Tachikoma

A Tachikoma is an AI walker/roller tank in the Ghost in the Shell universe appearing only in the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex subuniverse. They are best described as a quotspider type multi leg/multi ped combat vehicle equipped with artificial intelligencequot possessing the ability to act as both personel transport units and mobile weapons platforms. Design: Tachikoma are the size of a small car and are of a middleblue colour with four quoteyesquot fitted on the surface of their bodies. Three are on the quotheadquot and one is beneath the abdomen. Each eye has three pinholes possibly for triangulation. These eyes sometimes become expressive in the typical anime style. Tachikoma are controlled by individual AIs are capable of speech and generally exhibit a childish curious joyful and active personality although they are consummate professionals in the field. They normally operate as independent units and receive orders from human agents but they can also be directly piloted from a cockpit in their abdomen. Tachikoma have four legs and two arms. They can move by walking or they can drive at high speed by using the wheeled footpads on each of their four legs. They are apparently streetlegal presuming no legal exemption for Section 9. Each wheel appears to be angled and omnidirectional allowing the Tachikomas to move in any direction with their holonomic drive system. Other abilities of the Tachikoma include jumping great distances sticking to vertical or inverted surfaces engaging a thermoptic camouflage mechanism and grappling/rappelling using their adhesive string launchers. Tachikoma maintain control of their legs while using wheels to drive down a road and shift their weight around turns. They can also roll briefly on to two legs while driving to avoid an obstacle or pass through a narrow space. To make balance easier they can move their heavy abdomens with a ball joint. Their movements when walking and jumping were modelled on a jumping spider. Almost all of the Tachikomas039 physical abilities are showcased in Episode 2 of Stand Alone Complex quotRunaway Evidence ndash Testationquot. Standard Tachikoma equipment includes a 7.62x51mm light machine gun mounted in the right arm a secondary weapon hardpoint in the quotsnoutquot usually a 50mm grenade launcher capable of launching both explosive and gas grenades but which can be replaced by a sixbarrelled 12.7x99mm Gatling gun a universal cybernetic connector on an extensible prehensile cable in the left arm and a builtin thermoptic camouflage system. AI: Tachikoma039s are gifted with very childlike AI unexpected of a machine in a governmental special forces team which gives rise to much of the comedy relief in Stand Alone Complex. Though they possess individual artificial intelligence every night they are synchronised so they start the next day with identical consciousnesses that are each the sum of their total collective experience amp development. This leads to identity confusion since each Tachikoma has the same memories. Source: Ghost in the Shell wikia