User:Kyres1/Sandbox

=Overview= Synthetics across the Orion Spur are highly developed, with centuries of varying designs creating innumerable types of robots to be seen. Countless versions of colorful types can be discussed, and this page is centered around exploring the extent of it; namely, playable variants available to players (whitelisted or otherwise.)

Across the board, the term synthetic applies to any machine that possesses highly advanced and autonomous means of processing. Even the most primitive robot holds some means of intellectual capacity permitting addressing of self, basic cognitive skills and a varying, if lesser capacity to experience Human nature. This page will also cover Positronics, and separate designs with capabilities.

Synthetics come with a vast swath of central processing components. Most delegate intensive comprehensive processes to various internal personalities, embodied by a multitude of installed processor cores. Facing the problem of processing power is the primary issue with most synthetic designs, as the processing capacity imposed by certain brains only permits them to explore niche, specialized applications. This means robots generally possess some takeaway in intellectual prowess- very few synthetics are truly large enough to be universal knowledge bases, and these cases remain immobilized by their own weight. Spacefaring and shipboard AIs push the limits here, not confined by planetary gravity.

Three primary robotic fields exist ; Cyborgs, Positronics (also known as Androids), and traditional robots (any robot that is not either of the previous). The limitations and capabilities of these are markedly different.

Catalog
This is a general purpose library of playable and some non playable examples of robots across the galaxy. IPCs and their typical marketed variants can be found here. The examples and notable designs given here are non-exhaustive.

Positronics
Positronic brains are supercomputers of immense capacity capable of processing the hardware demands of modern artificial intelligence. The gold standard for Positronics is the basic capacity for sentience or the ability to mimic it. In the face of Biesellite law, all Positronics are in some capacity sentient to a degree which affords them civil rights. This means that all Positronics share intelligence at least comparable to the Human mind. The facts behind this are in debate across the galaxy, as every entity views these brains differently. Interestingly, the lowest class of brain exhibits unusually powerful processing limitations for its size.

Integrated Postrionic Chassis
Although Positronic brains are used in a wide variety of applications, a growing trend is to place them in humanoid frames known as Integrated Positronic Chassis that allow them to take the place of an organic worker without the same level of infrastructure or space and weight requirements of most traditional frames. IPCs were first developed in XXXX as a direct consequence of the development of Positronic brains. As these are a strictly whitelisted type of bot, their primary information base can be explored on their page.

Baseline Frames
By definition, baseline frames are the lighter end of skeletal models present on the market, and are hugely popular. Since their introduction in 2411, these designs have taken robotic fields by storm in their versatility and efficiency. Baseline models carry any variety of brain, with the actual cost of the chassis highly overshadowed by its processor in most cases.

Where unmentioned, these frames- not counting the brain - can be estimated to cost as much as a high-end sports car.

"Skeleton Suit" Baseline Model Prime
The very first and most influential marketed design of Baseline frame, the Skeleton Suit is a cultural icon. This frame is the essence of Baseline design - with a large monitor head propped proudly above what is reminiscent of an exposed, barebones humanoid anatomy. These designs are widely popular as their means of expression and technical utility are second to none for the price. Able to display much of any emotion or detail on their monitors, this is a very simple way of conveying complex mannerisms without the accompanying face organics possess. The skeleton has since been upgraded and copied, with almost every manufacturer of IPCs coming up with their own version. Cheap locally-produced knockoffs of the “Skeleton Suit” are popular on the Frontier in particular.

Zeng-Hu Mobility Frame Prime
The prime foremost model of the famed Mobility Frame is, bluntly put, "Mobility Frame." Known for its speed, dexterity and battery life, Mobility Frames remove much of the worry in medical and pharmaceutical fields for Zeng-Hu. These possess complex means of locomotion, with bladed, clawed stilts as their propelling motivator in place of humanoid calves. These generally take on a clean, plastic look which maintains a sterile and professional image to onlookers.

Shell Frames
Shell frames refer to a number of models designed to mimic the appearance of organics. Although the idea of a robot designed to look like a human has existed for centuries, it was not until the application of synthetic skin (colloquially known as synthskin) to specially shaped IPCs in 2449, and their refining in 2450 that the modern idea of a shell came about. The level of mimicry can range from deliberately artificial designs in an attempt to avoid the uncanny valley, to completely indistinguishable, with a support structure shaped like a human skeleton and internal parts arranged like organs. In most fields of work, they are viewed as superfluous, with synthskin being seen as an overheating hazard. As such, these frames are mostly relegated to the public service field, where the benefits of their organic appearance outweighs the inefficiencies in their design as well as their high cost. On many planets in the Spur, they are viewed with mistrust, especially after widespread infiltration by groups such as the Synthetic Liberation Front in the past.

“Helen”
The final prototype of what would become Terraneus Diagnostics’ first modern shell design, Helen was designed with low-noise cooling, actuators designed to mimic muscles, facial expressions, and most importantly, realistic synthskin. Lauded by critics as having finally broken the uncanny valley that surrounded earlier shells, her true trump card was her advanced software that allowed her to hold a conversation almost indistinguishable from a real human. So named because it was believed she would cause a tech race to develop shells for commercial use, Terraneus Diagnostics ended up remaining the leader, and indeed majority producer of shells.

“Hazel”
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Industrial Frames
The pioneer in IPC frames, early Industrial frames bore a marked similarity to bipedal variants of their older, traditional industrial counterparts - as the name implies, these frames are built to last and can weigh as much as a large motorcycle and go up to seven feet. The requirements and uses of an IPC were not as readily understood at the time of their construction, and as such, many industrial frames would find themselves phased out in place of baselines. They still remain in use in fields where their durability and strength are required with a reliability to match.