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Physical AI

Drones and robots, inside published red lines.

Physical AI, inside Frontier labs: 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
3

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. 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

AI systems

Performance evaluation

Task metrics, test design and reporting that show how a model performs and where it does not.

We design and operate.

ISO/IEC TS 4213 (classification performance assessment) · ISO/IEC 25059 (quality model for AI systems)

AI systems

Robustness testing

Testing under noise, shift, missing inputs and edge cases.

We design and operate.

ISO/IEC TR 24029-1 · ISO/IEC 24029-2 (robustness of neural networks)

02Architecture

Where it sits, and what it speaks.

Physical AI draws on 4 domains and 32 layers of the spectrum; the highlighted layers carry this area. It speaks 3 of the protocol’s 8 core functions.

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

O-RAN architecture and open interfaces

7

Fronthaul (7.2x split) and transport

8

RAN intelligent controllers, xApps and rApps

8

SMO, O-Cloud and accelerated L1

8

AI-RAN: shared accelerated infrastructure

7

AI/ML in the air interface and network management

8

Energy saving and efficiency

6

Testing, integration and security

8

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, filtered to the space domain this area serves. A site built here enrols into the same grid.

04In the field

Where this runs, sector by sector.

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

Scientific

Research-infrastructure gap-filling nodes

Observatory-as-a-service for research infrastructures that must extend coverage under their own quality rules.
Transport

Non-federal automated weather observing for small airports

Aviation-grade stations under the civil-aviation authority’s advisory circular; pricing not researched.
Defence-adjacent (civil dual-use)

Research and development route through the defence science programme

A science-and-technology programme on all-domain situational awareness.

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

  • Benchmark methods
  • Pilot reports, published either way

Enterprise, on this site

  • Research pilots
  • Prototype engineering

06The rest of the line

Frontier labs, area by area.

Frontier labs

Pilots

New technology, a real site, a written plan.
Frontier labs

Benchmarks

Open data, one method, comparable results.
Frontier labs

AI-RAN and 6G

Sensing and communication on shared compute.
Frontier labs

Space and NTN

Direct-to-device and new payloads, tested.
Frontier labs

Into the product

From a result to a qualified release.

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 Frontier labs: 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.