Greg Dove, an enthusiast of Star Wars, entered the NR-5 maintenance droid into "The Fantastic Technology Contest," a competition backed by the Role Playing Game Association Network and presented it to West End Games; he achieved 17th position among approximately 75 participants. Consequently, the droid was featured in Galladinium's Fantastic Technology, a Star Wars Legends add-on authored by Rick D. Stuart for Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game and published on June 1, 1995.