Navigation computer: Difference between revisions

A '''navigation computer''', sometimes abbreviated '''NAV computer''' or '''NAVCOM''', is a device used to coordinate [[slipstream space]] jumps and plot courses or steer ships at sublight speeds.<ref>'''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]''', ''page 96''</ref><ref>'''[[Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe]]''', "[[The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole]]", ''page 438''</ref> While ships often have human crews, NAV computers or [[Artificial Intelligence|AIs]] are essential in making the complex calculations involved in [[astrogation]], the process of coordinating a slipspace jump. They can also control unmanned vessels, such as [[freighter]]s, entirely by themselves. As they possess only a fraction of the computational capability of an AI, NAV computers are generally inexpensive.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 23''</ref> To successfully perform jumps, NAV computers require the coordinates of the intended destination and other related data, which is often in the form of a navigation database.

While the [[Covenant]] have a ban on more advanced [[Associated Intelligence]]s, simple navigation AIs are in common use.<ref name="glass">'''[[Halo: Glasslands]]''', ''page 200''</ref> Sometimes referred to as the ships' "spirits",<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', "[[The Return]]", ''page 496''</ref> they lack any form of sentience and are only used to control and pilot the ship,<ref name="glass"/> in addition to operating the intricate systems required in [[glassing]] operations and presumably make the necessary calculations for Slipspace jumps.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', "The Return", ''page 494''</ref>