Core concepts
Spatial memory
A persistent, queryable map of places, things, and how they change.
Spatial memory is what separates a machine that sees from a machine that understands where it is. It accumulates perception over time into a persistent world model the machine can query.
What spatial memory holds
- Places — a topological and metric map of the environment
- Things — objects the machine has observed, with their last known state and location
- Relationships — what is on, inside, near, or attached to what
- Change — a history of what appeared, moved, or disappeared, and when
Why it matters
Live perception only answers "what is around me right now." Real tasks need more:
- "Return to the loading dock" requires remembering places beyond sensor range.
- "Find the pallet that was here this morning" requires object permanence.
- "Something changed in aisle 3" requires comparing now against then.
Querying memory
Memory is queryable by location, by object, and by time — so reasoning can ask questions like "what traversable route reaches the dock?" or "where was this object last seen?" without re-processing raw sensor history.