Specialist translation for robotics & automation Automation, translated to standard and built to scale.
In robotics and automation, a mistranslated string does not just read badly, it stops a production cell. Specialist translation by native-speaker subject specialists who know the terminology of ISO 10218 and the EU Machinery Regulation, with API connections that plug straight into your CI/CD pipeline.
Audited and certified to four standardsTranslation partner to robot manufacturers, system integrators and automation specialists
- Segments: Cobots, industrial robots, AGVs and AMRs, PLC and CNC controls, intralogistics, Industry 4.0.
- File formats: JSON, YAML, XML/DITA, Markdown, PO files. Code variables locked by regex, so nothing breaks on re-import.
- Standards: ISO 10218 (robot safety), EU Machinery Regulation 2023/1230, IEC 82079-1, ISO 17100, ISO 18587.
- Cost: AI-assisted MTPE on large volumes, around 4,000 words a day rather than 2,000. With translation memory you pay for a repeated string once.
HMI and teach pendants
Why a truncated warning is a safety problem
Localising the HMI on a teach pendant is one of the hardest translation jobs there is, and vocabulary is the easy part. The constraints come from the hardware: a fixed display, a fixed character budget and an operator who has to read the screen in a noisy cell, often through a visor. That is why it belongs with software localisation rather than with document translation.
The core issue is text expansion. Going from English into a compounding language such as German adds 30% to 50% to the string length. "Settings", at eight characters, becomes "Einstellungen" at thirteen. On a pendant with hard display limits, sometimes eight characters for a programme name or forty per line, that produces truncated labels, overlapping UI elements or a stop command that runs off the edge of the screen. An unreadable warning in a loud production environment is a risk nobody can quantify.
Alongside the translatable text, HMI string files carry logical placeholders such as ${axis_name} or %d mm/s. If an agency without the technical background translates one of those, deletes it or changes its punctuation, the controller's parser fails at boot. The result is a production cell at a standstill. tolingo takes that risk out with regex-based masking: every variable is read-only in the editor and cannot be touched by the translator.
Cobots and ISO 10218
The documentation your CE marking stands on
The ISO 10218 series was overhauled in 2025. It now folds in ISO/TS 15066, which used to sit outside the main standard as a separate specification for cobot safety, and it replaces "collaborative robot" with the more exact "collaborative application". The reasoning behind that change matters for terminology work: a robot on its own is never safe, only the application is, end effector and workpiece included.
In parallel, the EU Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 becomes mandatory in January 2027. It requires operating instructions in the language the destination member state has designated, in terms the users can readily follow. A narrow exception applies to highly technical maintenance instructions intended only for trained specialists.
A faulty translation in the risk assessment, on the warning labels or in the manuals puts the CE marking for the whole robot application in question, and the liability sits with whoever places it on the market. Our specialist translators work from carefully maintained sector termbases, covering biomechanical limit values, emergency stop systems and safe torque off.
| Standard / regulation | Scope | What it means for robotics translation |
|---|---|---|
| ISO 10218-1/-2 (2025) | Robot safety (manufacturers and integrators) | Terminology for collaborative applications, biomechanical limit values, safety functions. |
| EU Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 | EU, from January 2027 | Operating instructions in the language the destination member state designates. The documentation is legally part of the product. |
| ISO 17100:2015 | Translation services | Mandatory four-eyes principle. Required for safety-critical documentation. |
| ISO 18587:2017 | Post-editing of machine translation | The quality standard for AI-assisted MTPE. Lets large volumes scale safely. |
| IEC 82079-1 | Information for use | Structural requirements for operating instructions. Warnings follow the signal word hierarchy. |
| ISO/IEC 27001 | Information security | Protection of proprietary control software and design data. Servers in Germany. |
Hardware vs software
Two documentation worlds, one workflow
Robotics companies run two documentation worlds at once. Hardware documentation, operating instructions and risk assessments, follows linear milestones with long lead times. Software documentation, API docs, HMI strings and SDK references, changes several times a day. We handle both and keep them in step.
| Dimension | Hardware documentation | Software localisation |
|---|---|---|
| Formats | DITA/XML, InDesign, FrameMaker. Modular single sourcing in a CCMS. | JSON, YAML, Markdown, PO files. Docs as code in the Git repository. |
| Rhythm | Linear milestones (V-model), tied to hardware releases. | Continuous localisation through the CI/CD pipeline (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI). |
| What matters most | Compliance (EU 2023/1230, ISO 10218). Terminological accuracy. | Variable protection (regex), character limits on HMI displays, fast turnaround. |
| tolingo workflow | Specialist translation under the four-eyes principle (ISO 17100). Layout adaption in the target format. | Automatic Git push, TMS with regex, AI plus human review, merge request back. |
What we translate for automation
From the risk assessment to the API reference
We support robot manufacturers (OEMs), system integrators and plant builders across the whole product lifecycle, from design through certification to after-sales. Our language coverage runs to more than 200 pairs, including everything the automation industry needs: English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, French, Spanish, Turkish and the Eastern European languages.
