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Meter / Measuring Instrument

vr.wm-obj-023 · wm-obj-023-meter-measuring-instrument

Describe one measuring instrument, its measurement capabilities, channel or assigned-value semantics, calibration evidence and qualified suitability for use.

World Models Physical world and living systems PHY.OBJ.DEV
Bundle → Layer → Finding → QuestionsClassifiersWhat it isWhy it existsDistinguishing featuresWhat robots and AI may and may not doMoral aspectsOwnersLinks to other meta-modelsIdentity and identifiersDirect propertiesRecognitionCapabilities and actionsHazards and failure modesStandards and interfacesContext of useSources

Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled

3 bundles · 3 layers · 5 findings · 11 questions

Instrument What the instrument is and where it is.

Instrument identity and type

The individual instrument, its type approval and installation.

Type and approval

The instrument model and any legal metrology type approval.

  1. Which model is the instrument, and which type approval or conformity marking does it carry?
  2. Is the instrument used for legal trade, where verification is mandatory?

Installation

Where and how the instrument is installed and what it measures.

  1. Where is the instrument installed, and which point, object or flow does it measure?
  2. When was it installed or last replaced?
Channels and readings What the instrument reports and how to read it.

Channel semantics

Each channel with its quantity, unit, resolution and reading type.

Channel definition

The quantity, unit, multiplier and direction of a channel.

  1. Which quantity and unit does this channel report, with what multiplier or scale?
  2. Is the reading cumulative, interval, instantaneous or averaged?

Reading quality

Whether a reading is actual, estimated or substituted, and its status flags.

  1. Is this reading actual, estimated or substituted?
  2. Which error or tamper flags were raised with the reading?
Calibration and accuracy Whether the numbers can be trusted.

Calibration status

Calibration or verification with date, result and traceability.

Calibration record

The last calibration or verification and its traceability to standards.

  1. When was the instrument last calibrated or verified, by whom and with what result?
  2. Is the calibration traceable to national or international measurement standards?
  3. When is the next calibration or reverification due?

Classifiers Filled

Family
World Models
Category
Physical world and living systems
Entry kind
entity
Navigation path
NAV.PHY.OBJ.DEV
Domain
PHY.OBJ.DEV
Industry
Cross-industry
Tags
metermeasuringinstrumentphy.obj.dev

What it is Filled

A meter or measuring instrument is a device that measures a physical quantity and reports it as readings, such as an electricity, water or gas meter, a scale, a thermometer or a sensor. It is described with its channels, measurement range, calibration status and the semantics of its readings. The readings themselves are observation records and the installed equipment as a whole is a physical asset; this subject covers the instrument and what its numbers mean.

In scope

  • Instrument identity, recognition evidence, local physical properties, deployment and measurement context
  • Conditional channels or assigned quantities, performance envelopes, calibration and result-traceability evidence references
  • Qualified legal status, metrologically relevant configuration, maintenance decisions and reading interpretation bindings

Out of scope

  • Generic hardware inventory, party, location, asset-lifecycle, software and observation master records
  • Billing, tariff calculation, clinical decisions, control loops, firmware deployment, calibration execution or physical intervention
  • Universal metrology law, certification, unrestricted remote acquisition and executable uncertainty or conformity engines

Why it exists Filled

Describe one measuring instrument, its measurement capabilities, channel or assigned-value semantics, calibration evidence and qualified suitability for use.

Distinguishing features Filled

  • Distinct from the readings it produces, which are observation records, and from the asset it is mounted on.
  • Every channel has defined semantics: quantity, unit, resolution, reading type and direction.
  • Trust in its numbers depends on calibration traceable to measurement standards.
  • Instruments used for trade are under legal metrology control, unlike other sensors.

What robots and AI may and may not do Filled

Must not

  • Change readings, multipliers or calibration constants to alter results.
  • Bypass, tamper with or open sealed legal metrology instruments.
  • Present estimated readings as actual readings.
  • Use an instrument outside its stated range or conditions without saying so.
  • Read or share household meter data without the consent of the holder.

Only with a human decision

  • Adjusting calibration of an instrument.
  • Breaking a seal on a legal metrology instrument.
  • Disputing a billing reading with a consumer.

May

  • Collect readings and report them with unit, time and quality flags.
  • Flag instruments whose calibration is overdue or whose readings look implausible.
  • Convert units and scales using the channel definition.
  • Schedule calibration and replacement for the owner.

Moral aspects Filled

  • Fair trade relies on accurate instruments; errors move money between parties unfairly.
  • Smart meter readings reveal personal habits and must be protected.
  • Safety decisions based on faulty instruments can endanger people.

Who is affected

  • Consumers billed by meter readings
  • Instrument owners and operators
  • People relying on measurements for safety

Owners Filled

Steward

The instrument owner or metering operator maintains the instrument and its calibration records.

Roles

Instrument steward
Resolve identity, custody and scope; maintain context bindings.
Metrology reviewer
Assess calibration applicability, uncertainty need and assurance evidence within delegated competence.
Operator
Report actual conditions and faults; act only under the applicable operating policy.
Legal profile reviewer
Review jurisdiction and use-specific legal applicability and verification evidence.
Data custodian
Enforce access, retention and controlled external mappings.
Model maintainer
Version the proposed schema and keep holds and source limitations visible.

