Creating an Operation
You build operations in the Make Operation designer. Open it from the PathLab toolbar with the Make Operation button (or Make New Operation from the Operations panel).
Before you start: an operation references map features — queue points, load and dump locations, routes, fields. Draw or import those features and deploy them to your robots first. See Features and Layers. Only saved features can be selected in the designer.
The basic steps
- Enter an Operation Name.
- Choose a preset — the kind of job you're setting up. See Operation Types.
- Fill in the preset's locations and steps (covered below).
- Choose the robots that will carry out the work.
- (Optional) Add prerequisites — conditions a robot must meet to take part.
- Click Save.
The new operation then appears in the Operations panel, where you monitor and control it. See Monitoring and Managing Operations.
To start over, click Clear to reset the form to its defaults.
Choosing robots
Every operation needs robots. You can pick them two ways — switch between them with the toggle in the Robots section:
| Mode | What it does |
|---|---|
| Robots with required capabilities | Choose one or more capabilities (for example, a hauling or mowing capability). Any robot in the fleet that has all the chosen capabilities can take part. Use this when you don't care which specific robots run the job, only that they're equipped for it. |
| Select robots individually | Pick specific robots by name. Each shows whether it's Online or Offline. Use this when the job is for particular machines. |
You can add and remove robots later from the Operations panel while the operation runs.
Filling in each preset
Pick the section below that matches the preset you chose. Fields marked required must be filled in before you can save.
Haul Job
| Field | Required | What it sets |
|---|---|---|
| Queue Location | Yes | Where robots stage and wait their turn. Set an optional Spacing (meters) to keep a minimum gap between waiting robots. |
| Load Location | No | Where robots pick up. Leave it Dynamic to let Rover Nexus choose at run time, or set a specific feature. Maximum Loads optionally caps how many robots can be at the load location at once. |
| Route to Dump Location | No | The route robots drive from load to dump. |
| Dump Location | Yes (when set) | Where robots drop their load. Leave it Dynamic or set a specific feature. Maximum Dumps caps how many robots can be there at once, and Spacing (meters) keeps a minimum gap between them. |
| Route from Dump to Queue Location | No | The return route back to the queue. |
Series of Routes
| Field | Required | What it sets |
|---|---|---|
| Queue Location | Yes | Where robots stage before the run. Optional Spacing (meters) keeps a gap between waiting robots. |
| Steps | Yes (at least one) | The ordered stops. Add a step with Add Step; for each, give it a Name, choose its Location (Dynamic or a set feature), and optionally set Maximum Runs to cap how many times that step runs. Remove a step with its trash button. |
Charge / Refuel
| Field | Required | What it sets |
|---|---|---|
| Chargers / Fuel Stations | Yes (at least one) | The stations robots can use. Add one with Charger / Fuel Station and pick its feature. Each station serves one robot at a time. |
Tip: add a Min Battery or Min Fuel prerequisite (below) so only robots that actually need a top-up are sent.
Field Rows Coverage
| Field | Required | What it sets |
|---|---|---|
| Fields | Yes (at least one) | The areas to cover. Add one with Field and pick its feature. Each field is taken by a single robot; add several fields to spread work across the fleet. |
Advanced
Build the operation one step at a time. Add steps with New Step (or insert a saved mission template with Add Template), then configure each step's name, location, and behavior. Reorder steps with the up/down arrows.
Use the optional Final Steps section for work that should only run at the very end of the job — such as parking or cleanup. The operation is marked complete once all final steps are exhausted.
Every step needs a name, and any step set to a fixed location needs a feature selected.
Prerequisites
Prerequisites are optional dispatch-time checks: a robot must satisfy every listed prerequisite before it's sent to a step. They apply to every step in the operation. Use them to keep under-fuelled, poorly-positioned, or low-battery robots out of the job — or, with the Max variants, to send only the robots that need attention.
Expand the Prerequisites section and use Add prerequisite… to add any of these (each can be added once):
| Prerequisite | Meaning |
|---|---|
| GPS Fix Type | Only robots reporting one of the allowed fix qualities (for example, fixed RTK) take part. |
| Max GPS Fix Age | The robot's last position fix must be no older than this many seconds. |
| Min Battery SoC / Max Battery SoC | Battery state of charge must be at least / at most this percentage. |
| Min Battery Charge / Max Battery Charge | Remaining battery charge (in amp-hours) must be at least / at most this value. |
| Min Fuel Percent / Max Fuel Percent | Fuel level must be at least / at most this percentage. |
| Min Fuel Volume / Max Fuel Volume | Remaining fuel volume (in liters) must be at least / at most this value. |
The Min variants keep robots that are too low from joining. The Max variants do the opposite — they only let in robots that are below a threshold, which is how a Charge / Refuel operation sends just the robots that actually need topping up.
Saving
Click Save to create the operation (the button reads Saving… while it submits). If Save is greyed out, a required field is still empty — check that you've named the operation and filled in the required locations or steps for your preset.