How to Stop a Floor Robot Safely in Front of Guests

Stop the robot first, then help the guest

When a guest steps into a floor robot's path, the first job for staff is to stop the machine, not to move the guest. A staff member steps in, triggers the robot's stop control as described in its manual, and holds the guest back until the unit has fully halted. Only then does the conversation begin.

The exact stop control, and how a unit behaves once stopped, varies by model. Treat your unit's manual and your own training record as the authority on your floor. The sequence and script below wrap around that control, and they are written for front of house teams who are often the nearest person when a stop is needed.

The best stop is the one that rarely has to happen. The sections that follow cover the signs, scripts and drills that keep guests out of the path in the first place.

What the safety standards say about stopping

UL issued UL 3300 in August 2020 as an Outline of Investigation for service, communication, information, education and entertainment robots, a category that covers robots sharing aisles with shoppers. According to a UL summary, the standard classifies robots by height and mass, sets speed limits, and requires object detection and avoidance for mobile robots. The same summary says it calls for audible and visual indicators that show a robot's presence and its path of movement.

We could not verify emergency stop clauses in the sources we checked, and we found no stopping distance or guest area speed figure we could cite, so this article does not state any. ISO 13482:2014, a related standard for earthbound personal care robots, lists clauses on robot stopping and on start up and restart of regular operation in its table of contents. We did not retrieve the clause text, so read those headings as pointers to your vendor's documentation rather than as a checklist. The standard also notes that no internationally recognized impact or injury limits existed when it was published.

The stop sequence, step by step

Run the same sequence every time, so a stop looks the same on a busy Saturday as it does on a quiet Tuesday.

• Call it out loud and clear, naming the robot and the word stop, so colleagues and the guest both hear it.
• Move to the robot's side, out of the path it is traveling, and keep your hands and body clear of its moving parts.
• Press or trigger the stop control named in the unit's manual, and keep watching until the robot has fully halted.
• Once it has stopped, step back. Do not push, lift, lean on or wedge the unit, and do not block its sensors with a cart, bag or chair.
• Guide the guest around the robot, using a wider lane if the aisle allows, and confirm the guest is clear before anyone moves on.
• Log the stop with the time, the location and what caused it, so the service team can review the event.

Restarting without a surprise

Before restart, check that the path ahead is clear, that no one is standing in the route, and that the guest has left the zone. Then restart through the vendor's restart sequence in the manual, not from memory, because restart steps differ between models.

Watch the first few moves. If the robot heads toward a person or does not respond as the manual describes, stop it again and call the service line. A stop that does not clear is a service event, and it belongs in the log.

A short script for the moment

Keep the words short and calm. A workable line is: Sorry about that, the cleaning robot is pausing for a moment. If you step to your left you can go straight past, and it will carry on as soon as the path is clear. Thank you for your patience.

Do not blame the guest, and do not explain how the robot works while the path is being cleared. If a guest seems unsteady, offers a hand or appears hurt, the stop comes first and assistance follows your venue's first aid process.

Floor signs and markings that show the path

Guests decide early when they can see where a robot is going. Signs at each zone entry and clear route markings on the floor give them that information before they step into the lane, and they reduce the number of stops staff must make. Before a robot runs in a guest area, walk the aisles with your team and agree on the marked route and the stop points.

• Route markings: floor decals or tape along the edges of the robot's usual lane, so guests can see the path.
• Entry signs: a standing sign at each zone entry that tells guests a robot is working and asks them to keep to the marked side.
• Temporary barriers: stanchions or cones where a robot is paused for service or where a route is being changed.
• Pre shift check: confirm the robot's own lights and tones work before each shift, since guests rely on them to read the path.

Drills, service backup and the lease

Drill every shift lead before go live. Stage a mock guest in the path, have a staff member call the stop, let the robot halt, and then run the restart sequence. Repeat until the steps feel routine, and write down who did what and how long it took.

Service Robot Co. is an OEM neutral integrator for US businesses. We pick the right robots across manufacturers, deploy and integrate them, train staff, and service every unit under RoboCare, our service plan, through regional service engineers in every state we service. We lease robots through financing on a three year lease, with one fixed lease payment quoted after a site assessment, so the aisle walk and the stop drill can start in that assessment. Operators comparing a floor scrubber lease or other robot lease options can raise the training plan in the same conversation.