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+---
+name: openworker-deck
+type: hardware-binding
+standard: Model Hardware Standard (MHS)
+status: design-stage (EVT target specs)
+upstream: https://github.com/Hdhaidong/openworker-deck
+license: firmware MIT
+---
+
+# Hardware binding: OpenWorker Deck
+
+**The agent's hardware connect.** The agent thinks — the Deck connects. An
+MHS-compatible physical gateway that binds an OpenWorker coworker to the
+physical world: one connect, two directions (the agent reaches down to
+machines; telemetry and fault codes flow back up), all writes passing a
+human-pressed button. Two roles in one device:
+
+1. **Desk console** — a 4″ screen mirroring the coworker's live todo list and
+ progress, with a physical Approve/Deny permission card and a status ring
+ (idle / thinking / needs-you). When the agent requests a permission in
+ `interactive` mode, the desk rings instead of a chat bubble.
+2. **Device gateway** — an industrial + wireless gateway speaking Modbus
+ RTU/TCP, CAN 2.0B/J1939, OBD-II, BLE 5.2 and LoRa, registering itself and
+ every bridged device on the network following the MHS pattern.
+
+This document defines how an OpenWorker agent binds to and operates a Deck.
+Product specifications live in the upstream repository; this binding covers the
+integration surface only.
+
+
+
+## 1. Discovery and registration
+
+The Deck registers itself and each bridged device as an MHS-compatible node:
+
+- Standard read/write interface per device class
+- Natural-language safety labels auto-generated from device metadata
+- Device registry entries persist locally; re-discovery is idempotent
+
+An OpenWorker agent discovers the Deck like any other MHS node — no
+vendor-specific client. Any MHS-compatible agent (OpenWorker, Claude, or
+others) can bind; the Deck is agent-agnostic.
+
+## 2. Binding protocol
+
+The connect itself — transport, security, and the topic tree that carries
+both directions:
+
+| Layer | Mechanism |
+|---|---|
+| Transport | Built-in MQTT broker (3.1.1 / 5.0), LWT presence, topic tree per MHS↔topic mapping |
+| Security | TLS 1.3; cartridge challenge-response — the agent must satisfy a hardware-anchored challenge before write access |
+| Presence | LWT marks the agent offline on the network layer; the console reflects it on the status ring |
+| Time | Fleet time sync across multiple Decks for correlated telemetry |
+
+Topic tree sketch:
+
+```
+mhs//console/todo # agent publishes live todo list
+mhs//console/progress # agent publishes progress panel state
+mhs//gate/request # agent requests a permission
+mhs//gate/decision # Deck publishes Approve/Deny (human-pressed)
+mhs//device//read # telemetry reads (safe by default)
+mhs//device//write # actuation, calibration, resets (gated)
+mhs//audit # per-call audit stream
+```
+
+## 3. Read/write discipline
+
+- **Reads are safe by default.** Fault codes, hour meters, cycle counts, sensor
+ readings, error history — no approval needed. Every reading is timestamped
+ and names its source device.
+- **Writes are gated.** Resets, calibration values, actuation tests: the agent
+ publishes to `gate/request` stating what it commands, what the machine will
+ physically do, and what could go wrong. The human presses Approve or Deny on
+ the physical card. No software path grants a write.
+- **Never write to defeat an interlock, guard, or limit** — the Deck's safety
+ labels carry this in plain language per MHS.
+
+## 4. The physical permission gate
+
+When the bound agent enters `interactive` mode and requests a permission:
+
+1. The Deck rings the desk — a physical card with Approve / Deny buttons.
+2. The request and its context are displayed on the console.
+3. The human's button press is the only path to a grant. The decision is
+ published to `gate/decision` and logged to the audit stream.
+4. Authorization is per-action, not per-session — a grant does not carry over.
+
+The same gate hardware also enforces **model-call authorization**. External
+models (an institution's own, reviewed at onboarding — BYOM) run in a sandbox
+and may only read the fields a consent card declares; they leave with signed
+inference outputs, never raw data. No consent card, no call — there is no
+bypass path and no direct API in the architecture, and a revocation cuts the
+model's next call immediately.
