{
  "title": "Where Robot Component Intelligence Comes From: 96 Channels, 69 Primary Sources, Five Reuse Classes",
  "rciNumber": "RCI 038",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "schemaVersion": 1,
  "released": "2026-08-10",
  "sourceDirectoryVersion": "0.1.2",
  "canonical": "https://robotcomponentindex.com/research/robot-component-industry-source-atlas/",
  "scope": "A quantitative source and reuse atlas for robot-component intelligence across motion and actuation, perception and sensing, compute and control, power and energy, and interfaces and integration. It classifies where frontier signals originate, which channels are primary, how they can be monitored, and what RCI may safely cite, summarize, comment on or republish without treating public access as blanket permission.",
  "summary": {
    "channelCount": 96,
    "sourceGroupCount": 9,
    "primaryChannelCount": 69,
    "directMonitorCount": 16,
    "systemLayerCount": 5,
    "reuseClassCount": 5,
    "openClassCount": 8,
    "itemLicenseClassCount": 21,
    "factsClassCount": 40,
    "permissionClassCount": 13,
    "leadClassCount": 14
  },
  "networkAudit": {
    "completedAt": "2026-08-10T19:54:24+08:00",
    "endpointObservationCount": 137,
    "reachableCount": 112,
    "automationRestrictedCount": 13,
    "explicitBrokenCount": 0,
    "otherErrorCount": 12,
    "boundary": "One bounded network run over source, rights and monitor endpoints. A reachable response is not a content-quality, rights or future-uptime guarantee. Automation restrictions and transient errors require manual review; zero explicit broken responses means no audited endpoint returned the script's definitive broken class, not that every page is permanently healthy."
  },
  "useClassRecords": [
    {
      "id": "RCI038-U01",
      "useClass": "OPEN",
      "label": "Open / public record",
      "channelCount": 8,
      "defaultAction": "Reuse only after checking the exact page or file, its attribution requirements and third-party credits.",
      "canPublish": "Original RCI analysis and properly attributed material within the item-level grant.",
      "cannotAssume": "That every asset on an open or government channel is public domain, CC-licensed or endorsement-free."
    },
    {
      "id": "RCI038-U02",
      "useClass": "ITEM_LICENSE",
      "label": "Check item license",
      "channelCount": 21,
      "defaultAction": "Resolve the license of the exact paper, repository, dataset, release asset or file before reuse.",
      "canPublish": "Facts, original commentary and any material the exact license permits with required attribution.",
      "cannotAssume": "That a platform-level policy licenses every deposited paper, figure, binary, model or third-party dependency."
    },
    {
      "id": "RCI038-U03",
      "useClass": "FACTS",
      "label": "Facts + commentary",
      "channelCount": 40,
      "defaultAction": "Extract a small number of verifiable facts, preserve version and date, write original analysis and link upstream.",
      "canPublish": "Bibliographic, release, specification, filing or event facts with RCI-authored explanation.",
      "cannotAssume": "Permission to mirror tables, charts, manuals, photographs, full PDFs, long text or branded assets."
    },
    {
      "id": "RCI038-U04",
      "useClass": "PERMISSION",
      "label": "Permission to republish",
      "channelCount": 13,
      "defaultAction": "Use identifiers and public facts; request the applicable license or permission before reproducing protected content.",
      "canPublish": "Standard numbers, titles, editions, status and original commentary with direct links.",
      "cannotAssume": "Rights to reproduce or translate normative clauses, test material, figures, member documents or certification marks."
    },
    {
      "id": "RCI038-U05",
      "useClass": "LEAD",
      "label": "Lead source only",
      "channelCount": 14,
      "defaultAction": "Use the report to discover a claim, then trace it to a responsible manufacturer, paper, filing, standard or independent dataset.",
      "canPublish": "Minimal attributed context and RCI's own reporting after upstream verification.",
      "cannotAssume": "That rewritten announcements, interviews, forecasts, rankings or event copy are independent technical evidence."
