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Foreign-made robot vacuums caught up in FCC robot ban — covers any ground robot over 4.4 pounds with a 200 kbps connection
New FCC legislation against foreign-made advanced robotic devices may have inadvertently introduced a ban on non-U.S. robot vacuums from being imported into the United States, according to The Verge. The FCC has added foreign-produced advanced robotic devices and connected power inverters to its Covered List, blocking new models from the equipment authorization they need before they can be imported, marketed, or sold in the United States.
The four-part test buried in the underlying national security determination catches any ground-traveling robot heavier than 4.4 pounds, including its dock, provided it carries an environmental sensor and a network link running at 200 kb/s or faster, and it names "AI or machine-learning model weights" as covered software. The determination, attached as Appendix C to the FCC's public notice, applies to a mechanical mobile device capable of locomotion, obstacle avoidance, navigation, or movement on the ground that operates at a distance from a human operator.
Devices qualify only if they also contain all three of a sensor that perceives its environment, a wired or wireless connection capable of at least 200 kb/s in either direction, and software controlling autonomous navigation, perception, data collection, or remote command and control. Bluetooth satisfies the connectivity test, as do Wi-Fi, cellular, and satellite. FCC media relations director Katie Gorscak confirmed to The Verge that robot vacuums meet the definition.
Six categories are exempted: connected vehicles of any gross weight, rail vehicles, uncrewed aircraft, uncrewed underwater vehicles, FDA-regulated devices including surgical systems and powered wheelchairs, and fixed industrial arms such as SCARA, delta, and gantry designs. Drones were placed on the Covered List separately in December.
Both determinations define "foreign-produced" as anything failing to qualify as a domestic end product under 48 CFR § 25.101(a), the Buy American Act rule. Under that provision, an item must be manufactured in the U.S., and the cost of domestic components must exceed 65% of the cost of all components for goods delivered through 2028, rising to 75% from 2029.
The same paragraph waives the component test for commercial off-the-shelf items, which would leave only the U.S. manufacturing requirement for a mass-market consumer robot. Manufacturers can apply to the Department of Defence for a Conditional Approval that lifts the restriction, a process that both Netgear and Amazon's Eero brand cleared within weeks of March's router ban.
Covered List status blocks Class I and Class II permissive changes under 47 CFR §§ 2.932(b) and 2.1043(b), the mechanism manufacturers use to push firmware and security fixes to certified hardware. The Office of Engineering and Technology suspended those prohibitions for robots and inverters hours after the listing, repeating the relief it gave drones in January, routers in March, and both categories through 2029 in May.
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We've seen with DJI just how damaging an entry on the Covered List can be. The company disclosed in an April court filing that the FCC revoked authorizations for 14 existing products and blocked 25 planned 2026 launches, and Chinese customs data reported by Nikkei Asia showed civilian drone exports to the U.S. down 60% to 70% year over year since December. DJI is suing over the designation.
Luke James is a freelance writer and journalist. Although his background is in legal, he has a personal interest in all things tech, especially hardware and microelectronics, and anything regulatory.
"....the Buy American Act rule. Under that provision, an item must be manufactured in the U.S., and the cost of domestic components must exceed 65% of the cost of all components for goods delivered through 2028, rising to 75% from 2029."
You mean the "Don't Buy Anything Superior AND Cheaper Than American Products Act"??
I guess that tired "Free Market System" joke has been REALLY put to rest after being used and abused by those milking the underbelly of capitalism as long as it suits their political and financial agenda.
