Personality

How OctoMY™ gives each node a unique, consistent identity that's both machine-verifiable and human-friendly.

Did You Know?

The name "Personality" was chosen because it encompasses more than just identity. Like a human personality, a node's Personality includes how it looks (identicon and colors), what it's called (generated name), and even how it sounds (voice characteristics). All of this is deterministically derived from a single cryptographic key.

What is Personality?

Every OctoMY™ node has a Personality - a set of deterministically generated identity traits derived from the node's cryptographic key. This makes each node unique and recognizable.

Generated traits

How personality is generated

Personality derives from the node's RSA key pair through deterministic random generation:

Key property: Determinism

The same key always generates the same personality traits. This means:

• Personality survives application restarts
• Personality is consistent across different devices (if key is transferred)
• Other nodes see the same personality for a given key

The identicon

The identicon is a visual representation of the node's cryptographic identity.

Purpose

• Quick visual verification - Users can glance at identicons to verify identity
• Memorable - Patterns are easier to remember than hex strings
• Tamper-evident - Any key change produces a completely different identicon

Example

Generated names

Each node receives a unique generated name combining descriptive words.

Name generation

Names are generated from word lists seeded by the key:

• Adjective + Noun combinations
• Alliterative options
• Memorable and pronounceable

Examples

• "Blue Spark"
• "Crimson Runner"
• "Silent Guardian"
• "Amber Echo"

Name properties

• Unique - Extremely low collision probability
• Consistent - Same key always generates same name
• Human-friendly - Easy to say and remember
• Localizable - Word lists can be translated

Colors

Each node has generated colors used throughout the UI.

Color usage

Color properties

• Derived from key hash
• Guaranteed sufficient contrast
• Consistent across platforms

Voice

For nodes with audio output, personality includes voice characteristics.

Voice parameters

• Pitch - Base pitch offset
• Speed - Speaking rate
• Timbre - Voice quality characteristics

Usage

• Text-to-speech announcements
• Autonomous interaction responses
• Status notifications

Personality vs identity

Personality makes cryptographic identity accessible to humans.

Transferring personality

Since personality derives from the key:

Backup and restore

1. Export key pair from node
2. Import to new device
3. Personality automatically matches

Implications

• Same robot on new hardware keeps identity
• Users recognize the familiar personality
• Trust relationships transfer with key

Warning: Key sharing

If keys are copied to multiple devices:

• All devices have same personality
• This can cause confusion
• Generally not recommended

Personality in LLM interactions

When LLMs interact with or through a node, personality provides:

• Consistent voice - LLM outputs use node's voice characteristics
• Named identity - LLM can refer to self by generated name
• Visual continuity - UI elements maintain personality colors

Delivery (birth) process

When a node starts for the first time, it goes through the "delivery" process to create its identity.

AppContext

When a node starts, it receives an AppContext containing:

The base name allows multiple nodes to run on the same computer by creating separate base directories side by side.

Identity components

All nodes have these components relating to identity:

First-time startup

When started for the first time:

1. Base directory and settings files are missing
2. Node UI guides user through initialization:
   • Generation of ID
   • Configuration of hardware (Agent only)
   • Pairing with other nodes

Sanity check

After KeyStore activation, the node runs a sanity check: