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longgi — Unit - Wetware Acrobats
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Published: 2013-01-07 08:19:31 +0000 UTC; Views: 10004; Favourites: 113; Downloads: 113
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Description
Developed and deployed by the infamous Outer Solar System Alliance, the Wetware Acrobats are a type of cybernetic humanoid combat/labour units. They are, in essence, headless corpses fitted with situational gears and ALUs (Artificial Locomotive Units). The source of fresh bodies are usually from raided cryochambers on spaceships that belong to Earth Federation.Comparing with the augmented bio-droids ([link] ), these units are much cheaper and easier to produce, for a lower performance and a shorter lifespan.
Variants (from the left):
1. Male body, simple ALU
2. Female body, simple ALU
3. Female body, simple ALU + Combat intelligent server.
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Comments: 14
The webcomic Crimson Dark (which I highly recommend) explored this concept as well, under the name JAKs. In the CD universe, they're mainly used as shock troops; tactically questionable, but devastating to enemy morale. Is it the same in your universe?
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I think it would be cheaper to use pipes for limbs- e.g., lead pipes being disposed of, as they're being replaced by plumbing that will NOT poison the water with heavy metal- and actuators in the joints, to move them. Considering the many mysteries behind the human nervous system, I doubt there's a plausible way to replace it as a means of controlling the body's motor functions- unless one spends an UNGODLY amount of money on R & D, which would defeat the purpose of having "cheaper and easier to produce" automatons.
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The point of this design is to utilize the bodies' spines and muscles. Introducing prosthetic limbs will only complicate the system.
And in this background setting, electronics and artificial neural devices are always cheaper than the signal transmitters that carry orders around the body (ie. spine), and are also cheaper than artificial muscles.
it's an analogy of real life military equipments. The core computer of a one million dollar missile may not be more expensive than your laptop. XD
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Fine motor skills- e.g., what's necessary to aim a gun with any accuracy- seem beyond the reach of the technology described. I still believe it's cheaper to use a completely robotic (synthetic) body, than to recycle a human body in the manner described.
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These aren't being used as massed infantry, if I'm reading correctly; they're just being used to bolster your numbers. If your regular military is doing its job reasonably competently, there should be plenty of fresh enemy (and maybe friendly) corpses lying around; at that point, it's just a matter of wiring a simple AI to the nervous system.
I'm thinking they're used for much the same reason that the USSR built self-propelled anti-aircraft vehicles out of old GAZ trucks during WWII. No need to pay for a whole new AA vehicle; you just need to pay for a pair of old WWI-surplus machine guns, plus a pintle mount and the bolts to hold it in place on the bed of an existing truck that isn't being used.
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You do have a point, in many stories, bodies are easier to manufacture than brains. But who knows what the future holds. Say if 3D printing would turn out to be extremely efficient and low cost, and connectionism to be the absolute truth of creating strong AI. Then the brain could be cheaper.
Btw, I do have a fully robotic body design [link]
it is relatively cheap due to the simplicity, but its locomotor is inferior to a regular person.
And there is a design of brain in the machine [link]
A cybernetic brain imprinted with a real person's consciousness controls a robotic body.
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Love it!! brilliant back story, this what the borg should have been more like. so much simpler that replacing each unit with a mechanical arm, covering then in a exoskeleton and doing a lot of complex nano surgery. Just lob the head of and replace with a mass produced computer to regular and control the body, SIMPLE!!
plus cool gun!
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Thank you so much.
The only problem with borg is that it is quite impossible to chop off actors heads :-P
Have a nice day.
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good point! plus; little point in wasting good neurological brain/processing power
you too!
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