Fuchikoma

フチコマ

A Fuchikoma is a 1-man tank (walker/roller) used by members of Section 9 of the National Public Safety Commission. They also appear in slightly altered form as Tachikoma in the anime series. They possess a simple artificial intelligence and can act independently to support their user in combat. When not in use, they exhibit a childlike personality and provide much of the humor in the series, while also being used to elaborate on Shirow's philosophy and ideas. Their AI does not include typical safeguards as they are military hardware, but because they possess emotions, they are closely monitored for signs of instability. The Fuchikomas within Section 9 are synchronized nightly or after missions to share their experiences and allow the entire group to learn from them. Mechanically, they have four legs and two simple hands with three fingers on extensible arms which double as machine guns. The "face" consists of a large main lens and two smaller sensors with a "mouth" below, which is commonly a grenade launcher but sometimes a heavier machine gun. The pilot sits in a hunched position inside a large posterior pod with interface cables leading to the stand