ROS / Nea Polis
Identity, provenance, evidence and time form the foundation; an optional systems lens adds topology, states, flows and feedback loops.
AUTO selects the mode; COMPACT retains the field-guide mode, while FULL serves systematic research. In current usage these execution modes are called MODE. Domain scope (such as architecture) and method_profile (such as system_reading) are separate axes. The historically named scope profiles remain compatible.
COMPACT_URBANCOMPACT_EXTRA_URBANCOMPACT_TECHNICALFULL_GENERALFULL_NISCOMPACT does not automatically require hypotheses, countermodels, graph closure, adversarial analysis, signal/index analysis or ResearchIteration chains. Sources, observations, states, open questions and FieldObservationPoints remain traceable; inapplicable gates are not errors.
ROS@latest → ROS@v1.7.2 according to the global resolver and ROS Bridge. NIS/SARM 1.1 RC1 adopts the applicable core, while BIS 0.3.1 and NP-SIC 1.0.0 remain unchanged. New snapshots and ArtifactBuilds use the internal ROS schema 1.7.2; historical 1.7.1 pins/bytes are preserved and expanded only through explicit migration. Diagrams bind to the upstream source projection, not the state hash produced after they are added. Promotion does not prove native event replay or production adapters.
Layer 01
Shared rules for identity, provenance, time, relationships and artifacts underpin ROS and the separate BIS. SourceOrigin, SourcePerspectiveProfile and knowledge_time add source locations and source independence.
Layer 02
ResearchQuestion and CollectionScope define the task. SubstrateAssembly organizes the substantiated source material; claims, constraints, mechanisms and hypotheses remain distinct. ResearchIteration preserves the path by which findings emerged. COMPACT omits unnecessary FULL obligations. Predictions, falsifiers, negative evidence and validation close the empirical revision loop; Ontology Diversity tests alternative descriptive frameworks.
Layer 03
ResearchUnit, System, Subsystem and Component define the scope. Weighted coverage prevents a well-documented part from standing in for a comprehensively studied overall system. Time-valid geometries and operational states distinguish planned, historical and current conditions.
Layer 04
Following a positive Applicability Gate, ROS can describe a system as S=(G,X,F,U,D,Θ,P): topology, states, flows, exogenous inputs, delays, time scales and observation projection. LEVEL 0–3 ranges from implicit to formal/numerical. The lens is optional and does not impose a mandatory graph on existing research objects.
Layer 05
CausalCoverageAudit checks material drivers, countermodels and scope boundaries. ConstraintEvaluation and FeasibilityAssessment operationalize HARD/SOFT/UNKNOWN; CausalIdentification records claim-specific levels M0–M4, while ImpactLedger records countervailing effects.
Layer 06
Intervention and Monitoring connect states with observed effects. ActorGraph and AdversarialAssessment add adversarial scrutiny. The signal/index layer preserves raw data, time windows and derivation provenance; NIS uses the same research state.
Layer 07
Immutable EventHistory → one active MaterializedResearchState → complete CanonicalRegisters → ArtifactBuild. QG-RS-01 checks references, IDs, prediction immutability and fingerprints; QG-RT-01 prevents unreviewed acceptance of adversarial criticism. The website data model is an editorial view, not a ROS engine.
Layer 08
ROS 1.7.2 adds an applicability decision, a typed process specification and a versioned SVG/text build derived from an upstream source projection. QG-FC-01..04 check materiality, derivation, semantics and artifact quality. Process graphs, domain-system graphs and epistemic research graphs remain distinct; diagrams create no new evidence.
Layer 09
Logical artifacts and immutable builds remain separate. Manifests, input fingerprints, temporal baselines and quality states make it traceable which research state produced an output.
ROS makes the research process traceable: research questions and collection lead to a documented substrate from which analysis, hypotheses and iterations emerge. ROS 1.7.2 adds context-dependent process diagrams bound to the source state to the consolidated Research State, with separate semantic and artifact checks.
Open methodExplanations begin with what a system must materially sustain: resources, energy, geometry, tools, logistics, labor and institutional capacity. Narrative interpretations are only then tested against this substrate.
Open method