Welcome to Gaia! ::

General Information

Land warrior is not a single unit, but a system, spread out among multiple pieces of equipment, and integrated directly into ground vehicles, aircraft, and soldier's armor. Intended predominately to provide intelligence to the user, the system allows for easier control and access to sophisticated smart technology present, and to offer these capabilities on every level of the battlefield. The system not only provides individuals soldiers with information, but commanders and other soldiers with information about them. From heart rate, to breathing, to general medical information, and updated information in the field, the system serves to integrate up to date information and rapid access to the field and commanders, to provide a method of interaction in both tactical and strategic never seen before without these installations. By itself it weights approximately 10 pounds, however if an alternative energy supply is provided along with other electronics the weight can drop considerably; approximately 2 pounds of this is for the scope alone.

The soldier now has access to all or most of the basic command and radio communications (assuming someone on their channel is hooked up to a primary radio system, which is of course transferred to a minor radio system). The user can either access various verbal radio channels or text based radio channels, in order to minimize their input of verbal sounds and prevent "Helmet Fire". This is hooked up to the EPLRS system, and allows near real time information on secure, jam free channels for quick available tactical data. It also has a GPS based IDFF "Identification friend or foe" system, that allows user to see relative distances between individuals with the GPS system on a motion tracker like grid, and as well as see their teammates relative positions on a map in a zoomable and outzoomable positions, with an appearance similar to google maps. This information can be relayed to various other units, such as mobile vehicles and aircraft, as well as command centers, to give a ,more accurate layout to commanders and support units, to prevent fire from assisted attacks other than infantry as well.

All the information is hooked up the Liquid crystal display in the facemask, allowing for an uplink of the round counter, scope, text based radio chatter, notice on active radio channels, view of the volume of the radio, time (date, time of day, etc.), and GPS based map with the position of friendly units (with the GPS motion tracking devices active on their person or vehicle) and geographic area of the terrain. This can all be controlled by the neural computer interface, providing hands off control of all the system's computer capabilities. The device also possess the ability for customization, allowing the user view of all of the applications at varying degrees of transparency, and at any position on the HUD. The device also can be completely turned off, providing complete and clear view through the facemask.

The entire system as a stand alone unit weighs approximately 10-15 pounds, although when used in conjunction with armor it can be much lighter, the armor replacing some of the support functions of the device (such as the case for the battery or the head's up display). The individual soldier system also has an estimated cost of around 15,000 dollars. Motion chargers (devices that absorb the kinetic energy of the natural movement of the human body) and solar panels on the shoulders primarily are what are responsible for charging the batteries which power the electronics; some of this also goes to the biomechanical materials. The inefficient motion of the human body produces extra energy, and this waste energy can be partially recaptured to power the electronics. This can produce at least 50 watts, which while not powerful enough to power the majority of the operations, can power most of the lower energy systems of the device. This is based off of the HULC exoskeleton's capacitance system, which can be hooked up to the system which can also be removed when needed.



Scope- The scope is essentially a low profile 4 or 10x zoom 32mm-60mm thermal scope design to be attached to standard picatinny rails. It is a low profile scope, with a rail on top of it, similar to that of the G36; the picatinny rails rest on top of the scope, where iron sights are then placed on top. The rail then extends out on top of the scope, and the iron sights raise up above the scope, to provide accurate fire. A small circular plastic hole allows for view through the support structure for the raised iron sights. Thus, the iron sights are on top of the scope, providing both for combat. Alternatively, a reflex sight can be mounted on a pictainny rail on top of the scope cover.

In addition, an additional scope can be mounted in front of the thermal scope to provide additional vision increase. The two scopes can be stacked, which substantially increases their ability to zoom. This scope also can project it on to the head's up display, allowing the user to see through the scope even if it is not placed on their eye. This allows them to essentially see around corners if their gun is placed around them, allowing them to maintain cover while they identify and even shoot at targets from a distance.

Improved vision- Users wear contacts which can improve vision beyond the standard 20/20 vision of most people. Instead of possessing the standard clarity that comes from corrective vision, soldiers instead use contacts which can improve vision up to 20/6, or nearly three times better than normal. While by itself it does not improve the accuracy of the user, it can dramatically enhance a soldier's ability to acquire targets, and improve the clarity for the user. It also helps to cancel out motion blur, overly bright lights, and prevents debri from getting in to the eye. Combined with the polarized visor, this allows a soldier to see substantially better than most people and protects them from flashbangs and other visual threats.

Round Counter- The round counter is a device that is essentially designed to count the amount of rounds fired by the user, and document and log specific information about the rounds fired, including time, firing patterns, and volume. The device is based off of the Black Box, and can either be placed inside of the pistol grip of the weapon, the stock, or placed inside the receiver. The round counter is connected to the Land Warrior system, and allows for the user to see the amounts of round fired and remaining in their magazine, and if programmed correctly, their entire pack.

While this can be displayed on the helmet, it is also possible to display on the weapon, with an LCD device. Overall simple in construction, it can only provide a limited degree of information based on the accuracy of the information input by the user, however this makes it consume less energy and be more durable.

Laser range finder- The weapon utilizes a laser range finder with a range of up to 2KM, present on the weapon. The device can be utilized to measure the speeds of the target and find it's distance. The device uses a laser beam to determine the distance to an object. The most common form of laser rangefinder operates on the time of flight principle by sending a laser pulse in a narrow beam towards the object and measuring the time taken by the pulse to be reflected off the target and returned to the sender. Due to the high speed of light, this technique is not appropriate for high precision sub-millimetre measurements, where triangulation and other techniques are often used. This is similar to the AN/GVS-5 laser range finder.

