interfaces.md

Standardized Interfaces

• Schema version: 1
• Registry fingerprint: cf7df9f21d3a0527bd676a63b010ee22a72edd16e86aa52610a2cb564cd45ce8
• Proposal interfaces: visual_cortex, sensory_cortex, hunger_center, sleep_center, alert_center, perception_center, homeostasis_center, threat_center, alert_v1, alert_v2, alert_v3, hunger_v1, hunger_v2, hunger_v3, sensory_v1, sensory_v2, sensory_v3, sleep_v1, sleep_v2, sleep_v3, visual_v1, visual_v2, visual_v3
• Context interfaces: action_center_context, motor_cortex_context

Compatibility

• The current policy is exact_match_required for save/load.
• Changes to the name, observation_key, signal order, outputs, or version require explicit incompatibility handling.
• There is no automatic migration for older checkpoints.

Perception And Active Sensing

Breaking Change: Action Space

• The locomotion action space expanded from 5 to 9 actions.
• Existing indices are unchanged: MOVE_UP=0, MOVE_DOWN=1, MOVE_LEFT=2, MOVE_RIGHT=3, STAY=4.
• New active-sensing actions are ORIENT_UP=5, ORIENT_DOWN=6, ORIENT_LEFT=7, and ORIENT_RIGHT=8.

Foveal And Peripheral Vision

• Visual targets are classified relative to the spider heading as foveal, peripheral, or outside.
• fov_half_angle defaults to 45.0 degrees and defines the foveal cone.
• The peripheral_half_angle defaults to 70.0 degrees and defines the outer visual cone.
• A default peripheral_certainty_penalty of 0.35 reduces peripheral visual certainty.
• Targets beyond peripheral_half_angle are outside the visual field (visible=0).
• Heading zones are not exposed as observation fields; agents receive the resulting visible, certainty, occlusion, and direction signals.
• Smell and olfactory gradients remain omnidirectional and are not gated by heading zones.

Scan Recency

• foveal_scan_age reports how recently the current heading was actively scanned.
• max_scan_age defaults to 10.0 ticks for normalizing scan age into [0, 1].
• A value of 0.0 means the current foveal heading was scanned this tick; 1.0 means stale or never scanned.
• PerceptTrace.heading_dx and PerceptTrace.heading_dy record the body or gaze heading active when a food, shelter, or predator trace was refreshed.
• Trace headings surface as food_trace_heading_*, shelter_trace_heading_*, and predator_trace_heading_* signals.
• Scan recency is self-knowledge derived from the spider's own heading changes, not hidden world-state access.

ORIENT Actions

• ORIENT_* actions update heading_dx and heading_dy from ORIENT_HEADINGS; they are not movement translations in ACTION_DELTAS.
• After the heading update, the world refreshes the current tick's perception buffer immediately, before the normal end-of-step tick commit.
• The refresh itself does not advance the tick or run hunger, fatigue, predator, memory, or perceptual-delay stages.
• ORIENT_* actions still consume the step: after the refresh, the normal commit advances the tick and applies hunger, fatigue, predator, and perceptual-buffer progression.
• ORIENT_* actions do not cause displacement and do not trigger motor slip.

Percept Traces

• Trace signals carry target direction, decayed strength, and the heading active when the trace was refreshed.
• *_trace_heading_dx and *_trace_heading_dy are scan context for the trace; they are not target directions.

Perceptual Delay

• perceptual_delay_ticks defaults to 1.0 and returns observations from the previous tick when buffered.
• perceptual_delay_noise defaults to 0.5 and scales delay-noise effects.
• NoiseConfig.delay.certainty_decay_per_tick defaults to 0.0 and decays certainty as observations age.
• NoiseConfig.delay.direction_jitter_per_tick defaults to 0.0 and adds age-proportional jitter to delayed direction signals.
• Delay noise uses a dedicated RNG stream to preserve reproducibility.
• Trace signals such as food_trace_strength reflect the delayed percept state, not the current world state.

Perception Categories

• Direct sight means visual certainty is above the debug threshold and the current scan is fresh.
• Trace means a decayed percept trace is active after direct sight has gone stale or disappeared.
• Delayed means perceptual delay is active and the current payload was not refreshed by an active scan.
• Uncertain means no direct, trace, or delayed classification applies.
• These categories are debug and audit labels from _perception_category(); they are not observation signals.

Explicit Memory Signals

• food_memory_dx/food_memory_dy/food_memory_age, shelter_memory_*, predator_memory_*, and escape_memory_* are derived from perception-grounded memory slots.
• The environment pipeline maintains mechanical timing only: refresh cycles age slots, enforce TTLs, and clear expired targets.
• Data sources are limited to local visual perception, contact events, and movement history; the pipeline cannot inject information the spider has not perceived.
• spider_cortex_sim.memory.MEMORY_LEAKAGE_AUDIT is the authoritative classification source for explicit memory ownership and leakage risk.

