A question about collectors

[Sigtrygg]

Yup, the original psionic owners could flick the switch with but a thought...

which brings me to the truth of automation.

Having a switch on the bridge means you need some way to sommunicate with the machinery in the engine room. Mechanical linkages would be too heavy and take up too much volume, but fortunately by the time TL9 jump ships are being built you can have control by wire and wireless...

but the machinery in the engine room needs the automation to receive the control signals and the actuators to then operate the machinery, you have to add electric motors and switches all over the mcahinery.

Good luck when one of those switches shorts out, or one of the motors burns up. Ahh, you say, but we have sensors. So you have a sensor connected to every switch, relay, motor, actuator...

now consider security - a hostile actor now has many electronic routes into taking control or just wrecking your ship. After all you have all those sensor providing feedback to the control systems, all those control systems talking to the machinery...

 

[MasterGwydion]

Yup, the original psionic owners could flick the switch with but a thought...

which brings me to the truth of automation.

Having a switch on the bridge means you need some way to sommunicate with the machinery in the engine room. Mechanical linkages would be too heavy and take up too much volume, but fortunately by the time TL9 jump ships are being built you can have control by wire and wireless...

Already exists. Everything is connected by the bridge. That is why the price of the bridge is based on the size of the hull, not the size of the bridge.

but the machinery in the engine room needs the automation to receive the control signals and the actuators to then operate the machinery, you have to add electric motors and switches all over the mcahinery.

See above.

Good luck when one of those switches shorts out, or one of the motors burns up. Ahh, you say, but we have sensors. So you have a sensor connected to every switch, relay, motor, actuator...

This is true of any control on the whole ship regardless of its location on the ship. Most ship doors are electronic and only can be operated manually with special tools.

now consider security - a hostile actor now has many electronic routes into taking control or just wrecking your ship. After all you have all those sensor providing feedback to the control systems, all those control systems talking to the machinery...

Security is handled by the ships Security and Anti-Hijack Software.

High Guard page 20 "Every ship needs a central computer, usually installed near the bridge. The computer is the heart of the ship, controlling all functions from life support to the complex calculations needed to perform a jump."