Bio-Armour
Encyclopedia
Bio-Armour is a fictional body armour system which includes living biological parts.
suit with a composite armoured carapace
. Due to its "living" construction, bio armour will theoretically be able to self-repair in the manner of a living organism
, and other combat benefits may include total biological integration with the wearer, allowing for greatly improved healing, sensory awareness and physical endurance. Bio-links and synthetic arteries could allow shared blood circulation, and the suit's muscle layer could provide both excellent protection from enemy fire and increased physical strength for the wearer.
A bio-armour carapace is expected to be semi-biological as well, possibly with an outer layer consisting of both artificial Kevlar
and living muscle sinew. As well as providing protection from small arms fire, such armour could utilise an integrated artificial immune system
and airtight construction to protect the wearer from biological and chemical weapons, as well as radioactive "dirty bomb
s". A possible self-contained air supply, inbuilt unisex valve toilet and ration pack could make it possible for future combatants to survive days of combat without ever having to remove the bio-armour. Integrated artificial intelligence, weapons systems and communications could also make appearances in future biological armour.
To combat biological armour, it is plausible that future opponents will try to develop advanced viral weapons systems to work alongside conventional weaponry. Such weapons may use specially cultivated, hyper-volatile synthetic virus
es which can infect even the heavily protected and biologically shielded muscle skeletons of bio-armour, causing the armour to decay or attacking the wearer directly. Another potential (and probably more likely, at least to begin with) method of attacking it would be to use chemical weapons to poison it or using extremely corrosive acids to counteract any of the armor's self regenerative properties.
Design
Bio-armour is based around an adaptive living biological framework, consisting of an extremely hardy synthetic muscleMuscle
Muscle is a contractile tissue of animals and is derived from the mesodermal layer of embryonic germ cells. Muscle cells contain contractile filaments that move past each other and change the size of the cell. They are classified as skeletal, cardiac, or smooth muscles. Their function is to...
suit with a composite armoured carapace
Carapace
A carapace is a dorsal section of the exoskeleton or shell in a number of animal groups, including arthropods such as crustaceans and arachnids, as well as vertebrates such as turtles and tortoises. In turtles and tortoises, the underside is called the plastron.-Crustaceans:In crustaceans, the...
. Due to its "living" construction, bio armour will theoretically be able to self-repair in the manner of a living organism
Organism
In biology, an organism is any contiguous living system . In at least some form, all organisms are capable of response to stimuli, reproduction, growth and development, and maintenance of homoeostasis as a stable whole.An organism may either be unicellular or, as in the case of humans, comprise...
, and other combat benefits may include total biological integration with the wearer, allowing for greatly improved healing, sensory awareness and physical endurance. Bio-links and synthetic arteries could allow shared blood circulation, and the suit's muscle layer could provide both excellent protection from enemy fire and increased physical strength for the wearer.
A bio-armour carapace is expected to be semi-biological as well, possibly with an outer layer consisting of both artificial Kevlar
Kevlar
Kevlar is the registered trademark for a para-aramid synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed at DuPont in 1965, this high strength material was first commercially used in the early 1970s as a replacement for steel in racing tires...
and living muscle sinew. As well as providing protection from small arms fire, such armour could utilise an integrated artificial immune system
Immune system
An immune system is a system of biological structures and processes within an organism that protects against disease by identifying and killing pathogens and tumor cells. It detects a wide variety of agents, from viruses to parasitic worms, and needs to distinguish them from the organism's own...
and airtight construction to protect the wearer from biological and chemical weapons, as well as radioactive "dirty bomb
Dirty bomb
A dirty bomb is a speculative radiological weapon that combines radioactive material with conventional explosives. The purpose of the weapon is to contaminate the area around the explosion with radioactive material, hence the attribute "dirty"....
s". A possible self-contained air supply, inbuilt unisex valve toilet and ration pack could make it possible for future combatants to survive days of combat without ever having to remove the bio-armour. Integrated artificial intelligence, weapons systems and communications could also make appearances in future biological armour.
To combat biological armour, it is plausible that future opponents will try to develop advanced viral weapons systems to work alongside conventional weaponry. Such weapons may use specially cultivated, hyper-volatile synthetic virus
Virus
A virus is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of organisms. Viruses infect all types of organisms, from animals and plants to bacteria and archaea...
es which can infect even the heavily protected and biologically shielded muscle skeletons of bio-armour, causing the armour to decay or attacking the wearer directly. Another potential (and probably more likely, at least to begin with) method of attacking it would be to use chemical weapons to poison it or using extremely corrosive acids to counteract any of the armor's self regenerative properties.
Fictional examples
In fiction, biological armour appears quite frequently. Examples of its use are:-- In the fictional Warhammer 40,000Warhammer 40,000Warhammer 40,000 is a tabletop miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop, set in a dystopian science fantasy universe. Warhammer 40,000 was created by Rick Priestley in 1987 as the futuristic companion to Warhammer Fantasy Battle, sharing many game mechanics...
universe, the diseased Nurgle Chaos Space MarinesChaos Space MarinesIn the table-top wargame Warhammer 40,000, the Chaos Space Marines or Chaos Marines, are Space Marines who serve the Chaos Gods. They are also referred to as the Traitor Legions, primarily in background material written from the perspective of the Imperium.-History:The background shown in both...
are often depicted as wearing fully integrated daemonic living combat armour. This armour is made of various vile secretions of the marine and flesh that combined with the marine's existing power armour, resulting in a suit that is more resilient than most xeno-beasts. The standard issue armour is considerabily more durable than regular armour but higher champions have more gifts that mutate the armour further. In other cases the part viewed as "armour" may very well be the marine's flesh, having rotted away the ceramite plates. In addition to the benefits of traditional bio-armour, the plague marine's power armour also releases toxic gases and diseases as a means of biological warfare. The Tyranids also have an exoskeleton that resembles bio-armour, as it heals and strengthens with each blow. In addition all space marine have an organ directly under their skin known as the Black Carapace that links them to their power armour and provides some degree of protection.
