Runs — an operator on a machine

A run is one operator on one machine

A run (also called a shift; a deployment internally) is a single operator driving a single vehicle in a storm. It's how a person joins the swarm: the machine starts pinging its position, the swarm starts feeding it properties, and the run's progress rolls up into the pass and the storm.

Starting a run

1. The operator opens the storm on their tablet and chooses Start / join a run.
2. They pick their vehicle. Snowmass guards against double-booking — two people can't take the same machine.
3. Their first GPS ping bootstraps the first claim, and from there the swarm keeps handing them their highest-value next property.

Pause and resume

Need to fuel, eat, or wait out a whiteout? Pausing a run releases the operator's claimed properties back to the swarm so no work sits stranded on a stopped machine — while holding the operator's slot. Resume and they rejoin the swarm and start claiming again.

Device handoff

A dying tablet mid-storm isn't a crisis. Open the same run on a new phone or tablet and it silently takes control — newest device wins, the old one goes read-only. The operator keeps their claims and their place; only the screen changed.

Why runs feed self-healing

Because work is claimed by a run and not permanently assigned, a run that goes silent, breaks down, or gets recalled releases its properties straight back to the swarm. A background check every 60 seconds frees the claims of a machine that's gone quiet too long, so the fleet closes the gap without a dispatcher re-carving anything.