Flashlight Robot

The Flashlight Robot made by Pegasus Cybernetics, was originally designed as a gift by Barvik Muglow (one of Pegasus' lead engineers) for his son's birthday in GSC 65.  It was so popular among Muglow's coworkers that he later submitted an official prototype that was developed into the popular workshop assistant.

Standing a svelte 20cm high,(with the head extended), and weighing about half a kilogram, the Flashlight-bot was easily portable.  Later iterations of the design included additional features, such as a video projector.

Superstructure Maintenance Robots

Asteroid strikes, equipment malfunctions and the ravages of battle necessitate a system of in-flight maintenance for star-ships, space habitats, and other large structures in space.  Maintaining a ship in space is a dangerous, difficult job, one that most captains utilize robotic labor to accomplish.  These robots generally remain on the exterior of the craft while it is in flight.  Many ships come with sockets built into their hulls that store and recharge these robots until they are needed.  One of the more popular lines of these robots is the M-series by Pegasus Cybernetics.

The M-series from Pegasus Cybernetics is a popular and economically priced option for star-ship maintenance.

Deflector Shields

Deflector shields are a defensive measure employed primarily by star-ships, (although a number of other applications exist as well) to protect them from both the harsh environment of deep space, as well as attack by hostile forces.

History

The earliest deflector shields were simple magnetic fields projected around a ship to deflect incoming charged particles.  This partially protected astronauts from cosmic radiation, and provided some defense against plasma-based weapons.

The first popular enhancement was to add some ionized gas to the field.  This blocked more radiation, and allowed the shield to be used as a magnetic sail.

Later models added reflective nanoparticles that could defend against laser weapons.

Once flux pinning technology matured, deflector shields could resist kinetic attack as well. 

All these basic techniques of deflector shield defense were developed first during Era-0 in the Spozak, and during Era-1 in human space.  Later models continued to refine and elaborate on these principals.

In practice there are two main types of deflector shields:

Energy Shields

These are the most common type of deflector shield, designed to stop energy weapons (lasers, plasma-bolts, and the like), and keep out the hard radiation of space.  The main weakness of these shields is that they can admit solid projectiles, such as torpedoes, fighters, or asteroids. Energy shields are affordable, consume a moderate amount of power, and can be built small and light.

Barrier Shields

These are rare, expensive, require a bulky, generator, and use a lot of power to operate.  Even a shield of this type designed to contain only a single prisoner without any personal space can weigh a ton, and consume enough power to operate a star-fighter.  Naturally, they are used only to protect the most valuable targets.  The main advantage to their use is that barrier shields, unlike energy shields, do not permit the passage of solid objects.

Kugelblitz projector/ Kugelblitz formation

Description/ use

The Kugelblitz projector (and the Kugelblitz formation) is a massive weapon, designed to create a small black hole at a target location, by precisely targeting a large number of high powered lasers.  A black hole generated by light concentrated in a small space is known to science as a Kugelblitz (from the German, meaning "Ball Lightning").  The Kugelblitz is a real black hole,(meaning that it has gravity so intense that light can not escape it), although in almost all recorded uses of the Kugelblitz projector/formation it lasted only a fraction of a second, due to Hawking Radiation.   Hawking Radiation is also the main lethal force of the Kugelblitz Projector, as the black hole generated by it is too small to have far-reaching gravitational effects, and the Hawking Radiation of such a black hole is colossally explosive.

The Kugelblitz Projector/ Formation is a large-scale weapon, generally deployed against capital ships, cities, or space-colonies.  The higher-power versions could destroy the biosphere of an inhabited planet, or even break up small planets.

The Kugelblitz projector is a single-unit weapon, usually installed on large capital ships, consisting of a large number of high-powered lasers with a centralized controller to aim them at a certain location, and to time the beams to arrive there at the same instant.  Sometimes (especially with lower-tech versions), the projector will operate with the assistance of a targeting drone, similar to the Kugelblitz formation.

The Kugelblitz formation follows the same concept, except the lasers are distributed among a number of smaller craft.  This makes the precise targeting essential to the operation of the weapon more difficult.  For this reason, a Kugelblitz formation generally uses a targeting drone (usually a torpedo modified with special reflectors and a reaction chamber where the Kugelblitz forms) fired from a command ship in order to coordinate the attack.

The technology that enables the Kugelblitz Formation is derived from the older Sunflower Formation, which used reflectors mounted on small craft to concentrate sunlight on a target, in order to super-heat it.

History

In the Empire of 1,000,000 Suns, the first known designs for a Kugelblitz projector were created by Kroah Dashan as a speculative project.  Eventually, it was built for use in combating the dreaded Nomad Armies that frequently raided the Empire.  Both the projector and the formation found a substantial amount by both sides during the 1,000 Years War.  After that conflict it was used only sporadically, during the long, relatively peaceful period until the War of the Empires, when it again became a main weapon in large battles.

In the Holy Empire of Man, the Kugelblitz Projector was developed during the Great Reckoning, for use by the Purification Fleet, destroying cities and sterilizing planets.  During the War of the Empires, the Kugelblitz Formation was also developed in order to counter the E1MS, and was used heavily by both sides in that conflict.

