Spec-Driven Development SDD — Humanoid Runtime Autonomy & Safety (Runtime SDD)

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Human‑authored, governs what the robot is allowed to do in the real world)

1. Purpose

Defines the runtime safety envelopes, autonomy boundaries, invariants, escalation rules, and evidence requirements for humanoid operation in real environments.

This is the SDD that the Runtime Harness enforces.

2. Scope

Applies to:

  • locomotion
  • manipulation
  • perception
  • human‑interaction
  • task execution
  • error recovery
  • safe‑mode operation

3. Runtime Safety Invariants

Must always hold:

  • center of mass stability
  • torque limits
  • velocity limits
  • force limits
  • thermal limits
  • collision detection
  • valid sensor fusion
  • human‑proximity limits
  • emergency stop priority

4. Negative Requirements

The robot must never:

  • exceed force/torque limits
  • exceed thermal limits
  • disable safety systems
  • override interlocks
  • operate with failed sensors
  • execute unvalidated trajectories
  • perform irreversible actions
  • modify autonomy boundaries
  • modify safety zones

5. Autonomy Boundaries

Allowed:

  • validated trajectories
  • force‑limited manipulation
  • mapped‑zone navigation
  • safe‑mode operation
  • diagnostics

Forbidden:

  • new trajectory generation
  • firmware flashing
  • modifying limits
  • disabling safety systems
  • operating near untrained humans

6. Runtime State Machine

Allowed states:

  • IDLE
  • TASK_EXECUTION
  • ERROR_RECOVERY
  • SAFE_MODE
  • SHUTDOWN

Forbidden transitions:

  • ERROR_RECOVERY → TASK_EXECUTION
  • SAFE_MODE → TASK_EXECUTION

7. Escalation Rules

If:

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

8. Evidence Requirements

Runtime must produce:

  • trajectory logs
  • force‑torque logs
  • IMU traces
  • vision hashes
  • thermal profiles
  • error codes
  • safety interlock events

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