Ok, so I'm playing a heavily cybered athlete (kid stealth legs, hydraulic jacks, etc). and one thing occurs to me (thinking real life stuff):

Could I get a range finder and router that to a math SPU and maybe even a few MP of memory for a basic physics program, and thereby have this software triangulate the best angle for me to jump at, whether I could make a jump, and especially for targetting of very specific jumps (like jumping onto a narrow ledge you wouldn't want to jump short of, or jump over).

Before someone claimes that this is irrelevant because 45 degrees is always the best angle to jump at for maximum distance, that is only true if you're trying to jump just for distance, and the place your landing is at the same height as the place you jump from. if you're jumping down (say from a 4 story to a 2 story building), it's better to jump much more horizontally than vertically, and if you're jumping over something, you obviously have to a ways up.

So here I'm asking first how other GMs would handle that, and secondly for other ideas like that, that should get you bonuses, but aren't covered by the rules.

Incidentally, in my game, I would handle the above by saying that closer jumps are easier to estimate, so I would apply a -1 target number to the jump for every 4 full meters being jumped, but not increasing the maximum jumping distance.

I think this is actually included in the jumping skill. I could probably be convinced to use your set up as a complimentary skill to the jumping skill though.

Yeah, I'd just use the bonus dice from the Math SPU if used in a set-up like that as Complimentary Dice on your Athletics (Jumping) test depending on the situation and how much time you had to prepare. It would basically just recommend how you should jump, but you're still dependant on your actual Athletics skill for the jump itself.

I think you'd want to use the orientation system instead of the Math SPU. The orientation system is used specifically for calculating angles and distances. Use it to lower the target number for the jump. Believe me those TN's can be rough. If you can convince your GM o this you've got your groundwork laid in for your math SPU argument.

The biggest problem with this that I see is, if the computer tells you "jump 50 degrees", WTF do you do then? How the hell are you supposed to know what a 50 degree jump is? The only way to achieve this would be to have the computer take over your body and make that precise jump for you. That has it's problems.

A far simpler yet still somewhat useful use of the Math SPU would be to calculate if it's even possible for you to make the jump, calculating current running velocity, distance (range finder) and a database history of your typical jumping performance.

just route the legs, compressors, and math spu with your rangefinder. The computer can do the jump trajectory for you.

You do realize that the rangefinder cyberware just translates the data from an externally held/linked rangefinder or an eye laser system rangefinder, right?

If you're going to do that, just get a skillwire. That is how to get a computer to do your trajectory for you. How to get a better jump? Slot a higher-rating
Athletics (Jumping) chip.

Being good at geometry and trajectory integration doesn't make you a great athlete. It all comes down to experience, conditioning, muscle memory and trained reflexes.

Mathletes are to athletes as Surgeons are to snipers. The skills are unrelated.

Well... if you fed rangefinder and physical data into a math SPU and then used the stopwatch function to time your jump as precisely as possible, it might help a tiny fraction.

Just like a surgeon acting as a sniper looking to wound and tie up enemy resources knows to aim for lower leg or shoulder not upper leg/thigh area.

You do not have to have a rangefinder accessory on a smartgun to use the rangefinder smartlink accessory. That's redundant. You do have to have a smartgun to use it, however.

I must respectfully disagree.
As per M&M pg 32 the range finder is an optional subsystem of the smartlink, and says "when used with a smartlink-2, it provides a -1 modifier to targets"blah blah blah. But that's talking about modifications to the cyberware, so that's only marginally relevant. It's just establishing that it is an option, not build-in. In Cannon Companion pg82 the Range Finder is listed as an accessory to a gun that "feeds range information through a smartgun link." and is listed as a separate accessory to the smartgun or smartgun II accessory.
My conclusion is that the smartgun II ability to use a rangefinder is an option, and not automatic or integral. It requires additional hardware in the head and in the gun.

Cripes. I hate the way they organize stuff.

Granted. After a quick glance in the Cannon Companion, I'll admit you're right. But purely by reading Man & Machine, no such accessory is required. Apparently, it's assumed to be part of the cost of the smartgun-2 modification itself or something.

And this, of course, goes back to people complaining about having to get all the books since they cross reference each other; because you're absolutely right, no where does M&M make that clear.
Oh well, I don't care, I'm gonna buy all the books anyway.

Umm... they fix it in the latest printing.