RAL Protocol & Register Standards (Robot Abstraction Layer)
The Robot Abstraction Layer (RAL) is the core hardware abstraction framework in isA Platform. It abstracts physical actuators across different manufacturers, kinematics, and buses into unified contracts, strictly preventing silent unit confusion between cognitive reasoning and hardware execution.
1. Native Units Standard
Physical actuators must never suffer from silent unit confusion (such as mistaking degrees for radians, or millimeters for meters). isA RAL enforces strict native unit standards.
| Hardware Family | Kinematics | Native Position Unit | Native Current/Torque Unit | Capability Manifest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RP Hand (Bionic Hand) | 6 active DoF (11 mechanical) | Absolute stroke 0..10000 | Per-thousand current 0..3000 | actuator, hand, motion |
| ORCA Industrial Arm | 7-axis joints | SI units (radians/m) | SI units (Newton-meter, Nm) | manipulator, motion |
| Mobile Chassis (AGV/AMR) | Differential / Mecanum omni | m/s, rad/s | Watts / percentage | base, navigation |
2. Register Mappings and Bidirectional Verification
Each RAL node exposes verified register ranges:
0x0000 - 0x000F: Hardware lifecycle state (OFFLINE, BOOTING, READY, MOVING, ESTOP, FAULT)
0x0010 - 0x001F: Watchdog lease countdown counter
0x0020 - 0x004F: Target command registers (Position, Velocity, Force Limit)
0x0050 - 0x007F: Feedback registers (Actual Position, Current, Tactile Reading)Only when Actual Position converges with Target Position within tolerance, and tactile force readings remain stable for 15ms without spikes, does RAL return completion_verified: true to the cloud.