Risk assessments to ISO 12100, EU declarations of conformity and safety data sheets, with the exact ISO 10218 terminology the CE marking rests on.
Localisation of control UIs, error messages and warnings. In-context checking of string lengths on industrial displays. Variables protected by regex.
REST API references, SDK guides and tutorials in Markdown. Continuous localisation through the Git connection. Code blocks and frontmatter stay untouched.
Operating instructions to IEC 82079-1 for industrial robots, cobots, AGVs and CNC controls. Translated straight into DITA/XML, with layout adaption.
Localisation of PLC error messages, CNC control UIs and diagnostic displays. Display string lengths and character limits are handled during translation, not afterwards.
Product catalogues, trade fair material and websites for international sales. Technical precision, written in the register the target market expects.
How a robotics translation project runs
From upload to compliant delivery
- Scoping and choice of workflow
We look at document type, formats and target languages. Hardware documentation (DITA, InDesign) goes to human translation under ISO 17100. Software strings (JSON, YAML, Markdown) go to continuous localisation through a Git API connection.
- System integration and variable protection
For software projects we connect to your repository over API and webhooks. Our regex routines lock every code variable, HTML tag and ICU message format as read-only. For hardware we import your termbase and translation memory.
- Specialist translation with in-context review
Native-speaker specialists with automation experience translate using translation memory and sector glossaries. For HMI strings they work in in-context editors that show how the string will sit on the display.
- Specialist revision (four-eyes principle)
A second, independent specialist checks the work to ISO 17100: compliance, terminological consistency and the correct signal words in warnings.
- Delivery in the original format
Software strings come back as an automatic merge request into your Git repository. Hardware documentation is delivered in DITA/XML, InDesign or PDF. Standard turnaround is 3 to 6 working days. For a release deadline, express within 24 hours.
"I'm delighted. What I like most is the very friendly, personal service and the high quality of the translation."
Cobot manual, HMI strings or API docs?
Tell us about your project. We will find the workflow that fits, from human translation through to continuous localisation.
Free · no obligation · ISO 17100 and ISO 27001 certifiedCost and turnaround
Figures you can put in a project budget
Safety-critical documentation, warnings and risk assessments, is translated by people. There is no version of that job a machine finishes on its own. For high-volume software strings and catalogues we bring the cost down with AI-assisted post-editing (ISO 18587): around 4,000 words a day rather than 2,000, and we pass that saving on.
Robotics documentation repeats itself heavily: standard clauses, warnings, error messages. With translation memory you pay for a repeated string once, which is where the saving on a large string set comes from, and the file analysis shows how big it is in your repository. Standard turnaround is 3 to 6 working days. For a release deadline, express within 24 hours.
Secure. Scalable. Wired into your CI/CD pipeline.
We translate your robotics documentation, from the risk assessment down to the last HMI string.
ISO 17100 and ISO 27001 certified · since 2007Glossary: robotics localisation
Terms for R&D, technical writing and DevOps
- Teach pendant
- The handheld control unit used to program, calibrate and diagnose an industrial robot. Localising its HMI calls for strict string length checking and variable protection, because the display size is fixed and the operator reads it under pressure.
- Collaborative application (ISO 10218)
- Since the 2025 revision, the normatively correct term for human-robot interaction. It replaces the looser "collaborative robot", because safety depends on the whole application rather than on the robot alone.
- Continuous localisation
- An automated workflow in which a translation management system connects over API directly to the client's Git repository. New commits are picked up automatically, translated and returned as a merge request.
- Regex variable protection
- Automatic masking of code variables such as
${axis_name},%dand ICU message formats in localisation files. It stops a translator from breaking the syntax of the software by accident. - MTPE (machine translation post-editing)
- A hybrid workflow to ISO 18587: the machine produces the first draft and a human specialist corrects and finalises it. Ideal for very large volumes at a steady quality level.
- DITA (Darwin Information Typing Architecture)
- The XML-based standard for modular, reusable technical documentation. It enables single sourcing in a component content management system (CCMS) and needs a localisation workflow that protects the tags.
Common questions
Robotics, automation and localisation
${...}, %d, {...}), HTML tag and ICU message format is masked automatically and locked as read-only for the translator, so the syntax of your software comes back exactly as it went in.