The Federal Communications Commission has added foreign-produced advanced robotic devices and connected power inverters to its Covered List, blocking new models of both from receiving the equipment authorization required to import, market or sell them in the United States. The action, announced July 28 in Public Notice DA 26-786, applies primarily to Chinese manufacturers.
The robotics category covers mechanical mobile devices weighing more than 4.4 pounds including docking stations, carrying environmental sensors, network connectivity of at least 200 kbps and autonomous navigation software. That definition captures autonomous mobile robots, humanoids and quadrupeds, the four-legged machines used for inspection and security patrols. The FCC said the devices present a physical as well as an informational risk: “The networked capabilities of advanced robotic systems create extensive vulnerabilities and vectors for attacks that can manipulate the data and physical operation.” For the inverters, which connect solar and storage installations to the grid, the commission cited data theft, surveillance, remote access and cyberattacks.
The national security determination behind the ruling cited three specific incidents: a vulnerability disclosed in early 2026 that allowed remote access to thousands of consumer robots, including camera feeds and interior maps of homes; a September 2025 exploit affecting Unitree robots that permitted takeover and scanning for other machines nearby; and an April 2025 report of a possible pre-installed backdoor in foreign-produced quadrupeds giving remote camera access and full control.
The restrictions apply to new device models. Previously authorized models keep their authorizations, and the definition excludes connected vehicles, rail vehicles, uncrewed aircraft, underwater vehicles, FDA-regulated medical devices such as surgical robots, and fixed industrial robots including articulating and collaborative arms. Case-by-case conditional approvals are available through the Department of War, and a domestic end product exemption requires 65 percent US component value, rising to 70 percent by 2029.
China supplies most of the world’s humanoid robots and has designated them a priority in its national robotics strategy, which makes the US the largest export market now closed to new Chinese models. Affected manufacturers include Unitree, Pudu Robotics and Keenon Robotics. Congress has been moving on a narrower front since March, when Senators Tom Cotton and Chuck Schumer introduced the American Security Robotics Act, which would bar federal funds from buying unmanned ground vehicle systems made by companies under the jurisdiction of a foreign adversary. Representative Elise Stefanik has said she will introduce a companion bill in the House.
The Covered List is the same mechanism previously used against Chinese telecommunications and surveillance equipment, and its extension to robotics brings embodied systems into the restriction apparatus that Washington has built around AI chips and models. The administration has spent the past year calibrating that apparatus in both directions, approving H200 sales to Chinese buyers on the argument that keeping China dependent on American silicon serves US interests, while weighing limits on Chinese AI models inside the United States. Hardware gives regulators a chokepoint that software does not: a robot needs FCC authorization to be sold, while model weights can be downloaded from anywhere.
The inverter provisions apply to equipment already deployed across US solar and storage installations. Adding grid-connected inverters to the Covered List places remotely accessible energy equipment under the same supply chain review the commission applies to network gear.
The restriction applies to authorizations sought from July 28 onward. Chinese manufacturers may continue selling models the commission had already approved.
Sources: CNN, Reuters, The AI Insider
–
By the Control Plane Editorial Team