{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/automation-programming--t111","type":"mechanic","id":"automation-programming--t111","lang":"en","title":"Robots, drones and autonomous delivery","summary":"Autonomous delivery assigns carriers to requests using capacity, routes and available energy.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/automation-programming--t111/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/automation-programming--t111.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/automation-programming--t111.md","aliases":["Robots and autonomous delivery"],"tags":["Automation and programming","Mechanics and variants"],"sourceIds":["source-96be186d8ada50a0","source-8fa2811c61684f9e"],"sources":[{"id":"source-96be186d8ada50a0","title":"Factorio: Content","url":"https://www.factorio.com/game/content","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-8fa2811c61684f9e","title":"Factorio","url":"https://wiki.factorio.com/File:RoboTrainStation_small.gif","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"Autonomous delivery assigns carriers to requests using capacity, routes and available energy."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Mechanic variants\n\n<a id=\"t111-variants\"></a>\n\n- Requests set a desired item stock level. <a id=\"t111-v1\"></a>\n- Batching combines compatible deliveries. <a id=\"t111-v2\"></a>\n- Charging creates a robot service queue. <a id=\"t111-v3\"></a>\n- Fallback routes avoid an inaccessible region. <a id=\"t111-v4\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"Drones stop serving a distant depot when their remaining charge cannot cover the return trip.\n\nPrototype check: Test deliveries when recipients disappear and the return rule for cargo already picked up."},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"Automation moves repeated work into a system; the player builds connections and identifies the limiting stage. Each overview separates player actions, state changes and alternative rules. Examples are hypothetical design scenarios, not claims about a named game. A prototype check states an observable question for the next iteration. Existing detailed references remain separately linked from the direction map."}],"relations":[],"placements":[{"catalogId":"automation-programming","id":"t111","title":"Automation and programming","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/automation-programming/#t111","categoryIds":["mechanics"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Robots and autonomous delivery","description":"Autonomous delivery assigns carriers to requests using capacity, routes and available energy.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/systems-factorio-logistic-robots.webp","width":420,"height":336,"game":"Factorio","sourceUrl":"https://wiki.factorio.com/File:RoboTrainStation_small.gif","originalUrl":"https://wiki.factorio.com/images/RoboTrainStation_small.gif","sourceFrameSeconds":0.3,"credit":"Wube Software; capture by Cardinal via Official Factorio Wiki, updated for 2.0.41","rights":"Game graphics © the respective rights holders. Source screenshot attribution retained; excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.","caption":"Robots handle resource transfers beside a railway","alt":"Robots handle resource transfers beside a railway","markers":[{"x":49,"y":30,"label":"Flying carriers connect stations with storage locations"}]},"tips":["Show the request, available carrier and reason for any delivery delay."],"examples":[{"title":"Factorio","url":"https://wiki.factorio.com/File:RoboTrainStation_small.gif"}]}},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Original bilingual editorial overviews authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-20 and reviewed on 2026-10-21. Scenarios are hypothetical design examples; prototype checks describe work to perform, not completed playtests. Primary sources support the stated techniques and implementation context, not every proposed variant.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors","catalogKey":"catalog/automation-programming"}}