The RIG — deadspace

Resource Integration Gear, or RIG for short, is an integrated health management and strength augmentation system that assists users in previously impossible and dangerous environments.^[1]

Overview

Typical miner RIG. — Typical CEC miner RIG.

RIGs monitor the lifesigns of an individual. Developed from medical monitoring systems designed for elderly patients, it has found common usage among the adult population.^[2]

All RIGs share several basic features. A spine-mounted display serves to indicate the user's general state of health as a glowing segmented bar which depletes as the user takes damage. When the user dies, it emits a "flat-line" sound similar to an EKG, which is loud enough to alert others within earshot of the RIG wearer's demise. Holographic projectors mounted on the wrists can create a two-dimensional display in front of the user, to display whatever they might need to see. The size of the display can vary depending upon the data it is accessing. It can also project a colored line to guide the user to a destination, be it a location or a service like a store or workbench. It is capable of two-way audio and visual communication. RIG users can be individually tracked if need-be, even if dead. Finally, RIGs can be used as a form of biometric lock, only allowing specific RIG users access to designated areas, though such scanners fail to take into account whether the user is living or dead. RIGs can be upgraded at a nano-circuit repair Upgrade Bench using Power Nodes. Depending on the RIG, Nodes can be used to upgrade air supply, resilience to damage, or enhance the strength of Kinesis.

Various CEC engineer and miner RIG suit variants.

RIGs vary greatly depending on the user's occupation and status. Civilian RIGs are typically little more than the spinal display and wrist projectors attached to basic clothing. Engineers and other service personnel wear similar garb, but often possess Kinesis and Stasis modules to aid in their profession, the latter with the requisite monitor mounted to the right of the spinal display. For more dangerous work, RIGs are installed in full-body suits. These suits, in addition to the RIG's basic functions, have features such as an internal oxygen supply for work in a vacuum, gravity boots, and thrusters for zero-gravity movement, and armor to protect against damage from various sources.

RIGs appear to be ubiquitous throughout society. Very few people are shown not to possess them, which suggests that most professions require some form of RIG to be used. Various RIG-equipped suits can be purchased from stores, provided the user has clearance and the proper blueprints. More advanced suits offer benefits like increased storage space, damage resistance, and "bonuses" to weapons, stasis, kinesis, or store purchases.

Features

Health Management

's RIG in . — Isaac Clarke's RIG in *The Art of Dead Space (2023)*.

The most distinctive feature of the RIG is its health management system, which actively displays the wearer's health in real time via a segmented colored bar that runs along the spine of the wearer, allowing for interface into the wearer's nervous system, and therefore the ability to detect the wearer's health status. These bars will drain and refill depending on the user's health. If a RIG wearer dies, the RIG will give off a flatline sound, identical to an alert cardiograph. The bar changes color depending on the user's overall health; aqua-blue for above 75%, green for above 50%, yellow for below 50%, and red for below 25%. It will blink when the user is near death.

It is unknown what it bases the wearer's health on, be it a rough estimate of damaged body parts or the functionality of internal organs. It is known that if the user of the RIG is harmed, the RIG automatically applies any carried health packs to the damaged area. The RIG could also potentially show signs of bacterial or viral-based illness.

Holographic Displays

Utilizing the Holotech Operating System, a RIG has the ability to project a holographic display, which is projected a few feet (about a meter) in front of the RIG wearer. The display also moves with the user if the user walks around at all while it is projected. These displays are used for various features. The main use of the display is for RIG users to communicate with one another through live video chat, or to send live audio messages to one another. The RIG also allows its user to store text logs and the like within the RIG's built-in memory, which are displayed in widescreen projections to make reading easier.

Navigation System

This feature projects a colored line on the environment that guides the user to objectives, save points, Benches, and Stores. In Dead Space, this system included a 3D map and the line guided users to objectives. In Dead Space 3, Suit Kiosks replaced the Stores for navigation, and guidance to a Save station was replaced with an autosave feature.

Stasis Module

Stasis is used to severely decrease the speed of machinery. It is usually used to slow down machinery that is malfunctioning, allowing a safe approach (for example, mechanical doors rapidly opening and shutting, so Stasis would be used to slow the door down to a safe pace).

Kinesis Module

Kinesis allows the user to lift heavy objects with ease. It will allow the user to lift all but the heaviest of objects as if they weighed nothing. If some machinery is located on a track, Kinesis can be used to roll it along that track if the object is too heavy to move via conventional means.

