Exoframe

Exoframes (Enhanced Xenobiological Organic FRAMEs) are the skeletal underframes of the robots in the world of Obsolete series.

Overview
While the method used to create Exoframes is unknown to humans, aliens, known colloquially as "peddlers" are willing to trade an exoframe for a paltry 1000kg of limestone (with a worth of around $40 USD). Stood upright, a stock exoframe is 255cm tall - weighing 269kg.

Their incredibly low price (cheaper than aircraft, tanks or even most firearms) in conjunction with sheer ease of operation (requiring only touch and human-intention to operate) and supreme adaptability - their introduction changed life on Earth immediately. This first began with the regulation of Exoframes in western countries to protect the automobile industry - and then the use of the exoframe throughout developing nations as an explosives delivery platform (with many of their early deployments targeting petrolium supply-lines).

They were first used in armed conflict during the Third Cabinda Conflict.

Mechanism
There are many theories as to exactly how exoframes work or what they actually are: Some believing them to be organic, powered by far-away spaceships (possessing no clear or distinct power-source) and others that the frames contain dangerous bacteria or mind-control ability. It is assumed that the exoframes are cybernetic in nature (originating from a creature from the Peddler's home planet) and it is speculated that they are "used goods" due to evidence of wear and tear from prior use which is unique to each unit.

Researchers at Area 51 managed to confirm that the basis of the Exoframe is the "gel-system": a prehensile non-Newtonian fluid which emits blue light during its activation phase.

It is unclear if the gel-system operates on hydraulic principles of density-contraction/expansion as muscle-fibre in most mammals do -- or if it operates on a pressure-flow mechanism (similar to most insects, which would explain its ability to drive its knee-wheels at high speed and torque not unlike the turbine wheel of an impact-wrench or gas-driven drill) or some hybrid approach of the two.

What is known is that tubing or pipes of this gel seems to be strewn throughout the exoframe's construction - with open panels which visibly glow during operation. It is thought that this liquid is comprised of lipids, proteins or sugar based polymers as the human body is able to successfully digest the contents (evidenced by Michelle, an Area 51 scientist who enjoys drinking the gel-system).

Control system
The means through which Exoframes are operated is extremely simple, and can be learned within a few hours or less: simple physical contact triggering the activation phase and then intentionality delivering updates as to what seem to be goal orientations and positions - with exoframes lacking a lot of the natural clumsiness of human beings and automatically offsetting for the relative weight distributions of their user bodies to the frames and their loadouts.

While it is not necessary for a frame to copy its users actions (evidenced on many occasions) it is clearly shown on several occasions that this seems to be a step involved while learning to use exoframes - and that in turn the autonomy of one's own bodily motions vs those of the frame can be entirely separated allowing users to operate added equipment such as fire-control, individual systems, sensor-merge, information datalink, display-systems and telecommunications systems which have been added to the exoframe itself as "after-market" elements.

Customization & Modification
While not all exoframes are customized or modified - it is clear that many additions with convergent utility (such as coverings around the saddle and cabin area or a sensor-pod in place of a "head" to support user information capabilities) come from a common assortment of parts.

Many may feature port-holes upon their cabin-units (resembling backpacks) while others may support tank-like optical periscopes as reserve optics, supported by a head which may be a gimballed dome turret for the user's own head upon the back-pack cabin unit or a head which has specifically been added to the small "torso" block above the saddle. To this end, it is clear that the exoframe has no sensors of its own: depending on users or systems added by users to support and augment battlefield awareness for intelligent decision-making and planning or to conduct appropriate tactical response.

Much of the outer-plating on exoframes is focused around ensuring equipment can be mounted to the exoframe to improve its base utility - with additions often including not only common integrated systems but also exterior systems such as ammunition or special-use devices such as the thermal-lances.

In some models, angled armour-plating is used (which seems to reduce the sheer kinetic impact of hits or prematurely detonate strikes akin to how slat-armour works), as well as flares and countermeasure systems.

Mobility systems are also used in conjunction with the high-torque knee-wheel system, such as foot-supported hovercraft systems: allowing exoframes to skate across the surface of water omnidirectionally or to move with high speed over land at the cost of base stability.