Mimetic Armor
Sarna News
A Battle Armor scale optical camouflage system debuting by 3061, Mimetic Armor allows armored infantry to blend seamlessly into the terrain - provided, at least, that they stay still.
Description[edit]
Originating as a ComStar experiment with color-shifting fabrics and infantry uniforms, Mimetic Armor is a combination of an electrically-sensitive chemical composite, micro-cameras, and a powerful computer processor. Presumed lost when Sandhurst Royal Military College was overrun in 3058 during Operation ODYSSEUS, the Word of Blake would incorporate the technology in the prototypes for what would eventually become the Purifier battle armor, revealed in 3061.[1]
Using the Chameleon Light Polarization Shield as a starting point, Blakist technicians picked up where ComStar science had left off, developing a system wherein embedded microcameras fed visual data to a CPU which would in turn sent electrical impulses to the chemical composites bound to the armor, changing colors to match the environment much like an octopus. Though the color-shift itself is rapid, the processor may struggle to keep up with rapid changes in terrain and lighting and therefore is most effective when the unit is standing still or moving very slowly. The faster the unit moves, the less effective the mimetic effect becomes.[2] Another drawback is the space required to mount all the cameras and computers, which can reduce the amount of equipment a suit of battle armor can carry by as much as half.[3] To overcome this limitation, battle armor equipped with Mimetic Armor often uses one or more Modular Weapon Mounts.
Another weakness of Mimetic Armor was a limitation to battle armor sized units, with initial claims that vehicle and 'Mech scale integration was 'expensive and fruitless', and that 'research in that area was discontinued'.[1] The Word of Blake would eventually succeed in upscaling, however, resulting in the Void Signature System[4].