The same device can also be used to emit an ordinary infrared laser. This can be utilized with a thermal scope in order to see the laser, but keep it hidden from enemy view. This focuses as an ordinary laser sight, although it has a longer range and it hidden from enemy view, provided they don't have thermal vision.

Neural Interface- The system is a non-invasive neural uplink to the land warrior system and is based off of the EPOC nueroheadset. The device uses 14 saline sensors for optimal positioning for accurate spatial resolution, while the integrated gyroscope generates optimal positional information for cursor and camera controls. The high performance wireless up-link gives users a total range of motion, although it can be hooked to any device through the use of wires. The device is USB compatible and requires no custom drivers.

The device allows for simple cursor moving as well as basic key commands. In addition, the device comes with automated programmable key commands, allowing easily customizable "quick commands" that the user can exploit for a much faster use of the available technology. The device can operate at the speed of the user's thoughts, allowing them to control their electronic uplink much faster in a hand off's environment. This device is also hooked up to the scope allowing for a much quicker zoom feature and is hooked up to the radio commands to allow quick, hands off text communication.

Processing core- The processing core of the unit is a highly modified Apple 6 iphone based computer system. The A6 is said to use a 1.3 GHz custom Apple-designed ARMv7 based dual-core CPU, called Swift, rather than a licensed CPU from ARM like in previous designs, and an integrated triple-core PowerVR SGX 543MP3 graphics processing unit (GPU). The A6 chip also incorporates 1GB of LPDDR2-1066 RAM compared to 512MB of LPDDR2-800 RAM in the iPhone 4S providing double the memory capacity while increasing the theoretical memory bandwidth from 6.4 GB/s to 8.5 GB/s. Manufactured by Samsung on a High-κ metal gate (HKMG) 32 nm process, the chip is 96.71 mm2 large which is 22% smaller than the A5 and it consumes less power than its predecessor. Information is scarce but the Swift core uses a new tweaked instruction set, ARMv7s, featuring some elements of the ARM Cortex-A15 such as support for the Advanced SIMD v2, and VFPv4. Analysis suggests that the Swift core has a triple-wide frontend and two FPUs, compared to a two-wide core with a single FPU in the Cortex-A9 based predecessor. A version of the A6 with higher frequency and four graphic cores is called Apple A6X and is found in the fourth generation iPad.

A slight departure from the original design, the device utilizes graphene transistors, a material with the best computation speed present in miniaturized electronics. A nano engineered material, it is capable of speeds up to 100 ghz, and thus is substantially faster than standard civilian processing units. Further more, these units are substantially more durable, having operating temperatures in the thousands of degrees and being several times stronger than steel. Combined with this, the system can operate at much higher speeds and has a much longer life over the standard armscale devices. It possesses nearly a terabyte of information storage, stored on an SSD, which is significantly faster, more durable, and smaller than a standard hard drive. It primarily allows for faster reading and writing of information, as well as no chance of fragmentation when doing so, but is generally more expensive. Unlike the iphone, it's connected to a substantially larger battery, and thus can last much longer. As well, it has a liquid cooled radiator as a cooling device, which allows it to operate in a wide variety of conditions, and gives it the ability to overclock without destroying itself.

In addition, the device is specialized to work with a modified version of linux, of which the program is written in, known as Orion II. It utilizes a slightly different version of the computing system, as to make it difficult for commercial devices to interact with it, therefore making it harder to hack or infiltrate. This computer system can be upgraded as easily as new hardware comes up, which due to the evolving nature of hardware can be every 2 to 4 years.

GPS- A standard military based GPS is added to fit on the utility belt or in a pocket of the suit. The GPS has a rail attachment, so that it may be added to the gun and removed with relative ease. The GPS can send out both a broadcasting signal, or a small screen can be presented to present the position of the unit. Essentially, the GPS provides a map and a locations device, allowing the user to see the layout of the area through the screen. In addition to this, the gps may be hooked up with the land warrior system or to a scope, and may be displayed on the user's phone or PDA, or Head's up display rather than requiring they look at the device itself. Usually, however, it is placed next to the computer on the back of the suit, where the majority of components are housed, and the screen relays information to the computer. The GPS software and components are updated regularly and not based on any one particular system, and is compatible with many other military or off-the-shelf commercial GPS devices.

Radio-frequency identification- The radio frequency identification chips are present in the armor (although with infrared chips), to allow the easy identification of friendly troops without GPS positioning. These provide valuable information, ranging from name, rank, current position, and even medical information. The device is essentially an active Active Reader Passive Tag (ARPT) system (if the batteries wear our), and An Active Reader Active Tag (ARAT) which uses active tags awoken with an interrogator signal from the active reader, with battery assistance. They're mil spec design with a specific classified frequency (subject to change), that has a range of 2000 feet. While these do not provide global positioning, they do provide more accurate readings and local readings if the GPS systems go out or are unable to work due to dense foliage or cover (such as in a building). More powerful radios can be carried with the crew, to allow longer range detection of the systems.

