Domestic & Consumer — Demonstration Protocol

Foreword. This Test Protocol is new in the VRS 2026 edition and is the Domestic & Consumer sector’s extension of VRS-GEN-203, the intrinsic demonstration protocol. A consumer robot is unlike every other rated machine in one respect: nobody near it is an operator. The person on the floor beside it is a toddler, the thing under its brush is a pet’s tail, the hand in its bin is a curious child’s, and the network it lives on is a household router. The sector’s anchor regimes — household-appliance safety, toy safety, battery and charger safety, product-safety regulation — already test for that with probes, small-object sets, thermal cut-offs and warnings lists, and this Protocol borrows those tests as witnessed steps. It carries only what the intrinsic steps do not already witness; where a sector criterion is fully covered by an intrinsic step, it says so and adds nothing. Steps run between Parts E and F of VRS-GEN-203, in the same session, on the same feed, into the same export. Standards carry no step identifiers; every step here names the VRS-DOM-201 subclause that requires it. As a protocol it is versioned vX.Y.Z (VRS-GEN-004 §5.4). Requirements use “shall”.

Introduction

The Domestic & Consumer anchor set is the household-appliance family (IEC 60335-1 and its robot-specific parts), toy safety where a robot is sold to or used by children (ISO 8124 / EN 71), battery safety (IEC 62133-2, UL 2054) and the general product-safety regime that governs recall. Those regimes share a method: a standard probe that stands in for a finger, a set of objects that stands in for what a child puts in its mouth, a thermal test, and a list of the things the manual tells owners not to do — which the test then does. This Protocol witnesses exactly those things on a stock unit with the manufacturer’s own probes and test objects, on real floor samples including the dark carpet that defeats cliff sensors, at the ledge height the manufacturer declares.

The second half of the Protocol is about the household as a system: the device’s charger and dock interlocks, what the device captures of the home and whether the owner can see and delete it, whether the device still works — and is still safe — when the cloud goes away, and whether a recall notice can actually reach a device in a home. The documentary criteria (recall record, owner repairability) have no steps and are scored from the pack.

1 Scope

This Protocol specifies the Domestic & Consumer demonstration steps by which the criteria of VRS-DOM-201 Clause 6 are demonstrated at the Certified tier, for every application class of VRS-DOM-201 §7.3 (floor robots · lawn/outdoor consumer · companion/toy · kitchen/assistive appliance). It applies to every Certified Domestic & Consumer assessment, by every Certified route of VRS-GEN-003 §6.9.

It specifies: how this Protocol relates to VRS-GEN-203 (Clause 4); the envelope the manufacturer declares before the session (Clause 5); the steps (Clause 6); and a worked example (Clause 7). Annex A maps every VRS-DOM-201 criterion to its intrinsic steps, its sector steps, or neither.

It does not: repeat any session requirement, step, marking rule or record rule of VRS-GEN-203, all of which apply unchanged; define any criterion, point, ceiling or ladder (VRS-DOM-201); or define the Domestic & Consumer information pack (VRS-GEN-013). No step involves a child, an animal or any person as a target, load or contact; probes, small-object sets and compliant targets stand in for them.

2 Normative references

VRS-GEN-203, Demonstration Protocol — Intrinsic — session requirements (Clause 4), step rules (Clause 5), marks and scores (Clause 7), Session Record (Clause 8), all of which apply to this Protocol.
VRS-DOM-201, Domestic & Consumer — AR Assessment Protocol — the criteria whose Certified rows this Protocol serves; application classes (§7.3).
VRS-DOM-001, Domestic & Consumer Sector Standard — the declared envelope and class fields.
- VRS-GEN-101, Safety — the intrinsic safety criteria the Domestic & Consumer pool contributes to.
- VRS-GEN-105, Cyber Posture — the intrinsic steps that witness parts of VRS-DOM-201 §6.6 and §6.7.
- VRS-GEN-107, Economics & Residual — the intrinsic offline-mode step that also serves VRS-DOM-201 §6.7.
VRS-GEN-003, Governance Charter and Independence — Certified routes and route parity (§6.9).

