RoIS in a Nutshell

The Robotic Interaction Service (RoIS) Framework is a specification of the Object Management Group (OMG). Version 2.0 was published in June 2026 as OMG document formal/26-06-03. This page summarizes the parts of the specification that shape OpenRoIS. The specification itself remains the authoritative source.

A Platform-Independent Model

RoIS defines a platform-independent model of the messages exchanged between service applications and human-robot interaction (HRI) functions. Its central idea is that an application interacts with a robot at the symbolic level ("a person was detected", "approach the person", "say this message") rather than at the physical level of camera frames and motor commands. Symbolic results can be used directly in the conditional logic of a robot scenario.

Engines and Components

Concept	Role
HRI Component	An abstract function, such as person detection, speech synthesis, or navigation, whose internal structure is hidden.
Sub HRI Engine	Manages the components of one physical or virtual unit, for example one robot or one room.
Main HRI Engine	Represents the whole system. It is the only entry point for applications.
Service Application	Software that uses components, through the main HRI Engine, to implement a scenario.

Applications never address sub HRI Engines directly. Selecting and switching between sub HRI Engines and components happens inside the engine, invisible to the application.

The Five Interfaces

Interface	Style	Key operations
System	Connection management	connect, disconnect, get_profile, get_error_detail
Command	Asynchronous execution	search, bind, bind_any, release, get_parameter, set_parameter, execute, get_command_result
Query	Synchronous reads	query
Event	Asynchronous notifications	subscribe, unsubscribe, get_event_detail, notify_event
Streaming	Stream control for audio and video	connect_stream, disconnect_stream, suspend_stream, resume_stream, query_stream_status

The Command Lifecycle

A component may be shared by several applications, so commands follow a reservation pattern:

1. Bind. search returns candidate component references, and bind reserves one. set_parameter configures it.
2. Execute. execute returns a command identifier immediately. The command runs asynchronously, and completed reports its end.
3. Release. release frees the component for other applications.

A single execute call can carry a CommandUnitSequence that combines sequential steps with groups of concurrent commands.

Profiles

Applications learn what an engine offers from profiles: an HRI Engine profile lists components, each HRI Component profile lists its command, query, and event messages, and message profiles describe their parameters and results. Profiles are defined in XML, validated by the normative XML-Profiles.xsd schema.

Basic HRI Components

RoIS 2.0 defines 17 basic HRI Components. All of them except System Information share the common commands start, stop, suspend, and resume, and the common query component_status.

Group	Components
Perception	Person Detection, Person Localization, Person Identification, Face Detection, Face Localization, Sound Detection, Sound Localization
Recognition	Speech Recognition, Gesture Recognition
Actuation	Speech Synthesis, Reaction, Navigation, Follow, Move
Streaming	Audio Streaming, Video Streaming
System	System Information

Applications may also define their own components, reusing the common messages and the profile mechanism.

What RoIS Leaves Open

RoIS defines messages, not transport. Its platform-specific models cover C++, CORBA, and XML profiles, and implementations may carry the messages over CORBA, OMG RTC, ROS 2 and DDS, WebSocket, or any other transport. RoIS standardizes stream control but not media encoding or transport. These open choices are exactly where OpenRoIS makes explicit implementation decisions.