 Work in progress/nonconocial, unapproved |
Inspired by Sourcian biology, the Rhys does not have traditional rotary joints. It is instead kept together via a combination of structol laminated zesuaium chains acting as tendons and a lower density structol muscle material which provides the primary source of motion, giving rise to a large number of performance enhancements.
Also, by repeating the same components wherever possible, severe damage will not result in a severe performance drop depending on WHERE it is hit but a slow gradual predictable performance drop, meaning the unit can remain effective for longer on a battlefield, giving it an edge in tenacity and redundancy. It also means parts-replacement is easy, since factories produce a much lower number of components.
There is a higher symmetry to the limbs of the unit. For example, arms and legs are completely interchangable.
The idea is for a leg to become an arm, the trunk of the arm telescopically slides into a smaller space, the plating on the legs layers over itself, the thigh back on itself and the knee becomes the arm that hangs down, with structol hardening and securing the joint. If a limb is blown off, one of the other five will replace it in some way, allowing Rhys to remain operationally effective after taking damage that would cripple other units. This is all achieved thanks to miniaturisation technology usually only used on powered-armour, exploited for use in frames on this much larger scale - giving it a much higher component density than its counterparts but a lower component complexity, making it far more rugged and dependable.
The topology or 'layout' of the limbs might seem complex but its actually incredibly simple. All in all, there are three major components: The central leg or 'primary limb', the two arm-units or 'secondary limbs' and the plating either side or 'B-plates'. By shuffling these components around, a variety of different forms can be made. Limbs can even be split in half essentially down the middle in the event one half is combat compromised, meaning the machine can actually function on just two operational limbs if it needs to.
<Diagram>
