Date: August 26, 2024
Following the publication of URF's Executive Guide and Discovery Guide to Public-area Mobile Robots (in January and March of 2024 respectively), we are pleased to provide a preview of URF's "Regulatory Guide to PMRs" - offering all levels of government a roadmap for how to address the myriad challenges and opportunities presented by the evolving use of these devices on city sidewalks and in indoor and outdoor spaces where bystanders, bicycle and vehicle drivers and other users of the space (e.g. pets) may be impacted.
Scope
PMRs—whether automated or teleoperated—are deployed in public spaces shared with pedestrians, cyclists, micromobility users, cars, and pets. These devices are deployed on urban sidewalks, bike lanes, roadways, and within buildings for last-mile delivery, maintenance, security patrols, guidance, and many other purposes. They impact all forms of active transport and motor vehicle traffic. Other shared pathway users—especially pedestrians and cyclists — are generally uninvolved, unprotected, untrained, and inattentive regarding PMR purposes and navigation.
Regardless of their design or task purpose, any PMR that crosses a roadway—including a maintenance or security PMR—becomes a road-traffic participant subject to appropriate traffic rules and social expectations.
The rise of PMRs coincides with the growing popularity of cycling and micromobility. These mobility devices compete for space and utilize common infrastructure (pathways, sidewalks, curbs, intersections). Soon, municipal and regional planners must address issues such as bylaws, certification, licensing, rules-of-the-road, enforcement, orchestration, and monetization.
Because these robots vary widely in size, speed, and purpose, they can exhibit traffic and social behaviours that are an amalgam of any or all pedestrian, bicycle, micromobility, or automobile behaviours. Because of their growing capabilities in agility and intelligence, PMRs demand ongoing regulatory oversight as part of their integration and deployment on public pathways.
If PMRs are to be licensed to operate at scale—i.e., beyond pilots and trials—preparation for regulatory engagement must begin now.
Regulations
Motor vehicle regulations were first introduced at the beginning of the 20th century. Since 1990 regulations to protect vulnerable users and ensure appropriate infrastructure for people with mobility challenges have complemented these in some countries.
Since 2017, 25+ national and regional governments have drafted regulations for limited types of PMRs, predominantly considering size, weight, speed, brakes, lights, insurance, etc. Developed to recognize PMRs for their last-mile logistics potential, they are inadequate in scope and guidance for a safe, managed, urban deployment of the full spectrum of PMR technology.
The URF Regulatory Guide to PMRs begins with existing traffic guidance frameworks extracted from these recent motor code updates and significantly expands these based on the provisions of ISO DTS 4448—Public-area mobile robots.
Stages and elements
The URF guide is developed in regulatory stages, each spanning multiple deployment facets. This allows governments to develop regulations if and when they decide to scale. Municipalities that decide to permit these devices ONLY for public works activities will have a modest need for extensive regulations and may be concerned with only a minor portion of potential regulations. Cities that want to leverage the technology for multiple use cases and in multiple areas to achieve the associated economic development and/or the accessibility and environmental benefits will require more sophisticated regulations.
Stage 1: Baseline for early operation
• Definitions & Traffic Rules
• Accessibility & Infrastructure
• Security, Privacy & Data
• Certification, Licensing & Enforcement
Stage 2: Expanding operations
• Pathway & Environmental ODDs
• Crash procedures
• Common map maintenance
• Personal Assistant PMRs
Stage 3: Scale and Sustainability
• Orchestration & Monetization
NEXT STEPS
A full whitepaper on this topic is being presented at the IEEE Smart Mobility Conference (September 16-18, 2024), and is now available to URF members on our Member Portal.
NOTE: If you are interested in advisory support to streamline your path to regulating PMRs, we offer a US$5500 introductory consulting package (less 10% discount to URF members) that includes 3 mini-workshops to get your team fully briefed and ready to move forward with municipal, provincial/state level or national regulations.
We are currently seeking sponsorship support for the full publication; we anticipate the first edition of the Regulatory Guide will be published in winter/spring 2025. Please contact us to explore sponsorship opportunities. You can download a PDF of this preview from our Guidebooks page.
DEFINITION:
A public-area mobile robot (PMR) is defined by the International Organization for Standardization in ISO DTS 4448 as: “… a wheeled or legged (ambulatory) ground-based robot designed to travel along public, shared, active transportation pathways without the use of visible human assistance or physical guides.”
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