- In the animeAnimeis the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series GuyverGuyveris a manga series written by Yoshiki Takaya. The Guyver itself is a symbiotic techno-organic device that enhances the capabilities of its host....
, an alternate timeline is introduced where humans were bred as biological soldiers. One of the aliens' projects included a kind of biological armor which integrated internally with the host, endowing him or her with superhuman abilities.
- In the Peter F. HamiltonPeter F. HamiltonPeter F. Hamilton is a British author. He is best known for writing space opera. As of the publication of his tenth novel in 2004, his works had sold over two million copies worldwide.- Biography :...
fiction book Fallen DragonFallen DragonFallen Dragon is a science fiction novel by Peter F. Hamilton. It was first published in 2001 by Macmillan. It follows the adventures of the mercenary Lawrence Newton as he attempts to capture what he believes is a fabulous treasure, only to find something of much greater...
, the security troops of the interstellar company Zantiu-Braun are described as wearing biological "Skin" armour, combining computerized hypertechnology, an artificial blood supply, multiple integrated weapons systems and a biological muscle skeleton.
- In Marvel comicsMarvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
' Spider-ManSpider-ManSpider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
comic book, Spider-Man was temporarily enhanced with a living symbiotic organism which could be described as armor. Besides strength enhancement, the suit could generate webbing, and shape-shift into anything Spider-Man imagined, which eliminated the need to change clothing. Spider-Man eventually discarded the suit, which later merged with Eddie BrockEddie BrockEddie Brock is a fictional character created by David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane. A comic book supervillain, Brock's earliest appearance is a cameo in Web of Spider-Man #18 before making his first full appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #299 as Venom...
to become the villain VenomVenom (comics)Eddie Brock is a fictional character created by David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane. A comic book supervillain, Brock's earliest appearance is a cameo in Web of Spider-Man #18 before making his first full appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #299 as Venom...
.
- The Valiant ComicsValiant ComicsValiant Comics is a comic book imprint published by various publishers since its inception with Voyager Communications, Inc. in 1989, later Acclaim Comics, Inc. Its assets were purchased from the bankruptcy of the Acclaim Entertaintment by Valiant Entertainment, Inc. in 2007.-Voyager...
series X-O ManowarX-O ManowarX-O Manowar is a fictional superhero co-created by writer and former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter, artist Bob Layton, and Jon Hartz. Current Marvel Comics Chief Creative Officier Joe Quesada was a key creator in the origin of X-O Manowar as seen in X-O Manowar #0...
features the protagonist Aric who dons a suit of living armour of alien origin that grants him extended life, flight, regeneration and energy blasts as well as being able to survive in the vacuum of space. He uses the armour to battle the alien race he calls 'spider-demons'.
- In CthulhutechCthulhuTechCthulhuTech is a science-fiction and horror roleplaying game created by Wildfire LLC and published by Sandstorm that combines elements of the Cthulhu Mythos with anime-style mecha, horror, magic and futuristic action...
, symbiotic armor suits are known as "Tagers".
- The CrysisCrysisCrysis is a science fiction first-person shooter video game developed by Crytek , published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows, and released in November 2007. It is the first game of a trilogy. A separate game entitled Crysis Warhead was released on September 12, 2008, and follows similar...
series feature a symbiotic exosuit called the Nanosuit 1.0 and it's successor the Nanosuit 2.0. Both allow the user to become stronger, faster, more resilient to damage and hazardous environments (temperatures under -200 degrees Celsius, underwater, and even environments without breathable air) and become invisible. The symbiotic nature of the suits caused anyone who would put them on would be unable to take it off ( which would cause death). The Nanosuit 2.0 has the ability to regenerate itself. It can heal the wearer (by growing in to the wounds) and revive him using a defibrilator, and process large amounts of alien substance in order to combat them.
See also
- Powered exoskeletonPowered exoskeletonA powered exoskeleton, also known as powered armor, or exoframe, is a powered mobile machine consisting primarily of an exoskeleton-like framework worn by a person and a power supply that supplies at least part of the activation-energy for limb movement.Powered exoskeletons are designed to assist...
- BiotechnologyBiotechnologyBiotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
- Tissue engineeringTissue engineeringTissue engineering is the use of a combination of cells, engineering and materials methods, and suitable biochemical and physio-chemical factors to improve or replace biological functions...
- NanobiotechnologyNanobiotechnologyBionanotechnology, nanobiotechnology, and nanobiology are terms that refer to the intersection of nanotechnology and biology. Given that the subject is one that has only emerged very recently, bionanotechnology and nanobiotechnology serve as blanket terms for various related technologies.This...
- Ultimate Iron ManUltimate Iron ManUltimate Iron Man is the name of two comic book miniseries written by Orson Scott Card and published by Marvel Comics. The stories tell the origins of the Ultimate Marvel version of Iron Man, who appears in Ultimates.-Publication history:...