Sonar based Identification system- The system is essentially a sonar based identification system, similar to those used in advanced fish finders, but specialized for use in the air. While the quality varies, the ultra-sonar high kilo hzt variant allows for an accurate 3-dimensional rendering of a 100 foot radius area, given enough time. It can easily pick up motion, and generally can pick up the presence of humans or other living creatures especially at close range. While it travels faster through solid fixtures, thus allowing it to essentially, see through walls, it is difficult and times time to render such an environment, and therefore additionally requires a unit to stay outside the facility for a given time, to make out what might be a small area. These systems are also hard to see without large computer screens, and may take proper analysis to figure out how to enter the facility. Larger ones can be combined with the system to provide a larger area map out, and thus an easier stationary system to figure out the the layout of a facility or area. It also can be combined with the "virtual reality" display of the land warrior and future warrior system, allowing soldiers to see an illuminated target through their headset that overlays over the target. This allows faster target acquisition and doesn't require a soldier split their screen. This is primarily designed for use in close quarters combat, where it's ability to see through walls combined with it's short range make the device most effective. When paired with several other soldier's sonar systems, it covers a far wider range and produces a stronger signal.

Radio communication Network- The armor comes equipped with a standard AN-PRC-148, a Multiband Inter/Intra Team Radio (MBITR), which is the most widely fielded handheld multiband, tactical software-defined radio, in use with NATO forces around the world. The radio is hooked up to the headphones and standard speaker of the armor, and can connect with the land warrior software present. These can be linked to the vehicle radio systems, which are substantially more powerful than hand held variants. Rather than have soldiers carry large radios, these devices are generally carried by unmanned tracked vehicles, such as the RIPSAW. While the carried radios are much lighter and have a much smaller range, when connected to the larger radio unit, these unmanned vehicles can provide invaluable communication abilities, even at extremely far ranges, and they do not require a large radio set from a soldier within the squad.

Power Source- The lithium–titanate battery is a type of rechargeable battery, which has the advantage of being faster to charge than other lithium-ion batteries. Titanate batteries are used in Mitsubishi's i-MiEV electric vehicle and Honda uses them in its EV-neo electric bike and Fit EV, which will be launched in summer 2012. A lithium–titanate battery is a modified lithium-ion battery that uses lithium-titanate nanocrystals on the surface of its anode instead of carbon. This gives the anode a surface area of about 100 square meters per gram, compared with 3 square meters per gram for carbon, allowing electrons to enter and leave the anode quickly. This makes fast recharging possible and provides high currents when needed.

The disadvantage is that lithium-titanate batteries have a lower inherent voltage, which leads to a lower energy density than conventional lithium-ion battery technologies. The battery is based on a Toshiba lithium–titanate battery, dubbed Super Charge Ion Battery (SCiB).The battery is designed to offer 90% charge capacity in just 10 minutes. SCiB batteries are used in the Schwinn Tailwind electric bike. Toshiba has also demonstrated its use as a prototype laptop battery. Toshiba SCiB batteries are also used in Mitsubishi's i-MiEV and Minicab MiEV electric vehicles, and Honda uses them in its EV-neo electric bike and Fit EV model which will be launched in summer 2012. The batteries within the land warrior system are based off of these batteries, with minor differences to improve durability such as a stronger outer shell and slightly different shape to fit within the armor.

Heart Rate Monitor- The heart rate monitor goes onto the wrist, like a standard watch, and can even tell time. The heart rate monitors comprises two elements: a chest strap transmitter and a wrist receiver or mobile phone (which usually doubles as a watch or phone). In early plastic straps water or liquid was required to get good performance. The units now use conductive smart fabric with built-in microprocessors which analyze the EKG signal to determine heart rate. Strapless heart rate monitors allow the user to just touch two sensors on a wristwatch display for a few seconds to view their heart rate. These are popular for their comfort and ease of use though they don't give as much detail as monitors which use a chest strap; to get more detailed information longer time frames with the chest monitor are required. It can also be utilized to measure blood pressure; this information is particularly useful for medics or to determine the medical capabilities of a soldier. This information is automatically added to the soldier's medical history and performance history and is charted to detect problems or provide feedback on the soldier's exertion.

Bone Conduction Headphones- Bone conduction is the conduction of sound to the inner ear through the bones of the skull. Bone conduction is the reason why a person's voice sounds different to him/her when it is recorded and played back. Because the skull conducts lower frequencies better than air, people perceive their own voices to be lower and deeper than others do. This also explains why a recording of one's own voice sounds higher than one is accustomed to.

Some hearing aids employ bone conduction, achieving an effect equivalent to hearing directly by means of the ears. A headset is ergonomically positioned on the temple and cheek and the electromechanical transducer, which converts electric signals into mechanical vibrations, sends sound to the internal ear through the cranial bones. Likewise, a microphone can be used to record spoken sounds via bone conduction. The first description, in 1923, of a bone conduction hearing aid was Hugo Gernsback's "Osophone", which he later elaborated on with his "Phonosone".

Bone conduction products have following advantages over traditional headphones:

• Ears-free, thus providing extended use comfort and safety
  
• High sound clarity in very noisy environments, can be used with hearing protection
  
• Can have the perception of stereo sound

Throat Microphone- Throat Microphone- A throat microphone, also laryngophone, is a type of microphone that picks up sound directly through sensors in contact with the neck. Because of this design, it is able to pick up speech in loud environments, such as on a motorcycle or in a night club, where other types of microphones would not function well because the speech would be drowned out by background noise. This type of microphone is also able to pick up whispers and works well in an environment where one has to keep quiet while communicating with others at a distance, such as during a covert military operation. Throat microphones were also extensively used in World War II-era aircraft, and by German tank crews.