Large-Scale AI

Definition and Uses

Most intelligent organic life-forms are limited in how many things they can be aware of and meaningfully think about at one time.  Artificial systems can be designed to circumvent these limits, and doing so allows for the successful management and administration of truly large endeavors.  Large-scale AI often serves in the role of "ship's computer" on large star-ships, and as an incredibly valuable administrative assistant in any government, but especially those at the scale of large modern nation-states and above. 

History

Originally developed in the Empire of 1,000,000 Suns early in Era-0, and re-invented early in Era-1 in the Planetary League, large-scale AI is a technology capable of transforming the way large enterprises are carried out.  The advent of these intelligences was known as "the singularity" in human-controlled space.  The Corporate States made extensive use of large-scale AI in integrating the administration of a state with for-profit enterprise.

Examples

General Zarlok and the computer-god Troniac are both examples of large-scale AI.  Large-scale AI was used extensively in the University of Aldebaran-2 to collate large data sets and discover hidden pieces of information.

Neural Inductance Educator

Invented early in Era-1, the neural inductance educator uses a neural interface to transmit information directly into the user's brain. 

Neural interface technology was used in a variety of applications from entertainment to controlling battleoids.  Education was just another application of the technology. 

This technology vastly reduced the time and cost requirements of education, and helped lead to the rapid progress of science and technology that was a hallmark of Era-1. 

During Era-2, neural inductance educators fell out of use, as the Holy Empire of Man took a dim view of the value of education, although the imperial elite still used them.

Use

A neural educator is a handheld device that connects to a neural-inductance headset (or to the user's implanted neural interface). 

It uses either downloaded skill files (the same files are used to program robots), or skill files embedded on skill chips, small cartridges that slot into the side of the device.  Early models contained as much content as eight hours of instruction, but more advanced versions could have as much training as a full semester course.

The user sits or lies down, and activates the educator.  The neural interface induces a sleep-like state, which typically lasts about an hour. 

After regaining consciousness, the user recalls the information in the skill file as though it were a vivid dream. The information is retained better if the user has some hands on experience with the material directly after using the educator, and educational workshops and schools are often set up to provide that experience.

The John-Henry industrial battleoid

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Specs

Height: 10 meters(32'9")

Width at shoulders: 4 meters(13'1")

Length (cockpit):  3 meters(9'10")

Operating mass: 60 metric tons (66 tons)

Maximum walking speed: 40kph (25mph)

Power system:  Two hot-swappable graphene-glucose hypercapacitors (mounted on either side of the cockpit)

Power system output: 10000kw

History

The ironically named John-Henry (named after the folk hero ) was built and sold by Ares Systems during Era-1, primarily as a piece of heavy construction equipment.  The relatively simple, modular design led to a host of modified versions for specific tasks.  The John Henry was a top-seller, and Ares Systems reliably redesigned it with new features and improvements about once a decade throughout its manufacturing lifespan.

The popular shipyard variant was outfitted with maneuvering jets, a fully environmentally-sealed cockpit (with storage for enough consumables to supply one pilot for 24 hours), and two heavy-duty electromagnets in the soles of the feet.

The versatility of its design, and heavy-duty construction also made the John-Henry a useful (if slow-moving) improvised defensive unit in combat situations.  Many of the small states that sprung up around the fringes of the Planetary League included John-Henries in their armed forces.  John-Henries were also a common armament for various the pockets of resistance and rebellion that opposed the Holy Empire of Man during Era-2.

Convergence Scout Walker

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A picnic ruined by a Convergence Scout Walker

The Convergence scout walker is first and foremost a terror weapon, designed to strike fear into the hearts of those unlucky enough to encounter it.  Deployed most heavily during the first and second Convergence wars, it was the harbinger and vanguard of the main battle forces of the Convergence. 

Technically, the scout walker is a Battleoid, based on height (about 15 meters) and movement type (walker); however, it varies from most battleoids insofar that it is piloted by six Greys joined in a common mind.  Typically, one pilot controls each of the main functions of the vehicle: the legs, the grabbers/ hands, the weaponry, communications, sensors, and navigation.

The control scheme of this vehicle does not lend itself to use by non-grey crews, although on rare occasions, captured scout-walkers have been retrofitted for use by non-grey pilots.  This was typically used as an infiltration tactic, and for every successful attempt, there were a large number of failures.

Armament

The Convergence Scout Walker is typically armed with a large infrared laser ("heat ray") powerful enough to incinerate most organic targets instantly, and ignite most conventional inorganic targets.  This weapon is generally used as a defensive measure, when the crew feels threatened. 

Common secondary weapons are typically non-lethal, and include tractor-beams, sonic cannons, and pulsed photonic emitters.  These are intended to instill panic and confusion in the walker's victims.

History

The Convergence scout walker was based on the design of the civil defense battleoid.  When the Convergence broke away from the Empire of 1,000,000 Suns, they took several civil defense battleoids with them, and many greys had experience with those machines from their time as scavengers and trash collectors in the empire.