TEXT: Smartlinks: Background Information
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  [IMAGE - Smartguns, stylish and deadly]
  The Humble Smartlink Revisited 
  The History Of and Information About Smartguns
  Origins
  Operation
  Advanced Systems
  Origins
  The first smartgun systems were developed independently by the 
  US and German militaries in the 1990s. By 2001, smartguns had been adopted by several corporations and 
  were beginning to appear on the street. The US military created the Milspec Smartgun Standard (MSS1) in 
  2003, after disastrous compatibility problems amongst the smartguns used in central America caused 
  embarrassing problems and several fatalities. Today, almost every smartsystem in the world conforms to this 
  standard. To ignore it means ignoring the large profits to be made selling smarlinks to the US military. In 
  2013 an improved standard (MSS2) was released, though it has yet to be not been universally adopted. The 
  army considered it too expensive for its benefits and has yet to make compliance a requirement in weapons
  trials.
  The MSS1 standard was essentially very simple. It defined the data protocol between the smartgun and the 
  neuralware smartlink, in terms of required and optional information/functions. This meant that one smartgun 
  link mounted in a neuralware processor or smartgoggles could interpret the data from any smartlinked
  weapon.
  Operation
  At the very least, a smartgun must be able to do two things. First, it must transmit whether or not there is a 
  target within its sights and range. It must also fire if it receives the command to do so. This basic system uses 
  a laser or sonic sight in conjunction with a microprocessor to determine whether it's pointing at a target, and 
  servos to control the firing mechanism. For the link to be effective, very detailed information about a 
  weapons behavior must be stored in the microprocessor.
  Every smartgun available today uses some of the extra information included in the MSS1 standard. At the 
  very least, a smartgun's safety catch and clip ejection facilities can be controlled through its smartlink. The 
  inclusion of the triangulation data necessary for a cyberoptic or smartgoggle targeting scope to be used is also 
  universal. Other aspects of the standard are used when necessary. For example, all smartshotguns commonly 
  available have cyber-controlled chokes. Smartlinked assault rifles have chipped rate selectors and 'ammo 
  savers' that stops the gun from firing when there is no target in the sights.
  Almost every weapon available today has smartchipping kits commercially available for it. Only the very rare
  or the entirely unsuitable (such as polymer one-shots) require the creation of a custom link from scratch. 
  Someone planning to smart a weapon needs two products:
  A basic kit containing a laser sight, a microprocessor, wiring and an interface cable socket. These items
  are common to all smartguns, and are often sold as a box set.
  A conversion kit which contains the items specifically required by a specific model of gun. This kit will
  
  Smartlinks: Background Information
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  definitely include the software the microprocessor uses and servos to automate the gun's functions. It 
  may also include mountings specific to a weapon, or other case sensitive items.
  If a custom smartlink is required, a good weaponsmith/programmer is required to create it. To be as effective 
  as they are, a smartgun needs to be well tuned. This requires accurate ballistic information, quick and efficient
  software and a lot of 'tweaking'. Anyone who wants to create their own smartlink should be prepared to use a 
  lot of time, money, ammunition and solder.
  Advanced Systems
  As well as those functions commonly packaged with smartchipping kits, other features of the MSS1 standard 
  are available as add-on kits to already linked guns and/or existing smartlink processors.
  Friend or Foe systems such as Tennerec LTD's Cookie Cutter, DataEdge Inc's Stutter Chip or Militech's 
  SafeShot are the most popular upgrades. Cookie Cutter or Stutter systems designate 'friends' (with tags or 
  through cyberoptic designation), and a smartgun using this system will not fire (or will stop firing) if a tagged 
  friend walks into the firing line. SafeShot works in the opposite way, only firing if the target has been 
  designated an enemy (usually via a Times2 Plus screen).
  Techtronica's Digital Weapon Uplink range takes advantage of several of the MSS1 standard's expansion 
  areas. The basic package transmits exhaustive weapon performance data to a user's cyberoptic, while options 
  include audio control (removing the need for interface cables). Another company markets a Neuralware 
  sub-processor that links the smartlink unit with a cyberarm, controlling the cyberarm in a way that minimizes 
  recoil. Dynalar's induction plate interface is a cable-less smart interface that is rapidly gaining popularity. 
  While the method of connecting a smartgun to the processor is not covered in the MSS1 standard, Mylar's 
  innovation is fully compatible, being capable of transferring enough data for even the MSS2 standard.
  The MSS2 standard concentrated on ways of making a smartgun more accurate rather than adding extra 
  control features. Smartlink sup-processors that are MSS2 compliant are capable of taking advantage of the 
  CyberOptic Triangulation (COT) or the Multi Beam Tracking (MBeT) targeting systems. COT smartguns 
  mount a high resolution video feed above the barrel, which feeds video images of what the gun is aimed at 
  into a reticule in a cybereye. This enables rapid, accurate target acquisition as well as the possibility of 
  shooting around corners without showing your head. An MBeT smartgun mounts several lasersights, each 
  with a different alignment. These analyze the movement of targets, allowing accurate 'leading' of fast moving 
  vehicles or dodging people. Currently, COT and MBeT smartguns are very expensive for their actual benefits,
  so few are easily available.
  Go to the game rules for smartguns.
  Go back to the smartgun index page.
  Go back to the rules changes page.
  Return to the main Cyberpunk page.
  The picture is the copyright of R. Talsorian Games. You got that?
  This page was written by Chris Lupton (sleeping-demon.freeserve.co.uk). His home page is at: 
  http://www.sleeping-demon.freeserve.co.uk.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Cyberpunk/Unofficial/Datafortress 2020 Archives/Cyberpunk 2020 - Net - Weapon - The Humble Smartlink Revisited - Chris Lupton.pdf