Skip to content

Operations Overview

Every fleet has one operation: the complete set of mission work configured for that fleet and the live state of the fleet carrying it out. Opening a fleet in PathLab opens its operation workspace.

You do not create a separate operation. Mission templates, assignments, schedules, field rules, and map data collectively define what the fleet can do. The Operation panel then summarizes what is running and what needs attention.

For the underlying concept, see Operations.

What site managers prepare

Site managers shape the fleet's operation by maintaining:

  • Mission templates: reusable task steps that robots can run. Mission rules can require one template to follow another, allowing multi-step processes within the one fleet operation. See Mission Designer.
  • Assignments and schedules: which work runs now or later, and which robots are eligible. See Assign Mission and Schedule and Calendar.
  • Map features: boundaries, paths, target areas, queues, and other geometry used by missions. See Features and Layers.
  • Field rules: location-based behavior that applies while robots work. See Field Rules.
  • Robot readiness: connected robots with the required actions, settings, and deployed map data.

Changing these items changes the work available within the fleet operation. A sequence of related mission templates can form a multi-step process, but there is no additional operation object or configuration step.

What operators do

During a shift, operators use PathLab to:

  • Dispatch missions or monitor scheduled missions as they start.
  • Watch progress across all active mission work.
  • Respond when PathLab requests a work location or operator release.
  • Check waiting robots, offline robots, and active faults.
  • Start, stop, resume, or reset the fleet operation when appropriate.
  • Schedule operation-level start, stop, or restart commands.

See Monitoring and Managing Operations for the controls and attention lists in the Operation panel.

A typical workflow

  1. Open the fleet in PathLab. This opens that fleet's operation workspace.
  2. Review readiness. Check robot connectivity, faults, mission acceptance, and required map data.
  3. Prepare work. Create or update mission templates, schedules, features, and field rules as needed.
  4. Run missions. Dispatch work now or allow scheduled work to start.
  5. Monitor the operation. Follow mission progress and act on waiting robots, faults, and operator prompts.
  6. Control fleet work when needed. Stop, resume, reset, or schedule the operation using the controls available to your role.

In this section