited or can be controlled, such as night shifts or an end-of-line area.
- 02 Check the machine's conformity
CE marking, declaration of conformity and a user manual in the local language. Many humanoids are still prototypes or on pre-order: without these documents they can't be used as work equipment in the EU.
- 03 Assess the risks of the application
Not of the robot in the abstract: routes, speeds, loads, distances from people, what happens if it falls or stops. Update the risk assessment with your safety officer and consult the workers' representative.
- 04 Define the protective measures
Dedicated zones and routes, speed limits, sensors and emergency stops, signage, charging areas, procedures for faults and falls.
- 05 Train people
Anyone working near the robot must know how it behaves, how to stop it and what to do when something goes wrong.
- 06 Start with a pilot
Prove on site, over a set period, that the task and the measures work, then scale.
- 07 Maintain and inspect
Scheduled maintenance, recorded periodic checks, software updates verified before they reach production.
With Bender
In the managed service we choose the robot that fits the task, deploy it, monitor it and handle maintenance and replacement. The workplace risk assessment remains the employer's duty: it starts with a free assessment of the task and a pilot project.
Request a free assessmentSafety, in brief.
What are the risks of a humanoid robot in a factory?
The main ones are the robot falling (it stays upright only through active control), collisions with people while it moves or carries loads, crushing in its hands and joints, software behaviour not verified on the real task, lithium batteries and cybersecurity. On top of these come the changes to how work is organised.
Is there a safety standard for humanoid robots?
Not a published one yet. ISO 25785-1, written for dynamically stable industrial mobile robots such as humanoids, is a committee draft. Today the Machinery Directive applies (from 20 January 2027 the EU Machinery Regulation 2023/1230), together with EN ISO 10218-1 and 10218-2:2025 on industrial robots and national workplace-safety law.
Does deploying a humanoid require updating the risk assessment?
Yes. In Italy, Legislative Decree 81/2008 requires the risk assessment to be redone when the production process or work organisation changes significantly (art. 29(3)), and bringing in a robot that works in people's spaces does. The assessment is the employer's non-delegable duty, carried out with the safety officer and consulting the workers' representative.
Can a humanoid robot work next to people?
It depends on the application, not only the robot: under EN ISO 10218-2:2025 it is the application that is collaborative or not. It is decided by the risk assessment of the specific task; deployments often start in areas or shifts with few people around and scale after a pilot.
Sources
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Tell us the task, the environment, the hours you need covered and the result you expect. We'll assess the use case and identify the right robotic worker.