Oxygen Storage

If the RIG user is wearing an airtight suit when entering a vacuum (or an area with a toxic atmosphere), the RIG allows the user to breathe using oxygen stored in the suit. This oxygen will refill once the user either enters an area with normal air again, or makes use of an oxygen refilling station or air can. Areas in a vacuum that require long periods of work will often be equipped with Oxygen Recharge Stations, which will automatically refill the suit's oxygen storage to the maximum, and can be used an unlimited number of times.

Zero-Gravity Boots

Zero-G boots allow the wearer cling to metal surfaces when in zero-gravity environments.

Maneuvering Thrusters

Maneuvering thrusters attached to the RIG allow the user to navigate easily in a zero-gravity environment.^[3]

Radiation Protection and Geiger Counter

RIGs attached to Engineering Suits that offer protection from radiation have a Geiger counter built in. This can be seen when Isaac must Clear Radioactive Material to access the USM Valor in the original game.

Trivia

The technology behind RIGs is never thoroughly explained in the series, though the invention of it is speculated to have taken place sometime during the 22nd or 23rd centuries.
The pathfinder ability present in RIG suits would require a highly-detailed geographic graph of an area to effectively find a way over obstacles and map the path to an objective. If this is the case, then it would be rather strange for Isaac's suit to have the graph of an entirely new area he has never been to (Titan Station, the S.C.A.F. flotilla, Tau Volantis,...).
- It is reasonable to assume that this particular RIG function was implemented solely as a gameplay function, and as such, did not necessarily require an explanation as to how it works.
- Presumably, the AI that manages such installations such as Titan Station and even the S.C.A.F. facilities on and around Tau Volantis would be able to compensate for such obstacles, which is supported by the opening of the first game where everyone's RIGs are synched with the USG Ishimura.
Full sets of armored RIGs have colored lights emitting from their helmet's slits, as to provide illumination. It has been observed throughout the series that different RIGs worn by different people have different colored lights.
- Isaac Clarke - Blue (DS1, DS2), emerald green (DS3)
- Karrie Norton - Indigo
- John Carver - Red
- Gabe Weller - Orange (Patrol Suit only)
  - It should be noted that other playable characters in Dead Space 3 such as Tim Caufman and Sam Ackerman have RIGs featuring the same colored lights as Isaac and Carver.
  - Isaac's visor in Dead Space also emits lights of other colors when certain DLC suits are equipped: white, green, purple and red.
  - Gabe Weller's Patrol Suit has a rather unique-looking monocular optic that emits an also unique orange light. If Gabe were to switch to other suits, they will show blue lights instead.
When changing suits in Dead Space 2 and Dead Space 3, Issac, Gabe, and Carver can be seen closing their eyes shortly before the helmet seals itself. This may be done to protect the eyes or to properly adjust them for the lighting inside the helmet.
The same variation of all RIG Suits, when equipped by the player, look vastly different from those worn by NPCs in Dead Space 2 and 3. The most notable difference is the less-intricately designed helmet donned by members of Titan Security.
It is unclear how and where would oxygen be stored on the armored suits, as the volume of air provided in-game expands as the player upgrades their oxygen capacity but the suit appearance remains the same. A storage containing 7 minutes worth of oxygen (the maximum amount available in Dead Space 3) would have to be as big as a large football and would severely hinder Isaac/Carver's movement due to the weight of the air inside.
Damaged suit helmets lose their ability to pressure-seal themselves into their respective suits, as seen when Isaac rips off his badly ruptured helmet before the fight with the Tau Volantis Moon.
- It is also visible that the helmet of most RIG suits can be taken off/put on by hand despite the fact that they were almost always pressure-sealed into the suits the wearers are using.
Most RIG suits feature a Stasis meter, despite the fact that some of their wearers do not actually possess a Stasis Module. This is likely due to the modular nature of non-civilian RIGs and the meters are installed by default to accommodate manual integration of the Modules.
The thrusters located on most suits can operate for an indefinite amount of time. How and where the fuel for these devices are stored and used remains unexplained.
- It's also worth noting that the in-game animation for the thrusters is proper for propelling forward or in whatever direction the player is directing, but there's no animation for thrusting in the opposite direction for slowing down and eventually stopping as would be required in real life.