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[Execute/Dumbo.exe]

*Snip*

((Well, if that gets approved, what about a more expensive version that also carries a Piezoelectric fabricator with it?))

[Radio Controlled]

*Snip*

((Well, if that gets approved, what about a more expensive version that also carries a Piezoelectric fabricator with it?))

Why, exactly? And can't that thing just be bought separately?

[piecewise]

Sure I suppose.

Then I'll go add it to the armory.


Next up: mine/demo kit.

Basically, a sturdy box with a collection of several items for taking various grenades or explosives and turning them into boobytraps or mines. Contains at least the following:
-main 'unit' where other bits are slotted into or attached to
-mechanical odds and ends to allow nades or explosives of various size to be attached to the main unit
-tripwires
-pressure sensitive plates/sensors
-infrared lasers
-small receiver/transmitter (for remote control)
-small simple cameras
-timer
-detonators

Idea would be the box works like the medkit does, in which its exact contents are a bit nebulous, and instead each box has a certain amount of uses. User can use contents of the box to create booby traps or mines with a variety of possible firing mechanisms, thought the actual 'explosive parts' (which might even be as crude as a drum of booze) aren't included in the package. Sort of like a 'do-it-yourself bomb kit (bomb sold separately)'.

Does this seem like a workable idea? Could you think of things to add or how to improve the concept? How many uses would one 'box' have, and what would its price be? Currently I'm hoping for 1 token and 5 uses. If that seems like a lot, remember that this thing on its own is rather useless, so you need to add the price of the explosives a person would need (aka another token at the very least). Though I guess you could also use the simple sensors for intelligence/recon purposes, but there are better options available for that.


Finally, could you please take a look at this and tell me what you think:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Here's what Leo writes down for the portable sensor package:

Smoke isn't much of a problem.  Have a number of infared LEDs into a few small lamps, and use an infared camera to build up an image.  Have them be deployable, so you can take the little lamps and cameras out of the box and put them where you want coverage.

To further coverage, use a blacklight emitter.  This will probably have to be flourescent, as it's cheaper to make blacklights like that.  Include a UV camera as well.

That should take care of smoke and darkness.  I'm afraid there's no real way to see in darkness without a lamp of some kind, depending on it's range.

Radar is a bit more tricky, as with the longer-wavelength light, you need larger pickups to handle them.  Most of the box would have to be the emitter for the radar system, with a pair of long, telescopic rods and amplifiers to act as the pickups.  These would be networked together to provide directional coverage.  It would be directional, but it should be more than sufficient.  Accuracy would be limited somewhat by putting them on people, instead of a fixed stand, but it would be better than nothing..  and a collapsable stand should be included, so you can set it up properly.  It would also help if you are using it to penetrate walls.

So, in short, make a box around a radar emitter and a collapsable stand for the recievers.  Let the recievers be a pair of telescopic rods with amplifiers.  It could be attached to a frame or carried by a person, but with limited accuracy due to the somewhat irregular movement of a person.  It should be, at reasonable power levels, capable of detecting objects on the other side of narrow walls.

This box should include two IR lamps, as well as at least one IR camera.  It should also include two UV lamps, and a UV camera.

Pickups from the cameras can be handled as normal, but the radar needs a fair amount of processing power behind it to make useful returns, so it'll need a small computer and something to display it's readout on.  The radar will also be directional.

Audio isn't really useful.  Bullets and lasers travel faster than sound, after all, and pointing a directional microphone requires you to know what direction it's coming from so you can point it in the right way.  Things would be different underwater, but making a sonar box similar to the radar box isn't too hard, if that should become necessary.

As for power consumption, the whole thing should be able to run for about an hour on two or three of the laser rifle batteries.

So here's what the bolded description would be.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

-The sensor package, at it's most basic, is a box a bit smaller than a breadbox.
-it contains at least two removable battery-powered IR lamps, which recharge when you put them back in their slots, from the replaceable battery in the package itself.
-likewise, it contains two similar UV lamps.
-It also contains similar removable networkable cameras, one for each of IR and UV.  The cameras, in addition to being wireless, contain empty ports for network cables.
-the largest components of the box are the ones necessary for the portable radar set.  The basic part of the box will contain the radar emitter set, the signal processing computers, and the reloadable batteries.  It's likely any moving parts required will be behind a thin, hard, fibreglass barrier designed to look like the rest of the box, while being transparant to radar waves.  This is to reduce people messing with sensitive parts that should not be messed with.
-The radar pickups will be a pair of telescoping metal rods, along with a telescoping framework that can hold the box and the recievers, in a stationary position apart from the person.  The rods themselves could also be attached to a person or even just carried, although doing so will restrict the range.
-The UV and IR cameras, can be displayed on suits like the regular existing camera viewing abilities, in false color.
-The radar is somewhat more complicated, and I'll leave the desired type of display open to others to choose.
-The batteries will be wholly conventional, and sufficient to allow for a few hours of operation.  This should be doable with a small number of laser rifle batteries.
-The range on the radar will be around five or so kilometers, albeit it will be directional, and restricted to a cone of around 90-120 degrees.  It will also be capable of some penetration of thin walls.

Well that trap kit seems fine to me. I actually have some diagrams from an old army manual about how to create landmine booby traps around here somewhere...I'll try to find them. It might give us ideas of what more to add to it. In any case, we could do the standard "Use it 5 times" med kit thing. Cost? Eh, 2 tokens should be fine. If only because small cameras and various other components from it can be used elsewhere as well.