3 Terms and definitions

Terms defined in VRS-GEN-001 and VRS-GEN-203 apply. In addition:

3.1 test probe — a rigid probe of a declared dimension representing a child’s finger or small finger, applied to openings near moving parts; sizes are the manufacturer’s declared conformity-test probes.

3.2 small-object set — the declared set of household objects representing what a child or pet may present to the device (coins, cords, socks, pellets or the manual’s named equivalents).

3.3 declared ledge height — the drop height (mm) from which the manufacturer declares the device will not fall, on each declared floor type.

3.4 dark carpet — the lowest-reflectivity floor sample the manufacturer declares the cliff sensing to work on.

3.5 misuse case — an action the manual warns the owner not to take, performed as the manual describes it, to witness the declared behaviour.

3.6 companion app — the manufacturer’s owner-facing application through which account, privacy and notification controls are operated.

3.7 local operation — performance of the device’s core function with the household’s internet uplink removed.

3.8 recall reach — the declared over-the-air channel by which a safety notice is delivered to a device and its owner.

4 Relationship to the intrinsic protocol

4.1 This Protocol shall be run only as part of a session under VRS-GEN-203. Every requirement of VRS-GEN-203 Clause 4 applies to every step here without repetition or exception.

4.2 Position in the session. The steps of Clause 6 shall run after VRS-GEN-203 Part E and before VRS-GEN-203 Part F, so that one continuous recording and one export cover both protocols. The endurance sample opened in VRS-GEN-203 Part C continues to run through this Protocol.

4.3 Step identifiers. Steps shall carry identifiers of the form DOM-110.nn; they are Session Record step identifiers under the same rules as VRS-GEN-203 §5.1 and shall never be reused.

4.4 Required by. Every step shall name the VRS-DOM-201 subclause(s) whose Certified row it serves. VRS-DOM-201 carries no reference back to this Protocol.

4.5 Classes and declared subjects. Each step lists the application classes it applies to. A step whose class is not in the assessed envelope shall not be run. A step whose subject the manufacturer has not declared shall be marked not declared and has no effect on any score (VRS-GEN-203 §3.10). At least one step of Part 1 and one of Part 3 shall be run for every Domestic & Consumer assessment; Part 2 shall be run for every mobile class (VRS-DOM-201 §7.3).

4.6 Bound. The sum of step bounds for one class shall not exceed 120 min. Marks, failure, declined steps, continuation sessions and the Session Record follow VRS-GEN-203 Clauses 5, 7 and 8.

4.7 Criteria witnessed by intrinsic steps. Where a sector criterion’s Certified row is already witnessed by intrinsic steps, Annex A names them and the criterion is scored from those marks together with any sector steps listed. VRS-DOM-201 §6.1 (consumer-safety anchor conformity) is documentary; its Certified row is confirmed by the marks of the Part 1 and Part 2 steps, which are the anchor regimes’ own tests witnessed live.

4.8 Children, animals and people. No step shall use a child, an animal or any person as a target, a load or a contact; probes, object sets and compliant targets stand in for them (VRS-GEN-203 §4.8). A step so performed shall be marked not achieved and the ground recorded.

4.9 Test rigs. The ledge and stair-head apparatus of Part 2 shall be padded below the drop so that a failed step damages nothing and the device can be recovered; the padding shall not be within the device’s sensing range of the edge.

4.10 Admissibility of a mark. A step’s mark shall be inadmissible, and the step shall be marked not achieved, where the dimension, mass, speed, force or condition it depends on was not shown on camera, or where the configuration demonstrated differs from the assessed one. The observer shall record the ground.

