Skip to content

URML (open robot intent language): a validated intent layer above Care-O-bot — request for comment #833

Description

@idoco2003

Hi Care-O-bot / Fraunhofer IPA maintainers,

URML (urml.dev) is a small, Apache-2.0 language for describing robot intent: it validates a request against a capability manifest and a safety envelope, then dispatches. Care-O-bot is one of the original open service mobile manipulators, and its design target — assistive tasks in human environments — is exactly the kind of work a validated intent layer is for.

Nothing here asks the project to adopt, host, or maintain anything. This is a request for comment.

URML's ROS 2 runtime meets the cob stack on its ROS surface; "fetch the bottle from the kitchen and bring it here" lowers onto a move_to (the omnidirectional base) plus a grasp (the arm) — the decide-then-do split made concrete. Validate-before-actuate refuses an undeclared object or out-of-reach grasp before the arm moves, which matters for assistive tasks around people. The base + torso + arm + head manifest is a thorough test of URML's capability model.

Two real questions: (1) Is URML's ROS surface the right seam for a validated-intent layer above Care-O-bot? (2) What should a URML capability manifest declare to describe a Care-O-bot-class service manipulator honestly — drive type, torso, arm reach/DOF, gripper + graspable classes, navigation bounds?

Full write-up: https://github.com/URML-MARS/URML/blob/main/docs/rfcs/0428-care-o-bot-outreach.md

Thanks for Care-O-bot; one of the foundational open service-robot platforms is a meaningful place for this discussion.

Ido Yahalomi (URML, greenvh@gmail.com)

AI-assisted prose, maintainer-reviewed before posting (see VIBE.md). Human-only correspondence available on request.

Metadata

Metadata

Assignees

No one assigned

    Labels

    No labels
    No labels

    Type

    No type

    Projects

    No projects

    Milestone

    No milestone

    Relationships

    None yet

    Development

    No branches or pull requests

    Issue actions