This part of ISO 10218 specifies requirements and guidelines for the inherent safe design, protective measures and information for use of industrial robots, as defined in Clause 3. It describes basic hazards associated with robots and provides requirements to eliminate, or adequately reduce, the risks associated with these hazards.

Noise as a potential hazard is not dealt with in this part of ISO 10218, but will be fully covered in Part 2.

This part of ISO 10218 does not apply to non-industrial robots although the safety principles established in ISO 10218 may be utilized for these other robots. Examples of non-industrial robot applications include, but are not limited to: undersea, military and spacerobots, tele-operated manipulators, prosthetics and other aids for the physically impaired, micro-robots (displacement  <  1 mm), surgery or healthcare, and service or consumer products.