18722.
(a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:(1) “Defense industrial company” means an entity that has, is demonstrably seeking, or demonstrably intends to seek a contract with the United States Department of Defense to design, manufacture, develop, modify, upgrade, or produce a robotic device, and includes any employees or agents authorized by that defense industrial company to engage in activities relating to such a contract on its
behalf.
(2) “Robotic device,” means a mechanical device capable of locomotion, navigation, flight, or movement and that operates at a distance from its operator or supervisor based on commands or in response to sensor data, or a combination of those, including mobile robots, unmanned ground vehicles, and unmanned aircraft.
(3) “Weapon” means a device specifically designed to threaten or cause death, incapacitation, or great bodily injury to a person, including, but not limited to, stun guns, firearms, machine guns, chemical agents or irritants, kinetic impact projectiles, weaponized lasers, flamethrowers, and explosive devices.
(b) It shall be unlawful for a person to manufacture, modify, sell, transfer, or operate a
robotic device equipped or mounted with a weapon.
(c) A violation of this section is an infraction punishable by a fine of at least one hundred dollars ($100) but not more than two thousand dollars ($2,000).
(d) This section shall not apply to any of the following:
(1) A defense industrial company with respect to either of the following:
(A) Robotic devices developed within the scope of an existing contract with the United States Department of Defense.
(B) Robotic devices developed for the sole purpose of obtaining a contract with the United States Department of Defense, if the company has received a federal registration number with the federal System for Award Management, or similar registration under any successor federal system.
(2) A robotic device developer, manufacturer, researcher, or producer who modifies or operates a robotic device equipped or mounted with a weapon for the sole purpose of developing or testing technology that is intended to detect, prevent, or mitigate the unauthorized weaponization of a robotic device.
(3) The United States Department of Defense, and any of its departments, agencies, or units.
(4) (A) A nonautonomous robotic device designed and built specifically for the purpose of participating in a robot competition and equipped with weapons typically used for that purpose.
(B) For the purposes of this paragraph, “robot competition” means an event or instruction organized and supervised by an educational institution, summer camp, sports league, television or film entertainment company, or similar organization, and as to
which reasonable safety precautions have been taken to protect participants, event staff, and spectators.
(C) This paragraph does not allow the equipping or mounting of any firearm to a robotic device.
(5) The manufacture, transportation, possession, sale, or rental of blank-firing weapons and the weapon’s respective attachments, to persons authorized or permitted to acquire and possess these weapons or attachments for use solely as props for a motion picture, television, or digital video production or entertainment event.
(6) Academic research at an institution of higher learning located in California.
(e) It shall not be a violation of this act for
government officials, acting in the public performance of their duties, to operate a robotic device equipped or mounted with a weapon or disrupter technology, when used for the purpose of the disposal of explosives or suspected explosives, for development, evaluation, testing, education or training relating to the use of such technologies for the purpose of disposing of explosives or suspected explosives, or for the destruction of property in cases where there is an imminent, deadly threat to human life.