Impact Testing and Pilot Safety Systems

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Type: Pan Pacific Defense Corps Subject: Report on impact testing and pilot-safety systems, Mark III Jaeger Internal Cranial Framing Chapter: Chapter 25, page 256-257 Transcript: March 22, 2017 Arvid Inzelbrucken, Lead Engineer Leverkusen Jaegerwerke Early engagements with kaiju have shown that the two primary dangers to Jaeger pilots are crushing/impact injuries and drowning. New iterations of the Jaeger incorporate improvements to address both of these dangers and lessen Ranger field mortality. They are as follows: Integrated Oxygen Recirculation The marine-combat environment was addressed in early-phase Jaeger design sequences by creating sealed environmental systems within each Jaeger Conn-Pod. These have proven resilient, and existing fail-safes are performing as expected, but the Mark III has added individual recirculating oxygen systems for each Ranger, integrated into the drive-suit helmet and fed from a supply separate from the internal atmospheric maintenance of each Jaeger as a whole. These systems should provide for increased survivability of battlefield encounters in which the integrity of the Conn-Pod hull is breached in a marine environment. Enhanced Impact Resistance A number of Rangers experienced battlefield fatality within unbreached Jaeger cranial Conn-Pods due to the impact of falling as their damaged Jaegers lost balance. The Mark III now has updated enhanced gyroscopic stability as well as internal enhancements to the cranial framing. In testing, these cranial architectures survived falls from distances far exceeding the height of a Mark III. Ranger survivability is increased by the inclusion of motion-dampening resistance mechanisms within the motion-capture rig. Together, these improvements should markedly improve Ranger survivability of falling and high-impact events. Pressurized Escape Pod System New to the Mark III is an automated escape-pod system capable of ejecting each Ranger individually. This system is integrated into the control-arm assembly that forms each Ranger’s interface with the motion-capture rig. It is triggered through commands given either the holographic HUD or manually through switches on the gauntlet-interfacing control panel. Upon activation, the system encloses a Ranger within an individual escape pod, which is then ejected through an aperture in the upper hull of the cranial structure. Each escape pod provides full life support for up to one hour and incorporates homing beacons, visual location assistance, and flotation devices.