2. Universal identity and object boundaries
Use EmbodiedAsset as the root for persistent physical engineered objects. VehicleAsset is an embodied asset whose intended capabilities include locomotion or conveyance. MobileMachine adds work performed while moving or between moves. A passive carrier,…
Concept & directionLNK
Use EmbodiedAsset as the root for persistent physical engineered objects. VehicleAsset is an embodied asset whose intended capabilities include locomotion or conveyance. MobileMachine adds work performed while moving or between moves. A passive carrier, attachment, component, temporary assembly, persona, digital twin, and software agent remain related but distinct objects.
| Kernel object | Meaning | Boundary rule |
|---|---|---|
| EmbodiedAsset | Durable physical engineered identity | Root of physical identity; never a person |
| VehicleAsset | Locomotion and/or conveyance is an intended capability | Self-propulsion is optional |
| MobileMachine | Moves and performs useful work | May also be a VehicleAsset |
| Conveyance | Carries people, animals, cargo, instruments or another asset | May be passive, ambient-powered or externally moved |
| Equipment / Attachment | Adds function when mounted, coupled or carried | Can be separately serialized without being independently mobile |
| ComponentInstance | Serial, lot or individually tracked constituent | Keeps its own install, service, meter and custody history |
| Assembly | Dated composition of assets and components | Formation does not erase member identities |
| ConfigurationSnapshot | Immutable exact realized build | Required context for operation, test, event and claim |
| Operation / Mission | Bounded use in time, place, purpose and envelope | Control and regulatory status attach here when appropriate |
| Persona | Public character, voice, canon and account | Can outlive or transfer separately from the physical asset only by policy |
| DigitalTwin | Computational representation and state projection | Never treated as the physical source of truth by default |
| Agent | Software actor with scoped mandates | No implicit ownership, legal personhood or physical authority |
#Admission and identity continuity
- Admit self-propelled, human-powered, animal-powered, ambient-powered, externally propelled, gravity-driven, launched, tethered, guided, carried and passive conveyances.
- Record models and replicas as real assets with explicit scale and represents relationships; never merge a 1:8 model with the full-size vehicle it depicts.
- A temporary consist—tractor plus trailer, train, tug plus barge, rocket stack, drone plus payload—receives an assembly identity for the interval.
- Rebuild, replacement shell, re-chassis, stage separation, split, merge, replica and recovered parts require explicit identity-continuity decisions with evidence.
- Human users remain principals with rights. Wheelchairs, exoskeletons and prosthetic machines may be assets; their users are not components or property.