Interface Variants

• Interface variants are diagnostic sufficiency probes for local tasks and organism-level ablations; they are not production save/load interfaces.
• Use the variant ladder to ask how much signal a module needs before escalating to broader architectural diagnosis.

visual_cortex

• Progression: visual_v1 -> visual_v2 -> visual_v3 -> visual_cortex

Level	Interface	Signal Count	Added At This Level
v1	visual_v1	5	food_visible, food_dx, food_dy, heading_dx, heading_dy
v2	visual_v2	11	shelter_visible, shelter_dx, shelter_dy, predator_visible, predator_dx, predator_dy
v3	visual_v3	26	foveal_scan_age, food_trace_strength, food_trace_heading_dx, food_trace_heading_dy, shelter_trace_strength, shelter_trace_heading_dx, shelter_trace_heading_dy, predator_trace_strength, predator_trace_heading_dx, predator_trace_heading_dy, predator_motion_salience, visual_predator_threat, olfactory_predator_threat, day, night
v4	visual_cortex	32	food_certainty, food_occluded, shelter_certainty, shelter_occluded, predator_certainty, predator_occluded (canonical interface)

sensory_cortex

• Progression: sensory_v1 -> sensory_v2 -> sensory_v3 -> sensory_cortex

Level	Interface	Signal Count	Added At This Level
v1	sensory_v1	5	recent_pain, recent_contact, predator_smell_strength, predator_smell_dx, predator_smell_dy
v2	sensory_v2	8	food_smell_strength, food_smell_dx, food_smell_dy
v3	sensory_v3	11	health, hunger, fatigue
v4	sensory_cortex	12	light (canonical interface)

hunger_center

• Progression: hunger_v1 -> hunger_v2 -> hunger_v3 -> hunger_center

Level	Interface	Signal Count	Added At This Level
v1	hunger_v1	5	hunger, on_food, food_visible, food_dx, food_dy
v2	hunger_v2	8	food_smell_strength, food_smell_dx, food_smell_dy
v3	hunger_v3	13	food_trace_dx, food_trace_dy, food_trace_strength, food_trace_heading_dx, food_trace_heading_dy
v4	hunger_center	18	food_certainty, food_occluded, food_memory_dx, food_memory_dy, food_memory_age (canonical interface)

sleep_center

• Progression: sleep_v1 -> sleep_v2 -> sleep_v3 -> sleep_center

Level	Interface	Signal Count	Added At This Level
v1	sleep_v1	3	fatigue, on_shelter, night
v2	sleep_v2	4	shelter_role_level
v3	sleep_v3	9	shelter_trace_dx, shelter_trace_dy, shelter_trace_strength, shelter_trace_heading_dx, shelter_trace_heading_dy
v4	sleep_center	18	hunger, health, recent_pain, sleep_phase_level, rest_streak_norm, sleep_debt, shelter_memory_dx, shelter_memory_dy, shelter_memory_age (canonical interface)

alert_center

• Progression: alert_v1 -> alert_v2 -> alert_v3 -> alert_center

Level	Interface	Signal Count	Added At This Level
v1	alert_v1	3	predator_visible, predator_dx, predator_dy
v2	alert_v2	5	predator_certainty, predator_occluded
v3	alert_v3	9	predator_smell_strength, recent_pain, recent_contact, on_shelter
v4	alert_center	27	predator_motion_salience, visual_predator_threat, olfactory_predator_threat, dominant_predator_none, dominant_predator_visual, dominant_predator_olfactory, night, predator_trace_dx, predator_trace_dy, predator_trace_strength, predator_trace_heading_dx, predator_trace_heading_dy, predator_memory_dx, predator_memory_dy, predator_memory_age, escape_memory_dx, escape_memory_dy, escape_memory_age (canonical interface)

A5 Candidate Interfaces

• A5 candidate modules are gated by the prerequisite checklist, module admission criteria, and operating rules in architectural_ladder.md.
• These candidate entries are protocol-defined proposal surfaces for A5_future_bio_refined; they are not part of interface_registry(), do not affect save/load compatibility, and do not change the current registry fingerprint.
• Placeholder signals documented here are allowed at the protocol level even when the runtime does not yet expose them. They exist so each future module proposal has a concrete interface hypothesis before implementation starts.
• homeostasis_center remains the coarse A2 control surface. Any A5 homeostatic refinement is an alternative experiment path, not an automatic extension of the current proposer stack.

olfactory_center

• Status: proposal_only
• Candidate input count: 9
• Outputs: MOVE_UP, MOVE_DOWN, MOVE_LEFT, MOVE_RIGHT, STAY, ORIENT_UP, ORIENT_DOWN, ORIENT_LEFT, ORIENT_RIGHT
• Connection: feeds action_center with valence role "foraging" or "threat" based on the dominant smell-driven signal. If the current runtime arbitration vocabulary is kept unchanged, "foraging" would map to the existing hunger lane.
• Experimental hypothesis: a dedicated smell-specialized proposer will improve odor-led food approach and odor-led threat avoidance in mixed-scent conditions, especially when direct vision is weak or absent.
• Ablation test: drop_olfactory_center must selectively reduce performance on smell-dominant tasks such as olfactory_visual_dissociation without producing the same failure pattern as drop_sensory_cortex or drop_alert_center.
• Coupling risk: HIGH because the candidate overlaps both the current smell integrator (sensory_cortex) and smell-aware threat handling (alert_center).

