Robot Configuration Acceptance Record: What to Capture at Handover

A complete configuration acceptance record covers every configuration layer that was in scope for acceptance testing, at the level of specificity needed to re-establish the accepted state if needed. For firmware, it includes the version identifier for every firmware-carrying component in the system, captured through a direct query of the running firmware state at the time of acceptance. For operating system and platform software, it includes the OS version, installed package list, and any OS-level modifications from the manufacturer's standard distribution.

For middleware and navigation software, it includes the version of every active module and the values of every navigation and perception parameter that was tuned during commissioning. For application software, it includes the application version, the configuration file state, and any facility-specific parameters such as zone definitions, speed limits, or workflow configurations. For integration settings, it includes the API endpoint configurations, protocol settings, and authentication references for every integration with facility systems.

The record should be dated and should note the verification method used to capture each field, distinguishing direct-query evidence from inferred or secondary evidence.

The configuration acceptance record is not a standalone document; it must be linked to the acceptance criteria that the recorded configuration was designed to satisfy. Each configuration parameter whose value was chosen to achieve a specific acceptance criterion should be annotated with that criterion reference, so that a reviewer can understand why the configuration is set as it is and can assess the acceptance impact of any proposed change to that parameter.

For example, a speed limit parameter set at a specific value to achieve a safety stopping distance criterion should reference that criterion; a navigation parameter tuned to a specific value to achieve a positioning accuracy criterion should reference that criterion. This linkage has two practical benefits: it explains the configuration to engineers who were not involved in the tuning process, preventing uninformed changes, and it identifies the acceptance criteria that must be re-verified when any linked parameter is changed.

The configuration acceptance record is the reference from which post-acceptance configuration drift is measured. Any configuration change after acceptance moves the system away from its accepted state, and the deployment record should capture these changes as dated change events linked to the acceptance record. A system whose configuration has drifted significantly from the acceptance record may no longer exhibit the behaviors that were verified at acceptance, even if the configuration was changed for legitimate operational reasons.

For warranty claims and post-acceptance investigations, the comparison between the current configuration and the acceptance record is the primary analytical tool for determining whether observed failures represent regressions from the accepted state or new failure modes not present in the accepted configuration. A maintained post-acceptance change log provides this comparison directly; without it, reconstruction is required and introduces uncertainty about the timing and sequence of changes.

Post-acceptance warranty investigations frequently require establishing the configuration state at the time of a reported failure and comparing that state to the acceptance record. The comparison determines whether the failure occurred in a configuration that matches the accepted state, which suggests the failure was present in the accepted system, or in a configuration that differs from the accepted state, which raises the question of whether the configuration change contributed to the failure.

A configuration record that was captured accurately at acceptance and maintained through post-acceptance change events enables this comparison to be performed quickly and confidently. A configuration record that was not captured at acceptance, or that was captured but not maintained through subsequent changes, requires reconstruction that is slow, uncertain, and potentially disputed. The practical implication is that the quality of the configuration acceptance record is a direct input to the efficiency and fairness of warranty claim resolution: a high-quality record resolves configuration-related warranty questions quickly and clearly, while a low-quality record prolongs them.

The configuration acceptance record should be treated as a versioned document rather than a mutable record. The acceptance-time version should be archived in a form that cannot be modified after the acceptance date, so that it remains an authentic record of the configuration state at acceptance even as the configuration evolves post-acceptance. Post-acceptance configuration changes are captured in the change log and in updated baseline snapshots, not in the acceptance record itself.

The acceptance-time archive should be accessible to all parties who may need it: the deploying team, the facility operator, and any technical partners who may need to investigate post-acceptance failures. Archiving the acceptance record in a shared, access-controlled workspace rather than in a single party's file system ensures that its evidentiary value is preserved even if the deploying team's relationship with the facility operator changes.

• Capture the complete configuration state at the conclusion of acceptance testing through direct query of running firmware and software versions
• Include all configuration layers: firmware, OS, middleware parameters, application configuration, facility-specific settings, and integration configurations
• Link each configuration parameter to the acceptance criterion it was tuned to satisfy
• Archive the acceptance-time configuration record in a form that cannot be modified after the acceptance date
• Capture post-acceptance configuration changes in a change log linked to the acceptance record
• Provide the configuration acceptance record to the facility operator as part of the acceptance documentation package
• Reference the acceptance record in warranty investigations to establish the configuration state at acceptance