OpenUxAS LMCP v3

Flex interface specifications for the Lightweight Message Construction Protocol (LMCP) v3, as used by OpenUxAS — an open-source multi-UAV mission automation system from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL/RQ).

Overview

LMCP (Lightweight Message Construction Protocol) defines the machine-to-machine communication data structures for UAV mission planning and autonomy. This package provides Flex specifications covering the full CMASI (Common Mission Automation Services Interface) message set, the IMPACT extended mission types, and UxAS-native routing, task coordination, and service control messages.

All types use MKSD units and WGS84 Earth coordinates, as defined in the upstream CMASI specification. This module is released to the public domain under the Air Force Open Source Agreement Version 1.0.

Module Structure

File	Description
afrl/cmasi.flex	Core CMASI types: geometry, zones, entity state/config, payloads, tasks, navigation actions, and automation request/response
afrl/cmasi/perceive.flex	Entity perception and tracking actions
afrl/impact.flex	IMPACT extension: multi-vehicle types, specialized tasks, batch planning, and operational infrastructure
uxas/messages/route.flex	Route planning requests, responses, and graph structures
uxas/messages/task.flex	Task lifecycle, assignment coordination, sensor footprints, and automation pipeline
uxas/messages/uxnative.flex	UxAS service control: entity lifecycle, autopilot keepalive, bandwidth testing, and sub-task execution

Key Types

afrl/cmasi.flex

Geometry — spatial primitives used across zones and tasks:

• AbstractGeometry — abstract base for all geometric shapes
• Location3D — WGS84 lat/lon point with altitude and altitude type
• Circle, Polygon, Rectangle — concrete geometric shapes
• Wedge — angular range constraint (azimuth/elevation centerline and extent)

Zones — operational boundaries:

• AbstractZone — base with altitude bounds, time window, and affected aircraft
• KeepInZone — required operating area
• KeepOutZone — prohibited area classified by ZoneAvoidanceType (Physical, Regulatory, Acoustic, Threat, Visual)
• OperatingRegion — named combination of keep-in and keep-out zone IDs

Entity Configuration & State:

• EntityConfiguration — base vehicle capabilities (speed, altitude, payload list)
• EntityState — full kinematic state: position, velocity, angular rates, energy, payload states, current command
• AirVehicleConfiguration — air vehicle speed/altitude envelopes and available maneuver types
• AirVehicleState — extends EntityState with airspeed, vertical speed, and wind
• FlightProfile — named operating mode with speed, pitch, climb rate, and energy rate

Payloads:

• PayloadConfiguration, PayloadState, PayloadAction — abstract payload bases
• CameraConfiguration, CameraState, CameraAction — EO/IR sensor config, state, and FOV commands
• GimbalConfiguration, GimbalState — gimbal mount constraints and current pointing state
• GimbalAngleAction, GimbalScanAction, GimbalStareAction — gimbal control commands
• VideoStreamConfiguration, VideoStreamState, VideoStreamAction — video stream management

Tasks — mission assignments:

• Task — base with ID, label, eligible entities, priority, and parameters
• SearchTask — base sensor search with wavelength bands, dwell time, and GSD
• AreaSearchTask, LineSearchTask, PointSearchTask — geometric search patterns
• LoiterTask — holding pattern at a specified action
• MustFlyTask — mandatory waypoint task

Navigation & Actions:

• VehicleAction — abstract action base with associated task list
• NavigationAction — abstract navigation action base
• VehicleActionCommand — command envelope with vehicle ID and status
• Waypoint — routing point with speed, turn type, contingency waypoints, and action list
• MissionCommand — ordered waypoint list sent to a vehicle
• FollowPathCommand — timed path with repeat mode
• GoToWaypointAction, LoiterAction, FlightDirectorAction, StopMovementAction — concrete navigation commands

Automation Interface:

• AutomationRequest — task and vehicle constraints submitted to the planner
• AutomationResponse — mission commands and vehicle action commands returned by the planner
• ServiceStatus — planner progress and error messages
• SessionStatus — simulation run state and timing

Enums: WavelengthBand, NavigationMode, FOVOperationMode, GimbalPointingMode, ZoneAvoidanceType, LoiterType, LoiterDirection, SpeedType, TurnType, CommandStatusType, AltitudeType, SimulationStatusType, TravelMode, WaypointTransferMode, ServiceStatusType

---

afrl/cmasi/perceive.flex

Entity Perception & Tracking — imports from afrl.cmasi:

• EntityPerception — perceived entity position, velocity, and attitude with uncertainty estimates
• TrackEntityAction — command a sensor to track a specific entity by ID
• TrackEntityTask — persistent tracking task with sensor modality and GSD requirements

---

afrl/impact.flex

Vehicle Types — extends EntityConfiguration/EntityState:

• GroundVehicleConfiguration, GroundVehicleState — ground vehicle with road graph ID
• SurfaceVehicleConfiguration, SurfaceVehicleState — surface (water) vehicle
• RadioTowerConfiguration, RadioTowerState — fixed communication relay infrastructure

Specialized Tasks — extends CMASI task types:

• EscortTask — escort a supported entity along a prescribed route
• CommRelayTask — relay communications between an entity and a tower
• ImpactPointSearchTask, ImpactLineSearchTask — search tasks keyed to interest-region IDs
• PatternSearchTask — area search with explicit spiral, sector, or sweep pattern
• WatchTask, MultiVehicleWatchTask — sensor stare on a specific entity
• BlockadeTask, CordonTask — constrain entity movement with standoff vehicles
• AngledAreaSearchTask — sweep-angle search from a defined start point

Payloads & Power:

