Common Ground Systems

We translate robot activity into data cities can use and trust.

Independent monitoring hardware and data platform for robots operating in public spaces. Because the public deserves to know what's rolling through their streets.

9M+
Autonomous deliveries completed
60+
US campuses with active robots
150K
Road crossings per day
0
Independent oversight systems

Nobody is watching the robots.

Autonomous robots are multiplying across American campuses and cities — over 9 million deliveries and counting, with security, cleaning, and service robots not far behind. But the companies operating these robots control all the data: where they go, how fast they travel, what incidents occur.

Cities and campuses don't have an independent way to verify any of it. When something goes wrong, there's no neutral record. When a city wants to plan infrastructure or enforce permits, they're relying on self-reported data from the companies they're supposed to regulate.

The result is a transparency gap — a growing disconnect between the scale of robot operations in public space and the public's ability to oversee them.

Knoxville, TN

Studied delivery robots for six months, then banned them unanimously — citing lack of confidence in the safety data provided by operators.

Kirkland, WA

Enacted an emergency six-month moratorium on all delivery robot permits while the city developed an oversight policy from scratch.

Chicago, IL

Thousands of residents signed petitions demanding transparency on robot operations and accessibility data. The city had no independent information to offer.

Independent hardware. Neutral data.

A compact tracking device attached to each robot — owned by a neutral third party, not the robot company — paired with a data platform that gives cities and campuses the information they need.

Hardware Device
GPS Receiver
Continuous position tracking independent of the robot's own systems
Accelerometer
Speed monitoring and impact detection for incident reconstruction
Cellular Module
Real-time data transmission to the monitoring platform
Tamper-Evident Housing
Weatherproof enclosure with unique visual and programmatic ID
Software Platform
Real-Time Map
All robots, all operators, one unified view
Incident Correlation
Match public reports to robot trajectories and timestamps
Compliance Reporting
Automated checks against permit conditions — speed, zones, hours
Geofencing & Analytics
Define boundaries, enforce them, and analyze traffic patterns

See what civic legibility looks like.

A working mockup of the monitoring dashboard a city would use. Five toggleable layers surface the questions policymakers ask: where robots meet infrastructure, how they interact with pedestrians, where system failures cluster, who gets served, and what data is being collected.

5 analytical layers 25 simulated bots 16 policy-linked annotations Synthetic data
Civic Layer · Chicago North Side sketch robotmonitordemo.netlify.app ↗

Every annotation includes an expandable policy-tool card mapping the signal to an existing municipal instrument. Open in a new tab →

Three audiences. One platform.

Different stakeholders, shared need for independent data.

01

Municipal Governments

Cities need to enforce permits, investigate incidents, and plan infrastructure — all impossible without independent operational data.

  • Unified cross-operator dashboard
  • Incident reconstruction tools
  • Compliance documentation
  • Infrastructure planning data
02

University Campuses

Campus dining and facilities teams want to optimize delivery operations, maintain infrastructure, and resolve complaints with real data.

  • Traffic density maps
  • Utilization analytics
  • Complaint correlation
  • Accessibility gap identification
03

Robot Companies

Operators who adopt independent monitoring gain a competitive advantage: easier permits, proactive trust-building, and liability protection.

  • Third-party compliance proof
  • Liability protection records
  • Streamlined market access
  • Multi-jurisdiction consistency

Transparency requirements are coming.

The question isn't whether cities will demand independent data — it's when.

Already Required
San Francisco

Municipal code requires data sharing capabilities and monthly incident reporting for all autonomous robot permits.

Washington, DC

Law 22-137 establishes data sharing with local government as a condition of personal delivery device pilot programs.

Washington State

HB 1325 requires operators to generate accident reports and imposes fines for property damage.

Emerging Pressure
ISO 4448 Standard

International standard in development for data, procedures, and protocols governing autonomous robot operations in public spaces.

Preemptive Bans

Knoxville, Kirkland, and NYC have all acted against robots without confidence in the available data.

20+ States Authorized

Over 20 US states have autonomous robot legislation, but local requirements vary widely — creating demand for a unified standard.

Traction & validation.

Early stage, strong foundation.

Completed

Market Research

Comprehensive analysis of regulatory landscape across 20+ states, competitive dynamics, and stakeholder needs based on original research including a 547-bill legislative dataset.

Completed

IP Strategy

Core technology concepts documented and protected. Patent application in development.

In Progress

Customer Discovery

Conversations with campus dining services, city officials, facilities teams, and robot operators to validate product-market fit.

In Progress

Pilot Partnerships

Exploring partnerships with universities and cities for initial deployments of the monitoring system.

Next Milestones
Hardware prototype
First campus pilot
Letter of intent from a municipality
Partnership with autonomous mobility operator

The window to set the standard is open now.

We're looking for pilot partners, municipal collaborators, and investors who understand that autonomous systems in public space require independent accountability.