    }
  ],
  "groupRecords": [
    {
      "id": "RCI038-G01",
      "group": "Standards & protocols",
      "channelCount": 16,
      "primaryChannelCount": 16,
      "directMonitorCount": 0,
      "openCount": 0,
      "itemLicenseCount": 1,
      "factsCount": 4,
      "permissionCount": 11,
      "leadCount": 0,
      "role": "Defines terminology, interfaces, conformance and safety boundaries; titles and status are citable, normative content often needs permission."
    },
    {
      "id": "RCI038-G02",
      "group": "Research",
      "channelCount": 12,
      "primaryChannelCount": 8,
      "directMonitorCount": 5,
      "openCount": 2,
      "itemLicenseCount": 10,
      "factsCount": 0,
      "permissionCount": 0,
      "leadCount": 0,
      "role": "Finds methods, experiments and artifacts; rights attach to each paper, repository, dataset and figure."
    },
    {
      "id": "RCI038-G03",
      "group": "Industry data",
      "channelCount": 8,
      "primaryChannelCount": 6,
      "directMonitorCount": 0,
      "openCount": 0,
      "itemLicenseCount": 0,
      "factsCount": 4,
      "permissionCount": 2,
      "leadCount": 2,
      "role": "Tracks shipments, markets and association data; preserve period and methodology and avoid copying paid charts."
    },
    {
      "id": "RCI038-G04",
      "group": "Patents & filings",
      "channelCount": 12,
      "primaryChannelCount": 12,
      "directMonitorCount": 1,
      "openCount": 1,
      "itemLicenseCount": 0,
      "factsCount": 11,
      "permissionCount": 0,
      "leadCount": 0,
      "role": "Provides time-stamped invention, issuer and financial records; filing existence is not proof of product performance or delivery."
    },
    {
      "id": "RCI038-G05",
      "group": "Open engineering",
      "channelCount": 5,
      "primaryChannelCount": 4,
      "directMonitorCount": 2,
      "openCount": 0,
      "itemLicenseCount": 4,
      "factsCount": 0,
      "permissionCount": 0,
      "leadCount": 1,
      "role": "Exposes code, packages, BOMs and maintainer discussion; public visibility is not a license or a passed hardware test."
    },
    {
      "id": "RCI038-G06",
      "group": "Manufacturer engineering",
      "channelCount": 14,
      "primaryChannelCount": 14,
      "directMonitorCount": 6,
      "openCount": 0,
      "itemLicenseCount": 5,
      "factsCount": 9,
      "permissionCount": 0,
      "leadCount": 0,
      "role": "Responsibility source for exact products, releases, firmware, lifecycle and support; evidence remains manufacturer-reported unless independently tested."
    },
    {
      "id": "RCI038-G07",
      "group": "Government & programs",
      "channelCount": 9,
      "primaryChannelCount": 9,
      "directMonitorCount": 1,
      "openCount": 5,
      "itemLicenseCount": 1,
      "factsCount": 3,
      "permissionCount": 0,
      "leadCount": 0,
      "role": "Tracks public programs, regulation, awards and reusable government material with item-level third-party checks."
    },
    {
      "id": "RCI038-G08",
      "group": "Events & field signals",
      "channelCount": 9,
      "primaryChannelCount": 0,
      "directMonitorCount": 0,
      "openCount": 0,
      "itemLicenseCount": 0,
      "factsCount": 9,
      "permissionCount": 0,
      "leadCount": 0,
      "role": "Surfaces launches, exhibitors and field questions; verify technical claims upstream and use original reporting or licensed media."
    },
    {
      "id": "RCI038-G09",
      "group": "Trade media",
      "channelCount": 11,
      "primaryChannelCount": 0,
      "directMonitorCount": 1,
      "openCount": 0,
      "itemLicenseCount": 0,
      "factsCount": 0,
      "permissionCount": 0,
      "leadCount": 11,
      "role": "Provides discovery and attributed context; all material technical and commercial conclusions require upstream resolution."
