(Yicai) Aug. 4 -- Chinese robot vacuum cleaner and lawn mowing robot companies may be affected by the United States Federal Communications Commission’s import ban on foreign-made advanced robotic devices, according to industry insiders.

“China-made root vacuum cleaners and lawn mowing robots have been evolving at a fast pace in the past two years,” a senior industry insider told Yicai. “Products of top brands in North America meet the definition of ‘advanced robotic devices,’ so they will likely be included in the scope of the FCC’s new regulations.”

On July 28, the US FCC said it was adding “advanced robotic devices,” defined as mobile robots including humanoids and quadrupeds, and connected power inverters to its Covered List, for allegedly “posing unacceptable risks to the national security of the US or the safety and security of US persons.”

“On the surface, the FCC’s new regulations restrict the import of humanoid robots and quadruped robots,” a senior industry expert told Yicai. “However, the export of these products to the US is still in its infancy, so the impact of the new regulations on related Chinese firms is actually limited.”

In contrast, China-made robot vacuum cleaners and lawn mowers occupy a majority share of the US market, so Chinese manufacturers will be more affected by the new regulations, the expert noted, adding that the FCC’s new regulations can be seen as trade protectionism.

China exported 1.2 million cleaning robots worth USD170 million and 1.4 million lawn mowers, including robotic ones, worth USD210 million to the US in the first half of the year, according to data from the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products. Meanwhile, only 1,840 humanoid robots and quadruped robots worth USD23.3 million were exported to the US in the period.

Most Chinese robot vacuum cleaner‌ and lawn mower brands have already completed the FCC certification, so the short-term impact of the import ban should not be considerable, the insider pointed out. But in the long run, the entry threshold for the US market will likely rise with the implementation of the new regulations, they added.

Therefore, it will be more difficult for new China-made robot vacuums and lawn mowing robots to pass the FCC review in the future, especially for emerging brands entering the North American market.

Segway Navimow’s products available in the US have all obtained the FCC’s equipment authorization, so they will not be affected by this latest import ban, a staff member from the company’s lawn moving robot business told Yicai, adding that it is keeping an eye on policy changes and evaluating future product compliance paths.

An employee at a cleaning appliance firm said its robot vacuum cleaners sold in the US will not be affected by the FCC’s new regulations, and that the potential impact on new models will likely be felt industry-wide. The company believes that the import ban may also affect the export of window cleaning robots to the US, they added.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione