Nexus Observatory Sign inCreate account
Nexus Observatory

/

Edge compute & AI

/

Physical AI

Drones and robots, inside published red lines.

Physical AI, inside Edge compute & AI: drones for site survey and sensor placement, inspection robots for sites and facilities, collaborative robots, functional safety of AI-enabled machines and more. Every item is traced to its specification, from Canadian Aviation Regulations Part IX (RPAS) to ASTM F3411 (remote ID), and runs on the open Observatory Protocol.

Plan with usArchitectureThe protocol
Technologies
9
At the frontier
2
Protocol functions
3 of 8
Industries served
8

Reference design, drawn to scale · drag to turn · hover a part

01What it is

Physical AI and robotics (within red lines).

AI from model to accountable operation: edge inference and model optimisation, foundation models for Earth observation and geospatial work, time-series and sensor AI, multimodal fusion and supervised agentic operations, federated and privacy-preserving learning, physical AI and robotics within stated red lines, MLOps, evaluation and model risk, and the governance frameworks that apply to each. Compute placed where data is produced and decisions are needed: the device, far, near and regional edge tiers, multi-access edge computing, modular edge data centres including the AI tower in a box, servers and accelerators, storage, power and cooling, ruggedisation, fleet orchestration, OTA and GitOps, and the hardware trust that makes remote sites safe to run. Each technology below carries what it is, what we do with it, and the standard it is drawn against.

AI systems

Drones for site survey and sensor placement

Uncrewed aircraft for tower inspection, terrain survey and placing or retrieving sensors under aviation rules.

We design, integrate and operate.

Canadian Aviation Regulations Part IX (RPAS) · ASTM F3411 (remote ID) · JARUS SORA

AI systems

Inspection robots for sites and facilities

Ground robots that read gauges, scan thermals and check equipment in edge sites and plants.

We design, integrate and operate.

ISO 3691-4 (driverless industrial trucks) · ISO 13482 (personal care robots)

AI systems

Collaborative robots

Robots working alongside people with force and speed limits.

We design and integrate.

ISO 10218-2 (industrial robot systems) · ISO/TS 15066 (collaborative robots)

AI systems

Functional safety of AI-enabled machines

Safety lifecycle methods applied when learned components influence machine behaviour.

We design and support.

IEC 61508 · ISO 13849-1 · ISO/IEC TR 5469

Frontier · AI systems

Simulation and sim-to-real transfer

Training and testing robot behaviour in simulation, then validating on real hardware.

We design and integrate.

ISO/IEC 30173 (digital twin concepts)

Frontier · AI systems

Embodied foundation models

Large models that map perception and instructions to robot actions, an active research area.

We design.

ISO/IEC TR 5469

AI systems

Red lines: no weapons, targeting or unlawful tracking

Physical AI work excludes weapons, target selection and tracking of people without lawful authority and consent.

We design and operate.

OECD AI Principles · UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights

Compute and edge

AI tower in a box

A site package that combines RAN, accelerated compute, storage, power, cooling and backhaul at a tower or remote site.

We design, integrate, deploy, operate and maintain.

EN 50600 (data centre facilities and infrastructures) · ETSI EN 300 019 (environmental conditions for telecom equipment) · O-RAN WG6 Cloud Architecture and Deployment Scenarios

Compute and edge

Prefabricated and containerised modules

Factory-built enclosures and container data centres shipped and commissioned at site.

We design, integrate and deploy.

ISO 668 (freight container dimensions) · EN 50600

02Architecture

Where it sits, and what it speaks.

Physical AI draws on 2 domains and 16 layers of the spectrum; the highlighted layers carry this area. It speaks 3 of the protocol’s 8 core functions.

Edge tiers and multi-access edge computing

9

Modular edge data centres and the AI tower in a box

8

Servers and accelerators

8

Storage and edge data management

6

Cooling and ruggedisation

10

Kubernetes and fleet orchestration

8

OTA updates, GitOps and software supply chain

8

Confidential computing and hardware trust

8

Edge inference, model serving and optimisation

10

Foundation models for Earth observation and geospatial

9

Time-series and sensor AI

8

Multimodal fusion and agentic operations

7

Federated and privacy-preserving learning

7

Physical AI and robotics (within red lines)

7

MLOps

7

Evaluation, model risk and AI governance

10

01JoinIdentity, attestation quote, signed policy.

02AdmitAdmitted for a stated scope, nothing wider.

03DescribeWhat, where, how and by whom, with calibration.

04TimeOne clock across the grid, with its error bound.

05ObserveEvery value with quality and provenance.

06QualifyTested against the specification, state on record.

07FederateSigned exchange across grids and trust domains.

08OrchestrateSoftware and configuration by signed plan.

03On the grid

Every site joins one observing grid.

The open networks on the grid today, over real relief and the geodesic cells we count them into. A site built here enrols into the same grid.

04In the field

Where this runs, sector by sector.

4 deployment scenarios from the sector research that rely on physical ai.

Government and public safety

Wildfire camera network and fire-weather stations

Camera towers with edge inference and co-located fire-weather stations, utility- or agency-funded.
Industrial

Utility private LTE for the grid edge

Distribution automation, distributed-energy control and wildfire-risk weather on a dedicated band.
Agriculture

Farm or cooperative agromet network with crop models

Compact stations and soil probes feeding irrigation, disease and frost models.
Energy

Utility grid-edge private LTE

See industrial.

05Open and enterprise

Open by default. Enterprise by contract.

The open counterpart lives on the main site for anyone to read and run. The enterprise service is designed, deployed and operated with you, under contract.

Open, on the main site

  • Class assumptions
  • Power and thermal methods

Enterprise, on this site

  • MEC deployment
  • Edge AI sites

06The rest of the line

Edge compute & AI, area by area.

Edge compute & AI

AI tower

A modular edge data centre, delivered as one unit.
Edge compute & AI

MEC

Applications one hop from the radio.
Edge compute & AI

Edge AI

Inference on the stream, not the archive.
Edge compute & AI

Scientific compute

Run the model where the data lands.

Bring us the site.

Survey, design, deployment and operation for physical ai. The form names who receives your details.

Talk to uscontact@observatory.global

Drones and robots, inside published red lines.

Physical AI, inside Edge compute & AI: drones for site survey and sensor placement, inspection robots for sites and facilities, collaborative robots, functional safety of AI-enabled machines and more. Every item is traced to its specification, from Canadian Aviation Regulations Part IX (RPAS) to ASTM F3411 (remote ID), and runs on the open Observatory Protocol.

01What it is

02Architecture

Where it sits, and what it speaks.

03On the grid

04In the field

Where this runs, sector by sector.

05Open and enterprise

Open by default. Enterprise by contract.

The open counterpart lives on the main site for anyone to read and run. The enterprise service is designed, deployed and operated with you, under contract.

Open, on the main site
    Enterprise, on this site
      06The rest of the line

      Bring us the site.