Smartsuit
A smartsuit was a kind of space suit that provided oxygen in space by creating a force field around the wearer's head. It also provided a compact helmet to protect the wearer when in space.
At least by the series 12 version the suit had an AI that was programmed to deactivate the organic components — i.e. the wearer. As such, the Twelfth Doctor noted that it was "sort of" a robot. Nardole recognised the interface as his ex, Velma, which could be deactivated so long as the suit wasn't damaged.
They were programmed to provide air in terms of credits. The more credits one had the more breath they had. The default set of breaths appeared to range between 2500 to 3000. As Nardole confirmed, the more one breathed, if panicking for instance, the quicker they'd die. (TV: Oxygen)
At some point the Twelfth Doctor, Bill Potts and Nardole saw a vision of them in a library. (TV: A Time For Heroes)
Behind the scenes
The edition of the UNIT Alien Archive in DWA15 24 covered the smartsuits. The suits were given a danger level of 8.3 out of 10.
