Who May Return a Robot to Service

On 20 January 2027 the EU Machinery Regulation begins to apply. Six weeks earlier, the new Product Liability Directive must be transposed. Both say the same thing: whoever substantially modifies a machine is treated as its manufacturer. Both exempt repair that does not affect compliance. Neither defines where that line falls for a robot whose behaviour is changed by a software update.

This book reports what the instruments say and where they are silent. It maps who certifies whom across the robot lifecycle and shows the column that is empty. It sets out four ordinary service events against the text of each regulation, and reaches no conclusion about any of them, because that determination depends on facts and national law this book does not attempt to supply.

It also corrects a statistic repeated across the industry about how many robot injuries happen during maintenance, by reading the paper everyone cites.

Not legal advice. The author is not a lawyer. Sources and dates for every figure are printed in full.

EPUB ebook.