Safety Architecture
Designed to stop before it hurts.
Safety for a robot working alongside people is an architectural constraint, not a product feature. Force limits, proximity zones, and emergency stop pathways are in the mechanical design and the control hardware — not in a software layer that can be patched or bypassed. This page describes what is built in, what is configurable, and where Atom currently stands relative to ISO 10218. Buyers should read it before the briefing, not during.
Safety Features
Four layers, independently verifiable
Force Limiting
Every joint operates within configurable force envelopes. When an applied force exceeds the configured limit — whether due to contact with a person, an unexpected obstacle, or a mechanical binding condition — the joint enters controlled compliance immediately. The limit values are set per deployment context and verified before operation begins.
Atom is designed with ISO 10218 collaborative robot force-limit requirements as a guiding framework.
Proximity Sensing
Time-of-flight sensors on the torso and arms create a 360-degree proximity map updated at 100 Hz. Three concentric zones: outer (slow speed), middle (very slow or pause), inner (full stop). Zone boundaries are configurable for the specific workspace layout — narrower in constrained aisles, wider in open areas.
Human-Detection Cutoff
RGB-D vision at the head unit classifies proximity zone occupants by type — human or non-human. When a human body is classified in the stop zone, the cutoff is immediate regardless of what task is in progress. No manual reset required — the robot will resume autonomously when the zone clears and the supervisor confirms.
Emergency Override Protocol
Floor-mounted emergency stop buttons with hardwired cutoff — no network path in the safety circuit. Supervisor handheld device provides the same capability wirelessly within the same facility. Any unit can be stopped independently or all units together from a single command. Override state is logged with timestamp for incident review.
Standards Context
ISO 10218 and where Atom stands today
ISO 10218 Parts 1 and 2 set out the requirements for industrial robots and robot systems operating in human-collaborative environments — force and power limits, speed constraints, separation and stopping distance protocols, and operator interface requirements. Atom's joint force limits, proximity zone parameters, and emergency stop architecture were specified with reference to ISO 10218 Part 2 Section 5 requirements for collaborative operation.
Atom is a prototype-stage system. It has not undergone third-party ISO 10218 conformity assessment testing. We do not claim ISO 10218 compliance. The standard is the design target, not the current status. Facility operators planning commercial deployment should include third-party conformity assessment in their procurement timeline — typically 3-6 months for a new robot category. We will provide all design documentation required for that assessment to qualified buyers under NDA.
Specific questions about force limit values, test data, or certification timeline should go to the engineering team directly via the briefing request.