Newbility Expands Nationwide with Safety-Certified Autonomous Robots

Passed 16 Safety Standard Items Including Speed Control, Emergency Stop, Obstacle Detection, and Crosswalk Crossing

Autonomous driving robot service company Newbility announced on the 31st that it has obtained outdoor mobile robot operation safety certification. On the same day, Newbility attended the outdoor mobile robot operation safety certification ceremony held by the Korea Institute for Robot Industry Advancement, an operation safety certification body designated by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and received the operation safety certificate confirming legal sidewalk driving.

The operation safety certification evaluates a total of 16 items specified in safety standards, such as speed control, emergency stop, obstacle detection, crosswalk crossing, compliance with operation zones, and control devices, to determine whether the robot can safely operate in outdoor environments. All criteria must be met to receive the certification.

Until now, outdoor mobile robots could only operate in limited areas through the regulatory sandbox demonstration exception system. However, with the enforcement of the revised Intelligent Robots Act in November last year, outdoor mobile robots that have obtained operation safety certification are granted the same legal status as pedestrians under the Road Traffic Act, allowing sidewalk driving without regional restrictions.

Accordingly, Newbility plans to expand the autonomous driving delivery and patrol robot service areas, which had been operating in 15 domestic and international business sites through demonstration exceptions, nationwide and provide robot services equipped with various functions according to environments such as leisure type, community type, and urban terrain.

Earlier, on the 23rd, Newbility received approval from the ICT Regulatory Sandbox Deliberation Committee of the Ministry of Science and ICT for a demonstration exception to utilize original video information for autonomous driving technology advancement, conditional on compliance with essential safety measures regarding personal information protection. As a result, Newbility robots that have obtained operation safety certification can acquire video information in various regions nationwide and improve autonomous driving technology.

Lee Sang-min, CEO of Newbility, said, "This operation safety certification is significant in that it standardizes the safety standards for robots, laying the foundation for more diverse and innovative services to emerge." He added, "We will accelerate technology development and service provision to offer positive changes and convenience in our daily lives with safe and reliable robots."