[gurps] [Vehicle] TL8 "Proxy-soldier"

[Pauli Hakala]

DataPacRat wrote:
>>From the source material: "Proxy-soldiers ... We'll be in the ships
> and these robots will go ashore. ... It is a robot that we control. We
> get into these suits and it is just like being there. The experience
> is so real that you forget that you're back in a special facility ...
> We wear this special suit and helmet that allows us to see and hear
> the environment where the robot is located. It is based on the old
> Waldo concept of a mechanical arm and it moves like we move. There's
> about a twentieth of a second delay between making a movement and the
> robot repeating it, but you get kind of used to it ... we're suspended
> in the air like a puppet"
> 
> So, basically, we want a remote-controlled robot that can do the
> things an infantry soldier can do. I grabbed the suggested maximum
> human sizes from G:Robots, and stuffed the frame full of what would
> fit. It doesn't have built-in weapons, it uses the same hand-held guns
> a soldier would use. It's a bit heavier than a soldier, this first
> draft is 750 lbs, but at only $90k each, it's a lot easier to replace
> a Proxy-soldier than a living infantryman.
> 
> Any comments, criticism, suggestions, questions, flamage?
> 

Ok, I'll bite.

> -----8<-----
> TL8 Proxy-soldier RC infantry-robot
> 
> Crew: 0 total. 0 crew stations covering vehicle maneuvering system, 2
> communicators, navigation aid, 3 sensors.
> 
> Subassemblies: Vehicle +0, Right Arm -3, Left Arm -3, Body -1, Head
> -2, 2xLegs -1.
> 
> P&P: 381,818-kWs advanced battery, 8,727-kWs advanced battery [Head],
> 2.5-kW legged drivetrain (no access space) [2xLegs].
> 
> Fuel:
> 
> Occ: 	Cargo:
> 
> Armor     F    RL   B    T    U
> Right Arm 3/10 3/10 3/10 3/10 3/10
> Left Arm  3/10 3/10 3/10 3/10 3/10
> Body      3/10 3/10 3/10 3/10 3/10
> Head      3/10 3/10 3/10 3/10 3/10
> Legs      3/10 3/10 3/10 3/10 3/10
> 
> Weaponry Malf Type Damage SS Acc 1/2D yds Max yds RoF TL
> talon    -    Imp. 11d+2  0  0   0        0       -   8
> 
> Equipment
> All: basic chameleon (-3 spotting modifier); self-sealing hull; 26.3
> sf electrified surface; basic emission cloaking (-4 spotting
> modifier); radical sound baffling (-8 hearing modifier); basic stealth
> (-4 spotting modifier).  Right Arm: arm motor (ST:50); long talon
> (retractable).  Left Arm: arm motor (ST:50); long talon (retractable).
>  Body: long range radio communicator (1,000-mile range; scrambler);
> medium range laser communicator (200-mile range).  Head: PESA (scan
> 11, 1-mile range); surveillance sound detector (sound level 18);
> gyrobalance; AESA (scan 11, 1-mile range); inertial compass; small
> robot brain (complexity 2, +0 DX; hardened).
> 

How about a +1 to +3 DX reflex booster for the computer - This
would give the robot better physical skills when not
controlled by a human. Battlefield conditions do not always allow
for high-bandwidth communications.

Also a good idea might be to give the computer the 'Neural Net'
option, so that it can learn from it's human operator, meaning
that not only does the operator gain combat experience, but the
robot also.. This might even result in a small 'teamplay' bonus
for operator/robot pair with lots of field experience together
as a team..

> Statistics
> Size: [LxWxH] 5.86'x1.47'x0.733'	Payload: 0 lbs.	Lwt.: 750 lbs.
> 
> Volume: 6.3 cf	Maint.: 67.1 hours (1.43 mh/day)	Price: $88,868
> 
> HT: 10	HP: 6 [Right Arm], 6 [Left Arm], 17 [Body], 5 [Head], 12 each [2xLegs].
> Ground Performance: Speed Factor 9, Top Speed 25 mph, gAccel 10 mph/s,
> gDecel 20 mph/s, gMR 3, gSR 2, Ground Pressure 596 lbs./sf, Off Road
> Speed 25 mph.
> 
> Underwater Performance: Drag 54, Top Speed 3 mph, uAccel 0.3 mph/s,
> uMR 0.75, uSR 4, uDecel (powered) 10 mph/s, ( 10.1 mph/s), Draft 2.44
> ft, Test Depth 30 yds, Crush Depth 60 yds.
> 
> 
> Design Notes:
> TL8 robotic medium frame expensive materials (Using greater of volume
> or surface area) [Vehicle].

Frame seems to be too light for the arm motors, and for the robots
weight as well.. Safe Arm ST is equal to Arm HP x4, according to
GURPS Mecha at least. ST 50 arms should therefore have 13 hitpoints,
which would require heavy or x-heavy frame.

> TL8 DR 10 advanced laminate [Vehicle].

Given that the vehicle has the electrified surface option, I'd
recommend giving it a sandwiched armor construction also including
a layer of non-rigid armor material (insulates well from electricity).
Besides, non-rigid armor is lighter per point of DR than laminate..
If you replaced 5 points of laminate with nonrigid, you'd get a total
DR of 18. Add some bodyarmor over that, and you would have got
a quite tough teletrooper..

> Operating Duration:  1 D 8 H 5 S.
> Vehicle Features: computerized controls, no streamlining.
> Legs: improved suspension.
> Head: limited rotation.
> Volume: 0.2 cf [Right Arm], 0.2 cf [Left Arm], 2.5 cf [Body], 0.4 cf
> [Head], 1.5 cf [2xLegs].
> Area: 2.05 sf [Right Arm], 2.05 sf [Left Arm], 11.1 sf [Body], 3.26 sf
> [Head], 7.86 sf [2xLegs].
> Empty Space: 0 cf [Head].
> Ground Performance:;
> 
> ----->8-----

Also, the design seems to lack Surface Sensors (sense of touch),
which can be found in GURPS Robots. Tactile feedback can be quite
important in many situations. From GURPS Robots; Mannequin
Biomorphics or Sculpted option should also be considered, if
these robots are to use human armor/clothing.

If you'd like to reduce the designs high density caused by the
advanced batteries, you might want to consider using
a quiet but effective TL8 Hydrocarbon Fuel Cell (with
Ethanol/Methanol fuel) as a main power source, with smaller
battery for backup power. (Hydrocarbon fuels have a higher
inherent energy density than TL8 batteries.) Self-regenerating
cryogenic hydrogen fuel cells might not be practical at this
small size, but the same problems would not concern hydrocarbs,
which can be easily stored at room temperatures..


-Pauli
-- 
"Accompanied only by the full moon, howling of
the nightwolf, and the path under my bare feet,
the elvenpath.."
-Nightwish, Angels Fall First: Elvenpath