The present disclosure provides a general purpose operating system (GPROS) that shows particular usefulness in the robotics and automation fields. The operating system provides individual services and the combination and interconnections of such services using built-in service extensions, built-in completely configurable generic services, and ways to plug in additional service extensions to yield a comprehensive and cohesive framework for developing, configuring, assembling, constructing, deploying, and managing robotics and/or automation applications. The disclosure includes GPROS extensions and features directed to use as an autonomous vehicle operating system. The vehicle controlled by appropriate versions of the GPROS can include unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) applications such as a driverless or self-driving car. The vehicle can likewise or instead include an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) such as a helicopter or drone. In cases, the vehicle can include an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV), such as a submarine or other submersible.