#	Signal	Source	Range	Description
1	food_smell_strength	sensory_cortex	0.0..1.0	Strength of the local food odor field.
2	food_smell_dx	sensory_cortex	-1.0..1.0	Horizontal food odor gradient.
3	food_smell_dy	sensory_cortex	-1.0..1.0	Vertical food odor gradient.
4	predator_smell_strength	sensory_cortex + alert_center	0.0..1.0	Strength of the local predator odor field.
5	predator_smell_dx	sensory_cortex	-1.0..1.0	Horizontal predator odor gradient.
6	predator_smell_dy	sensory_cortex	-1.0..1.0	Vertical predator odor gradient.
7	olfactory_predator_threat	alert_center	0.0..1.0	Aggregated threat estimate from olfactory-oriented predators.
8	dominant_predator_olfactory	alert_center	0.0..1.0	Indicator that olfactory hunters are the dominant current predator type.
9	smell_ambiguity	derived from sensory_cortex + alert_center	0.0..1.0	Conflict score for mixed food and predator gradients or unstable odor localization.

nociceptive_center

• Status: proposal_only
• Candidate input count: 8
• Outputs: MOVE_UP, MOVE_DOWN, MOVE_LEFT, MOVE_RIGHT, STAY, ORIENT_UP, ORIENT_DOWN, ORIENT_LEFT, ORIENT_RIGHT
• Connection: feeds action_center with valence role "threat" as a body-state emergency proposer.
• Experimental hypothesis: a pain-specialized proposer will shorten escape latency after damage or contact and reduce repeated contact events after the first hit, especially when the predator is no longer directly visible.
• Ablation test: drop_nociceptive_center must degrade pain_escape_latency or post-contact survival more than smell-led detection tasks, while remaining distinguishable from the broader drop_alert_center failure pattern.
• Coupling risk: MEDIUM because the candidate overlaps current threat signals but proposes a narrower post-contact recovery role than alert_center.

#	Signal	Source	Range	Description
1	recent_pain	sensory_cortex + alert_center	0.0..1.0	Immediate recent pain caused by a predator hit.
2	recent_contact	sensory_cortex + alert_center	0.0..1.0	Immediate recent physical contact with the predator.
3	health	sensory_cortex + alert_center	0.0..1.0	Current body health available for damage-sensitive retreat control.
4	damage_rate	derived from health delta	0.0..1.0	Short-horizon rate of health loss after contact.
5	pain_memory_dx	derived from alert_center memory traces	-1.0..1.0	Horizontal direction of the last harmful contact or pain source.
6	pain_memory_dy	derived from alert_center memory traces	-1.0..1.0	Vertical direction of the last harmful contact or pain source.
7	pain_memory_age	derived from alert_center memory traces	0.0..1.0	Age of the last harmful contact memory.
8	contact_intensity	derived from recent_contact + recent_pain	0.0..1.0	Combined severity estimate for recent bodily impact.

arousal_center

• Status: proposal_only
• Candidate input count: 10
• Outputs: MOVE_UP, MOVE_DOWN, MOVE_LEFT, MOVE_RIGHT, STAY, ORIENT_UP, ORIENT_DOWN, ORIENT_LEFT, ORIENT_RIGHT
• Connection: feeds action_center with valence role "sleep" when arousal is low and "exploration" when arousal is high, acting as a state-transition proposer rather than a direct threat or feeding specialist.
• Experimental hypothesis: a dedicated arousal proposer will improve sleep-wake transitions, scan initiation, and exploratory reactivation under changing circadian and threat pressure without taking over the core sheltering job of sleep_center.
• Ablation test: drop_arousal_center must selectively hurt arousal_state_transition, timely ORIENT_* use, or post-rest reactivation without collapsing into the same deficit profile as drop_sleep_center.
• Coupling risk: HIGH because the candidate overlaps sleep_center, contextual arbitration, and activity-state features that may already be expressible without another proposer.

#	Signal	Source	Range	Description
1	fatigue	sensory_cortex + sleep_center + action_context	0.0..1.0	Immediate fatigue pressure acting against wakeful exploration.
2	sleep_debt	sleep_center + action_context	0.0..1.0	Accumulated need for restorative sleep.
3	night	sleep_center + action_context	0.0..1.0	Nighttime state indicator.
4	day_night_transition	derived from day/night history	0.0..1.0	Recent circadian transition marker for waking or winding down.
5	arousal_level	derived from sleep_center + action_context	0.0..1.0	Latent wakefulness estimate combining rest and vigilance state.
6	threat_induced_arousal	derived from sensory_cortex + action_context	0.0..1.0	Transient activation caused by distant threat evidence.
7	activity_level	derived from action_context.last_move_* history	0.0..1.0	Short-horizon locomotor activity or quiescence estimate.
8	metabolic_state	derived from sensory_cortex body-state signals	0.0..1.0	Compact scalar summarizing available internal energy and recovery pressure.
9	circadian_phase	derived from day/night cycle phase	0.0..1.0	Normalized position within the circadian cycle.
10	rest_urgency	derived from sleep_center	0.0..1.0	Immediate pressure to stay in shelter or resume rest.

homeostasis_center A5 Refinement Pathway

• Current status: homeostasis_center is the coarse A2_three_center homeostatic control with 28 canonical signals and remains the rollback target when finer splits regress.
• Refinement admission rule: consider an A5 homeostatic refinement only if the current A4_current_full_modular split still shows reproducible interference that the existing hunger_center and sleep_center separation does not resolve.
• Refinement topology rule: treat metabolic_regulation_center and thermoregulation_center as alternative sixth-module experiments. Do not admit both at once without new evidence, so the first A5 comparison stays modular_full versus a hypothetical 6-module proposer stack.

metabolic_regulation_center

• Status: proposal_only, blocked unless A4 homeostatic splits prove insufficient
• Candidate input count: 14
• Outputs: MOVE_UP, MOVE_DOWN, MOVE_LEFT, MOVE_RIGHT, STAY, ORIENT_UP, ORIENT_DOWN, ORIENT_LEFT, ORIENT_RIGHT
• Connection: would feed action_center with valence role "hunger" as a narrower metabolic-drive proposer.

