Dynamic Pressure Suits
| “ | If you want to have your cake and eat it, you invest in a large kitchen and learn how to make your own cake. | ” |
| —Why CI made their own space suit" in an interview with Maico Tange | ||
| “ | Why do I need to test the new tail part today? I am really not feeling well, couldn't someone else do it? | ” |
| —unknown CI researcher of the DPS project | ||
| “ | Of course it has some quirks, but we managed to push most of them far enough away that you don't notice them during normal operation. | ” |
| —"Is it a quirk free Handwavium product" question in an interview with Maico Tange | ||
Dynamic Pressure Suits are a family of space suits developed by Catgirl Industries. They are made from a morphing material called Mimetic Plastic which allows the suit to transform between a form of normal clothing and a counter-pressure suit.
They are used a lot by the members of Catgirl Industries, but are also be used by some Senshis. Open sales of the suits were delayed for a long time because of problems with The Third Eye control system.
History
The concept of the Dynamic Pressure Suits was done in 2016, when some catgirls at Jenga began to experiment with Mimetic Plastic. Their dream called for a material that could be worn as normal clothing and extended into a full spacesuit on demand without needing to restrict all their fur below a layer of constraining clothing. Like most ambitious ideas, it proved to be quite a challenge to implement.
The material was quite difficult to control in details which caused all kind of headaches for the catgirls. Most early prototype suits were highly quirked or had a complex layer of control wires hidden in the suit, which restricted its transformation abilities a lot. Both made most suits an unique artifact and difficult to reproduce.
This changed in 2020 when a research group lead by Cortana created the first generation of Holographic Waveguide Optronics, which used Mimetic Plastic as a computational substrate. Suddenly the catgirls were able to integrate the control system into the material of the suit itself, which quickly solved a lot of issues. The first production line for the Mark 1 DPS was started in mid 2021 and the suit quickly spread among the habitats of Catgirl Industries.
The Mark 1
The Mark 1 Dynamic Pressure Suit was the first one produced in larger numbers. It is made of a multilayer sheet of Mimetic Plastic which create the necessary functionality. All suits can form an attachment for an Energy Disc at the back.
The suit is made up four mandatory pieces and one optional for biomods with a tail. Boots, tights and t-shirt form the basic suit while the tail part is a ring formed plastic piece that can be attached to the tights.
The inner layer of the suit has been waved with a Handwavium strain commonly used in space suit fabrics. Its skin- and hair-friendly, breathable and can deal with sweat and body odors. The strain has been originally developed by a group of Senshi and has been adapted to the new material since then.
The outer layer contains a lattice of carbon nanotubes which protects the suits from being cut or ripped by mechanical force. The layer also contains tiny pores to allow air exchange with the environment, which can be closed by the control system to form an airtight barrier. While this is not strictly necessary to use the suit in vacuum, it protects the wearer from unhealthy substances outside the suit.
The space between is filled with a honeycomb of tiny cells, which form multiple networks of veins that allow the transportation of gases and liquids. The walls of the cells can expand and shrink, which is responsible for creating the counterpressure of the suits, absorbing impacts and moving the components of the suit. They also contain tiny fibres of HOWOs, which form the control network of the suit.
The top of the t-shirt is a bit thicker around the collar, which hides the additional material for the helmet. The helmet is made from a head plate and a transparent frontal plate, which form an airtight envelope around the head.
The suit contains a number of basic internal sensors that monitor heart rate, body temperature, breathing and similar parameters and a basic external atmosphere sensor. The user can display this sensor data when using a Third Eye. The suit also contains an emergency beacon if the user gets lost.
Modes of operation
The suit has three basic modes, which can be switched between each other by voice control or by a Third Eye.
The first mode is called offline. In this mode the suits can be worn casually below (or as) clothing. The inner cells of the suit are deflated and air can freely move between inner and outer surface. In this mode the suit provides no counter pressure.
When switched to active, the parts of the suits extend towards each other to form a single piece. The inner cells inflate and the suit becomes air- and skintight. The suits thickness increases to half a centimeter on average to provide the user with shock absorption.
The final mode is called helmet is an extension of the sealed mode, it extends the gloves, the helmet and (if used) unrolls the tail part of the suit. The suit has a small tentacle like extension at the back of the collar which coils up the hair of the user (if too long to fit into the helmet).
When the suits sensors detect an unhealthy environment, either with not enough oxygen or not enough atmosphere pressure, it automatically activates helmet mode.
Energy Discs
While the suit can be used on its own like this, most catgirls attach an Energy Disc at the back for longer operation. The discs contain an additional energy battery and tanks for consumables for the suits user, it also attaches itself to one of the vein networks and pumps water through it to help stabilizing the suits temperature.
The Discs also carry an improved radio transmitter and better sensors for outer space operations.
Emergency Breathing Support
A major danger when using a spacesuit is the chance of choking. If the user of the suits becomes unconsciousness and her tongue blocks the airflow or if she is throwing up, there is a good chance of dying because of blocked breathing.
The Dynamic Pressure suit use its internal sensors to monitor for both conditions. If any of those happens, it extends the tentacle like extension from the back into the mouth where it directly plugs itself into the windpipe of the user. It is waved so the user does not choke on this direct air tube itself.
Quirks
- MINE! Each suit must be personalized before usage and can only be used by a single person afterwards. 'Foreign' users tend to be tickled or even slapped until they take the suit off again.
- Vampire? A drop of blood must be put onto the attachment port for the Energy Disc before the suit can be used.
Trivia
- Dynamic Pressure Suits are normally controlled through a Third Eye worn on a neckband.
- The suit is often called Tron Suit.
- Catgirl Industries only released a suit for female users.
- Many prototypes of the DPS project were very quirky, especially when close to certain kinds Mangas.
- Catgirl Industries is looking for a way to create defensive Mass Effect field by filling some cells of the inner layer with Eezo.
- The Emergency Breathing Support was originally designed by Quattro as a way to keep noisy catgirls quiet, which explains why it also blocks the user from making any kind of sound.
- Reversing the personalization of a suit can be done with a specialized machine, but takes a day or two.
- The Senshis support the Dynamic Pressure Suit project to develop a Miniskirt variant of the suit.
References
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