Proposal: URML (substrate-neutral robot intent) capability-manifest mapping for VLFM — language-conditioned navigation substrate

[idoco2003]

Hi @rai-opensource vlfm team,

Proposing a URML v0.1 capability-manifest mapping for VLFM (Vision-Language Frontier Maps) over rai-opensource/vlfm. URML (Apache-2.0) is a substrate-neutral spec for robot intent: typed primitive vocabulary + capability manifest + static validator.

URML's mobility primitives (move_to, dock, scan) compose with VLM-based frontier-map navigation cleanly: URML declares the navigation-substrate class in the manifest; VLFM dispatches the actual exploration; URML's validator gates the manifest-aware constraints (operating zones, safety envelopes). VLFM's distinct contribution — language-conditioned navigation — is the schema-extension question URML's outreach is queueing.

This is proposal-only, part of URML's Move #11 outreach (15 net-new VLA / foundation-model RFCs in this wave).

Full RFC: https://github.com/URML-MARS/URML/blob/main/docs/rfcs/0149-rai-vlfm-outreach.md

Questions worth maintainer input on:

1. Navigation-substrate manifest fields. Manifest expectations from a VLFM deployment?
2. Language-conditioned navigation primitive declaration. Which language-grounded navigation primitives should URML's manifest declare VLFM supports?
3. Frontier-map state declaration. Stateful substrate dependency manifest fields?
4. Bridge home. URML repo (reference/navigation-runtime/VlfmAdapter), RAI-maintained, or external?
5. Anything else.

Ido Yahalomi (URML maintainer, urml.dev, greenvh@gmail.com)

---

AI-assisted prose, maintainer-reviewed before posting (see VIBE.md). Human-only correspondence available on request.