This RATIS Replica Is a Luggable Geiger Counter Cyberdeck
Brilliant cyberdeck build features a rugged military-industrial look, actual radiation detection capabilities.
Per this build’s origin story, South Africa possessed some nuclear capabilities in the 1970s, which was initially missed by both NATO and the USSR. As the '80s approached, having such weapons became more and more politically dangerous, so they instead turned their attention to orbital strike capabilities, and needed a portable surface to space RF encoder and transmitter for ground intelligence. This unit was known as the RATIS (Remote Assault and Tactical Intelligence System), and while now unknown, the technology was integral to the formation of both Ono-Sendai and Cyberdyne systems some years later.
It’s an entertaining tale... and one that admittedly had me wondering how I missed South African ion strike technology until now. Along with this brilliant tale, Paul Hoets has created a model of the RATIS, powered by a Raspberry Pi 3 single-board computer, and featuring an actual working Geiger counter!
The deck's keyboard fits nicely in place, and is fastened down by magnets. An Arduino Leonardo enables “mouse” functionality via a built-in joystick, plus a light-up “fire” button. A main display on the top panel is augmented by an LCD unit below that, and another is provided on the base.
Besides it's handsome retro-futuristic looks, the coolest part of the build is, of course, its functional Geiger counter. So while the write-up describes it as "very silly," you could poke around for excess radiation, even if you can't get a satellite uplink!