Master systems

  • Metering point registers
  • Calibration management systems
  • Legal metrology verification registers

Links to other meta-models Filled

aligned

  • WM-OBJ-008 - Candidate registry parent; specialize measurement semantics without requiring computation or duplicating generic hardware master functions.
  • OGC SensorThings API 1.1 / W3C SSN 2017 - Conceptual alignments only; physical instrument identity is not interchangeable with procedure, platform or stream identity.

references

  • WM-MAT-008 - Observation master owns results and actual measurement provenance; pin instrument and channel revision references.
  • WM-DAT-010 - Time-series master owns collections and stream retention; only interpretation and binding metadata are local.
  • WM-OBJ-022 - Asset lifecycle owns physical lifecycle events; retain only their metrological impact and evidence bindings.
  • WM-SFT-011 - Conditional software configuration reference for relevant instruments; no configuration deployment or general software lifecycle here.

neighbor

  • WM-OBJ-008 Device / Sensor / Compute HW - Candidate parent is retained as an optional alignment. Instruments need not compute or have digital sensors; generic hardware identity and maintenance are referenced without requiring a hardware runtime or excluding material measures.
  • WM-MAT-008 Observation / Measurement Record - The instrument owns the interpretation contract and links. Observations own individual results, actual measurement conditions, time, uncertainty and provenance; no observation is mandatory for an unused instrument.
  • WM-DAT-010 Time Series / Observation Collection - Streams and collected results retain external identity and lifecycle. Instrument replacement does not silently splice cumulative readings or transfer instrument identity.
  • WM-OBJ-022 Asset Lifecycle Record - Local metrological status refers to asset events without owning procurement, depreciation or physical disposal. The instrument may itself be an asset, not only a component mounted on one.
  • WM-SFT-011 Software Configuration and measuring system - Pin metrologically relevant configuration and supplementary-device references. Software lifecycle and a multi-instrument system master are separate. Pure virtual estimators require an explicit extension beyond this physical instrument scope.

parent

  • WM-OBJ-008

What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled

Identity and identifiers required Filled

  • An instrument is identified by manufacturer and serial number, and by the operator's asset or meter number.
  • Metering points are identified separately from the meter installed at them.
  • Type approvals are identified by the certificate number of the approving body.

Direct properties required Filled

  • Measurement range, with minimum and maximum in the unit of the quantity.
  • Accuracy class or maximum permissible error, as a percentage or in units.
  • Resolution in the unit of the quantity.
  • Calibration date and interval in months.
  • Operating conditions such as temperature range in degrees Celsius.

Recognition required Filled

  • A device with a display, register or data interface, often with a rating plate showing model, serial number and approval marks.
  • Legal metrology instruments carry seals and conformity marks.
  • Easily confused with a controller or display that only shows values from another sensor.

Capabilities and actions required Filled

  • Measures a quantity and reports readings locally or remotely.
  • Some instruments record intervals, events and tamper alarms.

Hazards and failure modes required Filled

  • Electrical meters and live connections pose shock and arc risks.
  • Pressure and gas meters can leak when tampered with or damaged.
  • Miscalibrated instruments cause wrong billing and unsafe decisions.

Standards and interfaces required Filled

  • IEC 62056 (DLMS/COSEM) for electricity meter data exchange.
  • EN 13757 (M-Bus and wireless M-Bus) for utility meters.
  • OIML recommendations and the Measuring Instruments Directive for legal metrology.

Context of use required Filled

  • Used in utilities, trade, industry, laboratories, healthcare and buildings.
  • Instruments used for trade are under legal metrology law and periodic verification.

Sources Filled

  1. International vocabulary of metrology - Basic and general concepts and associated terms - Joint Committee for Guides in Metrology
  2. Guidelines for the determination of recalibration intervals of measuring equipment - International Organization of Legal Metrology and International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation
  3. SensorThings API Part 1: Sensing - Open Geospatial Consortium
  4. Semantic Sensor Network Ontology - World Wide Web Consortium
  5. Metrological Traceability: Frequently Asked Questions and Policy - National Institute of Standards and Technology
  6. Directive 2014/32/EU on measuring instruments - European Parliament and Council of the European Union
  7. The International System of Units - International Bureau of Weights and Measures
  8. General requirements for software controlled measuring instruments - International Organization of Legal Metrology
  9. International Vocabulary of Metrology (VIM), JCGM and BIPM
  10. Directive 2014/32/EU on measuring instruments, European Union
  11. OIML International Recommendations, International Organization of Legal Metrology

Open questions

  • Complete coordinator HTTP checks and independent source/version/applicability review, including current legal consolidation and intentionally selected ontology versions.
  • Implement profile-specific schemas and mappings with fixtures for material measures, analog instruments, multi-channel scope, replacement, reset, changed configuration, suspect periods and server-assigned time.
  • Restore independent external review before any canonical or publishable-draft promotion.
  • Independent external review is absent; this is a Codex-only reviewable draft under the owner waiver.
  • Direct HTTP checks were not attempted because the owner reports sandbox blocking. Eight URLs were accessible as parsed browser documents, but raw responses, final redirects, hashes and independent version verification remain pending.
  • Jurisdiction-specific current law, national in-service control and specialized medical, radiation, chemical and trade profiles require qualified review.
  • Executable nested schemas, conformance fixtures, unit conversion and uncertainty propagation, protocol adapters and pinned neighbor bindings are not implemented.
  • Detailed cumulative register profiles, batch/continuous sampling and multi-channel correlation require additional sector evidence; current exception questions are proposed local safeguards.

Machine files

Card as JSON Specification AGENTS.md Source Card backlog vercy.card/1

Provenance

world-models research · reviewable-draft

Built from: models/wm-obj-023-meter-measuring-instrument/spec.yaml, ver-cy/world-models/card-supplements/wm-obj-023-meter-measuring-instrument.json