Skip to content

Distributed Physical Task Dispatch Protocol

Author: PlanExe Team
Date: 2026-02-11
Status: Proposal
Audience: IoT Architects, Robotics Engineers

Pitch

Define a secure protocol for dispatching physical tasks from the PlanExe Cloud to edge agents and verifying real-world execution.

Why

Cloud planning is only valuable if it can reliably trigger real actions on devices. A standardized dispatch protocol closes the cloud-to-edge gap.

Problem

  • Gantt tasks are not executable by edge devices.
  • No consistent task payload or authentication layer.
  • Proof of physical execution is weak or absent.

Proposed Solution

Implement a pub/sub dispatch protocol that:

  1. Publishes TaskManifest payloads to secure device channels.
  2. Authenticates edge agents with client certs.
  3. Verifies task completion with proof-of-physical-work.

Architecture

PlanExe Cloud
  -> Dispatcher
  -> MQTT/WebSocket Bus
  -> Edge Agent
  -> Proof Upload
  -> Verification

Task Manifest Schema

{
  "task_id": "task_888",
  "command": "capture_image",
  "parameters": {
    "resolution": "1080p",
    "angle": "45_degrees",
    "target": "zone_a"
  },
  "deadline": "2026-02-12T09:00:00Z",
  "auth_token": "jwt_ey..."
}

Proof of Physical Work (PoPW)

  • Photo verification with timestamp
  • Sensor logs (e.g., humidity spike)
  • GPS signature for location-dependent tasks

Integration Points

  • Works with OpenClaw execution skill.
  • Feeds into MoltBook gig dispatch.
  • Used by assumption drift monitor for real-world signals.

Success Metrics

  • Dispatch latency (cloud -> edge ack).
  • % tasks completed with valid PoPW.
  • Reduction in false execution claims.

Risks

  • Device spoofing or token leakage.
  • Network instability in remote sites.
  • High verification cost for complex tasks.

Future Enhancements

  • Hardware attestation support.
  • Offline task caching and delayed sync.
  • Automated anomaly detection on PoPW.

Detailed Implementation Plan

Phase A — Protocol and Security Foundations (2 weeks)

  1. Define TaskManifest schema versioning.
  2. Add mutual-auth model for edge agents:
  3. client certs or hardware keys

  4. short-lived dispatch tokens

  5. Add replay protection and nonce strategy.

Phase B — Dispatcher and Transport Layer (2–3 weeks)

  1. Implement cloud dispatcher with QoS guarantees.
  2. Support MQTT/WebSocket transports behind common abstraction.
  3. Add delivery semantics:
  4. accepted
  5. in_progress
  6. completed
  7. failed

Phase C — Proof of Physical Work (PoPW) Verification (2 weeks)

  1. Define PoPW artifact schema:
  2. timestamp
  3. geo/location
  4. sensor payload

  5. media hash

  6. Build verifier pipeline:

  7. integrity checks
  8. anti-spoof heuristics

  9. confidence scoring

  10. Attach PoPW confidence to task completion status.

Phase D — Reliability and Operations (2 weeks)

  1. Add offline task cache with deferred sync.
  2. Add dead-letter queue for failed dispatches.
  3. Add anomaly detection for suspicious execution proofs.

Data model additions

  • physical_task_dispatch
  • edge_delivery_events
  • popw_artifacts
  • popw_verification_results

Validation checklist

  • End-to-end dispatch latency targets
  • Exactly-once/at-least-once behavior verification
  • PoPW spoofing simulation tests
  • Offline replay consistency checks