#	Signal	Source	Range	Description
1	hunger	homeostasis_center subset	0.0..1.0	Primary metabolic deficit signal.
2	health	homeostasis_center subset	0.0..1.0	Body viability constraint on foraging persistence.
3	on_food	homeostasis_center subset	0.0..1.0	Immediate feeding context.
4	food_visible	homeostasis_center subset	0.0..1.0	Direct food visibility gate.
5	food_certainty	homeostasis_center subset	0.0..1.0	Confidence in the visible food cue.
6	food_smell_strength	homeostasis_center subset	0.0..1.0	Food odor strength.
7	food_smell_dx	homeostasis_center subset	-1.0..1.0	Horizontal food odor gradient.
8	food_smell_dy	homeostasis_center subset	-1.0..1.0	Vertical food odor gradient.
9	food_trace_dx	homeostasis_center subset	-1.0..1.0	Horizontal direction of the short food trace.
10	food_trace_dy	homeostasis_center subset	-1.0..1.0	Vertical direction of the short food trace.
11	food_trace_strength	homeostasis_center subset	0.0..1.0	Strength of the short food trace.
12	food_memory_dx	homeostasis_center subset	-1.0..1.0	Horizontal direction of remembered food.
13	food_memory_dy	homeostasis_center subset	-1.0..1.0	Vertical direction of remembered food.
14	food_memory_age	homeostasis_center subset	0.0..1.0	Age of remembered food.

thermoregulation_center

• Status: proposal_only, blocked unless A4 homeostatic splits prove insufficient
• Candidate input count: 14
• Outputs: MOVE_UP, MOVE_DOWN, MOVE_LEFT, MOVE_RIGHT, STAY, ORIENT_UP, ORIENT_DOWN, ORIENT_LEFT, ORIENT_RIGHT
• Connection: would feed action_center with valence role "sleep" as a narrower shelter and recovery proposer.

#	Signal	Source	Range	Description
1	fatigue	homeostasis_center subset	0.0..1.0	Immediate fatigue pressure.
2	on_shelter	homeostasis_center subset	0.0..1.0	Current shelter occupancy.
3	day	homeostasis_center subset	0.0..1.0	Daytime exposure proxy.
4	night	homeostasis_center subset	0.0..1.0	Nighttime sheltering proxy.
5	sleep_phase_level	homeostasis_center subset	0.0..1.0	Current sleep depth or rest phase.
6	rest_streak_norm	homeostasis_center subset	0.0..1.0	Recent rest continuity.
7	sleep_debt	homeostasis_center subset	0.0..1.0	Accumulated unmet rest demand.
8	shelter_role_level	homeostasis_center subset	0.0..1.0	Current depth inside the shelter.
9	shelter_trace_dx	homeostasis_center subset	-1.0..1.0	Horizontal direction of the short shelter trace.
10	shelter_trace_dy	homeostasis_center subset	-1.0..1.0	Vertical direction of the short shelter trace.
11	shelter_trace_strength	homeostasis_center subset	0.0..1.0	Strength of the short shelter trace.
12	shelter_memory_dx	homeostasis_center subset	-1.0..1.0	Horizontal direction of remembered shelter.
13	shelter_memory_dy	homeostasis_center subset	-1.0..1.0	Vertical direction of remembered shelter.
14	shelter_memory_age	homeostasis_center subset	0.0..1.0	Age of remembered shelter.

• Refinement experimental hypothesis: only pursue an A5 homeostatic refinement when the current split still shows a reproducible interference pattern, and the candidate sixth-module configuration improves that pattern with Cohen's d >= 0.3 while preserving inherited gates.
• Ablation design: compare modular_full against a hypothetical 6-module A5 configuration that introduces exactly one homeostatic refinement module at a time, then require the added module's removal or rollback comparison to isolate the intended interference reduction under the same Cohen's d >= 0.3 admission threshold.
• Coupling risk: HIGH because the current A4 architecture already decomposes coarse homeostasis into hunger_center and sleep_center, so additional splitting is likely to duplicate existing behavior unless the interference pattern is cleanly separable.

visual_cortex

• Observation key: visual
• Role: proposal
• Version: 7
• Description: Visual proposer driven by food, shelter, and predator cues inside the local visual field.
• Outputs: MOVE_UP, MOVE_DOWN, MOVE_LEFT, MOVE_RIGHT, STAY, ORIENT_UP, ORIENT_DOWN, ORIENT_LEFT, ORIENT_RIGHT
• Save policy: exact_match_required

