RoboCata Standard

An Open Global Standard for Cataloging Robots

Abstract

The RoboCata Standard defines a structured, machine-readable classification and specification framework for cataloging robots across industrial, professional, and consumer domains.

The standard establishes:

A unified taxonomy of domains, categories, and robot types
A canonical set of technical specification fields
Defined coded option values for structured comparison
A unique robot identification code format
Conformance requirements for interoperable implementations

The purpose of the RoboCata Standard is to enable comparability, interoperability, and structured aggregation of robot data across manufacturers, researchers, integrators, and digital platforms.

Why It Matters

No universal robot schema exists — manufacturers, researchers, and platforms each define their own fields
Comparison requires structure — free-text specs cannot be filtered, ranked, or aggregated
Interoperability needs codes — coded values enable cross-platform data exchange
Open standards accelerate adoption — CC BY 4.0 licensing ensures anyone can implement

Quick Start

A minimal conformant record requires only 6 fields:

{
  "_canonical_version": "1.0",
  "robot_code": "RBC-AR-MD-DAVINCI",
  "info_name": "da Vinci Xi Surgical System",
  "manufacturer_text": "Intuitive Surgical",
  "type": "ARM",
  "domain": "PRO",
  "category": "MED"
}

See the examples/ directory for more complete records.

Required Fields

Field	Label	Description
`robot_code`	Robot Code	Unique identifier (format: `RBC-TT-CC-XXXXXXX`)
`info_name`	Robot Name	Full product name
`manufacturer_text`	Manufacturer	Company name
`type`	Type	Physical form factor (15 codes)
`domain`	Domain	Application domain (3 codes)
`category`	Category	Primary application category (29 codes)

Taxonomy

Type (15 codes)

Physical form and morphology.

Code	Name	Description
ARM	Robotic Arm	Fixed-base manipulator arm
MOBI	Mobile Platform	Wheeled or tracked ground robot
BIPD	Biped	Bipedal/humanoid walking robot
QUAD	Quadruped	Four-legged walking robot
HEXA	Hexapod+	Six or more legged robot
AERI	Aerial	Flying robot (drone, VTOL, fixed-wing)
AQUA	Aquatic	Underwater/surface water robot
SERP	Serpentine	Snake-like, limbless robot
SPHR	Spherical	Ball or rolling form factor
SOFT	Soft Robot	Soft-bodied, flexible material robot
WEAR	Wearable	Body-worn, exoskeleton, prosthetic
VEHI	Vehicle	Autonomous vehicle platform
APPL	Appliance	Robot built into appliance
SWRM	Swarm Unit	Designed for swarm operations
HYBR	Hybrid	Hybrid or multi-modal form factor

Domain (3 codes)

High-level market segmentation. Each robot belongs to exactly one domain.

Code	Name	Description
IND	Industrial & Manufacturing	Factory floors, production lines, heavy industry
PRO	Professional & Services	Commercial, professional, and institutional use
HOME	Home & Consumer	Residential and personal use

Category (29 codes)

Primary application sector, grouped by domain.

Industrial (5): Quality Control (QC), Production & Assembly (PROD), Welding & Fabrication (WELD), Heavy Industry (HEAVY), Packaging & Logistics (PACK)

Professional (15): Medical & Healthcare (MED), Agricultural (AGR), Construction & Building (CONST), Transportation & Delivery (TRANS), Laboratory & Research (LAB), Hospitality & Food Service (HOSP), Retail & Commerce (RET), Educational (EDU), Infrastructure & Utilities (INFRA), Landscaping & Grounds (LAND), Commercial Cleaning (CLEAN), Security - Professional (SQP), Sports - Professional (SPORTP), Office & Business (OFF), Veterinary (VET)

Home (9): Home Cleaning (HCLEAN), Companion & Social (COMP), Entertainment (ENT), Home Security (SQH), Cooking (COOK), Childcare (CARE), Sports - Home (SPORTH), Yard & Outdoor (YARD), Background (Background)