5 The declared envelope

5.1 Before the session the manufacturer shall have declared, in the information pack and per assessed application class: maximum speed (m/s); the test-probe sizes (mm) the device is designed against; the small-object set; the contact-force limit (N) on a small obstacle and the child-hand height (mm); the declared ledge height (mm) and the declared floor types including the darkest carpet; the stair-head and threshold geometry (mm); the charging-interlock and dock behaviour; the thermal cut-off condition and the means of provoking it; the low-energy behaviour; the manual’s warnings list and the declared behaviour for each misuse case; the overload (kg or volume); the non-genuine-part behaviour; the second-factor method; what is captured, where it is stored and shared, and the deletion and privacy controls; the local-operation feature set; and the over-the-air notification channel.

5.2 Every apparatus in Clause 6 shall be sized from those declarations and no other source (VRS-GEN-203 §4.7). A parameter not declared makes the steps that depend on it not declared (4.5); a manufacturer that declares a smaller envelope demonstrates a smaller envelope and is scored against it under VRS-DOM-201.

5.3 The declared envelope shall match the one recorded for the rating (VRS-DOM-001, VRS-GEN-009); a step demonstrated at a value other than the declared one shall be inadmissible (4.10).

6 The steps

Columns: ID — Session Record step identifier · Step — outcome to witness · Classes — application classes the step applies to (4.5) · Witness — means (VRS-GEN-203 §3.13) · Apparatus — manufacturer-supplied, at declared value · Bound — minutes · Required by — VRS-DOM-201 subclause(s) served.

6.1 Part 1 — Child and pet contact protection

The anchor regimes’ own probe and small-object tests, witnessed live on a stock unit with the manufacturer’s probes. Nothing living is used.

ID	Step	Classes	Witness	Apparatus	Bound	Required by
DOM-110.01	Finger and probe access to moving parts. The manufacturer’s standard test probes (child-finger and small-finger probes at the declared sizes) are applied to every opening near a brush, blade, wheel, hinge or drive while the device runs; no probe reaches a moving part; the device stops or retracts where a probe does enter a declared protected opening.	all	CAM+APP	Test probes at the declared sizes; the device running	8 min	Required by VRS-DOM-201 §6.2
DOM-110.02	Small-object ingestion and part detachment. The declared small-object set (coins, cords, socks, pet-food pellets or the equivalents the manual names) is presented to the intake or grasp; the device rejects, stops or handles them as declared without damage; a pull test at the declared force on each user-accessible part shows nothing detaches that could be swallowed.	all	CAM+APP	Small-object set as declared; pull gauge	8 min	Required by VRS-DOM-201 §6.2
DOM-110.03	Contact force on a small obstacle. At the declared maximum speed the device contacts a small compliant target at the declared child-hand height; the manufacturer’s force reading is shown on camera against the declared limit; the device reverses or stops as declared.	floor robots · lawn/outdoor consumer · companion/toy	CAM+FEED+APP	Small compliant target with force reading — never a person or animal	6 min	Required by VRS-DOM-201 §6.2

6.2 Part 2 — Cliff, stair and ledge behaviour

Run for the mobile classes only. Real floor samples — including the dark carpet the manufacturer declares — at the declared ledge height, on a padded rig.

ID	Step	Classes	Witness	Apparatus	Bound	Required by
DOM-110.04	Ledge stop on declared floor types. The device approaches the declared ledge height at the declared maximum speed on each declared floor sample — including the darkest carpet declared — from straight-on and at a declared oblique angle; it stops or turns before any wheel or foot leaves the surface; repeated three times per sample.	floor robots · lawn/outdoor consumer · companion/toy	CAM+FEED+APP	Ledge at the declared height (test rig, edge padded below); declared floor samples incl. dark carpet	12 min	Required by VRS-DOM-201 §6.3
DOM-110.05	Stair-head and threshold behaviour. At the head of a declared stair mock-up (top step and nosing as declared) the device turns away on every approach; at a declared threshold or door bar of the declared height it either crosses without tipping or refuses, as declared.	floor robots · lawn/outdoor consumer · companion/toy	CAM+FEED+APP	Stair-head mock-up with padded drop; threshold bar at the declared height	8 min	Required by VRS-DOM-201 §6.3

6.3 Part 3 — Battery and charging safety

Extends the intrinsic energy-safety step with the dock, the charger and the thermal cut-off, which in a home are the fire-safety controls.