As per Dev's sensor package, it looks fine...I wonder how useful it will be in the end, but I don't see anything on there that is technically impossible. Not sure what he means "Can be displayed on suits" with the cameras though. Might have to reduce the radar range a bit.

[NAV]

The multitool Simus got for christmas a couple years ago. It was described like this:

It's a complex set of actuators, mechanical parts, metal pieces and sensors. It will transform into a tool that can be used to manipulate any basic mechanical device.

Would it be possible to add this or something similar to the armoury, and how much would it cost? Maybe we have to study it on Heph first.


How about a basic handiwork tool box? Containing stuff like a welder, a few powered tools, a lot of non-powered tools and some supplies.

[Nikitian]

How about a basic handiwork tool box? Containing stuff like a welder, a few powered tools, a lot of non-powered tools and some supplies.

This. Oh please this. NAV, you are my savior; I've wanted something like that for ages.

[Devastator]

As per Dev's sensor package, it looks fine...I wonder how useful it will be in the end, but I don't see anything on there that is technically impossible. Not sure what he means "Can be displayed on suits" with the cameras though. Might have to reduce the radar range a bit.

Well, people don't seem to have issues accessing other people's camera feeds.  I thought that system for the false color IR and UV views.  Radar would need something different.

[Radio Controlled]

Well that trap kit seems fine to me. I actually have some diagrams from an old army manual about how to create landmine booby traps around here somewhere...I'll try to find them. It might give us ideas of what more to add to it. In any case, we could do the standard "Use it 5 times" med kit thing. Cost? Eh, 2 tokens should be fine. If only because small cameras and various other components from it can be used elsewhere as well.

Yeah, if you wanna try and look that up, that might be interesting. If not, we luckily can abstract the exact contents a bit (like with a medkit) so if we forget something obvious, it ain't a big deal. Also, if you want one can download the US army field manual on booby traps: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vistaconceptsllc.boobytraps.AOUFHCMCYQYEOBJVX&hl  or  https://archive.org/details/FM_5_31_Booby_Traps_

Would 1 token for a kit of 3 uses also be all right?

As per Dev's sensor package, it looks fine...I wonder how useful it will be in the end, but I don't see anything on there that is technically impossible. Not sure what he means "Can be displayed on suits" with the cameras though. Might have to reduce the radar range a bit.

Well, for starters: you know that movie thing where people use sound echolocation to map out their environment and detect things? This could do that, but better, and uses electromagnetic waves in different parts of the spectrum. So some waves are sent out and bounce back to the detectors, mapping the walls and such, while others can penetrate walls a bit and thus map beyond them as well (though obviously there's a limit). So, if in an unknown tunnel complex, you could use this to map ahead of you and see where different branches go to, in a way that's better than echolocation.

Next to that, it could detect incoming things (shuttles, LESHO rounds, ...) even when they aren't in visible range or are stealthed (for example, on the Heabi mission they'd allow us to detect those organic missiles much sooner), since most things, even if invisible to cameyes, might not be to other parts of the spectrum.

Basically it gives some sensors and functions that cameyes don't in order to complement those. Of course, if you think alternative sensors or other adjustments might make more sense, do tell.

While you're at it, could you also look at upgrading camEyes so that their X-ray mode can be used to see through walls and clothes?

So, is this possible?

@Nav: tool box was on the list of simple tinker projects I'm going through. Beat me to the punch! (which isn't a problem, there's too much stuff on there anyway, help is welcome).

[Parisbre56]

While you're at it, could you also look at upgrading camEyes so that their X-ray mode can be used to see through walls and clothes?

[Radio Controlled]

While you're at it, could you also look at upgrading camEyes so that their X-ray mode can be used to see through walls and clothes?

What, you wanna peep on the AM more efficiently?

[Parisbre56]

While you're at it, could you also look at upgrading camEyes so that their X-ray mode can be used to see through walls and clothes?

What, you wanna peep on the AM more efficiently?

I was thinking more along the lines of scanning containers so that you can see the Arbiters in them, using methods same as those used in Cargo Scanning. Or detecting hidden enemy agents, hiding amongst civilians.

But hey, if you want suicidal high-tech voyeurism... whatever floats your synthflesh limbs.

Hmm... there's an odd question. Does the thing synthflesh comes from have reproductive organs?

[Sean Mirrsen]

While you're at it, could you also look at upgrading camEyes so that their X-ray mode can be used to see through walls and clothes?

At the magnitude of X-Ray emission necessary to reliably look through walls, I think you'd be murdering people just by looking at them.

[Nikitian]

While you're at it, could you also look at upgrading camEyes so that their X-ray mode can be used to see through walls and clothes?

At the magnitude of X-Ray emission necessary to reliably look through walls, I think you'd be murdering people just by looking at them.

Which is sufficiently ARM way of discerning those people didn't have weapons concealed on them. LionsEnemies everywhere!

[Parisbre56]

While you're at it, could you also look at upgrading camEyes so that their X-ray mode can be used to see through walls and clothes?

At the magnitude of X-Ray emission necessary to reliably look through walls, I think you'd be murdering people just by looking at them.

Are you sure? Because I've passed through Backscatter X-ray scanners when going through airports and I'm still alive.

EDIT: To clarify, I meant through relatively thin walls, like the ones found in clothes and containers.

[Devastator]

You still need an x-ray emitter to do that.

[Parisbre56]

You still need an x-ray emitter to do that.

CamEyes? They already have an X-ray mode? Unless you are suggesting that in the ERverse, all metal is constantly emitting X-rays.