Newer single-element designs are available that make the throat microphone much more comfortable to wear than earlier units. Additionally, this next generation of throat microphones provides varying outputs and frequency responses to accommodate a wide variety of communication devices such as digital and analog portable radios, Tetra & P25 systems, & cellular phones. Throat microphones are very useful in loud environments or when respiratory protection is required. Many full-face SCBA, SAR, SABA PAPR or re-breather masks do not have a provision for a microphone inside the mask. The throat microphone can be used safely as it is positioned outside the mask's face seal and as such does not compromise the respiratory protection provided by the mask nor does it violate mask approvals and certification. Throat microphones have been historically popular as they allow soldiers to insert communication equipment easily under protective masks and gear. Additionally the ability to whisper communications enables players to not give away their position during games. A throat microphone is available for iPhone, which is similar design to the armscale computer used by the computer system.

The orion project is a series of augmentations designed to enhance the performance of soldiers by improving their natural biomechanics and their abilities to operate in combat. It combines both drugs administered to the user over time and external devices to help improve the overall physical abilities of the user, primarily their strength, speed, and endurance, although it can improve cognitive function to some extent. While a far cry from a super soldier project, it provides useful enhancements to the user, and serves to make them both more comfortable and An additional feature of the orion project is to improve the soldier's survivability and general well being, from both extreme environments and injury. While the impact varies and few soldiers are catapulted to incredible levels of strength, it does provide substantially increased endurance, especially at heavier combat loads. While many of the project's features are integrated in to the suit or designed to work with a suit of armor, many more are used more so with the user instead.

While the suit itself provides substantial strength enhancement via purely mechanical means, as it possesses a powered exoskeleton, it also works to improve the over-all physical capabilities of the user in general, by enhancing their natural biomechanics. Initial aspects of the design are as such that it removes a lot of the pressure off of the user, such as by redirecting the weight of the armor and the combat pack and distributing it more evenly around the body, as well as directing it straight into the ground, using mostly unpowered systems. Due to it's design, it is more ergonomic than most semi powered exkoseletons, but consumes more energy. It places a large portion of balance and coordination on to the suit, having a wide array of sensors and gyroscopes. It is also can effect the nervous system; by reading signals in the brain, it can nearly instantly transfer them to the body through electric impulse, and thus speed up the reaction time of the user. It can also smooth out actions, much like in an F16, so that a person will move in a more efficient way; in addition their body could be controlled to make certain motions, thus giving faster operating capabilities and more things that their muscle memory might not be capable of (as their suit can control the body through nerve stimulation).

The suit does not actually possess an artificial heart, as it is constantly on the user, but the suit is designed to work in concert with this heart; while the heart of the host individual is not removed, it is slowed down by the pacemaker unless the backpack is turned off or disconnected from the heart. The artificial heart pumps blood about 3.5 times faster through the body than what the host person would ordinarily experience at resting levels; since it utilizes a very low pressure hydraulic heart, it can achieve such high rates without an increase in blood pressure; in fact, the person with the heart could be technically considered "dead" due to their low blood pressure, as their body has a virtually non-existent pulse. This in turn allows significantly more blood to circulate through the body without issue, even at greatly increased levels, and could in theory sustain the equivalent of an adrenaline rush indefinitely. Regardless, this in turn speeds up brain power, lifting capacity, and reaction time, without the ordinary detriments associated with long time adrenaline exposure. Additionally, the suit routinely adds PFC's, glucose, electrolytes, and other nutrients to the body; since the tubes hook up to major body parts, including the neck, wrists, thighs, ankles, and other areas, the materials are distributed through the body much quicker and to certain body parts faster than a typical intravenous pump. If the body is estimated to be working with extreme difficulty, it will pump more of these materials into the blood stream in order to give more energy, locally and totally, to increase performance. As well, it can absorb these materials from the bloodstream using a nano-graphene filter, and then remove them, in case they become too much; as well, it can remove other toxins and build up materials from the body, like excess lactic acid, to a limited extent.

Most notably, the suit has limited medical benefits. Artificial blood, with 5 times the capacity of ordinary blood, and a significantly longer shelf life, can be pumped into the body if the vital signs begin to alter, suggesting the user needs emergency attention. The internal thermoregulation suit itself can seal up and tighten areas that have been wounded, and provide quick clot to quickly slow down bleeding. Automatic trauma foam is injected in to areas that are injured, to slow down bleeding and increase the survival odds of internal organs. While this does not treat the injury itself, the quick reaction of the equipment can drastically increase survival rates, if the user is damaged. This system relies naturally on the vital signs indicator by the thermal regulator, and in addition transmits this information to the commanders and squad to keep them aware of the current state of their units. Furthermore, the increased volume of blood (3 times) and increased oxygen (2 times) gives the user 6 times as much oxygen as an ordinary person dissolved in their blood stream at any given point in time. This provides enormous amounts of oxygen to existing bodily organs, meaning that blood loss is less traumatic to the organs or the brain given the bodies latent supply of oxygen prior to an injury. This helps to reduce the impact of injuries and increase the amount of time a soldier has before medical attention becomes an absolute necessary, increasing survival rates or long term damage due to oxygen loss.


