Level-six engineering validation protocol · 02
A staged high-energy validation route from one identified actuator to a restrained stance test—without treating an open research release as a finished robot product.
Protocol scope
For trained teams reproducing a declared Barkour vB hardware configuration in a controlled laboratory. It covers evidence planning from unpowered inspection through one-actuator and restrained low-energy system tests; it does not authorise free locomotion.
Configuration baseline
vB hardware variant, fixed or actuated head, repository commit, CAD/BOM/PCB revisions and the separate Apache-2.0 software versus CC BY-NC material boundaries.
Reject whenDo not combine v0 and vB assets or assume commercial rights from the software licence.
Power source, protection, STO chain, wireless stop, fusing, grounding, discharge, enclosure and responsible stop operator.
Reject whenNo energisation until the independent stop path is verified without motion commands.
Motor, gearbox, driver PCB, firmware hash, EtherCAT identity, limits, sensing and assembly record for every module.
Reject whenQuarantine any module whose identity, calibration or protection cannot be reconciled.
Staged verification
Review mechanical retention, PCB/cable drawings, insulation, thermal paths, joint range, STO architecture and fixture design before assembly power-up.
Signed hazard log, drawing revision list, calculated limits and review actions.
All high-severity hazards have an implemented control and verification method.
Uncontrolled stored energy, unclear isolation, missing fastener retention or unresolved wiring discrepancy.
With actuators mechanically disabled or disconnected from load, verify EtherCAT discovery, firmware identity, fault reporting and every local/remote stop path.
Network inventory, state transitions, fault log and measured STO de-energisation response.
Loss of command, communication or stop input reliably reaches the declared safe state.
Any stop path depends on the same software process being tested or leaves torque enabled unexpectedly.
Run one identified module in a rated fixture through low voltage/current, limited angle and speed while monitoring position, current and temperature.
Fixture drawing, command/feedback traces, thermal record, limit events and post-test inspection.
The module tracks bounded commands and enters the safe state under injected communication and stop faults.
Oscillation, saturation, thermal rise beyond the declared bound, mechanical looseness or stop failure.
Integrate one leg, then the supported robot, with physical restraint and feet unloaded; validate sign, range, bus timing and fault propagation.
Joint map, synchronisation trace, restraint design, current envelope and fault-injection results.
All joints remain inside the declared low-energy envelope and coordinated stop removes commanded torque.
Unexpected joint direction, bus instability, structural contact, restraint overload or asymmetric stop.
Under an approved fixture and exclusion zone, transfer load gradually to a static stance; test only predefined low-amplitude pose changes and stop cases.
Load path, fixture forces, joint/current/temperature traces, video, stop trials and inspection.
Evidence may support this restrained stance configuration only; locomotion requires a new protocol and review.
Loss of stance, increasing oscillation, abnormal sound/heat, fixture overload or any person entering the exclusion zone.
Acceptance claims
Each stop and communication-loss case is exercised and tied to measured state and energy removal.
Claim boundaryThis is not certification of a safety function.
A specific module has bounded tracking, thermal and fault-response evidence in a rated fixture.
Claim boundaryOne module does not establish fleet or lifetime performance.
Configuration, restraint, load transfer, raw traces, stop trials and deviations form one signed evidence pack.
Claim boundaryNo inference to free gait, public operation or product compliance.
Evidence pack & boundaries
FUURAA analysis
For a high-energy quadruped, technical depth means making the energy boundary visible. The correct progression is not assembly to running; it is identity, isolation, one actuator, restrained integration and only then a separately reviewed motion envelope.
Primary sources