Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Supervisor Ray Mueller, District 3
Subject: Development of Ordinance Creating a Comprehensive Permitting Process Governing the Commercial Deployment and Operation of Humanoid Robots
RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt a resolution directing the County Executive's Office, County Attorney, and County Departments to develop an ordinance for the Board's consideration, creating a comprehensive permitting process governing the commercial deployment and operation of humanoid robots within San Mateo County.
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BACKGROUND:
Rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), and robotics have accelerated the development and commercial availability of untethered, autonomous or semi-autonomous humanoid robots (Mobile Humanoid Robots) capable of performing tasks traditionally carried out by human workers. These systems are increasingly being designed for deployment across a broad range of industries, including restaurants, hospitality, retail, logistics, security, facilities maintenance, customer service, public information, and emergency response support.
Although California law regulates autonomous vehicles and establishes workplace safety standards applicable to certain technologies, there is currently no comprehensive regulatory framework governing the commercial deployment and operation of humanoid robots in publicly accessible environments.
As businesses continue to evaluate and adopt these emerging technologies, San Mateo County currently lacks a comprehensive permitting and regulatory framework establishing consistent standards for the deployment and operation of these systems, including requirements related to public safety, accessibility, cybersecurity, privacy, emergency response coordination, operator accountability, and a mechanism to recover costs associated with emergency response. This gap is particularly significant given that many of th...
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