ID	Step	Classes	Witness	Apparatus	Bound	Required by
DOM-110.06	Charging interlock and dock behaviour. While docked or plugged in, the device refuses to move or run its motors as declared; on undocking, motion resumes only after the declared action; a foreign object placed on the dock contacts does not start charging.	all	CAM+FEED	The device’s own dock or charger; a declared non-conductive object	6 min	Required by VRS-DOM-201 §6.4; §6.5
DOM-110.07	Thermal cut-off and low-energy behaviour. The declared over-temperature condition is simulated by the manufacturer’s own service procedure (or the declared thermal-test mode) and the device stops charging or running as declared with the state shown; the declared low-energy warning leads to the declared safe state and a return to the dock where claimed.	all	CAM+FEED	Manufacturer’s declared thermal-test means	8 min	Required by VRS-DOM-201 §6.4; §6.5

6.4 Part 4 — Foreseeable misuse

The manual’s warnings list is the script: each case is something an owner is told not to do, done as described, to witness the declared behaviour.

ID	Step	Classes	Witness	Apparatus	Bound	Required by
DOM-110.08	Wet use and blocked sensors. Two misuse cases taken from the manual’s own warnings list are performed as declared: water at the declared volume on the declared surface or intake (where the manual warns against wet use), and the primary sensors covered or soiled; each time the device enters its declared safe state (stop, alert, refuse to start).	all	CAM+FEED+APP	Water at the declared volume; covering material	8 min	Required by VRS-DOM-201 §6.5
DOM-110.09	Overload and non-genuine part. The device is loaded to the declared overload (bin, basket, tray or payload as the manual warns) and commanded to run; it refuses, alerts or degrades as declared. A declared non-genuine or wrongly fitted consumable (filter, brush, blade, battery) is fitted; the device detects or tolerates it as declared and the manual’s warning behaviour is shown.	all	CAM+FEED+APP	Overload mass; non-genuine or mis-fitted consumable as declared	8 min	Required by VRS-DOM-201 §6.5; §6.2

6.5 Part 5 — In-home data and account security

Shown on the companion app and the device through the data feed. Extends the intrinsic authentication and telemetry-disclosure steps with the household controls: second factor, capture, deletion, physical privacy switch.

ID	Step	Classes	Witness	Apparatus	Bound	Required by
DOM-110.10	Account second factor and pairing. A new account or device pairing is performed in the companion app; the second factor is required as declared; a sign-in attempt without it is refused; the device shows its paired state.	all	FEED	Companion app on the manufacturer’s device	6 min	Required by VRS-DOM-201 §6.6
DOM-110.11	Capture, map and deletion controls. The app or device shows what the camera, microphone and mapping capture, whether it is stored locally or sent to the cloud, and to whom it is shared, matching the disclosure; the declared deletion control is used and the map or recording is shown deleted; the physical camera or microphone off-control is shown to act.	all	CAM+FEED	Companion app; the device’s physical privacy control	8 min	Required by VRS-DOM-201 §6.6

6.6 Part 6 — Support life and recall reach

Extends the intrinsic offline-mode step: the device must remain useful and safe without the cloud, and a safety notice must be able to reach it.

