MicroSLAM Apparatus
This embedded apparatus implements SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) to create an environment map of explored regions and automatically updates the data to the central servers.
MicroSLAM Apparatus is an augment which gives credits at the end of each mission, based on how much of the facility was explored. MicroSLAM Apparatus can be bought from Monst3r or found in some Augment Grafters; it cannot be bought from Nanofabricators. It has a resale value of 325 credits.
At the end of a mission, MicroSLAM Apparatus gives a number of credits equal to 300 multiplied by the number of tiles in the facility seen (or otherwise revealed) to the player, divided by the total number of tiles in the facility, adjusted by the credit multiplier and rounded up to the next multiple of 10.
It is not possible to install multiple instances of MicroSLAM Apparatus on the same agent; if multiple agents have MicroSLAM Apparatus installed, the reward is still only received once per mission. The reward is not received if the agent with MicroSLAM Apparatus is “lost in the field”.
Strategy
MicroSLAM Apparatus is a purely financial investment; it is generally a very good one if you find it early in the campaign, typically when Monst3r offers it for 520 credits after the first mission. If you are able to explore all of each facility — which you normally want to do anyway — then MicroSLAM Apparatus takes about 1.7 missions to pay for itself in Beginner and Experienced modes, or 2.3 missions in Expert and Expert Plus modes. After that, the reward is pure profit. If you get MicroSLAM Apparatus from an Augment Grafter for free, then it's pure profit all the way, except for the minor opportunity cost of not installing an augment socket instead.
When MicroSLAM Apparatus is installed, exploration is directly rewarded with credits. Exploring at lower alarm levels is generally safer, so you should split your agents up to explore in different directions when possible, if you are not already doing this. Since you want to reveal as many tiles in the facility as possible, it is worth visiting or peeking into corners or dead ends even when you know there is not or cannot be anything important there; this includes peeking through a Vault Door even when you have no Vault Access Card to unlock it.
The only real downside of MicroSLAM Apparatus is that it takes up an augment socket; but the money it brings in can fund skill upgrades which are usually worth more than an augment socket anyway. Generally, you should install MicroSLAM Apparatus when you have the opportunity to. However, it may not be worth it near the end of the campaign, or when you have limited spare augment sockets and better augments that you want to install instead.