AI pod

The Reptile Pod (left) and the Mammal Pod (right) simulated functions carried out by the human brain.

The AI pod was the "brain" installed aboard each AI weapon of the Peace Walker Project. They provided motor control, target detection, tracking, attack, capture, and transport functions, and allowed for the execution of simple commands. The AI pods were developed by Huey Emmerich and Strangelove.

List of AI pods

• GW-Pupa-5000, the "brain" of Pupa.
• TJ-Chrysalis-6000, the "brain" of Chrysalis.
• TR-Cocoon-7000, the "brain" of Cocoon.
• AL-Aurelia-8000, Peace Walker's "Reptile Pod."
• BS-Imago, Peace Walker's "Mammal Pod."

Development

The prototype AI pods led to the development of the Reptile Pod by Huey Emmerich for use by Peace Walker, its functions comparable to that of the human cerebellum.

The Mammal Pod was another AI developed for use by Peace Walker by Strangelove. The hardware configuration was modeled on the high-level decision-making carried out by the human cerebrum, in order to provide the capability of ensuring nuclear deterrence. It was able to analyze a large volume of inputted data, and select an appropriate target for retaliation in the event of a nuclear strike on the United States. The Mammal Pod was designated BS-Imago, with the initials "BS" being an abbreviation of The Boss; the soldier upon whom the AI's decision-making capabilities were based.

Peace Walker's two AI pods were based on the Triune brain model, proposed by American physician and neuroscientist, Paul D. Maclean. With the Reptile Pod based on the reptilian complex that controls basic actions and instincts, and the Mammal Pod based on the neomammalian complex that controls language, abstraction, perception, and planning.

The initials were Hot Coldman's personal designation, basing the initials on the four Presidents on Mount Rushmore. Originally, Strangelove wanted to base the initials on British royalty: MS (short for Mary Stuart), AV (short for Alexandrina Victoria), and EW (short for Elizabeth Windsor).

The AI pods, barring the Mammal Pod and possibly the Reptile Pod, were apparently programmed to sound similar to Strangelove. In addition, the AI pods all had shells that, although durable, are vulnerable to conventional weapons fire with the hatch being damaged enough to unlock after enough shots, the sole exception being the Mammal Pod, as its shell was designed to withstand a nuclear weapon's detonation. If the AI weapons end up severely damaged, or if it senses an intruder inside the AI pod, it immediately releases the AI pod and ejects to parts unknown, with rocket boosters taking it away.

Apparently the lesser AI pods (the ones fitted onto Pupa, Chrysalis, and Cocoon) were supposed to be mass-produced in addition to the prototype AI weapons, as there was a device in the AI hangar that acted as a control panel for loading AI pods onto the Pupa frames.

The AI pods also contained some cassette tapes, which contained entries for either a diary for a Cipher agent or what were intended to be post-mortem memories of Strangelove. In addition, the AI pods contain at their core memory boards, which are locked unless a specific part of the AI weapon ends up damaged beyond repair.

ZEKE also possessed an AI pod, which contained four hundred slots for AI drives with a hundred for each category, with Strangelove perfecting the AI when she joined, Huey earlier having some trouble incorporating it onto ZEKE. The AI drives were salvaged from the AI weapons. However, it was later modified by Cipher agent Pacifica Ocean to act as a makeshift cockpit when she hijacked it.

The AI drives have iron, copper, silver, gold, and platinum-conducted variants.

An AI pod during the 1980s.

Peace Walker's Mammal Pod and Reptile Pod were later recovered by Strangelove and then by Diamond Dogs, the latter of whom would use the Mammal Pod as a "witness" in a trial against Huey Emmerich.

Behind the scenes

Some trailers for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain showed a device similar to the AI pods from Peace Walker. A leaked Italian game guide confirmed that it was actually the Mammal Pod.

In the climax to Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Huey revealed that The Boss AI's shell was reinforced to withstand a nuclear war, guessing that the closest any weapon on earth can come to piercing the hatch would be a nuclear bomb. However, it is unclear whether the other AI pods in the game have the same structural integrity due to the player having the option to shoot out the lock to enter the AI.

In Metal Gear Survive, an AI pod by the name of Virgil AT-9 acted as the ally of the main character.

Gallery

AI pod of Pupa in action]]

Downed AI pod of Pupa]]

Downed AI pod of Pupa, another side]]

Interior chips of the AI pod(s), with Big Boss removing them.

An MSF soldier finds a cassette tape in an AI while removing its memory boards.

AI memory boards completely unlocked for the grabbing.

Several memory boards still locked from their respective parts not receiving enough damage.

ZEKE AI; control drives section.

ZEKE AI; mobility drives section.

ZEKE AI; weapons usage drives section.

ZEKE AI; sensory drives section

The mammal pod's AI drive uplinks.

The Boss AI.

Mammal Pod's AI uplinks (all intact).