All nanotroopers are equipped for combat in any environment with a hypersuit.  So what is a hypersuit?  In this post, I’ll try to answer that question.

1.    A hypersuit is a boosted exoskeleton and fully enclosed structure that envelopes the nanotrooper in a protected environment and augments his human capabilities and senses so that he can fight and survive in almost any environment, from other planets to the floor of the ocean and anywhere in between.  Part spaceship, part submarine, part semi-autonomous robotic oversuit, the hypersuit is capable of doing a lot of the thinking, maneuvering and fighting for the trooper. 

2.    Training on the uses and systems of the hypersuit typically takes many months.

3.    The Mk 1 hypersuit operates many subsystems, including the helmet/headgear subsystem, combat enclosure, body status and monitoring subsystem, environmental control and climate conditioning, power, sensors, and propulsion.

4.    Here’s one view of the Hypersuit:

 

 

5.    Let’s look at some basic details of each subsystem, to get a sense of what the hypersuit is and what it can do.

6.    Helmet/Headgear - The Headgear Subsystem, is the situational awareness hub of the system. It includes integrated tactical processing by providing maps, routes, and data with a 180° emissive visor display, high bandwidth wireless communications, microelectronic/optics combat sensor suite that provides 360° situational awareness, and integrated small arms protection.

The Helmet Subsystem has capabilities that provide networked hypersuit-equipped small units with robust team communications (including quantum couplers), state-of-the-art distributed and fused sensors, organic tactical intelligence/collection assets, enhanced situational understanding, embedded training, on-the-move planning, and linkage to other assets.

7.    Combat Enclosure/Suit – the suit enclosure performs a number of critical functions, including holding breathable air at pressure, environmental control and maintenance of the life-envelope at all times, ballistic protection against enemy fire and certain medical/survivability measures in the event of suit penetrations or leaks.  The enclosure helps protect the trooper by providing full-body bullet and fragmentation protection. It is subdivided into three layers, the Protective Outer Layer, the Power Centric Layer, and the Life Critical Layer.

Ballistic protection is provided by a "Shear-Thickening Liquid" armor additive produced from a mixture of polyethylene glycol, a polymer found in laxatives and other consumer products, and nanobits of silica, or purified sand. When struck with a significant impact, the armor stiffens instantly into a shield, then reverts to its liquid state just as fast when the energy from the projectile dissipates.

Currently, the Mk. 1 hypersuit life support subsystem circulates chilled water through a special heat-transfer garment. The cooled circulating fluid pulls metabolic heat from the soldier's body and transfers it into the environment through its condenser. The main condenser unit can provide 120 W cooling power in a 95 °F (35 °C) environment, with an average power consumption of 35 W and weight of 3.5 pounds (1.6 kg), excluding the power source.

8.    Body Status and Monitoring – the hypersuit is capable of performing light medical/surgical interventions in the event the wearer is wounded, injured or in some way compromised.  The suit monitors trooper vital signs at all times in real time and can inject medicines via hypodermic, nasal spray or skin patch as well as perform suturing and stitching, puncture care, bone/tissue/cartilage repair and even simple surgical procedures.  Not quite a doc in the box, the hypersuit is capable of substantial artificial learning through its processor algorithms and maintains a homeostatic environment tailored specifically to the individual trooper.

9.    Power - The Power Subsystem, built into the Power Centric Layer, provides a 2 to 20-watt Micro Turbine fueled by a liquid hydrocarbon fuel cell. According to the specifications made public by Quantum Corps, ten ounces of fuel would power the soldier's integrated electronics ensemble for up to 21 days. Polymeric nanofiber battery patches embedded in the headgear and certain weapons provide back-up power for eight hours.

Current specifications allow up to 72-hour autonomous individual operation and 120-hour continuous autonomous team operations, with a high density, low weight/volume, self-generating/re-generating, reliable, safe power source.

10.  Sensors – The Mk.1 Hypersuit operates sensors in a variety of media and wavelengths, including radar, sound, broadband electromagnetic, quantum coupler decoherence wake detection, and even olfactory/ chemical/ radiological detection.  One the hypersuit’s more unique capabilities is the active camouflage system, giving the trooper the ability to blend into a variety of natural and man-made environments, including a form of ‘cloaking’ that makes the trooper nearly optically invisible.  The signature control techniques involved in cloaking and camouflaging are closely held classified secrets inside Quantum Corps.

11.  Propulsion – One of the hypersuit’s more unusual capabilities is known as suit-boost.  The suit contains small thrusters, mounted on the soles of the boots, along the lower extremities, at the waist and shoulders, providing the wearer the ability to lift himself up and over obstacles and maintain low-altitude flight for short durations. 

12.  ANAD Integration – Every nanotrooper now has an embedded ANAD master bot contained in a capsule surgically implanted in his shoulder.  The Mk.1 hypersuit provides suitable containment, comms and interface control for additional ANAD units as well as an ingress/egress path for these devices to enter and exit the suit proper.  The Quantum Corps nanotrooper is in all ways a blended man-machine warrior, equipped to deal with threats in a variety of media and environments. 

This post has described some operating details of the typical Quantum Corps nanotrooper’s Mk. 1 hypersuit.   The hypersuit plays a critical role in many of the stories of Tales of the Quantum Corps.

 

The next post, in early February 2016, will cover training and the Quantum Corps Academy at Table Top Mountain, Idaho.  Cadets usually call it nog school.

 

See you in early February.

 

Phil B.