Industrial Automaton

Established in 32 BBY through the merging of Industrial Intelligence and Automata Galactica, two prosperous droid-manufacturing businesses, Industrial Automaton emerged as a leading droid manufacturer in the galaxy. From the Republic Era through the Cold War, the company maintained continuous operations from the planet Nubia, the location of their factories. The company was a frontrunner in the area of astromech droids, which are specifically engineered for duties aboard starships. Their R-series line, which created at least seven distinct droid models with differing levels of success, and the less lucrative C-series line, are examples of this. The business also excelled in the production of power droids, most notably the widely used GNK- and PLNK-series models. Despite Cybot Galactica's dominance in the protocol droids field, Industrial Automaton also produced them. The LOM-series protocol droid and the SE8 waiter droid were two of IA's protocol droid offerings. Furthermore, IA was well-known for producing a number of labor droids, including the well-known ASP-series and DTS-series.

The creation of the astromech droid was Industrial Automaton's biggest accomplishment. The P2-series from the company was the first droid designed specifically for astromech duties, and many of its distinguishing traits were later incorporated into the company's best-selling R-series and imitations from other companies, such as Lothal Logistics Limited's astromech. Following the spacefaring community's warm reception to the P2's useful features, the business started experimenting with astrodroids, starting with the C-series, which notably produced the C1-series astromech droid that the Grand Army of the Republic employed. Because of their abundance of repair and sensor equipment, which proved to be very helpful for rapid repairs or exploration missions aboard small ships that may not have had a specialized technician, the P2 and C1-series were both widely used during the late Republic Era.

The business quickly shifted its focus to the R-series, a brand-new line of astromech droids. This time, they concentrated on improving the droid's personality in addition to its equipment, even though the R1-series, the first R model, was only known for being used as a reactor drone. Industrial Automaton kept tinkering with the astrodroid formula, and they soon unveiled the R2-series astromech droid. Because of their kind and caring personalities, R2 units gained enormous popularity among pilots and smugglers, which led to far fewer memory wipes being performed on them, which in turn enhanced their performance. Industrial Automaton made an effort to capitalize on the R2's success by developing even more sophisticated astromechs based on it, such as the R3-series, which had quicker processing capabilities because to an updated Intellex V processor, and the R4-P, which was created for permanent integration with Delta-7 Aethersprite-class light interceptors to allow them to interface with Syliure-31 hyperspace docking rings.

Despite these efforts, none of the models that followed the R2 were as successful, which prompted IA to essentially replicate all of its features in the R5-series at a reduced cost. However, the low-cost models were prone to malfunctions, flaws, and negative attitudes, which forced Automaton to remove them from the market in order to preserve its reputation. Despite these failures, the company was able to continue producing distinctive astromechs because to the R2's widespread success, including the R0 and R6 that the New Republic employed. Industrial Automaton had already begun developing a new generation of astromechs in the form of the BB-series by 34 BBY, which abandoned the tri-tread configuration of the previous three lines and introduced a spherical rolling body and an electromagnetically attached head. These droids were more adaptable and quick than the P2s, Cs, and even the most advanced Rs, and they could carry out in-flight repairs more quickly.

Industrial Automaton manufactured a variety of labor droid models for uses including starfighter reclamation, salvaging, and general manual labor. The ASP series of labor droids, which comprised twenty distinct models, including the nimble and capable ASP-7 labour droid, the less nimble but well-liked ASP-2, and the ASP-19, which was repurposed into a battle droid and utilized for lightsaber sparring by Jedi during the Galactic Republic's final years, was the most notable of these. ASP droids were well-liked by many first-time droid buyers due to their inexpensive cost and straightforward design, which made it simple to alter them for particular tasks. In the end, they rose to become one of IA's most lucrative droid lines, along with the R2s.

The DTS-series, a line of heavy-duty armed dismantler droids utilized by the Galactic Empire to disassemble old Republic starfighters at Reklam Station, was another notable line of IA labor droids. These droids differed from their ASP counterparts in that they were designed to be used in combat as well, being heavily armored and armed with blasters.

Power droids were another significant product of Industrial Automaton, with two models in particular standing out. The GNK-series, which were essentially walking batteries, were the first and perhaps most successful. The GNKs could comprehend Galactic Basic Standard and had rudimentary processors to understand their master's orders. They walked to the location where they were needed, and an integrated cable allowed a worker to connect them to the device that needed to be charged. The PLNK-series, the second IA power droid model, was designed for heavy-duty tasks and transported tibanna gas for loading into starfighter weaponry. Both models were reasonably well-liked throughout the galaxy, with civilians utilizing GNKs and the Republic Navy utilizing PLNKs. Their widespread use led to affectionate nicknames for both: GNKs were known as "gonks," while PLNKs were known as "plunks" due to the distinctive sounds they made.

Industrial Automaton produced a large number of education and tutoring droids in response to the galactic need for capable educators to instruct the thousands of potential students of various species and ages. These included the TTS15-series education and tutorial droid, a basic teacher droid that could be used for a range of lessons and classes and later served as the foundation for the TTS20-series dialectic droid. This later model was regarded as a talented conversationalist, capable of engaging in intricate, if contentious, debates with its masters—a "flaw" in its programming that, however, was welcomed by its target demographic. IA also produced the BD10-series assay support droid, which the Jedi Order used to negotiate with less developed cultures in the Outer Rim thanks to its purpose-built modules, which surpassed those of the widely used 3PO-series protocol droid, in addition to the TTS-series.

Being one of the biggest droid manufacturing firms in the galaxy, Industrial Automaton produced droids for a wide range of tasks, including task-specific models. The 2-1B-series, a humanoid medical droid that frequently served as the case doctor alongside Medtech Industries FX-7 medical assistant droids, was one of these models. Because of their enormous encyclopedic databanks, 2-1Bs were able to treat millions of species other than humans and carry out operations in specialized fields including neurosurgery and cybernetic limb replacement. They were regarded as among the most sophisticated medical droids during the Republic and the Empire, but the MD-15C eventually surpassed them.

The Marksman-H training remote, a spherical floating droid that the Jedi Order used for blaster deflection training, was another task-specific model produced by Industrial Automaton. The tiny droids were able to move quickly and change directions rapidly and unexpectedly, firing stunning bolts from one of several openings in their hull and providing a difficult test for Jedi Padawans.

Another one of IA's specialized models was the RX-Series pilot droid. The small, humanoid-shaped droids were employed as built-in pilots on commercial shuttles, including the Sacul Industries' Star Commuter 2000 and Lantillian ShipWrights' GX1 short hauler. Their numerous, independently moving appendages and telescopic body allowed them to operate all of a ship's controls more effectively than a living pilot.

IA also specialized in the production of sophisticated non-sentient automata in addition to its droid production. These included targeting computers, such as the "Accu-Strike" integrated targeting computer, one of the most advanced of its kind, which included both a computer and a sensor array and could be paired with augmented vibro-motors on the shooter's gauntlets to subtly adjust his hands while shooting and greatly improve his accuracy. The Overwatch Co-pilot, a type of autopilot droid brain used as a co-pilot or autopilot in lightly manned starships, was another product that was not technically considered a droid.