Universal Energy Cages were designed by Umak Leth at the start of the Great Jedi Purge.
Universal energy cages measured approximately three meters in diameter, and were floating spheres constructed of reinforced durasteel bars. A repulsorlift unit allowed the cage to move, with a top speed of forty-five kilometers an hour. A handheld controller with a range of one hundred meters was linked to the cage, directing its movement and allowing a guard to control the intensity of the integrated force field and stun charges.
Designed by Junior Engineer Umak Leth, the universal energy cage was intended to restrain a Jedi and keep them immobile. Leth worked on the principle that if the Force was an energy field, then the most efficient way to counter its use was not to block it, but to disrupt and overwhelm it with the introduction of more energy.
An elaborate system of overlapping superconductive coils covered the entire cage in an energy force field similar to those used to contain ionized plasma within a reactor. This field interrupted a Jedi's ability to use the Force; the more power the Jedi attempted to employ against the field, the more intense the output from the field to counter it.
repulsorlift generators were located at the top and bottom of the sphere to hold the captive in place inside a repulsor field. An additional security measure to prevent a Jedi from escaping was a contact shock field that was maintained along the interior surface of the cage. The intensity of the shock field could be adjusted, allowing a guard to increase its size and range within the cage to affect the captive and render them unconscious if they were deemed to be a threat.
Additional superconductive coils and repulsorlift generators were used during the process of loading and unloading a prisoner from the cage. Placed near the cage's sliding access bars, these additional units allowed the universal energy cage's force field and repulsor field to be projected up to ten meters outside of the confines of the cage, keeping the captive immobile and suppressing their powers.
Inquisitor Valin Draco captured Jedi Master Vhiin Thorla during the Great Jedi Purge using such a cage.
Silri, a Nightsister who worked for the Zann Consortium, was once captured by the Galactic Empire in a Universal Energy Cage.
Luke Skywalker and R2-D2 were both detained in such a cage en route to the reborn Emperor Palpatine.
The Yuuzhan Vong defector Elan and her familiar Vergere were transported to Nim Drovis in an energy cage.
- Dark Empire Sourcebook
- Gundark's Fantastic Technology: Personal Gear
- The Essential Guide to Weapons and Technology
- Star Wars Handbook 3: Dark Empire
- The Official Star Wars Fact File25
- Droids, Technology and the Force: A Clash of Phenomena on Hyperspace
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
- Jedi Academy Training Manual