cardinal direction
Enable an AI agent to recognise a cardinal direction, assess whether its reference and interpretation are usable, and decide which orientation, comparison or conversion actions are justified.
Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled
4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions
Cardinal identity Establishes which cardinal direction an expression denotes and whether the expression actually functions as a direction.
Cardinal set membership
Tests whether the intended category is north, east, south or west.
Resolve the cardinal designation
Record the intended cardinal member and the convention supporting interpretation of its label or symbol.
- Which of north, east, south or west does this designation identify? definition
- Which language, legend or naming convention supports that interpretation? provenance
Directional meaning
Separates a cardinal orientation from similarly named regions, relative directions and finer compass points.
Test the directional use
Determine whether the expression denotes a cardinal direction or requires a neighbouring concept.
- Does the expression denote an orientation, or a named area such as 'the North'? boundary
- Is the intended meaning genuinely cardinal, rather than intercardinal or relative to an observer? boundary
Directional reference Identifies what establishes north and where that reference applies.
North reference
Identifies the basis from which the cardinal axes are interpreted.
Establish the north basis
Make the choice of geographic, magnetic, grid or locally defined reference explicit.
- What establishes north in this use: geographic, magnetic, grid or an explicitly defined local reference? definition
- Which map, reference definition or supplied evidence establishes that choice? provenance
Reference applicability
Captures the spatial and temporal context needed to interpret the reference.
Bound the reference context
Identify where and when the chosen reference is meaningful, including contexts requiring special conventions.
- Which location, date, surface or map context is needed to resolve this direction? definition
- Does the supplied context include a pole, reference discontinuity or other case where an additional convention is required? boundary
Cardinal geometry Represents cardinal axes, angular conventions and any broader sectors assigned to the labels.
Axes and relations
Makes cardinal oppositions and quarter-turn relationships usable within one frame.
Resolve axis relationships
Record angular origin and rotation sense before interpreting numerical values or deriving relative cardinal directions.
- What angular origin, unit and positive rotation convention represent the cardinal axes here? measurement
- Within this frame, which cardinal direction is opposite, and which follows a clockwise or counterclockwise quarter-turn? definition
Axis or sector
Distinguishes a precise axis from a range or informal directional description.
Establish directional extent
Require an explicit interpretation before treating a nearby bearing as a cardinal direction.
- Does this use mean the exact cardinal axis, a bounded sector or a qualitative direction? definition
- If it means a sector, what angular bounds and endpoint rules determine membership? boundary
Interpretation and use Determines whether cardinal information supports a requested comparison, classification or conversion.
Interpretation readiness
Assesses whether the cardinal identity and its contextual meaning are sufficiently resolved.
Assess direction usability
Separate a resolved cardinal interpretation from missing, conflicting or contextually undefined information.
- Are the cardinal identity, reference and axis-or-sector interpretation sufficiently resolved for the requested use? action
- What missing information or conflicting evidence prevents a usable interpretation? boundary
Comparison and conversion
Controls transfer between directional references and comparison with bearings.
Justify reference conversion
Use a supported transformation and preserve its uncertainty; conversion may produce an angle that is not a cardinal axis in the target frame.
- Do the compared directions share a reference, or is a documented transformation available for the relevant context? action
- What correction and uncertainty apply, and does the result remain a cardinal axis or qualify only under a stated sector rule? measurement
Classifiers Filled
- Family
- Thing Registry
- Category
- Cross-cutting context
- Entry kind
- thing
- Plane
- XCT
- Domain
- XCT.QLT
What it is Filled
This model owns the identity and interpretation of north, east, south or west within an explicitly identified directional reference frame, including the conditions under which that interpretation is determinate.
In scope
- Membership in the cardinal set: north, east, south and west
- The reference frame that establishes north and the remaining directions
- Opposite, perpendicular and rotational relationships between cardinal directions
- The distinction between an exact cardinal axis and a directional sector
- Conditions governing interpretation, comparison and conversion
Out of scope
- Intercardinal and finer compass directions as independently modelled directions
- The position, extent or identity of a geographic place
- An object's heading, course, velocity or orientation as a whole
- Routes, navigation plans and movement execution
- Compass instruments, their calibration and sensor observations
- Coordinate reference systems and map projections in their entirety
Why it exists Filled
Enable an AI agent to recognise a cardinal direction, assess whether its reference and interpretation are usable, and decide which orientation, comparison or conversion actions are justified.
