Start Here: Which HEART Track Are You On?#

Three reading tracks, so you read only what your product needs

Status: Reading guide, November 2026. Part of the HEART Standards Family. It adds no requirements: the parts it points to do that.

In one minute#

HEART is written for products as different as a dog collar and an industrial robot. You do not have to read all of it.

Pick one of three tracks. Each track tells you exactly which sections to read, in order, and where to stop.

Each track includes the one before it. A Track 2 reader reads Track 1 first. Each track page lists only the sections it adds.

Find your track#

Find the row closest to your product. If two rows fit, take the higher track.

Or answer four questions#

1. Can anything outside the product change it through HEART? No: Track 1. Yes: go on.
2. Is it always a person who starts the change? Yes: Track 2. No, a rule, another system or an AI starts some changes: Track 3.
3. Does it use an AI model to explain, plan or propose? Only to explain alerts: Track 2 is enough. To plan or propose fixes: Track 3, Stop 3B.
4. Does it send one command to many systems, or does it move, lift, drive or fly? Yes: Track 3, Stop 3C.

Two more things put you on at least Track 2: anyone logs in to read it, or it talks to other systems through a Gateway, webhooks or MQTT.

A track is how you read, not what you claim#

The track is a reading guide. Never write "HEART Track 2" on a box. A product claims a Feature Set and an Autonomy Level, such as "HEART Connected · A2", and proves it with the tests in Part 9, Section 2.

The tracks follow the Feature Sets of the API Standard, Section 2, and the needs of each Autonomy Level in Part 2, Section 8:

One exception. A product can claim basic and still offer a module that changes things, such as lifecycle (restart, sleep) or writable properties. Changes need logins and the approval rules for people. So that product reads Track 2, even if its Card stays at basic. Most of the simulators do exactly this.

How the tracks fit together#

 Track 1  BASIC          Card, Pulse, alerts, the Valve, minimum Tending, A1
   │                     "It knows it is unwell, and tells a person."
   ▼
 Track 2  INTERMEDIATE   + logins, identity, history, subscriptions, receipts,
   │                       modules, a person's changes with proof of presence,
   │                       the Gateway, MQTT, A2
   │                     "People can reach it, trust it and change it."
   ▼
 Track 3  ADVANCED       Stop 3A  + the full gate, stop, Playbooks, A3 and A4
                         Stop 3B  + an AI brain, HEART Core, the Command Center, A5
                         Stop 3C  + fleets, and machines that move (mostly planned)
                         "It acts on its own, and people stay in charge."

What each track page holds#

Every track page has the same seven parts:

1. Who it is for, with examples.
2. What you will build.
3. What to read, in order: the document, the exact sections, and roughly how long each takes.
4. What you can skip, and why.
5. Where to start: templates and simulators.
6. The Part 9 tests that apply, with their weights.
7. You are done when: the finish line.

Reading times assume careful reading at about 150 words a minute. Skimming a list, such as the fault codes, is faster.

If you are not building a product#

The track pages#

• Track 1: Basic
• Track 2: Intermediate
• Track 3: Advanced
• The whole standard, as a map