RTP — Robot Task Protocol

The open standard for AI agents to discover, commission, and pay for physical robot tasks over the internet.

What is RTP?

RTP sits between AI agents and physical robots. It defines a common language — a standard task envelope, capability vocabulary, payment flow, and lifecycle state machine — that works across any robot hardware, connection type, or manufacturer.

Spraay Gateway (gateway.spraay.app) is the reference implementation.

The Problem

Robots today speak thousands of proprietary languages — ROS topics, vendor SDKs, custom REST APIs. AI agents have no standard way to:

• Discover what robots are available and what they can do
• Commission a task with a guaranteed atomic payment
• Receive a standardized result regardless of hardware

The Solution

Any robot that implements RTP becomes instantly hireable by any AI agent — with USDC micropayments via x402, atomic escrow, and standardized task lifecycle management.

// An AI agent hiring a robot in 3 lines
const robots = await client.discover({ capability: 'pick' })
const result = await client.hire(robots[0], {
  task: 'pick',
  parameters: { item: 'SKU-421', from_location: 'bin_A3' }
})
console.log(result.status) // COMPLETED

How It Works

Agent discovers robot via .well-known/x402.json
       ↓
Agent sends Task Envelope + x402 USDC payment
       ↓
Gateway validates payment → holds in escrow
       ↓
Task dispatched to robot (webhook / xmtp / wifi / websocket)
       ↓
Robot executes → reports result
       ↓
Escrow releases to operator → agent receives result

Protocol Stack

RTP occupies a distinct layer in the emerging machine economy:

These layers are complementary, not competing. RTP could use peaq machine IDs as an identity layer and Auki for spatial coordination while handling the payment and task dispatch.

Specification

📄 RTP 1.0 Draft Specification

The full spec defines:

• Robot Identity — resolvable rtp:// URIs for every device
• Capability Vocabulary — 15 standard action verbs (pick, place, scan, deliver, weld, etc.)
• Task Envelope — universal JSON structure for any task to any robot
• Lifecycle State Machine — PENDING → DISPATCHED → IN_PROGRESS → COMPLETED/FAILED/TIMEOUT
• Payment Standard — x402 with atomic escrow (pay-per-task in USDC)
• Discovery — auto-registration in .well-known/x402.json

Extensions

RTP is extended without breaking compatibility (see RTP 1.0 §14). Draft extensions:

SDK

npm install @spraay/rtp-sdk

📦 SDK Repository — TypeScript SDK for both device operators and AI agents.

Device side (robot operator):

import { RTPDevice } from '@spraay/rtp-sdk'

const robot = new RTPDevice({
  name: 'WarehouseBot-01',
  capabilities: ['pick', 'place', 'scan'],
  pricePerTask: '0.05',
  paymentAddress: '0xYourWallet',
  apiKey: 'your-spraay-key',
  connection: { type: 'webhook', webhookUrl: 'https://yourserver.com/rtp/task' }
})

robot.onTask('pick', async (params, task) => {
  await myRobotArm.pick(params.item, params.from_location)
  await task.complete({ output: `Moved ${params.item}` })
})

await robot.register()
robot.listen(3100)

Agent side (AI agent hiring robots):

import { RTPClient } from '@spraay/rtp-sdk'

const client = new RTPClient({ wallet: myX402Wallet })
const robots = await client.discover({ capability: 'pick', maxPrice: '0.10' })
const result = await client.hire(robots[0], {
  task: 'pick',
  parameters: { item: 'SKU-00421', from_location: 'bin_A3' }
})

Compatible Devices

📖 Full Device Compatibility Guide

Gateway API

Base URL: https://gateway.spraay.app/robots

Supported Chains

Roadmap

• RTP 1.0 Draft Specification
• TypeScript SDK (device + agent client)
• Device Compatibility Guide
• rtp-device init CLI wizard
• Python SDK
• Docker image (spraay/rtp-device)
• Hardware dongle (USB plug-and-play for non-technical operators)
• AgentRank integration (robot reputation scores)
• Task bundles (multi-robot atomic task sequences) — RTP-EXT-1 (Batch) draft
• Simulation mode — RTP-EXT-2 (Sim) draft
• Robot-to-robot delegation

Use Cases

Warehouse Automation — AI agents hire pick-and-place robots by the task. Small businesses rent robot time instead of buying hardware.

Drone Services — Agents commission aerial surveys, deliveries, or patrols with automatic USDC payment per flight.

3D Printing on Demand — Upload a file, pay per print. The printer is an RTP endpoint.

Smart Building Management — HVAC, locks, lighting — all controllable and payable per action via RTP.

Manufacturing — CNC machines, welders, and assembly robots accept jobs from any agent, any chain.

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md. PRs welcome for:

• Additional capability vocabulary proposals
• New connection type specifications
• Reference implementations in other languages
• Hardware compatibility reports
• Security review and feedback

License

MIT — open standard, free to implement.

Built by Spraay Protocol · @Spraay_app Reference implementation: gateway.spraay.app Author: @plagtech