Distinguishing features Filled
- The designation resolves to north, east, south or west; northeast is not itself a cardinal direction.
- Its meaning depends on a directional reference frame, whereas left and right depend on an observer or object's orientation.
- A numerical bearing represents a cardinal axis only when its reference, angular origin and rotation convention establish that correspondence.
- A cardinal direction expresses orientation; a region called 'the North' denotes an area and requires a neighbouring place model.
- A direction designation does not by itself assert that anything faces, travels or lies in that direction.
What robots and AI may and may not do Filled
Must not
- Give directions without stating whether north is true, magnetic or grid where it matters.
- Navigate people or vehicles on a direction it has not verified.
- Confuse east and west when mirroring maps or images.
- Ignore magnetic declination in navigation advice.
Only with a human decision
- Navigation decisions for search and rescue or aviation.
May
- State directions with the reference used, such as true north or magnetic north.
- Convert between bearings and cardinal directions.
Moral aspects Filled
- Directional errors in navigation can strand or kill people.
- Directions carry cultural and sacred meaning, such as prayer orientation.
Who is affected
- Navigators
- Hikers and sailors
- Religious communities
Owners Filled
Steward
Nobody: a reference held in common.
Links to other meta-models Filled
parent
- Q13179187 - registry parent class
What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled
Identity and identifiers required Filled
- Vercy registry: vr.tr.cardinal-direction
- Wikidata: Q23718 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q23718)
Direct properties not applicable Not applicable
- Cardinal identity: north | east | south | west | unresolved
- Directional reference: Reference establishing true/geographic, magnetic, grid or explicitly defined local north
- Interpretation mode: exact axis | bounded sector | qualitative usage | unresolved
- Angular representation: Degrees or radians, with angular origin and positive rotation stated
- Sector boundary policy: Explicit angular bounds and endpoint inclusion rule | not applicable | unspecified
- Interpretive applicability: Location, time, surface or map context required by the chosen reference
- Resolution state: resolved | ambiguous label | missing reference | undefined in context | conflicting interpretations
- Angular uncertainty: Degrees or radians with stated interpretation | unknown | not applicable
Plane XCT: no invented physical properties.
Recognition not applicable Not applicable
Not applicable
A cardinal direction is an abstract spatial reference with no intrinsic visible appearance.
Capabilities and actions required Filled
- Resolve an abbreviation, word or symbol to a cardinal identity using an explicit convention.
- Determine the opposite or perpendicular cardinal directions within a shared frame.
- Express a cardinal axis as an angle under a declared angular convention.
- Classify a bearing into a cardinal sector when sector boundaries are supplied.
- Compare or convert direction representations when their references and required corrections are known.
- Flag an interpretation as ambiguous or undefined and request the missing directional context.
Hazards and failure modes required Filled
- Navigation errors from wrong reference north.
- Map orientation mistakes.
Standards and interfaces required Filled
- ISO 19111, Geographic information - Referencing by coordinates, issued by the International Organization for Standardization, applies when cardinal directions describe coordinate axis directions in spatial reference systems.
Context of use required Filled
- Cardinal directions support orientation in navigation, surveying, maps and descriptions of spatial relationships.
- Their practical interpretation depends on whether north refers to geographic north, magnetic north or grid north.
Sources Filled
- Wikidata item Q23718: cardinal direction - identity and sense of the item
- Wikipedia: Cardinal direction - general description of the item
Open questions
- Does the registry intend this entry to cover abstract cardinal identities, contextual uses of those identities, or both?
- Which authoritative terminology should govern geographic, magnetic, grid and locally defined cardinal references?
- Should cardinal sectors be owned here or represented by a neighbouring directional-classification model?
- Which conventions should govern polar locations, non-Earth surfaces and locally defined environments?
- What evidence and uncertainty limits should each downstream application require before accepting a direction conversion?
Machine files
Provenance
thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed
Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q23718/spec.json