Automation Guide: Pumps, Sensors & Logic

Automation in Oxygen Not Included lets you build logic circuits and automated delivery/transport systems to control machinery, routing, and duplicant behavior. Proper automation reduces micromanagement, saves resources, prevents disasters (overheating, overpressure, overproduction) and unlocks fully autonomous factories.

Principles and building blocks

Signals: automation uses binary signals — Green (active/true) and Red (inactive/false) — carried by Signal Wire or Ribbon (ribbon carries up to four parallel signals).
Ports and wiring: buildings expose automation ports (input and/or output). Use Signal Wire, Ribbon Writer/Reader and Signal Bridges to route signals. Signal Lines can cross using Signal Line Bridge or Group Bridge.
Power vs automation: automation is distinct from power wiring. Smart Batteries bridge the two: they output automation signals based on stored charge (Low/High thresholds) to control generators.

Sensors and triggers

Sensors produce automation outputs when their condition matches:

Temperature Sensor (Thermo): outputs when ambient temperature is inside/outside a range.
Atmo/Liquid/Pressure Sensors: detect gas pressure, liquid mass/pressure.
Gas/Liquid Element Sensors: detect the element present in a cell.
Critter / Critter Flux / Critter Sensor: detect critters, eggs or counts inside a cell.
Motion / Duplicant Movement / Pressure Plate / Weight Plate: detect dupes or mass on a tile.
Clock / Timer / Counter / Wattage sensors: time-based or cumulative triggers.
Specialized sensors: Radiation, Germ, and Conveyor Rail sensors (newer update).

Sensors output Green when condition is satisfied and Red otherwise. Many buildings (valves, vents, pumps, doors) can be controlled by these outputs.

Logic gates and memory

Logic Gates: AND, OR, XOR, NOT, Buffer, Filter gates allow combining signals. Use them for conditional behaviors (e.g., only run pump if temperature AND pressure conditions are met).
Memory Toggle: latching device with Set (S) and Reset (R) ports. Useful for multi-step processes (activate a machine, keep it on after transient trigger, then stop when reset).
Counters/Timers: count events or create delays (useful for batching, cooldowns, or timed cycles).

Common automation controllers

Smart Battery: set Low/High thresholds to run fuel generators only when battery is low (typical: Low 50%, High 90%).
Power Control Station: duplicant-operated building to apply Engie's Tune-Up to generators; requires microchips and duplicant labor.
Signal Distributor / Selector: route and multiplex signals to many consumers or split a single sensor to multiple circuits.

Conveyors, Sweepers, and rail automation

Conveyor Rails / Loaders / Receptacles: automated solid transport system. Combine with Auto-Sweeper to automate delivery without duplicants.
Conveyor Bridge: connects two rails; it instantly passes packets and does not exchange heat with contents.
Solid Filter: filters a specific solid into the orange output; green output is all others. When disabled it blocks flow — provide a bypass to avoid backups.
Conveyor-related sensors: Conveyor Rail Sensors and Counter Sensors allow counting items and integrating rail activity into logic.

Fluid and gas automation

Gas/Liquid Shutoffs and Valves: automation-controlled valves allow dynamic routing. High Pressure Gas Vent can also be closed by automation.
Element Sensor + Gate/Valve: detect a particular gas/liquid and open a path only for that element.
Gas/Liquid Element Sensor caveat: detection happens before filtering; if the downstream pipe is full, the automation may mis-route — plan buffers or use backups.
Canister Filler / Emptier: automatable transfer of up to 25 kg gas per canister; dupes will only take canisters if a building requests that gas.
Pumps: Liquid and Gas Pumps can be toggled by automation and are affected by pump/detection ranges; trick-pumping (placing liquid in detection but not pumping range) can be used for hot liquid handling.

Automation and resource handling

Storage Locker / Smart Storage: smart storage and lockers can become Active when full and output automation signals; combine with Signal logic to stop production or reroute.
Auto-Sweeper / Sweepy Bot & Dock: sweepers automate collection and delivery of debris/ore. Sweepy Bot requires its own automation dock and routing.
Solid Filters / Multiple-stage sorting: chain filters from most common to least common. Because filters draw power only when items flow, arrange expected items first to save power.

Automation for safety and temperature/pressure control

Use Thermo/Atmo/Liquid Sensors to prevent overheating / overpressure: e.g., shut off Electrolyzers or Metal Refineries when temperature/pressure thresholds are exceeded.
Steam turbine / inlet gating: steam turbine inlets can be progressively closed with doors at set temperatures to avoid wasting DTU when steam is too hot.
Geyser geotuning automation: Geotuner increases geyser outputs for a resource and temperature at a cost; use automation to keep geotuner on/off schedules if needed.

Examples and patterns

Power management: Smart Battery → NOT (or directly) → Generator Enable. Set battery Low/High properly to prevent fuel waste.
Electrolyzer oxygen loop: Electrolyzer outputs hot O2 and H2; Gas Filter + Shutoff can separate hydrogen and oxygen. Use Temperature and Gas Sensors to avoid exposing duplicants to Eye Irritation gases.
Conveyor-fed factories: Auto-Sweeper + Conveyors feed Kilns, Polymer Press, Rock Crusher. Use Smart Storage and Solid Filters to stop inputs when outputs or storage are full.
Volcano / geyser buffers: automation alone cannot absorb eruption heat; combine thermal buffers (liquid/solid mass) with automation to close vents/pumps during ejection phases if necessary.

Advanced automation features

Ribbon: send up to 4 signals on one tile with ribbon wires, using Ribbon Writer and Reader to convert; mixing ribbon and single wires causes overload — keep consistent lanes.
Signal Groups / Multiplexing: Signal Line Group and Reader/Writer tools let you carry multiple signals compactly and choose which to read; useful for complex routing and hub-and-spoke control.
Automation Broadcast / Receiver: send signals across asteroids (broadcast to other bases) for cross-map automation in some DLC content.

Practical tips and pitfalls

Power for automation: many automation devices require Refined Metal; also some setups (filter substitutes, conveyors, sweepers) consume power. Protect critical circuits with Smart Batteries and consider adding a NOT gate tied to a Smart Battery to disable nonessential automation when power is low.
Backup behavior on power loss: some substitute filter systems will pass items unfiltered when they lose power rather than stop; if that is unacceptable, arrange automation to close a Gas/Liquid Shutoff on a Smart Battery NOT signal to fail-safe the system.
Pipe/building port priority: a building's input node will take priority when a pipe passes through it; outputs yield to incoming pipe flow. Use Bridge and routing tricks to control packet priority.
Duplicant interaction points: many buildings have specific dupe interaction / delivery tiles; place motion sensors accordingly (consult Cell of Interest tables for precise tile indices in complex designs).
Exosuit / checkpoint automation: Checkpoints must be connected to the dock row they serve. Automation can be used to control access and docks but watch pathfinding and equip/unequip behavior.

Automation transforms manual base maintenance into predictable, efficient systems. Start small (Smart Battery + generator control, a temperature shutoff for hot machines), then add sorting, conveyors and logic circuits as you scale. Well-designed automation prevents waste, protects duplicants and enables fully unattended late-game infrastructure.