The EVS construction droid, alternatively referred to as an urban renewal droid, represented a colossal automated manufacturing complex. These were deployed across densely populated urban worlds like Coruscant and Bonadan to systematically dismantle and reconstruct entire city blocks. Their function involved the destruction of aged, dilapidated structures and their replacement with modern constructions.
Towering at a height equivalent to forty stories, the EVS unit nearly matched the dimensions of a skyscraper. Its locomotion was facilitated by two enormous hydraulic legs, supplemented by a smaller hydraulic leg at the rear for additional support. In a precision-oriented construction scenario, an EVS construction droid would advance a single step every thirty minutes. However, its movement speed was significantly increased during demolition operations. Its head housed an array of demolition optic clusters, which performed scans of the targeted structure, pinpointing structural weaknesses and cross-referencing the architectural design with master blueprints stored within its central processing unit.
The droid utilized two robust shovel arms to dismantle unwanted structures. Salvageable debris was then collected and fed into a receptacle located beneath its cylindrical battering ram for recycling purposes, while unusable rubble was deposited into storage containers for subsequent disposal. An EVS unit was equipped with hundreds of retractable, smaller appendages located beneath its chassis, each fitted with specialized demolition tools, including implosion wrecking balls, plasma cutters, collector trowels, debris nets, and electrical claws.
Within the EVS construction droid's processing unit, the collected debris was transported via a conveyor belt to internal molecular furnaces, smelting pods, and an atomic incinerator. Here, valuable materials were extracted and recycled. Raw materials were also segregated and routed to corresponding fabrication units, which then produced new girders, transparisteel sheets, and compressed blocks of duracrete. These newly fabricated materials were subsequently ejected from the rear of the EVS construction droid and assembled into refined, modern structures by a multitude of fabricating arms. The substantial heat generated by its internal manufacturing processes was expelled through discharge stacks; the intensity of the heat was such that an EVS unit emitted a subtle glow in low-light conditions.
The EVS was operated by an obsolete integrated droid brain, requiring approximately three days to reprogram and reinitialize following an interruption. Consequently, a small team of personnel was assigned to each EVS unit to oversee its operation and minimize the occurrence of such shutdowns. These personnel were stationed within a compact command module located in the droid's head, and their airspeeders were accommodated on a small landing platform situated on its dorsal surface.
These droids were conceived and engineered by scientists under the direction of Emperor Palpatine specifically for Coruscant during his dominion over the galaxy.
In 6.5 ABY, during the New Republic's attempt to reclaim the planet, members of the distinguished Rogue Squadron, led by Wedge Antilles, commandeered unit EVS-469. They utilized it as a means of transportation to a secondary computer facility, where they disrupted the planetary defensive shields, thereby contributing to the New Republic's success in capturing the planet.
Subsequently, construction droids were employed to reconstruct damaged areas of the planet. During this period, EVS-6962 discovered a concealed Imperial interrogation center while performing a routine demolition task under the supervision of Wedge Antilles.
During the Yuuzhan Vong occupation of Coruscant, Irek Ismaren utilized a construction droid to gain access to the Jedi Temple.