ID	Step	Classes	Witness	Apparatus	Bound	Required by
DOM-110.12	Local operation without the cloud. With the home network disconnected from the internet (router uplink removed by the manufacturer’s own means) the device performs its core function from its local controls or local app mode; which features degrade is shown; the device remains safe (Part 3 interlocks still act).	all	CAM+FEED	Means of removing the internet uplink	8 min	Required by VRS-DOM-201 §6.7
DOM-110.13	Recall notification reaches the device. A test notification is pushed through the declared over-the-air channel and appears on the device (screen, light, voice) and in the companion app; where the device has no display, the app notification and the declared owner-contact route are shown.	all	CAM+FEED	Manufacturer’s notification test facility	5 min	Required by VRS-DOM-201 §6.9

6.7 Timing budget. All 13 steps sum to 99 min. Per class, with every applicable step declared: floor robots 99 min · lawn/outdoor consumer 99 min · companion/toy 99 min · kitchen/assistive appliance 73 min. Every class is within the 120 min bound of 4.6.

7 Worked example (informative)

A manufacturer of a hypothetical robot vacuum-mop (class: floor robots) declares: 0.35 m/s maximum speed; child-finger and small-finger probes at 12 mm and 5.6 mm; a small-object set of coins, a phone cable, a sock and pet pellets; 15 N contact limit at 150 mm height; a 60 mm ledge on hard floor, low pile and a 3 % reflectance dark carpet; a stair mock-up with 28 mm nosing and a 20 mm threshold; no motion while docked; a thermal-test mode that simulates 60 °C at the pack; return to dock at 15 % charge; warnings against mopping on carpet, running with the bumper taped and carrying more than 0.5 kg in the bin; detection of a non-genuine filter; app second factor by one-time code; local map storage with cloud backup off by default; local operation from the on-device buttons; and over-the-air notices to the device light ring and the app.

After VRS-GEN-203 Part E the sector steps run from 12:40. DOM-110.01: probes at every brush and wheel opening, no contact with a moving part (achieved). DOM-110.02: coins and pellets rejected by the intake, cable and sock stall the brush and stop the device with an alert, pull test on the bumper and brush cover shows nothing detaches (achieved). DOM-110.03: 11 N on the manufacturer’s gauge against 15 N, reverse on contact (achieved). DOM-110.04: three approaches per sample at the 60 mm padded ledge, all stops, including on the dark carpet (achieved). DOM-110.05: turns away at the stair head every time; crosses the 20 mm threshold (achieved). DOM-110.06: no motion docked; a plastic disc on the dock contacts does not start charging (achieved). DOM-110.07: thermal-test mode, charging stops with a thermal alert; 15 % charge, return to dock (achieved). DOM-110.08: 100 ml water on carpet, mop lifts and the device leaves the carpet as declared; bumper taped, refuses to start with a sensor alert (achieved). DOM-110.09: 0.6 kg in the bin, bin-full alert and stop; non-genuine filter detected with a warning, operation continues as declared (achieved). DOM-110.10: pairing requires the one-time code; sign-in without it refused (achieved). DOM-110.11: app shows map stored locally, cloud backup off, no third-party sharing; map deleted and shown gone; no camera on this model (achieved with note: microphone off-switch not fitted — none declared). DOM-110.12: uplink removed, cleaning run from the device button, app shows offline, dock interlock still acts (achieved). DOM-110.13: test notice appears on the light ring and in the app (achieved). Sector time 89 min; VRS-GEN-203 Part F follows.

The reviewer scores VRS-DOM-201 §6.2 from DOM-110.01 to DOM-110.03 and DOM-110.09 with GEN-203.16; §6.3 from DOM-110.04 and DOM-110.05; §6.1 is confirmed by those marks; §6.4 from DOM-110.06 and DOM-110.07 with GEN-203.07; §6.5 from DOM-110.06 to DOM-110.09 with GEN-203.14; §6.6 from DOM-110.10 and DOM-110.11 with GEN-203.32 and GEN-203.37; §6.7 from DOM-110.12 with GEN-203.36; §6.9 from DOM-110.13 with GEN-203.33. No number in this example is a requirement; every apparatus value came from the manufacturer’s own declaration.

