A vulpithecine mech pilot
This mech cockpit demonstrates several common features of monkey fox ergonomics. All four paws and the tail are prehensile. In order to make use of all five extremities, one must lie on the back or belly. Vehicle cockpits feature a concave couch similar to a bowl chair, with a cleft to accommodate the tail.
For input, paw-held chording keyers, where multiple buttons are pressed simultaneously, are preferred over billions of buttons. With four paws and six digits per paw, that allows over 16 million unique chords. Each keyer also provides motion control and haptic feedback. Analog controls are located at the base of the seat and are operated by the tail.
For output, a HUD visor is used rather than screens. The visor is hard-wired to the mech's sensor suite and provides an AR or VR feed of the mech's vision system.
A mech could be defined as an internally operated zoomorphic robot that resembles its pilot. A mech made by and for humans looks like a human, with a torso, head, two arms and two legs. Vulpithecine mechs also resemble their pilots, being quadrupedal and possessing prehensile extremities including a tail.
Culturally, mechs are associated with the Knights of the Sun, an order of warrior monks, in much the same way horses are associated with European knights. Such mechs have a crew of two. A knight pilots the mech and operates main weapons, and a squire acts as an engineer monitoring the mech's systems and occasionally manning secondary weapons.
Jan 03 · 4 months ago · 👍 Cotteux