Independent Robotics Execution Architectures: A Structured Comparison with Rigid-Sync / MASTER OS

Abstract

This note defines an auditable, source-traceable comparison of four robotics execution architectures and Rigid-Sync / MASTER OS. Forty source-linked comparison items are provided with operational tests for authority timing, amount, spatial extent, and objective-to-channel assignment. Classification separates shared problems, functional resemblance, mechanism overlap, integrated equivalence, and matched performance. External studies support their own coordination, recovery, adoption, or family-selection mechanisms; they do not validate MASTER OS. Its public simulation records support single-axis and all six pairwise two-axis non-reduction within frozen comparator classes. Hardware superiority and universal irreducibility do not follow. A prospective protocol tests incremental value against an existing stack and simpler supervisory alternatives. The contribution is an auditable comparison method and falsifiable evaluation plan, not a new experiment or exclusive novelty claim.