Quick answer

For J.O.O.N.A.S., patch 1.0.4 explicitly says it keeps cleaning when no players are nearby. That announcement does not give the same guarantee for Robot Vacuum Mk I or Mk II. A distant robot that appears stationary needs a model-specific activity and output check. S03S14S17

Which robot does the official statement cover?

Model Collection route Evidence for work away from players
J.O.O.N.A.S. Cleaning followed by launches to catchers Official 1.0.4 statement; 1.0.5 changes receiving selection
Robot Vacuum Mk I Dock-based collection; reported 19-hex area Player accounts, without a verified model-specific official rule here
Robot Vacuum Mk II Dock-based collection; reported 37-hex area Stopping reports with unknown installed builds

The Mk coverage values come from the auto-selling guide. They describe a dock's collection area, not a proven player-distance cutoff. Moving beyond that area does not itself establish that collection stops. S07

Compare work before and after leaving

  1. Record the exact model and installed build.
  2. While nearby, note remaining dirty ground, local completion and the dock or receiver output.
  3. Choose an observation interval and note its length. Leave the area while avoiding changes to the route.
  4. On returning, compare completion, storage and material delivered over that interval.
  5. Repeat with the same interval while staying nearby. Check whether the source still had ground to clean in both comparisons.

This is a proposed comparison, not a test performed by this site. A marker that appears frozen is weaker evidence than an unchanged cleaning result and unchanged output under comparable conditions.

Rule out a completed area or blocked output

A Mk dock supplies a limited area. Inspect that area's dirty ground before attributing inactivity to player distance. Then inspect its capsule output and first belt. A full or disconnected receiving route can interrupt useful delivery even when the collection behavior has not changed.

For J.O.O.N.A.S., compare the nearest catcher group's occupancy and outgoing belts. Delivery may shift to another group under the 1.0.5 rule, so watching one receiver can miss continued work.

What player reports establish

The linked discussion includes a report of Mk II robots appearing to resume movement after the player returns, another Mk II stopping report and a different player's account of Mk I working during distant exploration. The builds and controlled conditions are missing. These accounts identify a question worth checking; they do not establish a universal distance limit or fix. S14

Return to robots and catchers for routing or J.O.O.N.A.S. stopped working for a persistent fault.

Source references

Sources checked . Source types describe the evidence; they do not imply gameplay testing by this site.

  1. S03 · OfficialPatch 1.0.4 — 25 October 2026 ↗
  2. S04 · OfficialPatch 1.0.5 — 28 October 2026 ↗
  3. S07 · Reported guideGAMES.GG — Auto-Sell Dust ↗
  4. S14 · Player reportMk II robots at a distant station ↗
  5. S17 · OfficialSteam official developer announcement feed — checked 8 November 2026 ↗