08-09-2014, 06:19 AM | #1 |
GURPS FAQ Keeper
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Kyïv, Ukraine
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Smart adventurers wear their eyes on the outside . . .
Greetings, all!
I'm thinking about picking a fully external, PnP, flexible vision aid for my character. An external vision aid is extremely useful for all sorts of adventuring stuff, whether looking for clues, watching for ambushes, looking behind corners or keeping one's back safe every few seconds without turning one's head. So, I present . . . The OPTACLE. What is it? The idea is a splitting tentacle with some of the best optics money can buy. Non-biological. Splitting into two or more, depending on whether trifocal vision is desired (and useful). The matter of price and quality. Well, maybe. Transhuman Space has flexible robotic tentacles/snakes, and they cost very little, starting at $500 for a pack of eight short and small ones (Shell-Tech 14). I'm guessing a good meter-long tentacle with a 3-split will not cost more than $2k, with all the connectors etc. included. Now, the more interesting part: the cyber-eyes themselves. It seems a bit hard to figure the precise cost of optical sensors on their own, only in bundles with stuff like human-likeness or a whole other shell. Some precedents: A bionic (i.e. electronic, but made as a prosthetic device mimicking a human eye) eyes cost $20,000 each for Acute Vision +3; $30,000 each for +4; $40,000 each for +5 (BD133). That's . . . lots. But remember, these are not eyes made for function, but also for style, and for compatibility. It seems more interesting to take the optical sensors from . . . a Wingbot (Shell-Tech, p.22)! A complete wingbot costs $24k. Its optical sensors are Acute Vision +3, Night Vision 10, and Peripheral Vision, and sport 3 levels of tolerance towards overheating or overcooling (not likely to matter, but still). And that's a set of at least two sensors, possibly more (because it has Peripheral Vision and lacks No Depth Perception). What I'm stumped about: How to figure how much of a Wingbot's price consists of the optics, and how much would the optics' price bump for improving Acute Vision from 3 to 5? Edit: I know Multiview cameras with Telescopic Vision 4 cost $1,200 each, but does that look as a reasonable price for swapping TV4 for AV5? Thanks in advance! Last edited by vicky_molokh; 08-10-2014 at 11:15 AM. |
08-09-2014, 02:03 PM | #2 |
Wielder of Smart Pants
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Ventura CA
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Re: Smart adventurers wear their eyes on the outside . . .
Aren't there optical cameras in Ultra-Tech? I'm pretty sure there are some in the TS core too.
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08-09-2014, 03:09 PM | #3 |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: Smart adventurers wear their eyes on the outside . . .
I would look at the prices for video cameras. UT doesn't seem to distinguish between video cameras and still cameras, but in the end this is just a camera with a slink link to the user and some weird biotech to control it (the neural links so you can control it mentally might be the most expensive part).
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08-09-2014, 03:45 PM | #4 | ||
GURPS FAQ Keeper
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Kyïv, Ukraine
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Re: Smart adventurers wear their eyes on the outside . . .
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As for the neural interface - not an issue, I'm playing a Ghost, so it's a matter of proper drivers, just like for teleoperation or possession. |
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08-13-2014, 07:30 PM | #5 | |
Computer Scientist
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Dallas, Texas
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Re: Smart adventurers wear their eyes on the outside . . .
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Last edited by jeff_wilson; 08-13-2014 at 08:21 PM. |
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08-14-2014, 07:38 AM | #6 | |
GURPS FAQ Keeper
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Kyïv, Ukraine
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Re: Smart adventurers wear their eyes on the outside . . .
Quote:
There's also at least one shell which can be teleoperated for its improved vision, but of course there's no point in teleoperating the whole shell when one only needs the 'eyes'. |
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08-14-2014, 11:57 AM | #7 |
Computer Scientist
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Dallas, Texas
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Re: Smart adventurers wear their eyes on the outside . . .
I went through the PDF looking for "Acute" and also looked where sensors were mentioned in the TOC; nothing applicable.
Yes, the lack of necessary detail to decompose shells and gadgets in general into their component functions is regrettable. Anthony has posted some guidelines before for using multiple sensors for collectively better results, I'll see if I can dig them up or re-synthesize them if he doesn't post them here first. |
08-14-2014, 12:47 PM | #8 |
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Berkeley, CA
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Re: Smart adventurers wear their eyes on the outside . . .
Since I don't have any recollection of what they might be, I'm not going to post them. Realistically, unless they're phased arrays or interferometers, both of which are fairly unlikely for this setup, all you get out of it is multiplying your scan rate by the number of observation systems (this assumes you have a separate dedicated computer or subprocess running each camera; if you don't have any extra processing power it's not going to get you much at all, though you might get some advantage just because possible targets are more visible from some angles than others).
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08-14-2014, 12:54 PM | #9 | |
GURPS FAQ Keeper
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Kyïv, Ukraine
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Re: Smart adventurers wear their eyes on the outside . . .
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08-14-2014, 01:38 PM | #10 |
Computer Scientist
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Dallas, Texas
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Re: Smart adventurers wear their eyes on the outside . . .
Why not? Each puff of surveillance dust can see as well as a human eye, apparently.
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Tags |
acute vision, optacle, optical sensor, tentacle, vision, vision aid, visual sensor |
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