Artificial Heart
The average heart produces about 1.3 Watts of energy, every second, for over 75-100 years. The heart is relatively inefficient, below 10% efficiency, suggesting it takes at least `10-13 watts of continuous power to power the average heart. A primary function of the heart other than to pump blood is to promote which direction oxygenated and unoxygenated blood goes. While this is through a method of diffusion and osmosis balance this also promotes which direction nutrient filled blood goes too, as well; in addition, in regulates it's rate depending on hormones, to tell the body how to go faster or if it needs to work harder.

A primary problem with artificial hearts is getting the power and capabilities necessary to knowing how to regulate speeds. The system in the backpack works in two ways, the first one which is to monitor the heart rate; while regulated to 20 BPM with a pace masker (to preserve the function of the heart, so it won't atrophy) which will immediately subside if the pack is damaged, oxygenated and unoxygenated blood and can artificially pressed through the heart to filter out blood, and as well the heart can be monitored to be made aware of how fast the pack should beat based on adrenaline and other functions.

The heart pump uses a hydraulic pump and "turbine" [1][2][3], much larger than the heart, to circulate blood up to roughly 5 times it's given limit, although it usually operates at around 3.5. While this would ordinarily raise blood pressure enormously (to increase the heart rate to such levels), due to the constant circulation of the blood rather than irregular thumps the over-all blood pressure at any one point is much lower than even in an ordinary human. This does however cause the circulation to be different, and the 20BPM of the heart is still a minor part that gives partial blood pressure, rather than being nearly absent. Through this process the blood can circulate much faster throughout the body, without undue strain on the body.

This entire process uses about 5 watts, due to be substantially more efficient in operation than the human heart. Because it does not need to monitor the hormones and other chemical nearly as much, due to it's high rate of circulation over compensating for problems that may increase the heart rate, such as adrenaline, it is less of a hassle to try to match the heart rate associated with the hormone levels. Still, there are methods for measuring these levels in the body.

As a result of the increased heart users, most users can operate as if on an adrenaline rush for long periods of time. Their reaction time is faster, their brain is faster and absorbs more information, and they have increased strength. Primarily, however, the increased heart rate helps to improve endurance, taking the stress off of the human heart. By placing it on to the machine, the heart does not need to be at elevated levels during strenuous exercise, or when pumping the incredibly vicious blood. This not only helps to avoid wearing out the heart, but allows for greatly increased endurance, allowing for constant physical exertion at peak levels nearly indefinitely. Obvious other restrictions still apply, however it can improve performance drastically. The heart, while it does not consume a substantial amount of energy, requires constant upkeep, and due to the increased blood supply, would but difficulty on the host if it stopped working; thus, the heart relies upon an RTG which provides a small but steady supply of power for many decades.

Detecting Hormones and other chemicals in the blood
The heart is monitored using various heart monitors, in order to conclude how much of each hormone is present in the blood using the heart as a monitor to determine how fast to pump based on hormones like adrenaline.

However, Infrared spectroscopy, much like what is used in alcohol breathalyzers, is used to measure how much of each chemical in the blood. Tuned to measure what's in the blood, the infrared spectrometer can detect the presence and how much of each chemical is in the blood, in order to tell the heart how fast to beat. Despite this, the artificial heart operates well over it's necessary limits, suggesting that even if adrenaline desired to have the heart pumping 3 times it's limit, since it is usually far over this level, it more or less would be irrelevant.

However monitoring the heart's responses and the level of hormones in blood in order to understand how to beat faster can be important and is an available function of the suit should other functions fail, or in order to try to get the suit to attune to the bodies need, albeit perhaps more quickly.


Blood doping
Erythropoietin use, or EPO, can be utilized to increase blood cell content, and thus oxygen, nutrient, protein, and other carrying capacities. By increasing the total volume of the blood, more oxygen can go to the brain and to repair tissue after it's damaged, as well as nutrients, faster, more oxygen can be absorbed by the lungs and dissolved into the blood, can increase performance. In addition to healing faster, increased endurance is possible through blood doping, which not only doubles the amount of oxygen a person can consume from their lungs, but also transports more nutrients to muscles and other organs faster. While there can be some drawback to increasing the amount of blood in the body, such as increased iron absorption and potentially overworking the heart, as long as the body stays below relatively safe hemocrit levels, there is little chance for issue. As human blood is not as thick as it could be, increased thickness to a degree can be relatively harmless. The effects are along the line of high altitude training, without any of the potential drawbacks of low oxygen training.

Maximum safety limits can be hard to determine, as some people live in conditions which necessitate much higher concentrations, but in general double the ordinary hemocrit levels are generally considered safe. The system is designed to utilize triple the ordinary blood volume of a normal person, as afforded by the artificial heart, which takes most of the strain off of the heart and cardiovascular system, particularly as it decreases blood pressure to harmless levels.

Oxygen Concentrator
The Oxygen Concentrator more or less concentrates ambient oxygen, providing more from the air, and increasing the total amount of oxygen exposed to the user. Oxygen concentrators operate on the principle of rapid pressure swing adsorption of atmospheric nitrogen onto zeolite minerals and then venting the nitrogen. This type of adsorption system is therefore functionally a nitrogen scrubber leaving the other atmospheric gasses to pass through. This leaves oxygen as the primary gas remaining. PSA technology is a reliable and economical technique for small to mid-scale oxygen generation, with cryogenic separation more suitable at higher volumes and external delivery generally more suitable for small volumes.

