v0.4.0 · Phase 1 · Public draft Apache-2.0
A common language for the robot economy.
A six-year-old can describe what a robot should do. A roboticist needs three weeks to make the robot do it. URML is the shared, open vocabulary that closes the gap, written down before every vendor ships their own dialect.
End users See it run → Builders Read the spec Robot makers List a product starts a compliance review
SUBSTRATE-AGNOSTIC
Sits above ROS 2, PX4, OPC UA, and vendor SDKs.
REGULATOR-ALIGNED
Default policy maps to US federal robotics regulation.
OPEN FOREVER
Spec stays Apache-2.0. No vendor capture.
The compliance path
Free · self-reported
1
Validate
Run urml validate on your manifest and programs. The bundled US-federal policy runs by default.
2
Self-report conformance
Run the conformance suite with your own adapter and keep the report.
3
Record evidence
Record runs in simulation or on hardware, and the verdicts the gate gave.
4
Open a pull request
Add a registry entry. CI re-runs the check and replays every recorded verdict.
5
Listed
Appears in the public registry with its evidence and its limits.
Regulatory alignment
The default validator policy is mapped to current US federal robotics regulation.
NDAA §889 / FY26
Procurement restrictions
Covered-foreign-country components refused at validation, not at audit.
FCC Covered List
Effective 2025-12-23
DJI, Autel, and other listed entities flagged in the manifest pass.
EO 14307
Unleashing American Drone Dominance
Default profile aligns with the executive order's deployment posture.
ASRA
American Security Robotics Act
Tracking the bill. The policy file will update on enactment.
Non-US deployments can override the default with
urml validate --policy file.yaml, or
disable the compliance pass entirely with
--no-policy.
What compliance gets you
Discoverable, verifiable, federally-ready.
Re-runnable evidence
Your registry entry links evidence anyone can re-run: the conformance report, recorded runs, and the gate's recorded verdicts.
Learn more →Registry listing
A public lookup at /registry, with your profiles, your evidence and your limits in one place.
Learn more →Federal readiness
Self-reported NDAA / FCC / EO 14307 alignment in one consistent format.
Learn more →How URML works
Five layers, five validation passes, one program.
ARCHITECTURE
Every program runs through five passes (args → caps → envelope → bindings → policy) before any actuator moves.
EXAMPLE · BRING ME THE RED MUG
VALIDATES ✓
# program.urml.yaml
sequence:
- move_to: { room: kitchen }
- detect: { object: red_mug, frame: kitchen }
- grasp: { target: $detected }
- move_to: { room: living_room }
- release: { surface: side_table }
# pass 1 ✓ argument typing
# pass 2 ✓ capability declared in manifest
# pass 3 ✓ inside safety envelope
# pass 4 ✓ variable bindings resolve
# pass 5 ✓ compliance policy (NDAA §889, FCC)
$ make demo-run
→ Executed (mock TurtleBot 4 · 18 actions)
New in v0.4.0
The gate got deeper.
All releases →Speak the request
RFC-0670urml run --audio adds an on-device speech front-end that feeds the same validator. The safety boundary is untouched.
Rehearse before you run
RFC-0668urml run rolls a validated program out on a simulator, checks the trace, and blocks real execution on any critical violation.
Enforce the envelope
RFC-0667A temporal-logic monitor and a runtime shield guard any driver, a VLA policy included, against the declared safety envelope.
The manifest grew too: whole-body structure, real-time timing, zero-copy IPC, and learned-policy envelopes. Explore what a robot declares or multi-robot fleet validation →
24
intent primitives
5
validation passes
2733
tests passing
264
conformance fixtures
694
RFCs filed
Compatible runtimes & partners
Self-reported, public, free. Add your organization.
Browse directory →urml-ros2-runtime
home · industrial
urml-px4-runtime
drone
urml-industrial-arm-runtime
industrial
urml-cobot-runtime
industrial
urml-legged-runtime
industrial
urml-humanoid-runtime
industrial
SCHUNK
DE
Ouster
US
SICK
DE
Festo
DE
Zivid
NO
Hokuyo
JP
Phase 1 · 15 reference runtimes + 15 compliant parts listed · 0 manufacturers. Yours could be next.
Maintainers are already engaging
All engaged threads → Educational bipedal robot
A driver-library contributor engaged over five rounds, then ran URML's validation script on real hardware over WiFi and returned a live execution trace.
Reference adapter · edu-runtime
Desktop quadruped
The platform's founder answered all seven mapping-RFC questions with parametric command examples and volunteered an ESP32 retarget.
Reference adapter · edu-runtime
Tier-1 industrial-arm OEM
An OEM org member answered all four mapping-RFC questions and endorsed the AS-language program-call binding.
RFC-0015 call_program AS-language binding · industrial-arm-runtime
Start the application
Make your robot speak URML.
The compliance review is free, opt-in, and self-reported. Your manifest stays yours. Listing is permanent until you de-list.
Apply for compliance review →
Talk to the working group
REVIEWED WITHIN 14 DAYS · NO COST · NO MARK YET (PHASE 4)