Mantis Robotics has obtained safety certification for its MR-1 industrial robot arm under ISO 10218-1 and ISO 13849-1 standards, positioning the system as a high-speed, fenceless robot designed to operate in shared workspaces with human workers.
The MR-1 integrates what the company describes as proprietary Physical AI technology intended to address the trade-off between operational speed and human safety in industrial environments. According to the company, the certification enables the robot to function at industrial speeds without the need for traditional physical safety barriers.
“This safety certification represents a true breakthrough for robotics, creating an entirely new category of robot that can interact safely with people without compromising productivity,” said Gerry Vannuffelen, chief executive officer of Mantis Robotics. “The bottleneck to scaling AI robots isn’t intelligence; it’s safety. Mantis’ revolutionary proximity detection technology enables robots – in any form – to autonomously and safely adjust to the world around them, at industrial speeds. With this technology, we’re unlocking one of the largest platform opportunities in robotics.”
The company positions the certification as a foundation for broader deployment of AI-powered robots and humanoid systems in environments where humans and machines work in close proximity, including warehouses and factories. It states that its safety architecture is intended to support expansion beyond traditional industrial cells into more dynamic settings.
The MR-1 includes 47 embedded safety functions, compared with 17 in commonly deployed industrial robots and collaborative robots, according to the company. All safety features are certified to Performance Level d (PL=d), a designation under ISO 13849-1 that indicates a defined level of reliability for safety-related control systems.
The robot incorporates embedded range-based object detection technology, referred to as STAR, powered by the company’s SafetyCore system. The system continuously monitors for dynamic objects within the robot’s operating range and automatically adjusts speed and behavior to support human-robot collaboration.
Vannuffelen said the robot combines Physical AI with code-free deployment capabilities within the same physical footprint as a human worker, which he said is designed to support productivity and return on investment in automation.
The MR-1 robot arm has a payload capacity of 5 kilograms, a maximum speed of up to 10 meters per second, and a reach of 900 millimeters. The system is available for sale and ships with a robot controller and Mantis Studio deployment software, which includes 3D digital twin and real-world modeling features.
The MR-1 is certified to ISO 10218-1, which sets out safety requirements for the design, integration, operation and maintenance of industrial robot systems, and ISO 13849-1, which covers safety-related parts of control systems for machinery. The robot also carries CE marking, indicating compliance with European Union machinery and functional safety requirements.
The safety certification was issued by SGS Fimko Oy, a Finnish subsidiary of SGS SA, a testing, inspection and certification company with more than a century of operations.
