Well-Known Member
Intent: To create an adaptable camouflage netting
Development Thread: In Plain Sight
Manufacturer: Ceredir Industries
Model: Thuraen
Affiliation: Open Market
Modularity: Size
Production: Minor
Material: Photoreactive Fiber, thermal insulation, synthcloth, circuitry
Description: There were already clothes that could change color on command. Some were designed to merely be unique, others were built around functionality. After all, a soldier that couldn't be seen was a soldier that was difficult to stop. The same went for spacecraft. There were many variants of stealth ships throughout the universe, ranging from fighters to the odd capital ship. Those ships typically relied on some sort of cloaking field however, or if they didn't then they were of use only in certain situations. A matte black vessel that didn't show up on most sensors was perfect in the void of space, but put it in front of a nebula and it became one heck of a target.
From what Audren could tell however, very little attention had been paid to the situation of ships on the ground. Oh, they could paint vessels to match terrain, but that was time consuming, not to mention relied on some presumptions. Camouflage nets existed, but relied on many of the same presumptions that paint did. He certainly could have used a similar setup to his ExCon suit once or twice in the past.
With some work, Audren and those he chose to work with were able to duplicate the effects seen by the ExCon suit. Various patterns were available (field, forest, urban, aquatic, mountainous, desert); when a pattern was selected it was set, no further power was needed to sustain it. However, given the massive diversity of planets around the galaxy, the colors were also made mutable. A user could manually select a color palette, or they could hook the control computer up to visual sensors and allow the computer itself to select the colors used. (Most of the time this worked well, though occasionally odd combinations of colors would cause the system to figuratively 'spasm', producing a riotous mixture that did little to blend the net with surroundings.)
The netting itself could only be controlled through a specialized control unit. A single lead transferred the data from the computer to the netting; this lead could also transfer the power necessary to pattern and colorize the netting, but it was significantly slower than using the dedicated power lead. In any case, the larger the continuous piece of netting, the longer it took to completely change pattern and color. The circuitry was fashioned in a tree-like manner, with the single lead branching out successively. Damage to a portion of the circuitry would result in all 'branches' that depended on the damaged area from being unable to change until repaired.
Additionally, thermal insulation was used in an attempt to mitigate the exposure from thermal scanning. The user has no control over the level of insulation and what kind of protection it provides - something covered by the netting on a hot planet may show as a cool spot, or heat sources underneath will raise the insulation's temperature in turn.
Primary Source: Idea derived from the QQ-15L-3 ExCon Suit and camouflage net.
Change Log:
- Added dev thread In Plain Sight
