A Fuchikoma is a 1-man tank (walker/roller) used by members of Section 9 of the National Public Safety Commission. They also appear in slightly altered form as Tachikoma in the anime series.    They possess a simple artificial intelligence and can act independently to support their user in combat. When not in use, they exhibit a childlike personality and provide much of the humor in the series, while also being used to elaborate on Shirow&#039;s philosophy and ideas. Their AI does not include typical safeguards as they are military hardware, but because they possess emotions, they are closely monitored for signs of instability. The Fuchikomas within Section 9 are synchronized nightly or after missions to share their experiences and allow the entire group to learn from them.    Mechanically, they have four legs and two simple hands with three fingers on extensible arms which double as machine guns. The &quot;face&quot; consists of a large main lens and two smaller sensors with a &quot;mouth&quot; below, which is commonly a grenade launcher but sometimes a heavier machine gun. The pilot sits in a hunched position inside a large posterior pod with interface cables leading to the standard ports in the user&#039;s neck for direct control, but the Fuchikoma can also be given orders to act without a pilot.    They can handle many different types of terrain, and are able to walk up walls, rappel, walk, or extend wheels from their feet to drive. They are also submersible.    Fuchikomas were removed from Mamoru Oshii&#039;s Ghost in the Shell movie, though a large relative of the Fuchikoma known as a &quot;think tank&quot; appears near the end of the movie.    In the TV series Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, they are replaced by Tachikomas which act similarly, but look different, standing taller, and instead of a single large &quot;eye&quot; lens, they have 4 independent rotating sensor pods with 3 sensors each. The AI of Tachikomas is considerably more advanced.    At the end of the TV series Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG the Tachikomas sacrifice their AI&#039;s in order to prevent a nuclear detonation. They are replaced by Fuchikoma/Tachikoma hybrids, referred to as Uchikomas.    (source: Ghost in the Shell wikia)

Deep into the twenty-first century, the line between man and machine has been inexorably blurred as humans rely on the enhancement of mechanical implants and robots are upgraded with human tissue. In this rapidly converging landscape, cyborg superagent Major Motoko Kusanagi is charged to track down the craftiest and most dangerous terrorists and cybercriminals, including "ghost hackers" who are capable of exploiting the human/machine interface and reprogramming humans to become puppets to carry out the hackers' criminal ends. When Major Kusanagi tracks the cybertrail of one such master hacker, the Puppeteer, her quest leads her into a world beyond information and technology where the very nature of consciousness and the human soul are turned upside down.
 
(Source: Kodansha USA)

The year is 2029. In near-future Japan, where the world has become highly information-intensive, with a vast corporate network covering the planet, electrons and light pulsing through it. But the nation-state and ethnic groups still survive. Motoko Kusanagi, a full-body cyborg, leads an elite combat unit, including Batou. While commanding her team, Kusanagi envisions the creation of a specialized task force to preemptively strike against emerging threats. Meanwhile, Daisuke Aramaki of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, who had been planning to establish a similar unit, recruited Kusanagi and her team. Together, they begin operations as Public Security Section 9—an offensive tactical unit known as “Shell Squad.” As they confront complex cybercrimes and international conspiracies, the existence of a mysterious, unidentified hacker known as The “Puppet Master” emerges on the horizon of their investigation. What fate awaits Kusanagi? And what is the Puppet Master’s true objective? A new era of cyberpunk action begins. 
(Source:攻殻機動隊 THE GHOST IN THE SHELL Site)

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