placeauth

Spatial Policy Protocol · Open specification

Permissions for the physical world.

PlaceAuth is open infrastructure for spatial authorization — giving places a clear, machine-readable way to say what autonomous systems may do inside them.

Explore SPP View on GitHub

SPP 0.1 · EARLY DEVELOPMENT · Open source

PLACE POLICY / 03
LOBBYPERMITLABORATORYCONDITIONALPRIVATE OFFICEDENYPATIENT AREAVIDEO: PERMIT · RETENTION: DENY permitconditionaldeny
PLACE-DEFINEDVENDOR-NEUTRALMACHINE-READABLEOPEN BY DESIGN

01 / THE GAP

The physical world has access control. Autonomous systems need it too.

Doors have locks. Networks have firewalls. A robot entering a building needs an equivalent layer of permission — one that understands place, purpose, and consequence.

01IDENTITYWho is acting?
+
02SPATIAL POLICYWhat is allowed here?SPP
+
03AUTONOMOUS ACTIONWhat will happen?
?

THE CORE QUESTION

May Actor X perform Action Y in Space Z under Context C?

SPP 0.1

02 / THE PROTOCOL

One question. Six action families.

SPP V0 keeps the protocol deliberately small: a place publishes policy, an actor asks, and an enforcement point receives a decision.

↝

Movement

Enter, exit, traverse, navigate, dock.

enter · traverse · exit
◌

Sensing

Observe people, spaces, objects, and signals.

lidar · video · audio
⌁

Data

Collect, store, transmit, or delete place-derived data.

retain · export · erase
＋

Manipulation

Move, pick up, touch, or change physical things.

grasp · dispense · contact
⌂

Infrastructure

Use doors, elevators, charging, and building systems.

door · elevator · charge
◎

Human interaction

Approach, notify, assist, or hand off to a person.

approach · notify · assist

03 / READ THE SPEC

Policies are readable by people and machines.

A policy is a signed document attached to a place. Decisions are explicit, short-lived, and inspectable.

hospital-floor-3.yaml
space: hospital.example/floor/3
inherits: hospital.example
policy:
  movement:
    enter: permit
  sensing:
    video: deny
  data:
    retention: deny
  infrastructure:
    elevator: permit
  manipulation:
    pharmacy: conditional
PERMITEnter lobbypurpose: medication_delivery
DENYRecord videozone: patient_area
CONDITIONALEnter pharmacyrequires: staff_authorization
PERMITUse elevatorfloor: 3 · expires: 30s

04 / ARCHITECTURE

A thin layer between intent and action.

SPP complements identity, fleet coordination, navigation, and building systems. It answers the place-specific question at the enforcement point.

01AUTONOMOUS
SYSTEMactor + purpose
→
02SPP ENFORCEMENT
POINTrequest + context
→
03SPATIAL POLICY
DECISIONsigned response
→
PERMITDENYCONDITIONAL
01

Discover

Find the policy endpoint for a place.

02

Request

Send actor, action, space, and context.

03

Decide

Evaluate inherited policy and constraints.

04

Enforce

Make the physical action conditional on the result.

05 / MANY PLACES

One protocol. Different boundaries.

Policies belong to the people and organizations responsible for a place.

HEALTHCARE

Clinic

Delivery robot enters reception.

PERMITMedication delivery
LOGISTICS

Warehouse

Forklift crosses a human-only aisle.

DENYZone restriction
RESIDENTIAL

Home

Vacuum stores a room scan.

CONDITIONALResident consent
CAMPUS

Campus

Service robot uses an elevator.

PERMITRegistered fleet

06 / AN OPEN LAYER

Fits the systems already in motion.

SPP is intentionally complementary. It can inform existing robotics, policy, and building infrastructure without replacing them.

ROS 2
Open-RMF
SPP
OPA / Rego
W3C WoT

Conceptual compatibility, not an affiliation or endorsement.

OPEN BY DESIGN

Trust needs inspectable boundaries.

PlaceAuth is building the protocol in public: small primitives, clear examples, and room for the ecosystem to shape what comes next.

Explore the organization
01Place-definedThe owner of a place sets its boundaries.
02Vendor-neutralPolicies should travel with the place.
03AuditableDecisions carry reasons and expiry.

PROJECT STATUS

Early, usable, open.

EARLY DEVELOPMENT
SpecificationSPP 0.1Available
JSON SchemasPolicy · request · decisionAvailable
Reference serverPython + OPA/RegoAvailable
ROS 2 integrationEnforcement stubAvailable
Simulation demoClinic permit / deny / conditionalPlanned

ABOUT PLACEAUTH

Authorization that understands where you are.

PlaceAuth is the parent project for open protocols that make autonomous systems safer and more accountable in shared physical spaces.

GET IN TOUCH

GENERALhello@placeauth.org
STANDARDS & PROTOCOLstandards@placeauth.org
SECURITYsecurity@placeauth.org