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Armor Suit Overview; Brief descriptions of Armor Suits
Topic Started: Aug 14 2014, 07:15 PM (60 Views)
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ARMOR SUITS

(Treat this as a work in progress for the time being.)

The Armor Suit has become a fairly frequent sight on the modern battlefield, at least as common as a standard battle tank or other such armored combat vehicle. They're more expensive overall, but far more versatile and responsive than other vehicles. They can also be deployed to fight in smaller spaces because of their build. With this in mind, the primary owners of Armor Suits (Shortened most times to AS both officially and unofficially) are the various military organizations. Some mercenary companies specialize in them as well, and on occasion they can be found being used in well-funded police forces or even as a construction aid.

By and large, they vary greatly in appearance, but all share common features regardless of manufacture or equipment. First: They are always roughly human shaped. They always have a torso, two arms, and two legs. Most times they do not have a head as we know them, unless for decorative purposes, because they're typically a redundant feature. But overall, they still carry a very human shape. This happens because of the method used to pilot them.

This brings us to the second similarity: The piloting mechanism and the cockpit. All AS designs revolve around this feature. Inside the torso of the AS is a mechanism that interfaces directly with the pilot. The pilot sits or lays in a seat, and in this seat is a set of neural interceptors that connect directly to the spinal cord. These interceptors "catch" the nerve impulses that normally direct gross and fine movement in the pilot's body and redirect them to direct the corresponding AS attachment. These technologies differ in approach and have developed considerably since their innovation, with varying levels of comfort for the pilot. Because of this design, becoming a pilot involves a medical procedure to install the interface. This makes it a very specialized occupation. When the AS interface is engaged, the pilot is usually left with no control of their own appendages until the system is powered down. Most systems leave the functions in the head as they are, allowing the pilot to still use their eyes and ears, as well as to speak. (There are some experimental models that try connecting the optic nerves to cameras, although this has mixed success.) Some models allow the pilot to selectively activate which nerves are connected and which are not, but many low-grade pieces have only an on and an off state for all receptors. Also, because of the unresponsive bodily state of the pilot, many models include extra protective measures for the pilot. While the AS does directly interface with the nerves to control limbs and the like, that doesn't mean a pilot would feel the same pain as a person would suffering an injury if the AS were to receive damage. Obviously there's no rule saying they can't have this as an option, but common sense dictates that pain is bad and should be avoided. Most times, a pilot will simply feel a certain response to damages, enough to know what happened, but not enough to cripple them further. (Specifics on piloting mechanism designs will be included as details for each piece of equipment.)

These two features (human shape and piloting mechanism) are the only true common similarities. The rest of the features are generally very diverse. For the most part, only somewhat common styles will be mentioned in the following overview, but for a more detailed explanation, then one would need to look at an individual part. Now, though, the common features of each part type will be listed.




TORSOS

-These are almost always the biggest, most well-armored pieces on an AS. (The only part that may be more armored is the generator, or in some designs the legs.)

PILOTING INTERFACES

-As described above, the piloting mechanism requires a medical operation for the pilot to install interface equipment that allows the AS to interact with their spinal cord and nervous system in general.

GENERATORS

-

ARMS

-

LEGS/MOVEMENT

-

WEAPONRY

-

OTHER NOTES

-It should be noted that, while the possibility has been explored, the design of the AS is not intended to be unmanned. There's no saying that a specially designed computer or other such intelligence couldn't operate an AS independently; It's just that the AS is designed to take advantage of human movement and form. Other vehicles would be better candidates for unmanned operation for varieties of reasons, and because of this unmanned AS designs are in no way common.
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