#	Signal	Min	Max	Description
1	food_visible	-1.0	1.0	1 when food is detected with sufficient confidence in the visual field.
2	food_certainty	0.0	1.0	Visual confidence in the perceived food target.
3	food_occluded	0.0	1.0	1 when the nearest food is within range but occluded.
4	food_dx	-1.0	1.0	Relative horizontal offset of the detected food.
5	food_dy	-1.0	1.0	Relative vertical offset of the detected food.
6	shelter_visible	-1.0	1.0	1 when the shelter is visible with sufficient confidence.
7	shelter_certainty	0.0	1.0	Visual confidence in the perceived shelter.
8	shelter_occluded	0.0	1.0	1 when the shelter is within visual range but occluded.
9	shelter_dx	-1.0	1.0	Relative horizontal offset of the detected shelter.
10	shelter_dy	-1.0	1.0	Relative vertical offset of the detected shelter.
11	predator_visible	-1.0	1.0	1 when the predator is visible with sufficient confidence.
12	predator_certainty	0.0	1.0	Visual confidence in the perceived predator.
13	predator_occluded	0.0	1.0	1 when the predator is within visual range but occluded.
14	predator_dx	-1.0	1.0	Relative horizontal offset of the detected predator.
15	predator_dy	-1.0	1.0	Relative vertical offset of the detected predator.
16	heading_dx	-1.0	1.0	Current horizontal body or gaze orientation.
17	heading_dy	-1.0	1.0	Current vertical body or gaze orientation.
18	foveal_scan_age	0.0	1.0	Normalized ticks since the current foveal heading was actively scanned; 0 is fresh and 1 is stale or never scanned.
19	food_trace_strength	0.0	1.0	Decayed strength of the short food trace.
20	food_trace_heading_dx	-1.0	1.0	Horizontal heading active when the short food trace was refreshed.
21	food_trace_heading_dy	-1.0	1.0	Vertical heading active when the short food trace was refreshed.
22	shelter_trace_strength	0.0	1.0	Decayed strength of the short shelter trace.
23	shelter_trace_heading_dx	-1.0	1.0	Horizontal heading active when the short shelter trace was refreshed.
24	shelter_trace_heading_dy	-1.0	1.0	Vertical heading active when the short shelter trace was refreshed.
25	predator_trace_strength	0.0	1.0	Decayed strength of the short predator trace.
26	predator_trace_heading_dx	-1.0	1.0	Horizontal heading active when the short predator trace was refreshed.
27	predator_trace_heading_dy	-1.0	1.0	Vertical heading active when the short predator trace was refreshed.
28	predator_motion_salience	0.0	1.0	Explicit motion salience of the predator.
29	visual_predator_threat	0.0	1.0	Aggregated threat from visually oriented predators.
30	olfactory_predator_threat	0.0	1.0	Aggregated threat from olfactory predators.
31	day	-1.0	1.0	1 during daytime.
32	night	-1.0	1.0	1 during nighttime.

sensory_cortex

• Observation key: sensory
• Role: proposal
• Version: 2
• Description: Sensory proposer that integrates pain, body state, smell, and light.
• Outputs: MOVE_UP, MOVE_DOWN, MOVE_LEFT, MOVE_RIGHT, STAY, ORIENT_UP, ORIENT_DOWN, ORIENT_LEFT, ORIENT_RIGHT
• Save policy: exact_match_required

#	Signal	Min	Max	Description
1	recent_pain	0.0	1.0	Recent pain caused by a predator attack.
2	recent_contact	0.0	1.0	Recent physical contact with the predator.
3	health	0.0	1.0	Body health.
4	hunger	0.0	1.0	Body hunger.
5	fatigue	0.0	1.0	Body fatigue.
6	food_smell_strength	0.0	1.0	Intensity of the food scent.
7	food_smell_dx	-1.0	1.0	Horizontal gradient of the food scent.
8	food_smell_dy	-1.0	1.0	Vertical gradient of the food scent.
9	predator_smell_strength	0.0	1.0	Intensity of the predator scent.
10	predator_smell_dx	-1.0	1.0	Horizontal gradient of the predator scent.
11	predator_smell_dy	-1.0	1.0	Vertical gradient of the predator scent.
12	light	0.0	1.0	Simple light level.

hunger_center

• Observation key: hunger
• Role: proposal
• Version: 4
• Description: Homeostatic proposer aimed at foraging and returning to the last perceived food.
• Outputs: MOVE_UP, MOVE_DOWN, MOVE_LEFT, MOVE_RIGHT, STAY, ORIENT_UP, ORIENT_DOWN, ORIENT_LEFT, ORIENT_RIGHT
• Save policy: exact_match_required

#	Signal	Min	Max	Description
1	hunger	0.0	1.0	Internal hunger state.
2	on_food	0.0	1.0	1 when the spider is standing on food.
3	food_visible	0.0	1.0	1 when food is visible.
4	food_certainty	0.0	1.0	Visual confidence in the perceived food.
5	food_occluded	0.0	1.0	1 when nearby food exists but is occluded.
6	food_dx	-1.0	1.0	Horizontal direction of the detected food.
7	food_dy	-1.0	1.0	Vertical direction of the detected food.
8	food_smell_strength	0.0	1.0	Intensity of the food scent.
9	food_smell_dx	-1.0	1.0	Horizontal gradient of the food scent.
10	food_smell_dy	-1.0	1.0	Vertical gradient of the food scent.
11	food_trace_dx	-1.0	1.0	Horizontal direction of the short food trace.
12	food_trace_dy	-1.0	1.0	Vertical direction of the short food trace.
13	food_trace_strength	0.0	1.0	Decayed strength of the short food trace.
14	food_trace_heading_dx	-1.0	1.0	Horizontal heading active when the short food trace was refreshed.
15	food_trace_heading_dy	-1.0	1.0	Vertical heading active when the short food trace was refreshed.
16	food_memory_dx	-1.0	1.0	Horizontal direction of the last seen food.
17	food_memory_dy	-1.0	1.0	Vertical direction of the last seen food.
18	food_memory_age	0.0	1.0	Normalized age of the food memory.

