Material on the move
Haulers move bulky loads across surface work areas. A machine recognizes a marked route and can lower its load or wait so people and vehicles have room to pass.
The hauler still needs power, a maintained path, coordination, and a load appropriate to the ground beneath it. Its patience is useful because an orderly route prevents a simple cargo movement from narrowing someone else’s work.
Equipped for the work.
Find this in the novel: Chapters 1, 6.