+
+
+
+## 5. Privacy model
+
+- The agent's private data (telemetry, logs, history) is computed on the Deck's
+ local model and stays on the device by default. Offline is the resting state.
+- History archives to a removable hardware-encrypted cartridge (AES-256, key
+ lives in the cartridge). Pulling the cartridge removes the data physically;
+ compute continues with telemetry buffering to eMMC and syncs on re-insert.
+- The optional fleet bridge is opt-in and labeled.
+
+## 6. Audit
+
+Every model call and every write generates an audit record: who called, what
+was read or written, when, and under which authorization. The audit stream is
+available to the bound agent for review but is append-only — entries cannot
+be rewritten from the agent side.
+
+## 7. Sensing modalities (for agents without diagnostic ports)
+
+Four contactless modalities work on any machine with power: vibration
+(3-axis accelerometer), thermal (IR thermopile), current signature (CT clamp),
+and acoustic (MEMS mic). These feed anomaly detection and risk prediction on
+the local model — the agent reads the derived risk briefs, not raw streams.
+
+## 8. Product editions
+
+One binding, four form factors — an agent that binds one Deck can operate any
+edition; the topic tree and disciplines are identical:
+
+| Edition | Form factor | Where it lives |
+|---|---|---|
+| Desktop | 4″ console, Approve/Deny permission card, status ring | On the desk, next to the agent's host |
+| Industrial | 35 mm DIN-rail, RS-485/CAN terminal blocks, RJ45, LoRa antenna, passive heatsink, wide-temp | Inside the cabinet, on the rail |
+| Socket | Smart-plug with pass-through outlet, built-in current sensing | In the wall outlet — zero-wiring entry; the appliance plugs into it |
+| Pendant | Screenless guardian tag, GNSS + barometer + nano-SIM | On the person — tracks and check-ins flow up through any nearby Deck |
+
+## 9. Protocol support
+
+Every protocol maps onto the same standard MHS read/write interface — the agent
+never learns a vendor SDK:
+
+| Link | Reaches | Typical equipment |
+|---|---|---|
+| Modbus RTU (RS-485 multi-drop) | PLCs, VFDs, meters, controllers | Compressors, sterilizers, pump stations |
+| Modbus TCP (Ethernet) | Panel PCs, gateways, SCADA-adjacent devices | Machine tools, energy meters |
+| CAN 2.0B / J1939 | Vehicle and heavy-equipment buses | Trucks, gensets, ag machinery |
+| OBD-II | Passenger-vehicle diagnostics | Fleet vans, work trucks |
+| BLE 5.2 | Sensors, health devices, wearables | Blood-pressure cuffs, tag buttons, env pods |
+| LoRa | Long-range, low-power telemetry | Barns, tanks, remote sites |
+| 1-Wire | Cheap temperature chains | Cold storage, server rooms |
+
+## 10. Compute and storage
+
+Two planes, deliberately separated — compute stays in the base, data travels
+in the cartridge:
+
+- **Compute plane** — dual-core Cortex-A7 + 0.5 TOPS NPU: the local model,
+ anomaly detection, feature learning, and the MQTT broker run on the device.
+- **Storage plane** — 8 GB eMMC buffer plus a removable hardware-encrypted
+ cartridge (AES-256, key born in the cartridge, never leaves). Pulling the
+ cartridge removes the archive physically; compute keeps running and syncs
+ on re-insert.
+
+## 11. Status
+
+Design-stage hardware; EVT-phase target specs. Firmware is open source (MIT).
+MHS is a research preview — this binding tracks the spec as it stabilizes and
+degrades gracefully: no registration found means the normal case, and the
+agent falls back to its other paths.
+
+Product documentation, industrial design renders, and specification tables:
+[github.com/Hdhaidong/openworker-deck](https://github.com/Hdhaidong/openworker-deck)
+
+Independent community project — not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored
+by Andrew Ng, deeplearning.ai, or the OpenWorker project.