sleep_center

• Observation key: sleep
• Role: proposal
• Version: 5
• Description: Homeostatic proposer aimed at returning to shelter, resting, and seeking safe depth.
• Outputs: MOVE_UP, MOVE_DOWN, MOVE_LEFT, MOVE_RIGHT, STAY, ORIENT_UP, ORIENT_DOWN, ORIENT_LEFT, ORIENT_RIGHT
• Save policy: exact_match_required

#	Signal	Min	Max	Description
1	fatigue	0.0	1.0	Internal fatigue state.
2	hunger	0.0	1.0	Internal hunger state.
3	on_shelter	0.0	1.0	1 when the spider is on the shelter.
4	night	0.0	1.0	1 during nighttime.
5	health	0.0	1.0	Body health.
6	recent_pain	0.0	1.0	Recent pain.
7	sleep_phase_level	0.0	1.0	Current sleep phase level.
8	rest_streak_norm	0.0	1.0	Recent rest continuity.
9	sleep_debt	0.0	1.0	Accumulated sleep debt.
10	shelter_role_level	0.0	1.0	Current depth inside the shelter.
11	shelter_trace_dx	-1.0	1.0	Horizontal direction of the short shelter trace.
12	shelter_trace_dy	-1.0	1.0	Vertical direction of the short shelter trace.
13	shelter_trace_strength	0.0	1.0	Decayed strength of the short shelter trace.
14	shelter_trace_heading_dx	-1.0	1.0	Horizontal heading active when the short shelter trace was refreshed.
15	shelter_trace_heading_dy	-1.0	1.0	Vertical heading active when the short shelter trace was refreshed.
16	shelter_memory_dx	-1.0	1.0	Horizontal direction of the nearest visible shelter cell.
17	shelter_memory_dy	-1.0	1.0	Vertical direction of the nearest visible shelter cell.
18	shelter_memory_age	0.0	1.0	Normalized age of the nearest visible shelter cell memory.

alert_center

• Observation key: alert
• Role: proposal
• Version: 8
• Description: Defensive proposer aimed at threat response, escape, and shelter prioritization under risk.
• Outputs: MOVE_UP, MOVE_DOWN, MOVE_LEFT, MOVE_RIGHT, STAY, ORIENT_UP, ORIENT_DOWN, ORIENT_LEFT, ORIENT_RIGHT
• Save policy: exact_match_required

#	Signal	Min	Max	Description
1	predator_visible	0.0	1.0	1 when the predator is visible.
2	predator_certainty	0.0	1.0	Visual confidence in the perceived predator.
3	predator_occluded	0.0	1.0	1 when the predator is within range but occluded.
4	predator_dx	-1.0	1.0	Horizontal direction of the detected predator.
5	predator_dy	-1.0	1.0	Vertical direction of the detected predator.
6	predator_smell_strength	0.0	1.0	Intensity of the predator scent.
7	predator_motion_salience	0.0	1.0	Explicit motion salience of the predator.
8	visual_predator_threat	0.0	1.0	Aggregated threat from visually oriented predators.
9	olfactory_predator_threat	0.0	1.0	Aggregated threat from olfactory predators.
10	dominant_predator_none	0.0	1.0	1 when no predator type is currently dominant.
11	dominant_predator_visual	0.0	1.0	1 when visual predators are the dominant threat type.
12	dominant_predator_olfactory	0.0	1.0	1 when olfactory predators are the dominant threat type.
13	recent_pain	0.0	1.0	Recent pain.
14	recent_contact	0.0	1.0	Recent physical contact.
15	on_shelter	0.0	1.0	1 when the spider is on the shelter.
16	night	0.0	1.0	1 during nighttime.
17	predator_trace_dx	-1.0	1.0	Horizontal direction of the short predator trace.
18	predator_trace_dy	-1.0	1.0	Vertical direction of the short predator trace.
19	predator_trace_strength	0.0	1.0	Decayed strength of the short predator trace.
20	predator_trace_heading_dx	-1.0	1.0	Horizontal heading active when the short predator trace was refreshed.
21	predator_trace_heading_dy	-1.0	1.0	Vertical heading active when the short predator trace was refreshed.
22	predator_memory_dx	-1.0	1.0	Horizontal direction of the predator position perceived during visual detection or inferred from contact event.
23	predator_memory_dy	-1.0	1.0	Vertical direction of the predator position perceived during visual detection or inferred from contact event.
24	predator_memory_age	0.0	1.0	Normalized age of the predator position perceived during visual detection or inferred from contact event.
25	escape_memory_dx	-1.0	1.0	Horizontal direction of the recent escape target derived from movement history without walkability assumptions.
26	escape_memory_dy	-1.0	1.0	Vertical direction of the recent escape target derived from movement history without walkability assumptions.
27	escape_memory_age	0.0	1.0	Normalized age of the escape memory derived from movement history without walkability assumptions.

perception_center

• Observation key: perception
• Role: proposal
• Version: 1
• Description: Coarse perception proposer that fuses visual, olfactory, trace, and perceptual-memory cues.
• Outputs: MOVE_UP, MOVE_DOWN, MOVE_LEFT, MOVE_RIGHT, STAY, ORIENT_UP, ORIENT_DOWN, ORIENT_LEFT, ORIENT_RIGHT
• Save policy: exact_match_required

