New ISO Interoperability Standard Helps Mobile Robots from Different Vendors Work Together
A3 announces publication of ISO 21423, establishing communications requirements for robots, fleet managers and other systems in shared industrial environments
ANN ARBOR, Michigan – November 2, 2026 – The Association for Advancing Automation (A3) today announced the publication of ISO 21423:2026, a new international standard for communication and interoperability among industrial mobile robots (IMRs), regardless of vendor or model. ISO 21423 provides a common set of communication requirements for mobile robots from different suppliers operating in the same industrial facility.
Developed by ISO Technical Committee 299, ISO 21423 Robotics – Industrial mobile robots – Communications and interoperability specifies how IMRs, IMR fleet managers and other equipment exchange information and request actions. Robots can share their location, speed, direction, condition, tasking and availability with each other.
For end users, this means fewer cases of robots interfering with each other’s paths or path planning, which improves robot availability and system efficiency. A common protocol is also expected to increase competition in the market and support innovation. An important benefit of an ISO standard on this topic is that it can be adopted in countries all around the world.
“Companies want to choose the robots that fit their applications and have those robots work together on the same floor,” said Carole Franklin, A3’s director of standards development, robotics. “Many leading industrial users of mobile robots have asked for an interoperability standard for years. Now, ISO 21423 gives manufacturers and users a common basis for communication across fleets, no matter where in the world their facility is located. This standard can help companies expand automation with equipment from different vendors and make better use of the robots they already have.”
The standard also covers communication with machines tended by robots, enterprise resource planning (ERP) tools, and industrial building systems such as lifts, automated doors and alarms. People using mobile devices can share similar information, so their work can be coordinated alongside the robots.
ISO 21423 represents the first non-safety robot standard that A3 has helped produce, and highlights A3’s continued leadership in the robotics standardization efforts.
ISO 21423:2026 is available for purchase through the A3 online store for $373. A3 members can purchase the document for $320.
About Association for Advancing Automation (A3)
The Association for Advancing Automation (A3) is the leading global advocate for the benefits of automating. A3 promotes automation technologies and ideas that transform the way business is done. Members of A3 represent more than 1,500 manufacturers, component suppliers, system integrators, end users, academic institutions, research groups and consulting firms that drive automation forward worldwide.
A3 hosts a number of industry-leading events, including the International Robot Safety Conference (November 3-5, 2026, in Detroit), the A3 Business Forum (January 18-20, 2027, in Orlando, FL) and Automate (May 10-13, 2027, in Las Vegas, NV).
Media Contacts:
Jackie Rose, Association for Advancing Automation, [email protected]
Katie Schimmel, Outlook Marketing Services, [email protected]
Editor’s Note: ISO 21423 puts mobile robot interoperability on a shared international basis, and mixed fleets should get easier to run. They also raise a question outside this standard’s scope: who services a floor of robots from several vendors, and under what procedures? RobotToday sees this as the next gap to close. Our own Robotics Service Framework (RSF), a public framework initiative rather than a standards-body publication, covers cross-platform service procedures in its white paper: rsf.robottoday.com/white-paper.html
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