Published

part

vr.tr.part-artifact · thing-part-artifact

Enable an AI agent to recognise a physical part of a human artifact, assess its fitness for its role, and determine justified actions affecting the part and its whole.

Thing Registry Physical world and living systems PHY.OBJ

Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Classifiers What it is Why it exists Distinguishing features What robots and AI may and may not do Moral aspects Owners Links to other meta-models Identity and identifiers Direct properties Recognition Capabilities and actions Hazards and failure modes Standards and interfaces Context of use Sources

Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled

5 bundles · 10 layers · 10 findings · 20 questions

Part identity and boundary Establishes which physical thing is being assessed and why it counts as part of a particular artifact.

Whole-relative identity

Locates the part in an explicit artifact relationship and level of decomposition.

Reference whole and position

Record the artifact that supplies the reference whole and the part's actual, intended, or previous position within it.

Relative to which human artifact is this candidate less than the whole? definition
What evidence establishes its installed, intended, or former relationship to that artifact? provenance

Physical and instance boundaries

Separates the assessed physical instance from adjacent material, nested parts, and design identifiers.

Included extent and identifiers

Record the included material or components, boundary evidence, and identifiers that distinguish the instance from its design class.

Which surfaces, joints, or explicitly defined limits separate this part from neighbouring parts and the rest of the artifact? boundary
Which markings or records identify this physical instance, and which identify only its design or revision? provenance

Contribution and dependencies Connects the part to the work, structure, or other requirement it supports in the whole.

Assigned contribution

States why this part is present in the specified artifact.

Role and required performance

Record the part's contribution and the requirements that make that contribution adequate.

What does this part support, locate, contain, protect, transmit, transform, or otherwise contribute in this artifact? definition
Which measurable or observable requirements establish that this contribution is adequate? measurement

Dependency and absence

Identifies neighbouring dependencies and consequences of losing the part's contribution.

Effects of loss or removal

Record what depends on this part and what must change if it fails or is removed.

Which other parts or artifact functions depend on this part for support, retention, alignment, sealing, or transfer? boundary
What restrictions or temporary provisions are required before the artifact can remain in use with this part absent or ineffective? action

Interfaces and installation Describes how the part fits, connects, and becomes correctly installed in the whole.

Mating and transfer

Defines the interfaces through which the part meets or interacts with neighbouring parts.

Interface requirements

Record mating counterparts and the geometric or transfer conditions required at each relevant interface.

Which surfaces, connectors, passages, or contact regions mate with which neighbouring parts? boundary
Which dimensions, tolerances, alignment limits, or transfer ratings must be checked at those interfaces? measurement

Attachment and verification

Distinguishes placement from secure and verified installation.

Installed state evidence

Record orientation, attachment completion, and evidence that installation requirements have been met.

What evidence establishes the required orientation, seating, engagement, and attachment completion? provenance
Which installation checks or adjustments are required before this part may perform its role? action

Condition and role fitness Relates observed degradation and service exposure to the part's required contribution.

Degradation at critical regions

Locates damage or deterioration where it can affect the part's contribution or interfaces.

Condition evidence and coverage

Record relevant observations, their locations, and regions that could not be assessed.

What wear, cracking, deformation, corrosion, looseness, or other role-relevant degradation has been observed, and where? measurement
Which critical surfaces or internal regions remain unexamined because of installation or inspection limits? boundary

Serviceability decision

Connects condition and exposure evidence to acceptance criteria for a specified use.

Fitness under stated conditions

Record the basis for accepting, restricting, rejecting, or deferring judgment on the part.

Which applicable acceptance limits and service-history records support the fitness judgment for this installation? provenance
Given observed condition and missing evidence, may this part remain in service, require further inspection, or need removal? action

Intervention and substitution Supports decisions about removing, repairing, replacing, and reusing the part.

Removal and repair

Identifies feasible interventions and their effects on the part and neighbouring structure.

Intervention prerequisites and effects

Record access needs, dependency controls, and whether intervention preserves the relevant boundaries and interfaces.

