MARIONETTE-001: Sail Drone Spool System
Classification: Tethered Multi-Sail Propulsion
Status: IMPLEMENTED v1.0
Date: 2026-01-22
Source: src/physics/marionette_spool.py
1. CONCEPT OVERVIEW
The MARIONETTE SPOOL is a tethered sail constellation where:
- Multiple sails on cables orbit a central spool
- The spool is thrown by human, then takes over autonomously
- A Champion brain (DreamerV3) controls sail pitch via cable lengths
- Uses cascade-lattice as computational substrate
COLLAPSED (pre-throw) DEPLOYED (marionette mode)
┌───────┐ SAILS
│███████│ ⛵ ⛵
│███████│◄── All cables \ /
│███████│ wound tight \ /
│SPOOL │ ┌───┴───┐
└───────┘ │ SPOOL │◄── Champion brain
│ │CONTROL│ runs HERE
▼ └───┬───┘
Human │
hand individual
cable control
2. OPERATIONAL PHASES
Phase 1: WOUND
All cables coiled on spool drums.
Sails stacked/collapsed against spool body.
Human holds spool in hand.
Phase 2: THROW
Human throws spool with spin.
Velocity: 15-25 m/s
Spin: 10-30 rad/s
Phase 3: UNRAVELING
Centrifugal force pays out cables.
Sails deploy radially.
Spin rate increases (conservation of angular momentum).
Phase 4: TENSIONED
Cables at max extension.
Sails spread in constellation.
System is aerodynamically active.
Phase 5: MARIONETTE CONTROL
Champion brain reads tension from each drum.
Computes optimal cable length adjustments.
Controls sail pitch for:
- Wind tacking (staying aloft)
- Trajectory control
- Formation maneuvers
3. SPOOL ARCHITECTURE
3.1 Physical Components
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ SPOOL BODY │
│ ┌─────┐ ┌─────┐ ┌─────┐ ┌─────┐ │
│ │DRUM │ │DRUM │ │DRUM │ │DRUM │ │
│ │ 0 │ │ 1 │ │ 2 │ │ N │ │
│ │ ◎◎◎ │ │ ◎◎◎ │ │ ◎◎◎ │ │ ◎◎◎ │ │
│ └──┬──┘ └──┬──┘ └──┬──┘ └──┬──┘ │
│ │ │ │ │ │
│ ╔══╧════════╧════════╧════════╧══╗ │
│ ║ CHAMPION BRAIN (RSSM) ║ │
│ ║ ┌───────────────────────────┐ ║ │
│ ║ │ Tension → State → Actions │ ║ │
│ ║ └───────────────────────────┘ ║ │
│ ╚════════════════════════════════╝ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘
│ │ │ │
▼ ▼ ▼ ▼
CABLE CABLE CABLE CABLE
│ │ │ │
▼ ▼ ▼ ▼
SAIL SAIL SAIL SAIL
⛵ ⛵ ⛵ ⛵
3.2 Cable Drum Specs
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Drum radius | 30mm | Per-sail drum |
| Cable length | 15m | Total wound |
| Max deployment | 12m | 80% of total |
| Cable diameter | 2mm | Dyneema/Spectra |
| Tension sensor | Strain gauge | Per-drum |
| Brake | Magnetic | Variable engagement |
3.3 Champion Brain
The spool contains a trained DreamerV3 RSSM that:
- Observes: Tension from each cable drum
- Imagines: Future states via world model
- Decides: Cable length adjustments via actor
- Acts: Motor commands to drums
# Observation space (per drum)
tension: float # N - current tension
tension_rate: float # N/s - rate of change
deployed_length: float # m - cable extension
# Action space (per drum)
length_adjust: float # m - reel in (+) / pay out (-)
brake_engage: float # 0-1 brake force
4. SAIL CONFIGURATION
Default: 6-Sail Ring
⛵ Sail 0 (0°)
/
/
⛵ 5 / \ ⛵ 1 (60°)
(300°) \
\ /
\ /
⛵ 4 ╳ ⛵ 2 (120°)
(240°) │
│
⛵ 3 (180°)
| Sail | Angle | Specialty |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0° | Upwind tack |
| 1 | 60° | Beam reach |
| 2 | 120° | Broad reach |
| 3 | 180° | Downwind |
| 4 | 240° | Broad reach |
| 5 | 300° | Beam reach |
5. CONTROL MODES
5.1 Collective
All cables adjust together:
- Reel in: System descends, spin increases
- Pay out: System ascends, spin decreases
5.2 Cyclic
Sinusoidal variation around the ring:
- Creates tacking motion
- Allows trajectory control
- Amplitude + phase controlled by champion
5.3 External Command ("Yondu Whistle")
Human can provide high-level direction:
- Pitch/heading commands
- Override vector
- Recall signal
6. CASCADE-LATTICE INTEGRATION
The spool uses cascade-lattice for:
- HOLD: Human can inspect/override any decision
- Merkle Provenance: All actions are traced
- Distributed Compute: Multi-sail coordination
# From marionette_spool.py
cascade.register_component(self.spool_id, self)
7. PERFORMANCE ESTIMATES
| Parameter | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Launch velocity | 15-25 m/s | Human throw |
| Initial spin | 10-30 rad/s | Wrist flick |
| Deployment time | 2-3 s | Cables fully extend |
| Loiter time | Minutes | Wind dependent |
| Max range | 50-100m | Before recall |
| Control bandwidth | 10 Hz | Champion inference |
8. CROSS-REFERENCES
- ARACHNE-001 - Forearm launcher (throw mechanism)
src/physics/hubless_dervish.py- Sail physicssrc/visualization/dervish_viz.py- Visualizationsrc/ai/collective_intelligence.py- Multi-agent coordination
9. INTEGRATION: ARACHNE + MARIONETTE
The ARACHNE forearm launcher can serve as the throw mechanism:
FOREARM RUNWAY ─────────────────────────► SAIL CONSTELLATION
[ELBOW] ⛵
║ ⛵ ╲ ╱ ⛵
║══elastic══[WRIST]══SPOOL══════throw══════► ╲│╱
║ [SPOOL]
[THUMB] │
↑ CHAMPION
release CONTROL
Advantages:
- Higher launch velocity (elastic assist)
- Consistent spin imparted
- Human hand free after launch
- Forearm becomes recall anchor
10. REVISION HISTORY
| Version | Date | Changes |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | 2026-01-22 | Initial documentation from source |