Vertical maneuvering equipment (Before the Fall Manga)

The vertical maneuvering equipment (立体機動装置) is a set of equipment developed by inventors Angel Aaltonen and Xenophon Harkimo that allows for great mobility when facing Titan in combat. The equipment enables the user to fight in a 3D space as opposed to a 2D one. The equipment itself takes the form of a body harness that encompasses much of the body below the neck.

History
During the early days of the Survey Corps, a prodigal inventor named Angel Aaltonen expressed that the soldiers were woefully under-powered when fighting against Titans outside the Walls. His assistant Corina theorized that the height difference is a big disadvantage and they could build a device that would seek to eliminate that. Intrigued, Angel started brainstorming ideas and during a trip to the Industrial City, presented an early prototype to both his friend Sorum in the Survey Corps and fellow inventor Xenophon Harkimo; both were impressed by it and saw the possibilities. Xenophon agreed to help Angel improve and streamline the device.

The first improvements occurred after the Titan Mammon invaded Shiganshina District, killing numerous citizens including Corina. Learning the nape of the Titan's neck was the weak spot after participating in two expeditions, Angel continued to work on the device. However, Angel losing his sight and going into self exile stalled production of it for some time; Xenophon decided to carry on in his absence and would work on the device for the next fifteen years.

After Angel returned out of his exile, he renewed production after working with both Xenophon and his apprentice Sharle Inocencio. Stripping the design completely and working from the ground up, the device was finalized and christened as 'vertical maneuvering equipment.'