The US bars new imports of foreign humanoid and quadruped robots on national-security grounds

The FCC announced on 28 July 2026 that foreign-made advanced robotic devices — humanoids, quadrupeds, mobile robots generally, and connected power inverters for mobile-robot joints with wireless access — "pose unacceptable risks to the national security of the United States", citing supply-chain vulnerabilities and cybersecurity risk to American critical infrastructure. Devices already acquired and models with prior FCC authorisation are exempt, as are conditional Department of War or Homeland Security approvals, federal purchases, and software updates under waiver. Reporting names Unitree as the cited case (a cybersecurity backdoor and data sent to servers in China), quotes US suppliers Standard Bots and Agility Robotics on the trade-off, and notes China holds more than half of the world’s industrial robot installations and has shipped 80% to 90% of humanoids to date.

What it means Anyone piloting a low-cost quadruped or humanoid has a procurement problem this week: existing units keep working, the next order may not clear.