Robotics

One of six lines of Research available through the game **Robotics** research is mostly of use regarding Drones and RC Vehicles.

Research is largely randomized as far as position in the track is concerned although the first five positions are consistently the same in a randomized order and the final Wonders are always last.

## First Five

**Transport Optimization** - The RC Transport harvest resources faster and its maximum storage is increased by 15. (The remote location of some resource deposits calls for Transport Rover optimizations.)

**Drone Swarm** - Drone Hubs are constructed with additional 2 Drones and the maximum number of Drones is increased by 80. (Drones being the backbone for most of the heavy and dangerous labor on Mars, it is essential our Hubs have greater operating capacity in order to employ more Drones at any given time.)

**Low-G Drive** - Drones and Rovers move 25% faster. (An engine design optimized for low-gravity environments.)

**Explorer AI** - Generate 100R per Sol for each RC Explorer vehicle. Multiple vehicles result in collaboration losses. (AI specifically tailored for our Explorers will think for itself, gathering only the data they have deemed could be of interest. The above will greatly contribute to our research initiatives.)

**Drone Hub** - New Building: Drone Hub (12M 8?) - Controls Drones and allocates them to different jobs. (We can now rely upon ourselves to build the complex Hubs that control our de facto heavy labor force.)

## Subsequent technologies

**Rover Command AI** - The RC Rover no longer needs recharging, starts with 4 additional Drones and command limit increased by 12. (Developing a specialized AI with greater autonomy and advanced multitasking capabiliites will allow our rovers to control more drones simultaneously.)

**Drone Printing** - New Building: Drone Assembler (20M 10MP 3H) - Constructs Drone Prefabs from Electronics which can then be used in Drone Hubs to construct new drones. (We may now print and assemble entire Drones on Mars with Martian-mined materials.)

**3D Machining** - New Building: Machine Parts Factory (10C 10M 2? 5H) - Produces Machine Parts from Metals. (Mastering the pecularities of Martian ores has allowed us to make 3D Metal Printers, which will serve as the foundation for all future Martian industry.)

**Battery Optimization** - Drone battery capacity increased by 50%. (Advances in power accumulator technology allow Drones to function longer before needing to recharge.)

**CO2 Jet Propulsion** - New Building: Shuttle Hub (10C 15P 10E) - Houses and refuels Shuttles that facilitate long-range transportation of resources between Depots and resettling of Colonists between Domes. (Adapting an air-breathing jet engine to work in the 95% carbon dioxide atmosphere of Mars is a challenge.)

**Fueled Extractors** - Extractor Upgrade (Fueled Extractor) - Production increased by 30% as long as the building is supplied with Fuel. ("We should not just consume hydrocarbon fuel but use it to develop nuclear energy, hydro power and renewable energy sources." Vladimir Putin)

**Martian Aerodynamics** - Shuttle speed increased by 33%. (Designing shuttles for flight in a low density/low pressure atmosphere is more efficient when designing them in a low density/low pressure atmosphere.)

**Factory AI** - Factory Upgrade (Factory AI) - performance increased by 20%. (After extensive trials and the allocation of many resources to the program, a work-safe AI has been developed to optimize various Factory operations.)

**Rover Printing** - Can construct RC Rover (20M 10E), RC Transport (20M 10E) and RC Explorer (20M 10E). (Machine-part printing devices have reached a fidelity high enough to print the intricate parts necessary to assemble state of the art Rovers.

**The Martian Network** - New Spire Building: Network Node (50C 50M 20E 6H) - increases the research output of all Research Labs and Science Institutes in the Dome. (Rapid transfer of information and an easier access to it could speed up research several times-fold.)

**High-powered Jets** - Shuttle cargo capacity increased by 3. (Advanced shuttle drives deliver more thrust and allow for greater cargo capacity.)

**Compact Hangars** - The maximum number of Shuttles that the Shuttle Hub can house is increased by 4. (Reaching heights unheard of in parking space sciences.)

## Final Wonders

**Project Mohole** - Wonder: Mohole Mine (400C 100M 300MP) - Extracts Metals, Rare Metals and Waste Rock withou the need of a deposit, while heating the surrounding area. (Moholes are shafts that dig exceptionally deep in the Martian crust, releasing heat as part of a potential terraforming effort and, as a bonus, mining ore.)

**Large-scale Excavation** - Wonder: The Excavator (100C 300M 200MP) - Produces Concrete directly from the Martian soil without requiring a deposit. (artian concrete, made from equal parts regolith and sulfur, has some vast improvements over its Earth counterpart. Red concrete is stronger, more durable and can be recycled and reused simply by reheating it.)