At high pressure, the porous zeolite adsorbs large quantities of nitrogen, due to its large surface area. After the oxygen and other free components are collected the pressure drops which allows nitrogen to desorb.An oxygen concentrator has an air compressor, two cylinders filled with zeolite pellets, a pressure equalizing reservoir, and some valves and tubes. In the first half-cycle the first cylinder receives air from the compressor, which lasts about 3 seconds. During that time the pressure in the first cylinder rises from atmospheric to a few times normal atmospheric pressure (typically 20 psi/138 kPa gauge, or 2.36 atmospheres absolute) and the zeolite becomes saturated with nitrogen. as the first cylinder reaches near pure oxygen (there are small amounts of argon, CO2, water vapor, radon and other minor atmospheric components) in the first half-cycle a valve opens and the oxygen enriched gas flows to the pressure equalizing reservoir, which connects to the patient's oxygen hose. At the end of the first half of the cycle there is another valve position change so that the air from the compressor is directed to the 2nd cylinder. Pressure in the first cylinder drops as the enriched oxygen moves into the reservoir, allowing the nitrogen to be desorbed back into gas. Part way through the second half of the cycle there is another valve position change to vent the gas in the first cylinder to vent outside. That keeps the concentration of oxygen in the pressure equalizing reservoir from falling below about 90%. The pressure in the hose delivering oxygen from the equalizing reservoir is kept steady by a pressure reducing valve.

The total concentration increases from ordinary atmospheric concentrations of 20.9% to about double at 40%. Since this is considered relatively safe, in conjunction with various anti-oxidants, it is an easily usable increase in oxygen concentrations to help improve performance in the field. While it does not increase strength, increasing the total amount of oxygen dissolved in the blood helps to increase endurance and growth, as well as healing in nearly all tissues of the body.

Semi-powered Exoskeleton
Part of the purpose of the semi powered exo skeleton is the weight distribution and load carrying over the entire body. As the weight is distributed more evenly and redirected through the suit into the ground in a more appreciable fashion, it is easier to carry the load and thus reduces the strain on the user. However, the exoskeleton also provides limited assistance to the user, allowing some redirection of the forces throughout the suit as a result of a semi powered exoskeleton suit.

While the exoskeleton designed by MIT utilizes 1 watt, the exoskeleton utilized in this suit utilizes closer to 10 watts. While the same fundamental principles apply, the design works at different elevations and does not substantially change the users gait to gain the advantages, at the expense of efficiency. Still, it helps to significantly reduce the stress and load off the user; since the weight is put into the suits lower extremities, instead of just a single tube, it helps to distribute the weight easier and balance it more appropriately. While this does not enhance the users strength, it does redirect the weight in such a way as to make it easier to carry, and thus helps to, partially, increase the users strength.

Thermoregulator
The suit is designed to reduce energy consumption and stress on the user by helping the body maintain an ideal temperature, regardless of the environment. Like a personal air conditioner or heater, it keeps the user warm or cold, to near ideal body temperatures in any range of environments, reducing the amount of energy required to maintain homeostasis; in addition, it reduces water consumption and salt loss from sweating and general dehydration, in general improving physical performance. It helps particularly during intense exercise, when the body starts to overheat.

The ideal human body temperature is close to 98.6; The ideal room temperature however, is approximately 60-70 degrees, which is much harder to reach. In addition, proper body temperature conditions differ throughout each body part, so the suit is designed to adapt it's temperature depending on the place of the body, such as the face, hands and nose, which tend to be slightly colder. The primary advantage of the system is it's low energy consumption. As a result of extremely effective insulators, the suit can easily keep the body at desired temperatures utilizing coolant systems over the whole body, which drastically increase performance in the field. Concept designs have shown considerable promise via cooling gloves [1][2][3][4], although the suit itself utilizes an entire fully body unit, which surrounds the entire body. Most key areas in the body are covered, such as the hands or feet, and in addition sensors are used to appropriately gauge how the body should be cooled. If the body begins to overheat, the suit will begin to cool key areas of high vascular content down, in addition to areas over the entire body.

Chemical stimulants
Drugs have a curious place in muscle building and athletic performance. While many are proven to work, many more provide substantial side effects which are in the long term harmful to the user, and thus don't make good drugs for soldiers. Only drugs without permanent side effects are truly worth the effort, as long term use of drugs cannot only harm the health of the user, but also be detrimental to performance. There are a few drugs which are known to have benefits, however. DHT, considered 2.5-3 times more powerful than testosterone and without any known virilization effects, is commonly used by medical practitioners to treat muscle wasting. Currently, few side effects are reported and it's generally been deemed safe to use without many health concerns. It is essentially the chemical testosterone turns in to when it builds muscle, skipping the androgenic precursors. Hydroxy methylbutyrate is also used by coma patients to treat muscle wasting, and works by preventing the body from breaking down muscle protein, which not only helps with long term endurance and fatigue, but also helps to build muscle. MB produces these effects in part by stimulating myofibrillar muscle protein synthesis and inhibiting muscle protein breakdown through various mechanisms, including activation of mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) and inhibition of proteasome-mediated proteolysis in skeletal muscles. This allows it to both prevent the break down of muscles, increase muscle production, and help athletes recover from exercise faster. This is especially useful for soldiers who may find themselves under days of intense combat with little break, out in the field for months on end, without food or water, or simply under too much stress to reliably exercise and build muscle. As there are no known side effects, it is generally considered safe to use. Creatine is another commonly used supplement, designed to increase the energy of the user and it has been shown to help with fatigue for those with TBI's.