#	Signal	Min	Max	Description
1	food_visible	0.0	1.0	1 when food is visible.
2	food_certainty	0.0	1.0	Visual confidence in the perceived food.
3	food_dx	-1.0	1.0	Horizontal direction of the detected food.
4	food_dy	-1.0	1.0	Vertical direction of the detected food.
5	shelter_visible	0.0	1.0	1 when shelter is visible.
6	shelter_certainty	0.0	1.0	Visual confidence in the perceived shelter.
7	shelter_dx	-1.0	1.0	Horizontal direction of the detected shelter.
8	shelter_dy	-1.0	1.0	Vertical direction of the detected shelter.
9	predator_visible	0.0	1.0	1 when a predator is visible.
10	predator_certainty	0.0	1.0	Visual confidence in the perceived predator.
11	predator_dx	-1.0	1.0	Horizontal direction of the detected predator.
12	predator_dy	-1.0	1.0	Vertical direction of the detected predator.
13	heading_dx	-1.0	1.0	Current horizontal body or gaze orientation.
14	heading_dy	-1.0	1.0	Current vertical body or gaze orientation.
15	foveal_scan_age	0.0	1.0	Normalized ticks since the current foveal heading was actively scanned.
16	food_smell_strength	0.0	1.0	Intensity of the food scent.
17	food_smell_dx	-1.0	1.0	Horizontal gradient of the food scent.
18	food_smell_dy	-1.0	1.0	Vertical gradient of the food scent.
19	predator_smell_strength	0.0	1.0	Intensity of the predator scent.
20	predator_smell_dx	-1.0	1.0	Horizontal gradient of the predator scent.
21	predator_smell_dy	-1.0	1.0	Vertical gradient of the predator scent.
22	light	0.0	1.0	Simple light level.
23	day	0.0	1.0	1 during daytime.
24	night	0.0	1.0	1 during nighttime.
25	food_trace_strength	0.0	1.0	Decayed strength of the short food trace.
26	food_trace_heading_dx	-1.0	1.0	Horizontal heading active when the short food trace was refreshed.
27	food_trace_heading_dy	-1.0	1.0	Vertical heading active when the short food trace was refreshed.
28	shelter_trace_strength	0.0	1.0	Decayed strength of the short shelter trace.
29	shelter_trace_heading_dx	-1.0	1.0	Horizontal heading active when the short shelter trace was refreshed.
30	shelter_trace_heading_dy	-1.0	1.0	Vertical heading active when the short shelter trace was refreshed.
31	predator_trace_strength	0.0	1.0	Decayed strength of the short predator trace.
32	predator_trace_heading_dx	-1.0	1.0	Horizontal heading active when the short predator trace was refreshed.
33	predator_trace_heading_dy	-1.0	1.0	Vertical heading active when the short predator trace was refreshed.
34	food_memory_dx	-1.0	1.0	Horizontal direction of the last seen food.
35	food_memory_dy	-1.0	1.0	Vertical direction of the last seen food.
36	food_memory_age	0.0	1.0	Normalized age of the food memory.
37	shelter_memory_dx	-1.0	1.0	Horizontal direction of the remembered shelter.
38	shelter_memory_dy	-1.0	1.0	Vertical direction of the remembered shelter.
39	shelter_memory_age	0.0	1.0	Normalized age of the shelter memory.
40	predator_memory_dx	-1.0	1.0	Horizontal direction of the remembered predator.
41	predator_memory_dy	-1.0	1.0	Vertical direction of the remembered predator.
42	predator_memory_age	0.0	1.0	Normalized age of the predator memory.

homeostasis_center

• Observation key: homeostasis
• Role: proposal
• Version: 1
• Description: Coarse homeostatic proposer that blends hunger, fatigue, sheltering, and recovery drives.
• Outputs: MOVE_UP, MOVE_DOWN, MOVE_LEFT, MOVE_RIGHT, STAY, ORIENT_UP, ORIENT_DOWN, ORIENT_LEFT, ORIENT_RIGHT
• Save policy: exact_match_required

#	Signal	Min	Max	Description
1	hunger	0.0	1.0	Internal hunger state.
2	fatigue	0.0	1.0	Internal fatigue state.
3	health	0.0	1.0	Body health.
4	on_food	0.0	1.0	1 when the spider is standing on food.
5	on_shelter	0.0	1.0	1 when the spider is on the shelter.
6	day	0.0	1.0	1 during daytime.
7	night	0.0	1.0	1 during nighttime.
8	sleep_phase_level	0.0	1.0	Current sleep phase level.
9	rest_streak_norm	0.0	1.0	Recent rest continuity.
10	sleep_debt	0.0	1.0	Accumulated sleep debt.
11	shelter_role_level	0.0	1.0	Current depth inside the shelter.
12	food_visible	0.0	1.0	1 when food is visible.
13	food_certainty	0.0	1.0	Visual confidence in the perceived food.
14	food_smell_strength	0.0	1.0	Intensity of the food scent.
15	food_smell_dx	-1.0	1.0	Horizontal gradient of the food scent.
16	food_smell_dy	-1.0	1.0	Vertical gradient of the food scent.
17	food_trace_dx	-1.0	1.0	Horizontal direction of the short food trace.
18	food_trace_dy	-1.0	1.0	Vertical direction of the short food trace.
19	food_trace_strength	0.0	1.0	Decayed strength of the short food trace.
20	food_memory_dx	-1.0	1.0	Horizontal direction of the last seen food.
21	food_memory_dy	-1.0	1.0	Vertical direction of the last seen food.
22	food_memory_age	0.0	1.0	Normalized age of the food memory.
23	shelter_trace_dx	-1.0	1.0	Horizontal direction of the short shelter trace.
24	shelter_trace_dy	-1.0	1.0	Vertical direction of the short shelter trace.
25	shelter_trace_strength	0.0	1.0	Decayed strength of the short shelter trace.
26	shelter_memory_dx	-1.0	1.0	Horizontal direction of the remembered shelter.
27	shelter_memory_dy	-1.0	1.0	Vertical direction of the remembered shelter.
28	shelter_memory_age	0.0	1.0	Normalized age of the shelter memory.

