HUMANOID ROBOTS
Humanoid and other legged robots are leaving the lab for warehouses, factories, retail and care settings. They walk among people, carry loads, use tools built for human hands and increasingly learn their behaviour from data. This combination is new for safety and certification: a robot that keeps its balance only while powered, that moves without fences next to workers, that is connected to the cloud and whose control policies are trained rather than programmed.
CertX combines functional safety, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence in one team. As a Swiss certification body, Notified Body NB 2948 under the Machinery Directive and part of SGS, we help humanoid robot makers, integrators and operators bring their robots to the European market and into real workplaces safely.
From the first risk assessment to CE marking: one partner for the safety, security and AI of your humanoid robot.
What applies to a humanoid robot in Europe
A humanoid robot placed on the EU market is machinery. Several regulations apply at the same time, on different dates:
- Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230, applicable from 20 January 2027, replaces the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC. Machinery whose safety functions rely on fully or partially self-evolving behaviour using machine learning is listed in Annex I, Part A and needs a notified body.
- EU AI Act (EU) 2024/1689, as amended by the Digital Omnibus (EU) 2026/1744: for machinery, AI-specific health and safety requirements are to be added to the Machinery Regulation by August 2028. Transparency obligations and general-purpose AI rules already apply.
- Cyber Resilience Act (EU) 2024/2847: vulnerability and incident reporting from 11 September 2026, all requirements from 11 December 2027.
- Radio Equipment Directive delegated act (EU) 2022/30 for connected robots, with the EN 18031 series, applicable since 1 August 2025.
The standards are moving just as fast. ISO 10218-1 and ISO 10218-2 were revised in 2025 and now include the collaborative robot requirements of ISO/TS 15066. ISO 25785-1, the first safety standard for industrial mobile robots with actively controlled stability such as legged and humanoid robots, is in development. Outside industry, ISO 13482 covers personal care robots.
CertX helps you map which of these apply to your robot and its use cases, and builds a single compliance plan instead of one project per regulation.
CE Conformity and EU Type-Examination
CertX is Notified Body NB 2948, listed in the EU NANDO register, for the EC type-examination (Annex IX) of two categories of the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC, Annex IV:
- 19. Protective devices designed to detect the presence of persons
- 21. Logic units to ensure safety functions
In a humanoid robot, these are the person-detection systems and the safety controllers.
We review your risk assessment according to EN ISO 12100, identify the applicable harmonised standards and verify that the essential health and safety requirements are met, including the requirements of the Machinery Regulation on autonomous mobile machinery, human–robot interaction, psychological stress and protection against corruption.
Start early: a gap analysis during design avoids costly changes to hardware, control architecture and safety concept just before market launch. You receive a clear list of findings without disclosing your IP to third parties.
Functional Safety for Humanoid Robots
Humanoid robots bring hazards that fixed industrial robots do not have: a fall or loss of balance, a safe stop that must not make the robot collapse, contact with people at any height, carried payloads, and navigation in shared spaces. CertX assesses and certifies the safety functions that control these risks according to IEC 61508, EN ISO 13849-1, IEC 62061, ISO 10218 and the emerging ISO 25785-1, with an independent assessment of the parts your project needs.
System and safety concept:
- Hazard analysis and risk assessment for each use case and environment
- Stability, fall and controlled-stop scenarios
- Safety requirements and performance levels (PL) or SIL
- Human–robot interaction: speed and separation monitoring, power and force limiting
- Payload, tool and gripper risks
Hardware:
- Safety architecture of actuators, joints, drives and brakes
- Failure rates, diagnostics and fault tolerance
- Safe torque off and safe stop functions
- Battery and power management
- Safety sensors and safety-rated communication
Software:
- Safety controller and safety functions
- Separation between AI-based motion control and the safety layer
- Requirement traceability, verification and tests
- Simulation, test bench and field validation
- Software update and change impact analysis
Functional Safety Management:
- Safety lifecycle and planning
- Organisation, roles and competencies
- Supplier management for components and modules
- Safety case and documentation
Cybersecurity for Connected Robots
A humanoid robot is a connected product: remote monitoring, fleet management, teleoperation, over-the-air updates and cloud-based AI services. An attack on these interfaces can become a safety problem. The Machinery Regulation now requires protection against corruption, and the Cyber Resilience Act and the Radio Equipment Directive add product cybersecurity obligations.
The CertX Cyber Security team supports robot makers with:
- Threat analysis and risk assessment covering the robot, its apps, the fleet backend and the update chain
- Compliance check and certification against IEC 62443-4-1 (secure development) and IEC 62443-4-2 (component requirements), EN 18031 and the CRA
- Technical evaluation and testing of your robot and its interfaces
- Supporting services for vulnerability handling, SBOM and secure update processes
Artificial Intelligence in Humanoid Robots
Perception, locomotion, manipulation and task planning in humanoid robots increasingly rely on neural networks and foundation models. CertX evaluates whether these AI components are robust, reliable and kept under control by the safety architecture, using the CertX AI assessment and certification scheme.
- AI assessment of perception and control models: data quality (ISO/IEC 5259), robustness (ISO/IEC 24029), functional safety and AI (ISO/IEC TR 5469), controllability (ISO/IEC TS 8200)
- Machine learning in safety functions: assessment and evidence for the conformity assessment required by the Machinery Regulation
- AI management system certification according to ISO/IEC 42001
- Supporting services to prepare for the EU AI Act and the coming AI requirements for machinery
Training & Person Certification
Qualify the engineers and managers who design, integrate and operate humanoid robots. CertX offers Red Belt courses with exam and personal certificate:
- ISO 13849 Functional Safety – Red Belt
- IEC 61508 Functional Safety – Red Belt
- ISA/IEC 62443 Cybersecurity – Red Belt
- EU AI Act – Red Belt
CertX experts also provide in-house training tailored to your robot, for example on the Machinery Regulation and CE marking. See the training page for dates and venues and our person certification process.
See more details about our assessment process or our certification process.
CONTACT US
Contact us for more information about our services for humanoid robots.