Abstract
This disclosure describes how governed robots behave in places shared with the public, such as pavements, parks, shops, stations, hospitals and housing. Robots of all makers use a common, declared set of signals of intent, by light, sound and simple display, so that a person can tell at a glance whether a robot is moving, about to move, waiting for them, stopped, or under human control, whichever robot it is. In every encounter, people have priority: the robot yields, keeps a declared distance, slows when approaching and never requires a person to give way. When the robot's perception recognises, by class only, a child, a person using a wheelchair, walking aid or guide animal, or a person who appears unable to see the robot, it applies tighter limits, without identifying, recording or tracking that person. Robots never block emergency exits, routes for emergency services, kerb ramps, doorways or other access paths, and move aside when such a path is needed. Any person nearby can stop the robot by a clearly marked stop control, and misuse of the stop is handled by the robot holding still and reporting, not by resisting. Each place, or class of place, declares local rules, such as speed, hours, quiet periods and excluded areas, set by the party responsible for the place after notice to those affected. Concerns raised by members of the public, through the robot's public record, feed the robot's incident record and its standing at that place. Every signal configuration, local rule, yielding event, stop and concern is a signed record or, for members of the public, an anonymous one.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Wang, Edward D. H., "SI Robot in Public™: Governed Behaviour of Robots in Places Shared with the Public, with Common Signals of Intent across All Makers, Priority for People in Every Encounter, Tighter Limits near Children and People Using Mobility Aids Recognised by Class and Never by Identity, Paths for Emergencies and Access Kept Clear, a Stop that Anyone Nearby Can Use, Local Rules Set for Each Place and Time, and Public Concerns Fed into the Robot's Standing", Technical Disclosure Commons, (November 10, 2026)
https://www.tdcommons.org/dpubs_series/12952