A3 Publishes Interoperability Standard for Industrial Mobile Robots From Multiple Manufacturers

The Robot Report reported on November 3, 2026, that the Association for Advancing Automation (A3) published the international standard ISO 21423:2026 for industrial mobile robots. The standard covers communication and interoperability when AGVs, AMRs and other mobile robots from different suppliers operate in the same facility.

A3 says a common protocol can reduce route conflicts between robots and could improve uptime and system efficiency. For operators running AGVs and AMRs from multiple manufacturers in the same facility, whether information exchange between robots and management systems can be handled under common requirements affects equipment combinations and operating conditions.

The standard’s key point is not to align the performance of the robots themselves, but to establish a common communications framework for robots from different manufacturers, fleet management systems and other systems to exchange information and request actions. AGVs, AMRs and similar systems are said to be covered. The standard can be understood as addressing the connection requirements that arise when moving from operations limited to a single manufacturer to combining equipment from multiple vendors in the same facility. However, the existence of a standard does not necessarily mean that route planning and on-site operations among different robots will automatically be coordinated. We reported that robot orders in North America totaled 8,940 units in the second quarter of 2026, up 4.3% from a year earlier A3 reports increase in North American robot orders in second quarter. Third-quarter orders totaled 10,989 units, up 24.8% year over year, we reported North American robot orders reach 10,989 units in third quarter, up 24.8%. These figures cover total robot orders in North America and do not directly indicate increased adoption of mobile robots or a rise in deployments involving multiple manufacturers. Even so, when expanding orders broaden equipment choices, integration burdens caused by differing communications methods among manufacturers can become an issue. The new standard addresses a separate operational challenge from increasing unit numbers by treating those connections under common requirements. The information the standard identifies for exchange—position, speed, direction of travel, status, tasks and availability—can help fleet management systems monitor the status of each robot as well as coordinate robots with one another. The value of implementation is therefore likely to depend not only on compliance with communications specifications but also on whether each company’s systems interpret this information in the same way. The article provided does not establish how compliance will be evaluated, the conditions for applying the standard to equipment already in use, whether adoption is mandatory or the status of implementation. The focus going forward will be how compliance between manufacturers, connections to existing equipment and reductions in route conflicts in actual facilities are verified.