threat_center

• Observation key: threat
• Role: proposal
• Version: 1
• Description: Coarse threat proposer that blends threat sensing, pain/contact, and escape memory.
• Outputs: MOVE_UP, MOVE_DOWN, MOVE_LEFT, MOVE_RIGHT, STAY, ORIENT_UP, ORIENT_DOWN, ORIENT_LEFT, ORIENT_RIGHT
• Save policy: exact_match_required

#	Signal	Min	Max	Description
1	predator_visible	0.0	1.0	1 when a predator is visible.
2	predator_certainty	0.0	1.0	Visual confidence in the perceived predator.
3	predator_dx	-1.0	1.0	Horizontal direction of the detected predator.
4	predator_dy	-1.0	1.0	Vertical direction of the detected predator.
5	predator_smell_strength	0.0	1.0	Intensity of the predator scent.
6	predator_smell_dx	-1.0	1.0	Horizontal gradient of the predator scent.
7	predator_smell_dy	-1.0	1.0	Vertical gradient of the predator scent.
8	predator_motion_salience	0.0	1.0	Explicit motion salience of the predator.
9	visual_predator_threat	0.0	1.0	Aggregated threat from visually oriented predators.
10	olfactory_predator_threat	0.0	1.0	Aggregated threat from olfactory predators.
11	dominant_predator_none	0.0	1.0	1 when no predator type is currently dominant.
12	dominant_predator_visual	0.0	1.0	1 when visual predators are the dominant threat type.
13	dominant_predator_olfactory	0.0	1.0	1 when olfactory predators are the dominant threat type.
14	recent_pain	0.0	1.0	Recent pain.
15	recent_contact	0.0	1.0	Recent physical contact.
16	health	0.0	1.0	Body health.
17	on_shelter	0.0	1.0	1 when the spider is on the shelter.
18	night	0.0	1.0	1 during nighttime.
19	predator_trace_dx	-1.0	1.0	Horizontal direction of the short predator trace.
20	predator_trace_dy	-1.0	1.0	Vertical direction of the short predator trace.
21	predator_trace_strength	0.0	1.0	Decayed strength of the short predator trace.
22	predator_memory_dx	-1.0	1.0	Horizontal direction of the remembered predator.
23	predator_memory_dy	-1.0	1.0	Vertical direction of the remembered predator.
24	predator_memory_age	0.0	1.0	Normalized age of the predator memory.
25	escape_memory_dx	-1.0	1.0	Horizontal direction of the remembered escape target.
26	escape_memory_dy	-1.0	1.0	Vertical direction of the remembered escape target.
27	escape_memory_age	0.0	1.0	Normalized age of the escape memory.

action_center_context

• Observation key: action_context
• Role: context
• Version: 3
• Description: Raw context used by the action_center to arbitrate competing locomotion proposals.
• Outputs: ``
• Save policy: exact_match_required

#	Signal	Min	Max	Description
1	hunger	0.0	1.0	Body hunger.
2	fatigue	0.0	1.0	Body fatigue.
3	health	0.0	1.0	Body health.
4	recent_pain	0.0	1.0	Recent pain.
5	recent_contact	0.0	1.0	Recent contact with the predator.
6	on_food	0.0	1.0	1 when standing on food.
7	on_shelter	0.0	1.0	1 when standing on the shelter.
8	predator_visible	0.0	1.0	1 when the predator is visible.
9	predator_certainty	0.0	1.0	Visual confidence in the predator.
10	day	0.0	1.0	1 during daytime.
11	night	0.0	1.0	1 during nighttime.
12	last_move_dx	-1.0	1.0	Last executed horizontal displacement.
13	last_move_dy	-1.0	1.0	Last executed vertical displacement.
14	sleep_debt	0.0	1.0	Accumulated sleep debt.
15	shelter_role_level	0.0	1.0	Current depth inside the shelter.

motor_cortex_context

• Observation key: motor_context
• Role: context
• Version: 5
• Description: Raw context used by the motor_cortex to execute locomotion intent within local embodiment constraints.
• Outputs: ``
• Save policy: exact_match_required

#	Signal	Min	Max	Description
1	on_food	0.0	1.0	1 when standing on food.
2	on_shelter	0.0	1.0	1 when standing on the shelter.
3	predator_visible	0.0	1.0	1 when the predator is visible.
4	predator_certainty	0.0	1.0	Visual confidence in the predator.
5	day	0.0	1.0	1 during daytime.
6	night	0.0	1.0	1 during nighttime.
7	last_move_dx	-1.0	1.0	Last executed horizontal displacement.
8	last_move_dy	-1.0	1.0	Last executed vertical displacement.
9	shelter_role_level	0.0	1.0	Current depth inside the shelter.
10	heading_dx	-1.0	1.0	Current horizontal body orientation.
11	heading_dy	-1.0	1.0	Current vertical body orientation.
12	terrain_difficulty	0.0	1.0	Local movement cost from the terrain under the spider.
13	fatigue	0.0	1.0	Body fatigue affecting execution reliability.
14	momentum	0.0	1.0	Bounded execution momentum state; motor-only body state, not decision-priority context.