Qing (青)

The Qing (青) is a semi-autonomous combat drone first developed by Praxis Heavy Industries in 2017. The Qing is a fully-bipedal combat robot constructed of tungsten steel armored with layered graphene plating, making the Qing heavily armored enough to completely shrug off small arms fire and light assault rifle fire. Even armor-penetrating rounds have a difficult time puncturing the armor plating of the Qing. The only reliable ammunition against a Qing drone is an armor-piercing self-discarding sabot round or heavy weapons fire. In spite of their sophisticated gyroscopic systems, Qing drones are susceptible to being knocked prone from concussive damage from grenades or blunt force impacts such as unplanned high falls or vehicle impact.

Qing are manufactured with fully-articulated hands capable of fine motor control allowing them to use firearms, drive vehicles, open doors, or any number of other functions. The Qing's maximum land speed is a brisk 45 mph sprint, though running significantly drains the drone's battery life. Qing drones' visual acuity is extreme, utilizing a compound-lens camera as its head capable of 500x magnification and real-time swap between infrared and night vision. A Qing can also track multiple moving targets and utilize combat predictive models to estimate a target's position if it moves out of line of sight.

In the field, each Qing drone must be operated by a trained pilot. Qing pilots wear a body rig consisting of a motion sensing helmet and gloves with a HUD that shows the Qing's camera feedback. Walking is handled autonomously with the pilot merely picking the direction and speed, allowing the robot's navigation systems to handle movement. This remote-piloting system requires continuous satellite uplink in order to function. In the event that the uplink is cancelled or disrupted, the Qing can enter a number of autonomous standby modes. Qing functionality is highly limited in these modes with basic predefined packages like "hold position," "free fire," and "evade." Free fire and evade require friendly units be outfitted with IFF transponders so that the Qing is able to recognize friend from foe. The remote systems in the Qing can be shut down at a distance to lock the system down from some forms of technopathic hacking.

Some Qing models are outfitted with a white-phosphorous intellectual property retention system. On suffering a catastrophic system failure or on remote trigger, the Qing will self-destruct, reducing itself down to a heap of molten slag and potentially causing significant damage to its immediate surroundings and people nearby.

Significance

Following the fall of Praxis Heavy Industries, the intellectual property rights for the Qing were sold to Yamagato Industries. However, the Mazdak Group holds schematics and may have the means to produce the Qing drones on their own.

In accordance with the 2016 US Treaty on Automated Warfare, it is a federal crime to own or operate a Qing drones within US or US-Territory borders.

Qing (青)

Currently in the keeping of:
Yamagato Industries
Mazdak

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