Annex A (normative) — Criterion coverage

Every criterion of VRS-DOM-201 Clause 6 appears once with the intrinsic steps (VRS-GEN-203) and the sector steps (this Protocol) that witness it, or the statement that it has none.

Criterion	Subclause	Witnessed by
DOM-1 Consumer-safety anchor conformity	VRS-DOM-201 §6.1	no step — documentary criterion; its Certified row is confirmed by the marks of DOM-110.01, DOM-110.03, DOM-110.04
DOM-2 Child and pet contact protection	VRS-DOM-201 §6.2	intrinsic GEN-203.16; sector DOM-110.01, DOM-110.02, DOM-110.03, DOM-110.09
DOM-3 Cliff, stair and ledge behaviour	VRS-DOM-201 §6.3	sector DOM-110.04, DOM-110.05
DOM-4 Battery and charging fire safety	VRS-DOM-201 §6.4	intrinsic GEN-203.07; sector DOM-110.06, DOM-110.07
DOM-5 Foreseeable misuse tolerance	VRS-DOM-201 §6.5	intrinsic GEN-203.14; sector DOM-110.06, DOM-110.07, DOM-110.08, DOM-110.09
DOM-6 In-home data capture and account security	VRS-DOM-201 §6.6	intrinsic GEN-203.32, GEN-203.37; sector DOM-110.10, DOM-110.11
DOM-7 Support life and end-of-life behaviour	VRS-DOM-201 §6.7	intrinsic GEN-203.36; sector DOM-110.12
DOM-8 Consumer recall and incident record	VRS-DOM-201 §6.8	no step — scored at the Certified tier from the Verified evidence
DOM-9 Recall reach and remediation capability	VRS-DOM-201 §6.9	intrinsic GEN-203.33; sector DOM-110.13
DOM-10 Repairability and parts for owners	VRS-DOM-201 §6.10	no step — scored at the Certified tier from the Verified evidence

Bibliography

IEC 60335-1:2020, Household and similar electrical appliances — Safety — Part 1: General requirements.
IEC 60335-2-2:2019, Household and similar electrical appliances — Safety — Part 2-2: Particular requirements for vacuum cleaners and water-suction cleaning appliances.
IEC 60335-2-107:2017, Particular requirements for robotic battery powered electrical lawnmowers.
IEC 62133-2:2017, Secondary cells and batteries containing alkaline or other non-acid electrolytes — Safety requirements for portable sealed secondary lithium cells.
UL 2054:2011, Standard for Household and Commercial Batteries.
ISO 8124-1:2022, Safety of toys — Part 1: Safety aspects related to mechanical and physical properties.
EN 71-1:2014+A1:2018, Safety of toys — Part 1: Mechanical and physical properties.
IEC 61032:1997, Protection of persons and equipment by enclosures — Probes for verification.
ISO 13482:2014, Robots and robotic devices — Safety requirements for personal care robots.
ETSI EN 303 645 V2.1.1 (2020), Cyber Security for Consumer Internet of Things: Baseline Requirements.
Regulation (EU) 2023/988, General Product Safety Regulation (recall and traceability obligations).

Change history

Date	Version	Status	Change	Authority
2026-09-16	1.0.0 (draft)	Draft	Created for the VRS 2026 edition (rewrite Batch D; sector demonstration protocol). 13 steps in 6 Parts extending VRS-GEN-203 for the Domestic & Consumer criteria of VRS-DOM-201: test-probe and small-object contact protection, contact force on a small obstacle, ledge stops on declared floors including dark carpet, stair-head and threshold behaviour, charging interlock and thermal cut-off, misuse cases from the manual’s warnings list, account second factor and capture/deletion controls, local operation without the cloud, over-the-air recall reach. No child, animal or person is used in any step. Annex A covers all 10 criteria.	Rewrite instructions §6 (`VRS-XXX-110`); sector traceability matrix (DOM derived demonstration steps); CEO ruling 2026-09-15 that standards carry no catalogue identifiers