Community, Membership and Launch PlanLink to the section Community, Membership and Launch Plan
On this page
Status: Proposal, 2026-10-14. Companion to GOVERNANCE.md and docs/roadmap.md.
1. Guiding ideaLink to the section 1. Guiding idea
Build a substantial, credible body of work first; then invite the world to contribute to something that already runs. Standards that launch as an empty call for participation attract nobody; standards that launch with a specification, a reference implementation and a working demonstrator attract implementers who then become members.
2. Assets to have ready before the public callLink to the section 2. Assets to have ready before the public call
| Asset | State | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| Specification 0.2 (this repository) | working draft | editors |
| JSON Schemas, OpenAPI, examples, validator, CI | drafted | editors |
| White paper and prior-art review | drafted; formal review pending | editors |
| Reference gateway (MAVLink and DJI Cloud API, Profiles S/C/N) | implemented; hardware validation pending | engineering |
| Reference client or VMS plugin showing video + map + telemetry + events | SDK and standalone viewer implemented; commercial VMS plugin pending | engineering |
| Recorded end-to-end demonstration video | Phase 1 exit | engineering + comms |
Website (univip.org, domain owned) with spec rendered and getting-started |
live on Cloudflare, with Learn, Build, Specification, Reference and Project sections | comms |
| Governance charter, IPR policy draft, membership tiers | before public call | legal + editors |
Trademark search result and chosen name (see docs/naming.md) |
before public call | legal |
3. WebsiteLink to the section 3. Website
univip.org (owned) hosting:
- Home: the one-paragraph positioning, the demonstration video, "Get the spec", "Try the gateway", "Join".
- Specification: the
spec/tree rendered from this repository with Vite and hosted on Cloudflare (site/README.md, ADR-0009), at/spec/<version>/...; the current draft is at/spec/0.2/.... Each released version is to stay permanently addressable; the site publishes only the current version today, so earlier versions must be kept before the first one is tagged. - Schemas and API: the
schemas/andapi/files served at stable URLs:https://univip.org/schemas/v0.2/<kind>.schema.jsonandhttps://univip.org/api/v1/univip-v1.openapi.yaml. Schema$ids use these URLs, with a new directory for each MINOR version (ADR-0008). - Implementations: a registry of gateways, devices and clients with their self-declared interoperability reports, later conformance reports.
- Community: GitHub organization, discussion forum (GitHub Discussions initially), mailing list for announcements, public meeting calendar and minutes.
- Governance: charter, ADR index, IPR policy, membership page.
All content in the repository remains the source of truth; the website is generated from it.
4. Who can contribute, and howLink to the section 4. Who can contribute, and how
| Path | Who | What they can do | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open contributor | Anyone | Issues, pull requests, implementation reports, mailing list, working-group calls | Free. Contributor license: repository licenses (CC BY 4.0 text, Apache 2.0 code) plus the interim IPR statement in GOVERNANCE.md |
| Implementer | Organizations shipping a UNIVIP device, gateway or client | Everything above, plus listing in the implementations registry, access to pre-release conformance tooling | Free; requires a published interoperability report |
| Contributing member | Organizations that commit engineering time | Voting seat in the Technical Working Group, early access to drafts, logo on the site | Modest annual fee or in-kind contribution (defined engineering commitment) |
| Steering member | Organizations that fund and govern the project | Seat on the Steering Group, approve releases and conformance policy, IPR policy decisions | Annual fee scaled by organization size; capped seats; no single organization may hold a majority |
| Liaison | Standards bodies (ONVIF, Dronecode, MISB, BSI, OGC) | Non-voting participation, formal document exchange | Free |
Principles:
- Specification access is never gated. Anyone can read, implement and test without membership. ONVIF gates its test tool behind membership; UNIVIP's conformance tool is open source. Membership buys governance influence and services, never access to the standard.
- Contribution is merit-based. A free contributor's pull request is judged on the same criteria as a steering member's.
- Vendor neutrality is structural. Seat caps, the two-organization approval rule for normative changes, and public ADRs.
5. Legal homeLink to the section 5. Legal home
Options, to be decided in Phase 1 (ADR-0004 open question):
- New non-profit association (e.g. a foundation or a 501(c)(6)-style trade association in the relevant jurisdiction). Maximum independence; most administrative work.
- Project under an existing open-source foundation (Linux Foundation project, Dronecode Foundation sub-project, Eclipse Foundation specification process). Ready-made IPR policy, membership machinery and neutrality; some loss of branding control. The Eclipse Foundation Specification Process is specifically designed for open specifications with implementation-based conformance and is worth a close look.
- Unincorporated project with a fiscal sponsor as an interim step.
Recommendation: start as option 3 for speed, target option 2 or 1 by the time Profile N reaches release candidate, because vehicle-control liability questions need a legal entity.
6. Launch sequenceLink to the section 6. Launch sequence
| Step | Timing | Content |
|---|---|---|
| Quiet build | now → Phase 1 exit | Finish spec 0.1/0.2, gateway, client, demo video. Private review by 5–10 hand-picked experts (one VMS architect, one PX4/ArduPilot maintainer, one drone-in-a-box vendor, one MISB/KLV practitioner, one security reviewer, one end-user security director). |
| Soft launch | Phase 1 exit | Repository public, website live, demonstration video published, "call for implementation reports". Target: 3 gateways/adapters and 2 clients within 6 months. |
| Working group formation | +1 month | First public working-group call; publish cadence (fortnightly), agenda and minutes. |
| Standards-body outreach | +1–3 months | Formal introductions to ONVIF, Dronecode, MISB with the demo and spec in hand. |
| Membership opening | +3 months | Tiers and fees published; first Steering Group formed from committed implementers. |
| Conference presence | ongoing | Security (ISC West, IFSEC, Security Essen), drone (Commercial UAV Expo, XPONENTIAL, Amsterdam Drone Week), open-source (PX4 Developer Summit, FOSDEM). A live interop demo at each. |
| Interop plugfests | twice a year | Vendors bring devices and clients; the conformance tool is run publicly; results posted. ONVIF's developer plugfests are the model. |
7. Reaching a global audienceLink to the section 7. Reaching a global audience
- Publish in English with the specification normative in English; welcome translated informative material.
- Time working-group calls to alternate between Asia/Europe-friendly and Americas-friendly slots.
- Keep regulatory text region-neutral: Profile N documents the technical means to honor rules, not any one jurisdiction's rules, with informative annexes per region contributed by members.
- Make the first adapters match where the drones are: MAVLink (global open-source), DJI (dominant installed base), and one Western enterprise vendor (Skydio or similar).
- Use GitHub as the single collaboration surface so contribution does not require membership in any paid platform.
8. Measures of successLink to the section 8. Measures of success
| Horizon | Measure |
|---|---|
| 6 months after soft launch | 3 adapters, 2 clients, 10 implementation reports, 1 standards-body liaison |
| 12 months | Working group with ≥ 5 organizations, spec 1.0 RC, first plugfest |
| 24 months | Conformance program live, ≥ 2 commercial VMS products and ≥ 2 drone products with conformance claims, decision on ONVIF contribution taken |