Camoflague cover

From Traveller Wiki - Science-Fiction Adventure in the Far future

Camoflage cover is a light, thin, strong, and usually quite large piece of fabric consisting of variable pigment cells woven together. The colour and pattern, IR, and electromagnetic signature can be electronically adjusted to fit in with the surrounding environment. Almost completely detection-proof, it is used to conceal large items in the wilderness such as ships, vehicles, and encampments.

Camoflage Cover is made up of three basic parts : the fabric itself, a control module, and several grav pegs. The control module weighs 500g and looks essentially like a hand computer. By programming in the correct codes the color, pattern, and signature of the cover can be changed to correspond with the surroundings. This process takes about five minutes.

The cover is then placed over the object it is meant to conceal and held down with the grav pegs. These pegs weigh 150g each and are placed along the edges of the cover; they use a small grav field generator to hold the cover down. One peg is required for every 10 meters of perimeter, with a minimum of four pegs (one for each corner). Placing the pegs requires about one minute per peg, and removing them takes half that time.

When Camoflage Cover is setup over an object with the proper patterns programmed in (sand for desert, rock for mountains, plants for forest) it will become almost completely undetectable. From a distance it is virtually immpossible to find with normal sight, IR, or ship's scanners.

From a short distance (anywhere from 20 to 200 meters, depending on the environment) it is more easily detected. At this range it is automatically detected if it is being actively searched for. It is also automatically detected upon contact. Camoflage Cover is sold in almost every size up to 100 meters square (large enough to cover a Kinunir battle cruiser). The cost is 100 credits per square meter of cloth, and each square meter weighs about 200g. The control module costs Cr350 and each peg costs 50 credits.

This article was copied or excerpted from the following copyrighted sources and used under license from Far Future Enterprises and by permission of the author.

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