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Surface Transport

Surface transport technology includes all the devices for traveling along the surface of a planetary body or along surfaces within space habitats, spacecraft, or large structures on or within any of the above. This includes vehicles as well as any network of support structures.

 
Articles
  • Cargo Gel  - Text by Todd Drashner
    Utility fog based device used for transporting cargo in a wide range of environments from planetary surfaces to interstellar spac
  • Flo-stone  - Text by Todd Drashner
    Nanotech based material used for flooring and originally designed to simulate the look and feel of marble or ceramic.
  • Groundborne Independent Quadrobile (GIQ)  - Text by Thorbørn Steen
    Ground transport with four independently powered wheels.
  • Mecha  - Text by Steve Bowers
    Humanoid Armoured Fighting Vehicle, basically a manned walking weapons platform used in fighting sports. Can range from an armoured exoskeleton only slightly larger than the occupant, to an excessively large construct the size of a skyscraper.
  • Mega-Mecha  - Text by Mike Miller
    Extremely large mecha, often described as fantastic, awesome, and completely ludicrous. These are indulgences, not practical vehicles. They typically start at 100 meters tall and have been as much as 1000 meters tall, and are generally utilized as walking homes, villas, or even cities for the materially ultra-wealthy and whimsical.
  • MultiModal Personal Rapid Transport  - Text by Steve Bowers
    Otherwise known as People Pods, these small vehicles can utilise a number of different modes.
  • Omnicraft  - Text by Todd Drashner
    Versatile mode of transport designed to operate and provide accommodations in a wide range of environments from planetary surfaces to interplanetary space.
  • Personal Transport Technology  - Text by Terrafamilia, Ryan B (wing pack)
    Some modes of personal transport that became possible during the Solsys Golden Age.
  • RV-5 Transport Vehicle - Text by M. Alan Kazlev inspired by entry by Kevin Self
    Robust and popular Federation era all-environment wheeled vehicle used by extraterrestrial mining and exploration teams. The RV-5 carried four crew and a limited amount of cargo, and came with turingrade expert systems and pilots. Both electric and hydrogen fuel cell versions were available. Variants on the design remained common for centuries on many middle region, frontier and less developed worlds.
  • Scrub Slug  - Text by David Jackson
    Large or very large footed ground vehicles for military or civilian use.
  • Shivverskate  - Text by John B
    A relatively recent fad. the Shivverskate stores a moderately impressive amount of kinetic energy in molecular flywheels and releases it as a standing sonic wave beneath itself, allowing a relatively frictionless interface with the ground in a standard-gravity environment. Useable for transport or as a weapon.
  • Slidewalks and RiverRoads  - Text by Stephen Inniss
    Moving walkways — transport for passengers and other objects.
  • Telescopic Limbs  - Text by Johnny Yesterday
    Robotic limbs capable of extreme elongation with respect to their minimum length
  • Triphibious - Text by M. Alan Kazlev
    A vehicle that is able to travel on or under water, on land, and in the air. Triphibious vehicles are very popular on Pacifica.
  • Vac Trains  - Text by Todd Drashner
    Fast train transport in evacuated tubes to reduce atmospheric resistance.
  • Vechidai, Vechai  - Text by Michael Boncher
    Limbed or skirted vehicles or weapons platforms.
  • Vehvecs  - Text by Tony Jones, with additions by Steve Bowers
    Independent-minded sophont vehicles.
  • Walking Cities  - Text by Steve Bowers
    Mobile cities, often independently sophont.
 
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Development Notes
Text by Stephen Inniss

Initially published on 28 February 2009.

 
Additional Information