• ImpactPayloadConfiguration — multi-payload configuration with ImpactPayloadType enum (EO, FLIR, GMTI, CommRelay, LaserDesignator, and others)
• PowerConfiguration, PowerPlantState — power plant type (Gasoline, JP5, JP8, FuelCell, Hybrid) and runtime state
• RadioConfiguration, RadioState — communication relay payload

Batch Planning:

• ImpactAutomationRequest, ImpactAutomationResponse — sandboxed automation trials with play/solution IDs
• BatchRoutePlanRequest, BatchRoutePlanResponse — multi-vehicle, multi-task route cost computation
• BatchSummaryRequest, BatchSummaryResponse — task assignment feasibility summary
• TaskSummary, VehicleSummary — per-vehicle time, energy, and comms estimates

Interest Regions & Environment:

• AreaOfInterest, PointOfInterest, LineOfInterest — named geographic features
• WaterZone, WaterReport — water area boundaries and current/wave conditions
• DeployImpactPayload — action to deploy a specific payload against a target

Component Lifecycle: ImpactHeartbeat, ImpactComponentJoin, ImpactComponentLeave

Enums: ImpactPayloadType, PowerPlant, AreaSearchPattern

---

uxas/messages/route.flex

Route Planning — imports Waypoint, KeyValuePair, Location3D from afrl.cmasi:

• RouteConstraints — start/end location and heading constraints for a single route segment
• RouteRequest — multi-vehicle, multi-segment planning request
• RoutePlanRequest — single-vehicle planning request
• RoutePlan — waypoint sequence with cost and error fields
• RoutePlanResponse, RouteResponse — nested plan results per vehicle

Graph Structures — for road/airspace network representation:

• GraphNode, GraphEdge — nodes with coordinates and edges with intermediate waypoints
• GraphRegion — named graph of nodes and edges

Egress Planning:

• EgressRouteRequest — request escape routes from a start point within a radius
• EgressRouteResponse — list of egress node locations and headings

---

uxas/messages/task.flex

Task Lifecycle — imports from afrl.cmasi:

• TaskInitialized, TaskActive, TaskComplete, TaskPause, TaskResume, CancelTask — task state machine messages
• TaskProgress, TaskProgressRequest — real-time percent-complete reporting

Assignment & Coordination:

• TaskOption — a feasible execution option for a task (vehicle, cost, start/end pose)
• TaskPlanOptions — all options for a task with compositional relationship string
• TaskOptionCost — inter-task travel cost between options
• AssignmentCostMatrix — full cost matrix for the assignment solver
• TaskAssignment, TaskAssignmentSummary — final vehicle-to-task binding
• AssignmentCoordinatorTask — coordination task for distributed assignment
• AssignmentCoordination — pairing of a coordinated request with a vehicle planning state

Implementation Pipeline:

• TaskImplementationRequest, TaskImplementationResponse — request and return waypoints for a specific task option

Automation Wrappers:

• UniqueAutomationRequest, UniqueAutomationResponse — stamped automation request/response with sandbox flag
• TaskAutomationRequest, TaskAutomationResponse — task-level automation wrappers
• CoordinatedAutomationRequest — multi-vehicle coordinated request with planning states
• PlanningState — vehicle position and heading at planning time

Sensor Footprints:

• FootprintRequest, SensorFootprintRequests — request camera footprint geometry
• SensorFootprint, SensorFootprintResponse — footprint dimensions, GSD, and slant range

---

uxas/messages/uxnative.flex

Service Control — imports EntityState, Location3D, Task from afrl.cmasi:

• CreateNewService, KillService — dynamic service instantiation and teardown
• StartupComplete — abstract startup acknowledgment

Entity Lifecycle:

• EntityJoin, EntityExit — entity appears in or leaves the simulation
• EntityLocation — lightweight position-only entity update
• AutopilotKeepAlive — heartbeat enabling autopilot and gimbal control

Sub-Task Execution:

• SubTaskExecution — ordered or unordered list of sub-tasks to execute
• SubTaskAssignment — sub-task list paired with neighboring entity states

Diagnostics:

• BandwidthTest, BandwidthReceiveReport — inter-entity communication bandwidth measurement
• OnboardProcessorIsAlive — vehicle processor heartbeat

Utilities:

• IncrementWaypoint — advance a vehicle to its next waypoint
• VideoRecord — start/stop video recording

Usage

// Import core geometry and automation types
import OpenUxAS::LMCP::v3.afrl.cmasi (
  Location3D, AutomationRequest, AutomationResponse, MissionCommand
)

// Import IMPACT extended tasks
import OpenUxAS::LMCP::v3.afrl.impact (
  ImpactAutomationRequest, ImpactAutomationResponse, TaskSummary
)

// Import route planning
import OpenUxAS::LMCP::v3.uxas.messages.route (
  RouteRequest, RouteResponse
)

// Import task coordination
import OpenUxAS::LMCP::v3.uxas.messages.task (
  UniqueAutomationRequest, UniqueAutomationResponse, TaskAssignmentSummary
)

Dependencies

All modules within this package are self-contained. Internal dependencies:

• afrl/cmasi/perceive.flex → OpenUxAS::LMCP::v3.afrl.cmasi
• afrl/impact.flex → OpenUxAS::LMCP::v3.afrl.cmasi
• uxas/messages/route.flex → OpenUxAS::LMCP::v3.afrl.cmasi
• uxas/messages/task.flex → OpenUxAS::LMCP::v3.afrl.cmasi
• uxas/messages/uxnative.flex → OpenUxAS::LMCP::v3.afrl.cmasi

References

• OpenAMASE / OpenUxAS — AFRL/RQ
• CMASI XML Specification
• Flex Language

License

Released to the public domain under the Air Force Open Source Agreement Version 1.0.