Active camouflage: Difference between revisions
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==Description== | ==Description== | ||
Covenant active camouflage technology uses a field of energy to bend light around the user, thus making them effectively invisible. The armor used by Spec-Ops and Stealth Sangheili, as well as that of Arbiters and [[Jiralhanae Stalker]]s, include built-in active-camo generators. | Covenant active camouflage technology uses a field of energy to bend light around the user, thus making them effectively invisible. The armor used by Spec-Ops and Stealth Sangheili, as well as that of Arbiters and [[Jiralhanae Stalker]]s, include built-in active-camo generators. These built-in generators have a severe drawback in that they divert power from shielding equipment. Troops equipped with permanent active camouflage generators tend to have weaker shielding than those not equipped with an active camouflage generator. Arbiter Ripa 'Moramee was equipped with an active camouflage generator capable of generating a near-perfect cloaking field indefinitely, but had no energy shield generator and was forced to rely entirely on the protection of his armor plates. Arbiter Thel 'Vadam was also equipped with an active camouflage generator, but the device was capable only of providing a cloak for a few seconds, and although 'Vadam was equipped with personal shielding, his shields were relatively weak for an individual of such high rank, equivalent to those of a Sangheili Minor. | ||
For personnel not equipped with built-in active camouflage, it can be provided by a variety of devices. Typically, the energy used to provide the effect is suspended inside a small, transparent pyramidal container, or a larger spherical force-field. Personnel can use the light-bending energy by coming into physical contact with the container or force-field, which will cause it to break and release its contents. Upon release, the energy envelops the wearer and bends light around their skin; armor or [[shielding]], conforming to their form and rendering them almost invisible. After a short period of time, the energy will gradually dissipate and wear off, slowly revealing its user. | For personnel not equipped with built-in active camouflage, it can be provided by a variety of devices. Typically, the energy used to provide the effect is suspended inside a small, transparent pyramidal container, or a larger spherical force-field. Personnel can use the light-bending energy by coming into physical contact with the container or force-field, which will cause it to break and release its contents. Upon release, the energy envelops the wearer and bends light around their skin; armor or [[shielding]], conforming to their form and rendering them almost invisible. After a short period of time, the energy will gradually dissipate and wear off, slowly revealing its user. The active camouflage provided by these devices lasts for ten seconds, and only prevents visual detection; those using active camouflage can be observed by other means, including motion tracking, noise, and environmental disturbances (footprints on soft terrain, etc.). | ||
The active camouflage | The UNSC has developed several varieties of active-camouflage technology, including the [[photoreactive panel]]s of the [[SPI]] armor, the [[texture buffer]]s on [[UNSC Prowler]]s and the [[camouflage cloak]].<ref name="goo"/> These do not utilize the same light-bending energy as Covenant active camouflage and are generally less effective. However, human active camouflage does not compromise the integrity of a user's shielding, unlike its Covenant competitors. | ||
A common human active camouflage device, copied from similar Covenant technology, comes in the form of a "plug" which attaches to a socket located on the lower back of compatible armor. The non-integral nature of the device allows it to be added or removed at will for improved operational flexibility. The device provides a conditionally effective cloak; as long as the user remains still or moves slowly, the camouflage will be highly efficient, providing near-total invisibility for minimal energy loss. However, if the user moves more quickly, the camouflage will only provide rudimentary coverage and drain its energy very rapidly. Firing a weapon will also disrupt the camouflage and reveal the user. Furthermore, external sounds will be highly muffled to the user while this camouflage is in use, and if the user is equipped with motion tracking equipment, the detection capability of the motion tracker will be severely compromised, jamming the display with "ghost" targets. | |||
==Function== | ==Function== | ||
