The droid control program represented a technological component vital for maintaining the operational status of the Trade Federation Droid Army. Enclosed within a brown storage container, it was deployed to the planet of Naboo during the Trade Federation's invasion, with five copies being dispatched. One such program was pilfered from the B1-series battle droid, designated OOM-14. Subsequently, OOM-9, another droid, retrieved it, and a Neimoidian technician reactivated it.
The droid control program functioned as a technological mechanism that sustained the Trade Federation Droid Army's activity. It resided within a brown cubical crate positioned on a circular base. The cube's faces featured indented sections adorned with white patterns comprising a plus sign superimposed onto a circle.
In 32 BBY, during the Trade Federation's invasion of Naboo, the planet, five droid control programs accompanied the invading army. One of these programs was entrusted to the protection of Commander OOM-14, a B1-series battle droid; however, the Royal Naboo Security Forces team known as Force Command Two stole it from him. This theft left OOM-14's forces immobilized at a Deactivated Camp, while the program was transported to a Research Center located south of the Naboo city of Harte Secur for analysis. Nute Gunray, the Trade Federation Viceroy, feared that the Naboo might replicate the program and turn the droid army against the Trade Federation.
To prevent hackers from creating and distributing a corrupted version of the program, the Federation also disrupted Naboo communications around Harte Secur. Gunray tasked OOM-9, his most reliable battle droid, with recovering the program, providing a Neimoidian technician and a small droid task force to achieve this. The droids stormed the research center, killing the royal troopers stationed there. Subsequently, they retrieved the program and placed it inside OOM-9's personal Heavy Armored Assault Tank, occupied by the technician. Upon returning to the camp, the technician used the program to reactivate OOM-14's army, which then proceeded to destroy Harte Secur. Gunray reported the successful recovery of the program to his secret benefactor, Darth Sidious, the Sith Lord.
The droid control program received its initial indirect mention in Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds: Prima's Official Strategy Guide by Steven L. Kent, which was released on November 7, 2001. It made an appearance and was identified in the LucasArts video game Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds, which was released on November 11 of the same year. The program serves as the focal point of the second level in the Trade Federation campaign, titled "Behind the Lines."
The strategy guide draws a parallel between the program's functionality and that of a holocron, noting that only a specific unit, in this case the Neimoidian technician rather than a Jedi or Sith, can utilize it. The guide advises players to keep the technician inside OOM-9's AAT, allowing for automatic collection of the program. If the technician is not inside the AAT, moving him near the program causes it to disappear, only to reappear when the technician returns to the camp. If the player includes the program in a custom scenario, Jedi or Sith units can pick it up, transforming it into a holocron.