How the FCC’s New Rule Will Affect Robot Vacuums

This week, the US Federal Communications Commission banned the import of foreign-made advanced mobile robots. Humanoid and quadruped robots are specifically named, indicating the true target is robotic versions of people and animals, but something else happens to be an “advanced mobile robot”: robot vacuums.

So what does this ban mean? Though it's effective immediately, nothing changes for now. Robot vacuums won't get removed from the market, and your current robot vacuum won't stop working. The ban will instead stop new models from getting FCC approval to be sold in the United States. The vacuums available now won't be affected, but new models likely won't make it to the US if they're manufactured outside the country. And, unfortunately, a lot of great robot vacuum brands aren't based in the States.

Here's everything to know about what will happen next.

What the Ban Covers

The FCC updated its Covered List this week to include foreign-made advanced mobile robots, which include robot vacuums. The Covered List, which comes from Section 2 of the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019, is a “list of communications equipment and services that are deemed to pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States or the security and safety of United States persons.”

It may feel like overkill for just a robot vacuum, but the definition of an advanced robotic device from the National Security Determination, an interagency body of the Executive Branch, clearly includes them. That definition includes the following highlights:

• Autonomous mobile robots that are capable of locomotion, obstacle avoidance, navigation, or movement on the ground;
• Operates at a distance from a human operator or supervisor;
• Combined weight of the device and docking station is over 4.4 pounds;
• Contains a sensor capable of perceiving its environment;
• Contains a component capable of providing network connectivity, including Bluetooth and Wi-Fi;
• Contains software running locally or remotely, including firmware and AI or machine-learning; model weights that control the robot's navigation and movement perception.

The National Security Determination said that connected vehicles, vehicles on rail lines, aircraft, and unmanned underwater vehicles are not included in the ban, along with stationary robots. But foreign-made robot vacuums, along with similar robots like robotic pool cleaners and automated lawn mowers, look to be on the chopping block.

The announcement comes after the FCC labeled all of these devices a security risk, since, according to the National Security Determination, “the networked capabilities of advanced robotic systems create extensive vulnerabilities and vectors for attacks that can manipulate the data and physical operation of the advanced robotic system.”

The concern is primarily with the cameras and sensors built into these devices—some even have microphones built into the base station for voice commands. It is a security risk to bring any device into your home that has a camera and the ability to connect to the internet—especially if your Wi-Fi isn't secure. But it's interesting to see the ban stop at robot vacuums and not, say, smart speakers or devices with always-on cameras. The FCC documentation actually lists live cameras as an example, as well as an example of a humanoid robot being hacked, but no example for robot vacuums.