General Analysis

HULC Exoskeleton
Allows for up to 200 additional pounds to be carried by the soldier for 3 days, or approximately 150 pounds for 9 days with additional hydrogen fuel cell packs. An internal lithium tianate battery lasts for 24 hours that can be powered by the hybrid engine of a vehicle, thus giving a 24 hour walking range from a standard vehicle; this battery has roughly the same storage capacity as lithium titanate, and can be recharged to full capacity, in approximately 10 minutes. Along with other improvements the soldier can travel at approximately 3.5 mph with the exoskeleton on, with 2.5 mph coming directly from the exoskeleton. Additional metabolic savings from the low powered exoskeletons and the oxygen concentrator are always present, increasing performance by an additional 40%. The hydrogen fuel cell pack is separate from the rest of the soldier's gear, but helps to power this gear when the HULC exoskeleton is on. The Exoskeleton reduces is integrated seamlessly in to the armor and previous exoskeletons, while also reinforcing their motion rechargers.

In addition to this, soldier's possess a water filer which helps them to obtain water always anywhere in the world (save for the artic, which is made out of ice). Combined with water recycling units (that recycle approximately 90% of the user's water with a graphene filter) they can remain in the field almost indefinitely, only dependent on food which is approximately 1 pound per day. Approximately 12 pounds are removed from the soldier's overall weight by the use of lighter weight food and logistics equipment, which is quickly lost by the addition of more weight. Soldiers with the HULC exoskeleton have approximately a 60-84 mile range on a single charge, and a 300-420 mile range with the addition of a 9 day fuel cell.


Land Warrior System
The head's up display allows the soldier to have an up to date analysis of the local battlemap, be aware of their teammates positions, pick up on enemy movements, have areal views from satellites and drones, call in mortar, artillery and airstrikes, have a hands off communication system, and with the thermal vision camera system have a way to automatically aim their weapons against slow moving targets. Air bursting munitions, like the 25mm grenade, which utilizes the same thermal vision camera and laser, allow for N-LOS (non-line of sight) target engagement, such as enemies behind barriers and inside rooms, and allows for greater firepower as each soldier can penetrate through over 2 inches of hardened steel. The infrared laser serves as an aiming system visible only to the soldier, and helps them estimate ranges to the target via an infrared-laser range finder system. This dramatically increases first shot hit probability in ambush attacks, as well as helps soldiers make difficult long range shots. While a soldier's own natural skill is needed in combat, aiming systems like this are useful for long range or slow shots, or in situations where the first few shots of a battle matter (I.E. like an ambush). The ability to see through smoke and flairs while the enemy cannot enhances their effectiveness in combat, as does always wearing a gas mask which protects from tear gas and other agents. Soldiers possess approximately 3 times the vision of a normal soldier, 2.5 times the hearing and a motion sensor, which also protects the soldier from loud noises and bright flashes, as well as problems associated with motion blur. The ability for several cameras and the soldier's scope to take pictures allows for relaying of information to the team and tactical guidance by commanders in the field. The cameras can also be used for taking shots around corners that the soldier cannot ordinarily see (such as with the scope camera). The onboard electronics helps to calculate information when needed, and the hands-off approach to them via neural control and voice activation allows for easy use in the field. A round counter helps a soldier keep track of how many bullets they have fired in combat, while also alerting their commanders. This electronic information improves a soldier's fighting ability, by giving them up-to-date and invaluable intelligence immediately in the field, as well as improving their capabilities in general. Through the use of M5 fiber and flame retardent, non-synthetic fibers, the vehicle's gear is also water and fireproof, making the soldier more protected.


Body armor and weapons
Because of all the above sytems and biomechanical enhacnements, soldiers can afford to use heavier gear, including body armor. 12 pounds are saved by switching to freeze dried food over MRE's, in addition to other enhancements, and life saver bottles along with water reclamation programs allow for greatly reduced water needs in the field. As a result, soldiers can wear approximately 45 pounds of body armor, which largely is a combination of high strength, ceramic coated dyneema, which is reinforce with a honeycomb like structure internally, and M5 fiber mixed with liquid body armor. The M5 fiber is approximately twice as strong as kevlar, while being more flexible, flame resistant and more chemical and UV resistant, making it more durable and resistant to repeated impacts. When combined with the liquid body armor concept, which makes kevlar 3.5 times stronger, the armor is 7 times as strong as kevlar, making it capable of stopping full fledged rifle rounds. When combined with the hard outer shell of the dyneema, which helps to break up and fragment rounds on impact, and by itself can almost stop most rifle rounds, it protects the soldier from virtually all small arms fire, up to and including an armor piercing 7.62mm x 54mmR round and an armor piercing .30-06. This armor is very protective, and uses small hexagonal dyneema tiles placed over he body and segmented soft body armor parts for added maneuverability. On top of this is a bullpup weapon which is rear weighted and more maneuverable, and that uses caseless rounds with a very high BC, giving it an extremely long range. The rifles also use polygonal cobalt chrome flow formed barrels, which are extremely heat resistant cna withstand temperatures of up to 1,100 degrees, and fire up to 12,000 rounds each before overheating.


