Intent

Intent is a desired outcome expressed by a human, organization, AI system, or another mission sponsor.

Intent describes what should be achieved, not how.

Intent may be vague, incomplete, or ambiguous.

Examples:

• Find a missing child
• Inspect the bridge
• Deliver medical supplies
• Maintain communications coverage
• Produce 500 server chassis

An intent may include constraints such as budget, time, location, risk tolerance, and priority.

Mission

A Mission is a formalized and executable representation of intent.

A mission translates desired outcomes into objectives, constraints, success criteria, resource requirements, and execution plans.

A mission may contain multiple objectives and contingency plans.

Examples:

• Search Area Alpha for a missing child using thermal and visual assets
• Survey 20 km of power lines and report anomalies
• Produce and deliver 500 server chassis before Friday

A mission is the primary unit of orchestration.

Objective

An Objective is a measurable outcome within a mission.

Objectives define success conditions.

Examples:

• Search 95% of Area Alpha
• Identify all vehicles within the perimeter
• Deliver supplies to Location Bravo

A mission usually contains multiple objectives.

Task

A Task is a specific action assigned to a participant.

Tasks are executable units of work.

Examples:

• Fly waypoint route A
• Inspect camera feed
• Machine Part #42
• Establish relay link

Tasks are generated from mission objectives.

Capability

A Capability is an ability to perform a class of tasks or achieve a class of outcomes.

Capabilities are independent of implementation.

Examples:

• Thermal Search
• Visual Detection
• Communications Relay
• Precision Machining
• Medical Treatment
• Route Planning

Capabilities describe what a participant can do.

Asset

An Asset is a physical or virtual participant that possesses capabilities.

Examples:

• Drone
• Ground Robot
• Human Operator
• AI Agent
• Camera Network
• CNC Machine
• Datacenter

Assets provide capabilities.

Participant

A Participant is an asset currently involved in a mission.

Examples:

• Drone #12
• Human Search Team Bravo
• AI Planner Instance 7

An asset becomes a participant when assigned to a mission.

Swarm

A Swarm is a temporary organization of participants assembled to execute a mission.

A swarm may contain:

• Humans
• Robots
• Vehicles
• Sensors
• AI agents
• External services

A swarm exists only as long as required by the mission.

Capability Provider

A Capability Provider is an entity that owns or controls assets and makes capabilities available to missions.

Examples:

• Drone fleet operator
• Survey company
• Datacenter
• Logistics provider
• Volunteer organization

Providers may participate in many missions simultaneously.

Doctrine

A Doctrine is a reusable body of operational knowledge describing how a class of problems should be approached.

Examples:

• Missing Person Search Doctrine
• Infrastructure Inspection Doctrine
• Wildfire Monitoring Doctrine
• Medical Evacuation Doctrine

Doctrines guide mission generation and adaptation.

Mission Planner

A Mission Planner converts intent into missions.

Responsibilities include:

• Objective generation
• Capability selection
• Resource estimation
• Risk analysis
• Contingency planning

Mission planners may be human, AI, or hybrid.

Resource

A Resource is anything consumed during mission execution.

Examples:

• Energy
• Time
• Bandwidth
• Money
• Compute
• Human attention

Capabilities consume resources.

Settlement

Settlement is the process of accounting for capability consumption and mission execution.

Settlement may use:

• Currency
• Credits
• Internal accounting
• Smart contracts
• Tokens

Settlement is independent from mission execution.

Capability Marketplace

A Capability Marketplace is a system that matches mission requirements with available capability providers.

The marketplace trades capabilities rather than assets.

The customer requests outcomes.

The marketplace finds providers capable of delivering them.