FCC gives Intel a one-year waiver for foreign fab robots
Original title: Intel gets waiver after worries fuzzy US ban on foreign-made robots may hit fabs
Intel said it was unclear whether its guided vehicles are covered and also won approval for certain hardware and software changes.
The FCC on October 22 allowed Intel to keep using foreign-made robotic vehicles in U.S. chip fabs for one year. Intel requested the waiver out of an abundance of caution after uncertainty over the agency’s ban on certain foreign-made robots. The vehicles are automated guided vehicles that run on tracks or predefined paths and often need operator oversight. Exact models are only in a confidential appendix. The ban mainly covers new mobile robots and still allows previously approved imports, but appears to limit major modifications to previously authorized devices.
Unconfirmed: Intel said it was unclear its vehicles qualify as covered robots; the specific models remain confidential.
- The waiver covers continued use in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing facilities for one year.
- Intel also may make specified hardware, software, and firmware changes for maintenance.
- Bloomberg says such vehicles are typically made by Japanese firms such as Murata Machinery and Daifuku.
- Vendors
- Intel
- Organizations
- Federal Communications Commission
- Countries
- United States
From the original article
1 min read at arstechnica.com
Company says foreign-made robotic vehicles are crucial to US chip production.
By Jeremy Hsu · arstechnica.com
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