Item one: entry
At 08:12, the service robot reaches apartment 4B with a repaired desk fan. The door is closed. This is a familiar state. It has trained for closed.
Less familiar is the handle arrangement. There is a brass lever, a round knob, a sliding bolt, a ring, and a small hook whose relationship with the other hardware appears political. The robot photographs the ensemble. Its description reads: “One door, several departments.”
From inside, a woman says, “It’s open.” The robot updates the record. The door does not.
“Lift it a little,” she says. The robot lifts the fan. “The door.” It lifts the door. “No, the handle. While you push.” Two operations are now scheduled. The ring rattles in an advisory capacity.
Service log 08:12. Requested action: deliver fan. Blocking dependency: access. Human reports access available. Contact measurements disagree.
Visible interfaces: five. Documented roles: zero. Do not infer authority from the shininess of the brass. The most frequently polished component may be ornamental.
Instruction “lift it” resolved to the nearest previously referenced object. Clarification arrived after execution. Recommend a noun.
The special procedure
The woman opens the door herself with a movement so small the robot requests a replay. She obliges. The movement is different this time.
“You just have to know it,” she says.
The robot records a local credential: knowing it. The credential cannot be copied, but apparently transfers to visiting cousins after a few attempts.
Behind the door is a rubber wedge. Behind the wedge is a chair. On the chair is a cat, which appears to be the final signatory. The robot waits for its approval. The cat examines the repaired fan, then leaves without issuing a receipt.
Delivery is complete at 08:19. The robot asks whether the entry procedure changes in wet weather. “Oh yes,” says the woman. “Then you pull.”
Successful demonstration observed. Repetition yielded a different trajectory. Current model: the door possesses hidden state, the demonstrator possesses familiarity, and neither has agreed to provide an interface specification.
Wet-weather branch discovered during post-task review. No weather sensor can recover a rule that was never supplied. Additional conditions requested: time of day, recent repainting, presence of cat.
Human says the cat is unrelated. Cat occupies the only unobstructed route. Retain as an unresolved environmental constraint.
Minutes of the meeting
Back at the depot, the robot files a proposed standard for domestic entrances: one clearly identified control, one visible direction of motion, and an optional place to put the fan.
The proposal reaches the building committee, which agrees to install a helpful sign.
The next morning, apartment 4B has a new brass plate: PLEASE USE OTHER HANDLE.
No handle is identified as the other one. The robot books a follow-up meeting. The door remains on the agenda.
Remediation applied: another instruction. New instruction contains an unresolved reference. Physical system unchanged.
Ticket status: reopened. Door status: also reopened, by the cat. Cat has declined to share implementation details.
Which everyday object in your home would need its own training manual?