    }
  ],
  "layerRecords": [
    {
      "id": "RCI038-L01",
      "layer": "motion-actuation",
      "label": "Motion & actuation",
      "channelCount": 61,
      "primaryChannelCount": 41,
      "directMonitorCount": 10
    },
    {
      "id": "RCI038-L02",
      "layer": "perception-sensing",
      "label": "Perception & sensing",
      "channelCount": 73,
      "primaryChannelCount": 51,
      "directMonitorCount": 15
    },
    {
      "id": "RCI038-L03",
      "layer": "compute-control",
      "label": "Compute & control",
      "channelCount": 93,
      "primaryChannelCount": 66,
      "directMonitorCount": 16
    },
    {
      "id": "RCI038-L04",
      "layer": "power-energy",
      "label": "Power & energy",
      "channelCount": 59,
      "primaryChannelCount": 38,
      "directMonitorCount": 9
    },
    {
      "id": "RCI038-L05",
      "layer": "interfaces-integration",
      "label": "Interfaces & integration",
      "channelCount": 92,
      "primaryChannelCount": 65,
      "directMonitorCount": 16
    }
  ],
  "workflowRecords": [
    {
      "id": "RCI038-W01",
      "stage": "discover",
      "input": "Trade media, events, research indexes, release feeds and public programs",
      "requiredOutput": "A dated lead with a direct URL and a specific claim or change to investigate",
      "gate": "A lead is not publishable technical evidence."
    },
    {
      "id": "RCI038-W02",
      "stage": "resolve responsibility",
      "input": "Lead plus manufacturer, standards body, author repository, regulator or filing portal",
      "requiredOutput": "The responsible source for the exact product, release, document, dataset or statement",
      "gate": "If responsibility cannot be resolved, keep the item as a lead."
    },
    {
      "id": "RCI038-W03",
      "stage": "fix identity",
      "input": "Responsible source",
      "requiredOutput": "Exact model, revision, date, version, commit, document number or filing identifier",
      "gate": "Do not merge family-level and exact-model evidence silently."
    },
    {
      "id": "RCI038-W04",
      "stage": "check rights",
      "input": "Exact page or file plus terms, license and third-party notices",
      "requiredOutput": "One of five use classes and item-specific reuse guidance",
      "gate": "Public access alone never grants blanket republication rights."
    },
    {
      "id": "RCI038-W05",
      "stage": "extract evidence",
      "input": "Fixed source and rights decision",
      "requiredOutput": "Minimal facts, conditions, evidence state, limitations and original RCI analysis",
      "gate": "Do not turn manufacturer claims, source presence or CI status into independent device validation."
    },
    {
      "id": "RCI038-W06",
      "stage": "publish and monitor",
      "input": "Reviewed claim or research asset",
      "requiredOutput": "Canonical page, immutable data, citation record, correction path and source-monitoring cadence",
      "gate": "Search submission and crawler access are measured separately from publication."
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "The directory is a curated operational map, not a claim to contain every robotics publication, company, event, standard or regional portal.",
    "Layer counts overlap because one source may cover several hardware layers; they must not be summed into a unique-source total.",
    "Use classes are conservative defaults for a channel. The exact item, file, figure, dataset, code dependency and third-party credit can impose different rights.",
    "Primary means responsible or authoritative for the recorded signal, not independent, unbiased or sufficient to establish performance.",
    "Network reachability is a bounded observation. Authentication, robots controls, rate limits, geography and transient failures can change independently of editorial value."
  ],
  "suggestedCitation": "Robot Component Index. “Where Robot Component Intelligence Comes From: 96 Channels, 69 Primary Sources, Five Reuse Classes.” RCI 038, version 0.1.0, 2026-08-10. https://robotcomponentindex.com/research/robot-component-industry-source-atlas/"
}