Biomechanical enhancement
The average soldier has 30% more muscle mass and endurance due to the performance enhancers, 3.4 times more endurance from the cooling suit, 9 times more oxygen from the oxygen concentrator, increased blood volume and PFC's, a heart rate is that 3.5 times that of a normal person at all times giving them virtually limitless endurance due to their heart, synthetic cartilage and titanium enhanced bones which reduces joint pain and damage, and an exoskeleton and other measures that helps to redistribute the weight over their entire body and in to the ground. Synergistically this results in fantastically higher endurance, less fatigue, shorter recovery times and greater strength and physical capability, on top of the other logistic and transport benefits, without major levels of power consumption. By working with both low power systems and biomechanical enhancements, soldier performance increases dramatically without the use of a heavy powered exoskeleton. Soldiers also have three times the vision and protection and motion blur when compared to ordinary people, as well as resistance to flashbangs and loud noises with hearing protection.

Artificial heat
An artificial heart, which lasts at least 10 years, pumps blood at 3.5 times the rate of a normal human heart, which combined with a normal human heart increases the blood flow in the body approximately 4 to 4.5 times that of a normal human being. This allows the individual to opera as if running a marathon at all times, and significantly reduces fatigue. The low blood pressure system, producing only feintly detectable blood pressure, reduces any blood pressure spikes ordinarily associated with such as system by replacing slow rhythmic thumps with thousands of tiny thumps at a much lower, but steady pressure. This systems also helps the heart heal and grow stronger, which lengthens the users lifespan. Combined with blood doping that increases the soldier's hemoglobin levels to 3 times that of a normal person, soldiers very rarely succumb to exhaustion. This 70% increase in blood volume is at the maximum safety limits, and can cause some problems if the artificial heart stops working.

Oxygen concentrator and PFC's
An oxygen concentrator, which collects ambient air and concentrates the oxygen levels from 20% to 40-60% by using a nitrogen scrubber and depressurization chamber, increases the amount of oxygen absorbed by the lungs and in to the bloodstream. This oxygen saturates the entire body, and allows a soldier to hold their breath longer, recover from injuries faster, recover from exercise faster, and reduces their fatigue. In combination with inhaled PFC's, which have 1/40th the size of hemoglobin at the same size, the PFC's can increase the oxygen absorption by another 3 times, increasing the average soldier's oxygen content in their bloodstream to 9 times that of a normal human being when combined with the blood doping and oxygen concentrator. These PFC's are 40 times smaller than hemoglobin, and thus reach tissue not ordinarily available to normal hemoglobin, such as damaged tissue, particularly brain tissue, and low-blood areas, such as tendons and bones, promoting healing in areas not ordinary for human beings. This increases the survivability of the soldier dramatically, and reduces bleed-out effects substantially. Soldiers also have an automatic injection port for artificial blood in the event of a bleed-out, stabilizing the soldier and allowing for more oxygen absorption. Anti-oxidants are used to reduce damage from free-radical production by oxygen.

Cooling system
The cooling system not only keeps the body cool in all environments, via a system of fans and liquid cooling suits, but also improves athletic performance. By keeping the body below 104 degrees at all times, the endurance of the soldier improves dramatically, approximately 3.4 times that of a normal human being. By keeping the body cool it never overheats, and thus has much more endurance than normal. When in combination with the oxygen increase and artificial heart, soldiers can remain on the move almost indefinitely, and rarely get fatigued.

Exoskeleton and joint protection
The low powered exoskeleton does not greatly augment the users strength like the HULC exoskeleton, but makes their movement more efficient, increasing metabolic efficiency by 40% along with speed, and transfers most of the weight of the user's back in to the ground. The system works like a true exoskeleton on insects, and takes the weight off the user's joints and bones and puts it in to the ground. This makes a soldier's operation more bearable and easier to handle, as well as reducing and mitigating long term damage to their joints by being on their feet for extended periods of time. In addition, various joint saving measures such as knee braces and impact gel soft pads in the soldier's shoes are also used, to preemptively reduce damage. On top of this, synthetic cartilage is injected in to the soldier's joints, to reduce damage and strengthen the joints, giving the soldier more endurance and less pain while moving. As well, titanium bone implant are used, in the form of foam, which strengthens bones and makes them fracture proof, but not bullet proof. The protection and enhancement of joints makes the soldiers able to operate in the field longer, reducing their fatigue and long term damage to their joints over time with extended stress in combat.

Performance enhancers
Various performance enhancers, from DHT which is 10 times stronger than steroids, to HMB which prevents muscle loss are used to reduce fatigue and promote muscle growth. With no verilization effects DHT is used to build and maintain muscle, while the other drugs such as creatine and HMB prevent muscle loss and provide energy. Used in coma patients, only drugs which are truly harmless and increase strength and endurance are used, which results in minor gains in muscle strength and endurance. More importantly it reduces muscle loss and helps the soldier recover from injuries faster, thus preventing long term damage to the individual. This results in about 30% more muscle growth in combination with proper dieting and training techniques, which means superior performance in the field. While a small improvement in comparison to the other enhancement methods, these play their part and help the soldier predominately biologically instead. Soldiers also take vitamin pills and salt pills every day, which improves their performance in the field.

Sensory enhancement
Soldiers have approximately 20/6 vision due to their visors serving as corrective lenses, or have 3 times the vision of the average person. These bullet proof visors also cut out motion blur, glare, and bright lights, protecting the soldier from flashbangs. The hearing protection cancels out noise and relays noise to the user via headphones to make it sound like ambient sound levels, while protecting the ears from extremely loud sources, such as explosives or gunfire. A sonar system allows for motion detection in 100 yards, serving as a form of echo location, and soldiers also have thermal vision goggles to help see through thin walls and barriers, as well as smoke, and see at night.