From bits to atoms: A survey of cross-layer safety in Embodied AI

Summary

This survey examines safety in Embodied AI, where digital failures and attacks can cause physical harm. It organizes the field through a four-layer reference architecture (physical interaction, system and middleware, algorithm and decision, and cloud-edge and data) to trace how vulnerabilities and faults propagate across layers. It also systematizes composite attack chains, reviews multi-layered defenses and representative safety benchmarks, and argues for unifying software alignment with hardware constraints.

Topics

• Robotics and embodied AI