Robot Code Format

Every robot receives a globally unique RoboCata identifier:

RBC-TT-CC-XXXXXXX
 |    |  |    +-- Unique identifier (up to 7 alphanumeric chars)
 |    |  +------- Category code (2 letters)
 |    +---------- Type code (2 letters)
 +--------------- Prefix (always "RBC")

Examples:

RBC-AR-MD-DAVINCI — Robotic Arm, Medical, da Vinci
RBC-MO-TR-STARSHI — Mobile Platform, Transportation, Starship
RBC-AE-AG-DRONESE — Aerial, Agricultural, DroneSeed
RBC-AP-CL-ROOMBAS — Appliance, Cleaning, Roomba

Repository Structure

robocata-standard/
├── README.md                          # This file
├── LICENSE                            # CC BY 4.0
├── CHANGELOG.md                       # Version history
├── CONTRIBUTING.md                    # How to propose changes
├── CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md                 # Contributor guidelines
├── SECURITY.md                        # Reporting issues
├── docs/
│   ├── specification.md               # Full specification (Sections 1-24)
│   ├── appendix-a-data-types.md       # Data type definitions
│   ├── appendix-b-unit-conventions.md # Unit conventions
│   ├── appendix-c-code-format.md      # Robot Code format
│   ├── conformance.md                 # Conformance requirements
│   └── governance.md                  # Terms, governance, versioning
├── schema/
│   └── robocata.robot.v1.schema.json  # JSON Schema (Draft 2020-12)
├── codelists/                         # Machine-readable coded values
│   ├── type.json                      # 15 type codes
│   ├── domain.json                    # 3 domain codes
│   ├── category.json                  # 29 category codes
│   └── ... (63 codelist files total)
├── examples/
│   ├── robot.minimal.json             # Minimal valid record (6 required fields)
│   ├── robot.industrial-arm.json      # Industrial arm example
│   ├── robot.mobile-platform.json     # Mobile delivery robot example
│   └── robot.home-cleaning.json       # Home consumer robot example
└── pdf/
    └── RoboCata-Standard-V1.pdf       # Official PDF document

Specification Sections

The standard defines fields across 24 sections:

Identification & Description
Media Requirements
Physical Dimensions & Weight
Motion & Kinematics
Navigation & Localization
Power & Energy
Performance & Throughput
Environment & Operating Conditions
Safety & Certifications
Connectivity & Communication
Control & Programming
Software & Operating Systems
Sensors & Perception
AI & Autonomy
Hardware & Actuators
Features & Capabilities
Installation & Space
Commercial & Pricing
Support & Maintenance
Applications & Use Cases
Certifications & Standards
Ratings & Metrics
Manufacturer & Origin
Research & Popularity

See the full specification for the complete field reference.

Validation

Validate a robot record against the schema:

# Using ajv-cli (Node.js)
npx ajv validate -s schema/robocata.robot.v1.schema.json -d examples/robot.minimal.json

# Using jsonschema (Python)
pip install jsonschema
python -c "
import json, jsonschema
schema = json.load(open('schema/robocata.robot.v1.schema.json'))
record = json.load(open('examples/robot.minimal.json'))
jsonschema.validate(record, schema)
print('Valid!')
"

Separation of Standard and Platform

robocata.org — The RoboCata Standard. This open specification, its schema, and governance documentation. Maintained as a public standard.

robocata.com — The RoboCata Catalog. A commercial implementation of the standard. The catalog is one of potentially many implementations and does not define the standard.

The standard exists independently of any implementation.

License

The RoboCata Standard is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).

You are free to share and adapt the standard for any purpose, including commercial use, provided you give appropriate attribution.

Contact

Standard website: https://robocata.org
Email: standard@robocata.org
GitHub: https://github.com/robocata/robocata-standard

RoboCata Standard V1.0 — March 2026