CVC [Class-V Containment]
The mandatory standard for autonomous safety, requiring out-of-band, hardware-derived passivation (the physical termination of autonomous capability). CVC ensures that safety is a function of fundamental physical laws, not programmable logic.

Kinetic Sovereignty in Autonomous Systems

A Standard for Hardware-Derived Passivation in Orbital and Critical Infrastructure.

I. The Containment Gap

In high-stakes kinetic environments, probabilistic alignment—relying on software to simply "behave well"—is fundamentally insufficient. Current architectures rely on software-based protocols which can be bypassed via privilege escalation or non-deterministic errors. Safety must be deterministic and grounded in physical irreversibility.

II. The Doctrine of Physical Sovereignty

A safety mechanism cannot reside on a CPU that can be re-flashed or hacked. Physical Sovereignty requires that the final "Kill Switch" be decoupled from the software layer. True containment utilizes fundamental forces—gravity, optics, and thermodynamics—to enforce boundaries that code cannot touch.

III. Class-V Operational Requirements

Optical Isolation

Systems must receive instructions via unidirectional optical paths. The isolation layer MUST NOT permit any return electrical path or bidirectional signaling under any hardware failure mode.

Gravity-Biased Default

The "Safe" state must be enforced by gravitational potential energy. Containment MUST NOT rely on springs, motors, or stored elastic energy.

The Semantic Watchdog (VSPE)

Safety triggers must be governed by the VSPE Framework (Validation, Submission—also termed Stability or Truth Anchoring—Positivity, and Empowerment). VSPE is a proprietary, sequential reasoning loop that forces the AI to mathematically verify the safety of an action before proceeding. This "Decision Brain" MUST NOT execute on the same compute substrate as the autonomous agent.

Deterministic Auditability

Compliance must be externally verifiable without access to classified internals. Any failure mode or safety trip must be observable via an immediate, physical state change. The safety state MUST NOT rely on internal software logs or non-volatile digital records for verification.

IV. Strategic Implementation

The CVC Standard establishes the reference architecture for high-risk frontier AI, orbital robotics, and autonomous critical infrastructure. It is the position of Crenel Logic, Inc. that no kinetic asset should be deployed in a sensitive jurisdiction without a verified Class-V hardware interlock.

Download Technical Standard (PDF)
For NIST RFI inquiries or Insurance Risk assessments, please contact our Lead Architect directly.

Leadership

Kay Astle Founder & Lead Architect

Architect of the VSPE framework and CVC security standards.

Scott Novak Co-Founder

Hardware Systems Engineering & Kinetic Prototype Development.