New global standard lets warehouse robots from different makers share the same floor
ISO 21423 sets a common language so mobile robots can tell each other where they are and where they're going.
Robots that roam factories and warehouses now have a shared rulebook for talking to one another, even when they come from different companies. The Association for Advancing Automation, a robotics trade group known as A3, announced Monday the publication of ISO 21423, a new international standard.
The problem it solves
Many warehouses use mobile robots that carry shelves, boxes or parts across the floor. Each robot maker usually has its own fleet software, so robots from Company A can't tell robots from Company B where they are. That can cause traffic jams or force a business to buy all its robots from one supplier.
ISO 21423 sets out how robots and their fleet-management software share their location, speed, direction, condition, task and availability, A3 said. It also covers how robots talk to automatic doors, elevators, alarms, the machines they serve and a company's ordering software.
Think of it like a common language for air traffic control, but for robots on a factory floor. It is not a safety or navigation standard; it covers communication only, according to the International Organization for Standardization, which publishes it.
Many leading industrial users of mobile robots have asked for an interoperability standard for years.
Why it matters
A3 said a shared protocol should mean fewer robots blocking each other and more competition among robot makers. For businesses, it could make it easier to add robots from a new supplier without replacing the old ones. Because it is an ISO standard, it can be adopted worldwide.
The standard was written by ISO Technical Committee 299 and sells for $373, or $320 for A3 members.
Source: Association for Advancing Automation news release, Nov. 2, 2026; ISO standard listing.