By Sam Rathburn, Technical Manager, Safety & Product Leadership -- The enormous potential of autonomy and its expected impact on the non-road industry cannot be denied. From helping to create safer work environments and improving productivity to reducing the need for consumable resources, autonomous equipment is already beginning to make an indelible mark on how the agriculture and construction industries build, power, and feed the world around us. In order for technology to be developed for autonomous equipment to live up to its vast and yet-to-be-fully-realized potential, however, our industry relies heavily on an important consensus standards process. In recognizing the key role standards play, AEM and its members have been advocating for and participating in the creation of standards since 1968. A standard is an engineering specification that defines materials, products, processes, tests, test procedures, and performance criteria to achieve a specified purpose. Standards are important in that they: - Improve product and component compatibility - Reduce risk - Improve safety More specifically, product standards also lead to economic benefits. The specifications found in standards help drive the product design process. And by establishing a single set of global requirements, standards can help reduce trade barriers and promote international product marketability. The standards creation process itself is designed to ensure open and balanced participation, with wide recognition, acceptance, and harmonization. Two standards in particular, ISO3471:2008 and ISO10987:2012, have played a huge role in improving the safety, sustainability, and productivity of earth-moving machinery over the past decade-plus. There are many other examples. And now, given the enormous opportunity autonomy presents to the heavy equipment industry, standards around autonomous equipment are now starting to take center stage. Autonomous equipment is a developing technology that OEMs continue to advocate for today. This technology intends on creating a safer working environment for workers,