What should be on a property robotics readiness checklist?
Organize due diligence across use case, physical routes, controls, power, people, operations, permissions, and evidence quality.
Short answer
What to know
Include a defined workflow, vehicle or robot specifications, measured access routes, curb or building-system interfaces, accessible pedestrian paths, power and communications, operating ownership, approvals, cybersecurity and privacy questions, and recovery procedures. Mark every item as confirmed, assumed, or unknown and assign an owner for unresolved issues.
Cover the whole operating system
Physical categories include approach paths, stopping or delivery points, doors, elevators, loading zones, turning and clearance constraints, pedestrian circulation, accessible routes, and charging locations. Digital categories include communications, access controls, fleet-management interfaces, data handling, and failure behavior. Match each category to the specific robot and site workflow.
Operational categories include service hours, demand, dispatch, staffing, package or passenger handoff, cleaning, incident response, maintenance, emergency modes, and vendor support. Governance categories include property permissions, public-right-of-way authority, insurance, permits, and the approving professionals. Keep 'not yet known' visible rather than assuming compliance.
Make the checklist decision-ready
For each question, capture the evidence type, date, source, responsible reviewer, confidence, and next action. A verified measurement differs from a vendor estimate; a conceptual drawing differs from an approved permit. This small discipline makes a checklist useful for capital decisions and repeatable across sites.
Close the loop with a short list of blockers, dependencies, and reversible pilot steps. Avoid giving a single pass/fail label when readiness depends on an operator, regulator, utility, or future construction. Revisit the record when a site changes or a new vendor proposes a materially different vehicle or workflow.
Put it into practice
A site-planning checklist
- Workflow and equipment definition
- Physical, digital, and operating categories
- Evidence source, date, confidence, and owner
- Approval and professional-review dependencies
- Update triggers and pilot actions
Further reading
Primary references
- ISO — ISO 3691-4:2020
International safety requirements and verification for driverless industrial trucks and their systems; confirm current editions and scope before use.
- VDA — VDA 5050
Interface specification for communication between mobile robots and a master control system; it does not certify a building or robot.
- NACTO — Curb Appeal
Curb-management framework for allocating limited public street space.
- U.S. Access Board — ADA Standards
U.S. accessibility standards reference; local applicability and project review still matter.