What access, disassembly, isolation, or temporary support is required before this part can be removed or repaired? action
Would the intervention consume attachments, alter mating surfaces, or destroy an integral boundary that must subsequently be restored? boundary

Replacement and reuse

Evaluates a specific candidate part for a specific receiving artifact.

Substitution evidence and release

Record compatibility evidence and the checks needed to accept a replacement or reused part.

What evidence shows that the candidate's revision, interfaces, performance, and condition satisfy the receiving artifact's requirements? provenance
Which adjustments, paired replacements, or post-installation checks are required before accepting this substitution? action

Classifiers Filled

Family: Thing Registry
Category: Physical world and living systems
Entry kind: noun.artifact
Plane: PHY
Domain: PHY.OBJ
Facets: substance: material
Facets: origin: manufactured
Facets: agency: inert
Facets: mobility: portable
Facets: scale: handheld
Facets: affordances: graspable
Other names and narrower kinds: accessory, appurtenance, supplement, add-on, addition, improver, additive, adjuvant, admixture, intermixture, afterthought, annex

What it is Filled

something less than the whole of a human artifact

In scope

The physical extent of a part and the artifact relative to which it is less than the whole
The distinction between a particular part, its part designation, and other instances of the same design
The contribution the part makes to the containing artifact
Interfaces, fit, attachment, and dependencies on neighbouring parts
Condition and fitness for a specified installation or use
Installation, removal, repair, replacement, and reuse constraints

Out of scope

The containing artifact's complete purpose, architecture, and overall operating state
Raw material stocks without an identified artifact-part role
Abstract portions of documents, software, plans, or other nonphysical artifacts
Manufacturing and maintenance processes as independently managed activities
Tools and equipment used to work on the part
Commercial offers, purchase orders, and inventory management beyond identifying the physical part

Why it exists Filled

Enable an AI agent to recognise a physical part of a human artifact, assess its fitness for its role, and determine justified actions affecting the part and its whole.

Distinguishing features Filled

A containing, intended, or previous human artifact can be named, and the candidate is physically less than that artifact.
The candidate has an identifiable physical extent within the artifact; a purely functional label without a physical referent is insufficient.
Part status is relative to a stated whole: a motor may be a complete artifact in one assessment and a part of a pump in another.
Being nearby, packaged with, or used on an artifact does not by itself establish that the candidate is one of its parts.
A part designation identifies a design or class, while this model must distinguish that designation from the physical instance being assessed.

What robots and AI may and may not do Filled

Must not

Remove a part from an artifact that someone else owns without permission.
Fit a counterfeit or uncertified part where a certified one is required.
Remove or disable a part whose role is safety, such as a guard or interlock.
Detach parts of a historic or museum artifact without conservation authority.

Only with a human decision

Replacing a part in a safety-critical system such as a vehicle, aircraft or medical device.
Scrapping a whole artifact for its parts.

May

Identify a part of an artifact and record which whole it belongs to and its role in it.
Inspect and report the condition of parts it is authorized to examine.

Moral aspects Filled

Counterfeit and unsafe spare parts cause accidents and transfer risk to unaware users.
Separating parts of cultural objects destroys their integrity and meaning.

Who is affected

Users of the artifact
Owners
Repair and maintenance workers

Owners Filled

Steward

The owner of the whole artifact; the manufacturer answers for its original parts.

Links to other meta-models Filled

parent

oewn-00002684-n - registry parent class

What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled

Sources Filled

Open English WordNet 2024, synset oewn-03898588-n - sense and gloss of the concept
Wiktionary: part - word senses and usage

Open questions

Does the registry include arbitrary spatial portions of an artifact, or require a recognised component or explicitly designated integral region?
How should the registry distinguish artifact parts from coatings, adhesives, lubricants, and other incorporated or replenished substances?
When does a detached fragment cease to be the original part and become debris, material, or a newly identified part?
What evidence is sufficient to classify an uninstalled spare as an artifact part when no individual receiving artifact has been selected?
What identity rules should apply when repair replaces most of a part's material or when a nested assembly is assessed at multiple levels?

Machine files

Card as JSON Specification Card backlog vercy.card/1

Provenance

thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed

Built from: models/things/publications/thing-part-artifact/spec.json