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ARVIS Projection Specification v1 (Draft)

The key words MUST, MUST NOT, REQUIRED, SHALL, SHALL NOT, SHOULD, SHOULD NOT, RECOMMENDED, MAY, and OPTIONAL in this document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119 and RFC 8174 when, and only when, they appear in all capitals, as shown here.

Status

  • Version: v0.1 (Draft)
  • Scope: Normative (Projection Layer)
  • Component: ARVIS Projection Layer

1. Purpose

The Projection Layer defines how raw runtime observations are transformed into a validated, bounded, and certifiable representation usable by the Gate.

Projection is the interface between observation and decision.

It determines: - whether the system operates within a valid domain, - whether stability assumptions hold, - whether the Gate can safely evaluate a decision.

2. Core Principles

2.1 Projection is a Certification Step

Projection MUST: - validate domain assumptions, - produce a structured certificate, - expose all uncertainty explicitly.

Projection is NOT: - a simple transformation, - a hidden heuristic, - a silent approximation.

2.2 Domain-Bounded Validity

Projection is only valid within a defined domain:

O_valid ⊂ Observation Space

Outside this domain: - projection MUST be marked invalid - the Gate MUST NOT produce ALLOW - the system MUST degrade to REQUIRE_CONFIRMATION or ABSTAIN

2.3 Explicit Uncertainty

Projection MUST explicitly expose:

  • domain validity,
  • safety,
  • compatibility with stability constraints,
  • proximity to domain boundaries.

2.4 Separation from Decision

Projection MUST NOT: - produce a verdict, - apply decision logic, - override Gate behavior.

Projection only informs, never decides.

3. ProjectionCertificate Structure

Projection MUST produce a ProjectionCertificate object:

ProjectionCertificate:
  schema_version: str
  available: bool

  domain_valid: bool | null
  is_projection_safe: bool | null
  lyapunov_compatibility_ok: bool | null

  margin_to_boundary: float | null

  certification_level: str
  projection_domain: str | null

  proof_status: str
  warning_codes: list[str]

3.1 Projection Representation in IR

In ARVIS Core v1, the projection field in the Cognitive IR MUST represent the ProjectionCertificate.

No separate wrapper is required.

Therefore:

  • ir.projection MUST be a ProjectionCertificate-compliant object
  • no implicit transformation is allowed between projection and certificate
  • the projection object MUST be directly serializable

4. Field Definitions

4.1 available

  • Indicates whether projection is available
  • If False:
    • all other fields MUST be null
    • Gate MUST degrade verdict (≤ REQUIRE_CONFIRMATION)

4.2 domain_valid

  • Indicates whether the observation lies inside O_valid

Rules: - False → Gate MUST ABSTAIN - True → does NOT guarantee safety

4.3 is_projection_safe

  • Indicates whether the projected state is safe for evaluation
  • MUST reflect projection-level constraints

4.4 lyapunov_compatibility_ok

  • Indicates compatibility with stability assumptions
  • MUST align with Gate stability inputs

Rules: - False → Gate MUST NOT ALLOW

4.5 margin_to_boundary

  • Distance to domain boundary
  • Used for early warning and degradation

Rules: - Small margin SHOULD trigger warning_codes - Zero or negative margin → domain_valid = False

4.6 certification_level

Allowed values:

  • NONE
  • BASIC
  • CHECKED
  • CERTIFIED
  • RESTRICTED_DOMAIN

Semantics:

Level Meaning NONE no projection available BASIC minimal projection CHECKED constraints verified CERTIFIED domain validated RESTRICTED_DOMAIN valid only in limited domain

4.7 projection_domain

Describes the domain where projection is valid

Examples: - "local_linear_region" - "bounded_disturbance" - "projection_domain_v1"

4.8 proof_status

Allowed values:

  • none
  • partial
  • validated
  • formal

This field describes the level of formal validation.

4.9 warning_codes

  • MUST follow Reason Code Registry
  • MUST NOT directly affect verdict
  • MUST reflect non-critical conditions

Examples: - projection_boundary - projection_low_margin

5. Projection Semantics

Projection MUST provide:

  • domain membership (domain_valid)
  • safety assessment (is_projection_safe)
  • stability compatibility (lyapunov_compatibility_ok)

Projection MUST NOT:

  • extrapolate silently outside domain
  • hide invalid states
  • merge multiple interpretations into one output

6. Interaction with Gate

The Gate MUST:

  • consume projection_summary
  • enforce projection constraints
  • map projection failures to reason codes
  • propagate invalidity to verdict

Examples: - Condition Gate Behavior - projection_available = False ≤ REQUIRE_CONFIRMATION - domain_valid = False ABSTAIN - lyapunov_compatibility_ok = False no ALLOW

Additional Gate Constraints

The Gate MUST enforce:

  • is_projection_safe = False → verdict ≠ ALLOW
  • domain_valid = False → verdict = ABSTAIN
  • available = False → verdict ≤ REQUIRE_CONFIRMATION

7 Projection in IR (Normative Requirement)

Projection MUST be included in the Cognitive IR.

It MUST be:

  • preserved through normalization,
  • included in serialization,
  • included in hashing,
  • replayable without loss of information.

Projection omission is a compliance failure.

8. Interaction with ValidityEnvelope

Projection MUST be consistent with ValidityEnvelope:

  • projection_available MUST match
  • domain violations MUST propagate to validity
  • no contradiction allowed

9. Invariants

The ProjectionCertificate MUST satisfy:

  • If available = False → all other fields are null
  • If domain_valid = False → margin_to_boundary ≤ 0 or null
  • No contradictory flags allowed
  • All warning_codes MUST be valid registry codes

10. Compliance Requirements

An implementation is Projection-compliant if:

  • ProjectionCertificate is valid and complete
  • domain validity is enforced
  • invariants are respected
  • Gate behavior matches projection output
  • no silent fallback occurs

11. Forbidden Practices

The system MUST NOT:

  • claim projection availability without validation
  • omit domain invalidity
  • overstate certification level
  • mix projection and decision logic
  • suppress projection errors

12. Non-Claims

Projection does NOT guarantee:

  • full-system correctness
  • global validity
  • perfect representation of observation space
  • absence of modeling error

Projection guarantees only:

  • bounded validity within declared domain
  • explicit uncertainty exposure

13. Future Extensions (Non-Normative)

Planned extensions:

  • multi-domain projection support
  • probabilistic projection confidence
  • formal proof integration
  • cross-agent projection consistency