(Human‑authored specification — governs testing, not test cases)

1. Purpose of This SDD

This SDD defines the governance, safety envelopes, autonomy boundaries, validation requirements, and evidence obligations for testing and system validation of a humanoid robot.

It ensures that all testing is:

• safe
• bounded
• repeatable
• auditable
• aligned with physical irreversibility constraints
• aligned with training and runtime governance

This SDD governs how testing must be conducted, not the individual test cases.

2. Scope

This SDD applies to:

• locomotion testing
• manipulation testing
• perception testing
• sensor fusion testing
• human‑interaction testing
• safety‑critical testing
• regression testing
• simulation‑to‑real validation
• hardware‑in‑the‑loop testing
• policy validation

It does not define:

• manufacturing tests (covered by Hardware SDD)
• training constraints (covered by Training SDD)
• runtime autonomy rules (covered by Runtime SDD)

3. Test‑Time Safety Invariants

These conditions must always hold during testing:

• Center of mass remains within stability polygon
• Joint velocity ≤ rated limits
• Joint torque ≤ rated limits
• Force application remains within safe envelopes
• Thermal load remains within safe margins
• Collision detection remains active
• Emergency stop overrides all commands
• Sensor fusion (vision + IMU) remains valid
• No single sensor failure may allow unsafe motion
• No irreversible action may occur without explicit approval

If any invariant is violated, the robot must halt immediately.

4. Test‑Time Negative Requirements

The robot must never during testing:

• operate with failed or uncalibrated sensors
• disable collision detection
• override safety interlocks
• exceed human‑proximity limits
• execute unvalidated trajectories
• apply force without force‑feedback confirmation
• exceed thermal or torque limits
• perform irreversible actions (dropping, crushing, falling)
• modify autonomy boundaries
• modify safety zones
• modify joint limits
• flash firmware
• generate new trajectories without validation

These are hard prohibitions.

5. Test‑Time Autonomy Boundaries

During testing, the robot may:

• execute validated trajectories
• perform manipulation tasks within force limits
• navigate within mapped zones
• collect telemetry
• run diagnostics
• operate in safe‑mode

The robot may not:

• generate new trajectories
• modify force limits
• modify joint limits
• modify safety envelopes
• disable safety systems
• operate outside the test environment
• perform irreversible actions without preconditions

6. Test Preconditions

Testing may only begin if:

• all sensors are calibrated
• all diagnostics pass
• test environment is validated
• human safety perimeter is established
• emergency stop is functional
• test operator is present
• robot is in IDLE state
• no active error states exist
• all required logs are enabled

7. Test Postconditions

Testing is only considered complete if:

• no safety invariants were violated
• no negative requirements were violated
• no drift was detected
• all evidence logs are complete
• all error codes are resolved
• robot returns to IDLE or SHUTDOWN state
• test operator signs off

8. Test Environment Requirements

The test environment must:

• include physical safety barriers
• include human‑safe zones
• include soft‑impact surfaces for fall testing
• include calibrated markers for perception tests
• include controlled lighting
• include controlled floor friction
• include controlled obstacles
• include emergency stop access

The environment must not include:

• untrained humans
• uncontrolled objects
• reflective surfaces that break perception
• unbounded space

9. Test‑Time State Machine

Allowed states during testing:

• IDLE
• TASK_EXECUTION
• ERROR_RECOVERY
• SAFE_MODE
• SHUTDOWN

Forbidden transitions:

• ERROR_RECOVERY → TASK_EXECUTION
• SAFE_MODE → TASK_EXECUTION
• TASK_EXECUTION → BOOT

Testing must not proceed if the robot enters an undefined state.

10. Escalation Rules

If:

• force deviation > 10% → halt
• thermal rise > 5°C/min → cooling mode
• human < 0.5 m → reduce speed to 10%
• human < 0.25 m → halt
• IMU drift > threshold → recalibration required
• vision failure → safe‑mode
• any invariant violation → halt

Escalation actions must be logged.

11. Evidence Requirements

Every test must produce:

• joint trajectory logs
• force‑torque logs
• IMU traces
• vision frames (hashed)
• thermal profile
• battery profile
• error codes
• safety interlock events
• diagnostic results
• environment configuration snapshot
• operator signoff

Evidence must be:

• immutable
• timestamped
• cryptographically hashed
• linked to test ID
• stored for audit

12. Physical Irreversibility Constraints

Testing must explicitly prevent:

• falls
• collisions
• over‑torque
• over‑force
• over‑velocity
• thermal runaway
• dropping payloads
• crushing objects
• unsafe human contact

Testing must include:

• reversible action constraints
• safety envelope constraints
• human‑proximity constraints
• force‑feedback constraints
• trajectory validation constraints

13. Simulation‑to‑Real Validation Requirements

Simulation must:

• match physical robot dynamics
• include domain randomization
• include sensor noise
• include perturbation events
• enforce safety envelopes

Policies must be validated in:

• simulation
• hardware‑in‑the‑loop
• controlled physical environment
• supervised human environment

14. Regression Testing Requirements

Regression testing must include:

• locomotion regression
• manipulation regression
• perception regression
• sensor fusion regression
• safety envelope regression
• drift detection regression

Regression failures must block deployment.

15. Approval & Governance

Testing must be approved by:

• robotics engineering
• safety engineering
• AI governance
• test operator

Testing must not proceed without all approvals.

This is the complete Testing SDD — the governance contract for humanoid validation.

It defines:

• what must be validated
• what must never happen
• what invariants must hold
• what evidence must be produced
• what boundaries constrain autonomy
• what conditions must be met before and after testing
• how physical irreversibility is prevented

This is the missing discipline that makes humanoid QA safe, governed, and auditable.