Overview
ISO 19649:2017 is an international standard developed by ISO Technical Committee ISO/TC 299 that defines a comprehensive vocabulary for mobile robots-robots designed to travel on solid surfaces. This standard focuses on terms related to mobility, locomotion, and navigation, ensuring a unified language across both industrial and service robot applications. It complements ISO 8373:2012 by extending vocabulary specifically adapted for mobile robotic platforms including wheeled and legged designs.
By establishing clear and consistent terminology, ISO 19649:2017 facilitates communication between manufacturers, researchers, developers, and users in the mobile robotics field, supporting interoperability, innovation, and safety.
Key Topics
ISO 19649:2017 covers a wide range of terminology needed to describe mobile robots comprehensively, organized into the following key areas:
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General mobile robotics terms
Definitions of mobile robot, mobile platform, mobility, steering, configuration, travel surface, locomotion, and turret are provided to describe overall system components and behaviors.
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Locomotive structure terminology
Terms such as suspension, active suspension, and Zero Moment Point (ZMP) describe the physical mechanisms that impact movement stability and terrain adaptability.
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Wheeled robot components
Describes wheels classifications including steer wheels, drive wheels, idler wheels, swivel castors, and omni-directional wheels that allow multidirectional movement.
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Legged robot locomotion
Defines gait-related terms including gait pattern, stride length, walking period, duty factor, and gait diagram to characterize leg-based mobility.
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Locomotion and movement types
Captures detailed movement types such as forward/reverse travel, traverse, diagonal travel, turning (incl. pivoting and spinning), and omni-directional travel to classify robot dynamics.
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Navigation concepts
Terms relating to pose, simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), guidance, path and trajectory planning, collision and obstacle avoidance, docking, inertial navigation systems (INS), dead reckoning, and odometry focus on robotic navigation and environmental interaction.
Applications
ISO 19649:2017 terminology supports practical applications in diverse fields including:
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Industrial automation
Facilitates deployment and integration of mobile robots on factory floors for material handling, assembly, and inspection tasks by standardizing movement and navigation terms.
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Service robotics
Enhances clarity in service robot design and communication for applications like healthcare assistance, delivery robots, and cleaning robots operating in dynamic human environments.
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Robotics research and development
Assists engineers and researchers when designing mobility platforms, locomotion mechanisms, and navigation algorithms, promoting consistent documentation and interoperability.
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Education and training
Provides a foundational vocabulary for academic institutions and robotics education programs to teach concepts of mobile robotics effectively.
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Safety and compliance
Supports regulatory and certification processes by establishing agreed-upon definitions crucial for risk assessment and performance validation of mobile robots.
Related Standards
ISO 19649:2017 is part of the ISO robotics family and relates closely to:
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ISO 8373:2012 – Robots and robotic devices - Vocabulary
Provides fundamental robotics terminology which ISO 19649 builds upon specifically for mobile robots.
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ISO 9283 – Manipulating industrial robots - Performance criteria and related test methods
Relevant for assessing performance aspects of robots including those with mobile platforms.
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ISO 9787:2013 – Robots and robotic devices - Coordinate systems and motion nomenclature
Defines coordinate systems such as the mobile platform coordinate system referenced in ISO 19649.
These standards together enable comprehensive global communication and harmonization of robotics technology.
Keywords: ISO 19649:2017, mobile robots, mobile platform, robotic mobility, locomotion, wheeled robots, legged robots, robot navigation, SLAM, robotic vocabulary, industrial robots, service robots, robot terminology, inertial navigation system, odometry, obstacle avoidance, robot safety standards, robotics standards.