Directorate Officer
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
The Soma series Droid Chassis is a line of droid chassis' designed to mimic the skeletal structure of a variety of organic creatures. Unsurprisingly, one of the primary reasons for the development of this chassis series was in order to allow equipped droids to better mimic their organic inspirations, particularly for Lucerne Labs upcoming line of synthdroids. While most of these chassis mimic typical humanoid species, there are several models out there that are quadripeds or have other configurations, allowing the droids to take on the rough form of various creatures found across the galaxy.
Each chassis takes on a common construction approach. The skeleton of the inspiration is scanned and then modified as needed to suit a particular form. This rough frame is then subjected to various computer simulations to see where weight can be shave off a bone or more preferably hollowed out for the droid's basic internal components. Much of this design process if focused on materials engineering, where plasteel is mostly used for these artificial 'bones' because of its innate strength and elasticity. However, sections of these bones that likely to be particularly subjected to harder stresses (such as the soles of a foot) or areas with large internal cavities, also incorporate duraplast inserts for physical reinforcement and to provide a small measure of EMP hardening to better protect the internal components. Hardwearing condensed-matter composite inserts and thermal gel capsules are then integrated at the ends of the bones to provide engagement surfaces with the other artificial bones. These bones are then connected to each other through organoform circuitry and actuated micro servomotors that enable fine motor function. All of these features allow the droid frame to fulfill its basic functions as a droid frame while resembling naturally existing creatures. But making mechanical replicas is not the sole reason for developing the Soma series.
Biomemetically designing the chassis also gives it traits not typical for conventional droid chassis. Soma chassis are notably lighter and have a wider range of motion than many of their traditional counterparts, typically making them more agile and quicker on their feet. Additionally, by housing many of the basic chassis system in its artificial bones, the core information systems and fine motor systems of the droid are better protected against ion and EMP radiation, especially the elements that use organoform circuitry. The downside of this configuration is that the droids basic structure are less physically robust, making it less capable of housing heavy or expansive systems and weaker to physical impact. The joint structure too, while frequently enabling a wider range of quick motions, also makes it less suited for the mechanical precision so often associated with basic robotic technology.
These series of tradeoffs mean that Soma series Droid Chassis are not overtly superior to traditional droid chassis, but allow for different features that can sometimes be favorable. Because of this, it seems likely that Soma equipped droid chassis will be key to opening some new design avenues for Lucerne Labs but will not completely replace traditional droid chassis, especially for heavy duty battle and industrial droids.
- Intent: To provide a method of biomemetic construction for future droid submissions.
- Image Source: N/A
- Canon Link: N/A
- Restricted Missions: N/A
- Primary Source: N/A
- Manufacturer: Lucerne Labs
- Model: Soma series Droid Chassis
- Affiliation: Directorate, Silver Jedi, Closed Market
- Modularity: Can be adapted to various forms modeled on organic creatures or species
Production: Mass-Produced.
- Material: Plasteel 'bones' reinforced with duraplast reinforcement, Condensed-Matter Composite 'cartilage' Inserts, thermal gel, Biolux Organoform Circuitry, servomotor mounting points
- Biomemetic Design: The Soma series of Droid Chassis are designed to mimic common organic skeleton and muscle structures. From an engineering perspective, this allows Lucerne Labs to adapt known and proven forms, particularly for specialized environments and tasks. From a practical perspective, this can potentially allow some droid designs which use the Soma series Droid Chassis to externally resemble their initial organic inspiration in general form and movement.
- Shielded Internals: The plasteel 'bones' of the Some series Droid Chassis are hollow, which allows them to act as containers for the organoform circuitry and as partial shielding for some servomotors at various joints. The "heads" of the chassis are similarly encapsulating to whatever is contained in them. This provides the chassis' basic fine motors and electronics with limited protection against impacts and indirect EMP/Ion attacks.
- Superficial Biological Resemblance: Soma chassis Droids, with the right exterior options, be made to superficially resemble organic beings and creatures. This semblance is likely to pass casual inspection on the street, but is easily detected by using most sensors.
- Fluid Movement: Relying on biological models means that the droids using Soma series Droid Chassis have the same basic movement patterns and lightweight builds as well, making them relatively fluid and agile for most droids.
- Environmental Shielding: By shielding components inside the skeleton and by using organoform circuitry, Soma series-equipped droids are less prone to damage from ion and EMP weapons, though direct fire hits from such weapons will still damage or destroy them.
- Imprecise: The very frame design that makes Soma series droids so fluid in their movement is also makes it comparatively poor for precision accuracy compared to traditional droid chassis, whether its wielding a blaster or a vibroscalpel.
- Weak: This frame design is typically not as physically robust as a traditional droid chassis, and there are more potential points of failure in terms of receiving damage or straining under physical loads.
The Soma series Droid Chassis is a line of droid chassis' designed to mimic the skeletal structure of a variety of organic creatures. Unsurprisingly, one of the primary reasons for the development of this chassis series was in order to allow equipped droids to better mimic their organic inspirations, particularly for Lucerne Labs upcoming line of synthdroids. While most of these chassis mimic typical humanoid species, there are several models out there that are quadripeds or have other configurations, allowing the droids to take on the rough form of various creatures found across the galaxy.
Each chassis takes on a common construction approach. The skeleton of the inspiration is scanned and then modified as needed to suit a particular form. This rough frame is then subjected to various computer simulations to see where weight can be shave off a bone or more preferably hollowed out for the droid's basic internal components. Much of this design process if focused on materials engineering, where plasteel is mostly used for these artificial 'bones' because of its innate strength and elasticity. However, sections of these bones that likely to be particularly subjected to harder stresses (such as the soles of a foot) or areas with large internal cavities, also incorporate duraplast inserts for physical reinforcement and to provide a small measure of EMP hardening to better protect the internal components. Hardwearing condensed-matter composite inserts and thermal gel capsules are then integrated at the ends of the bones to provide engagement surfaces with the other artificial bones. These bones are then connected to each other through organoform circuitry and actuated micro servomotors that enable fine motor function. All of these features allow the droid frame to fulfill its basic functions as a droid frame while resembling naturally existing creatures. But making mechanical replicas is not the sole reason for developing the Soma series.
Biomemetically designing the chassis also gives it traits not typical for conventional droid chassis. Soma chassis are notably lighter and have a wider range of motion than many of their traditional counterparts, typically making them more agile and quicker on their feet. Additionally, by housing many of the basic chassis system in its artificial bones, the core information systems and fine motor systems of the droid are better protected against ion and EMP radiation, especially the elements that use organoform circuitry. The downside of this configuration is that the droids basic structure are less physically robust, making it less capable of housing heavy or expansive systems and weaker to physical impact. The joint structure too, while frequently enabling a wider range of quick motions, also makes it less suited for the mechanical precision so often associated with basic robotic technology.
These series of tradeoffs mean that Soma series Droid Chassis are not overtly superior to traditional droid chassis, but allow for different features that can sometimes be favorable. Because of this, it seems likely that Soma equipped droid chassis will be key to opening some new design avenues for Lucerne Labs but will not completely replace traditional droid chassis, especially for heavy duty battle and industrial droids.
