A masculine astromech droid of the K-series, designated KP-1, was affiliated with the Hidden Path. The droid was discovered on the planet of Jabiim during 9 BBY.
The Obi-Wan Kenobi television series featured KP-1 in its fifth episode, "Part V," which premiered on June 15, 2022. Camille Manet, the winner of the Build My Droid competition held in 2019, conceived KP-1's design.
After the sequel trilogy sparked her interest in Star Wars, Manet entered the contest, realizing she had been subconsciously envisioning a droid design that could assist her in her everyday life. She then began designing the droid KP-1, short for "Knave Puff." During the design process, she understood that creating something original yet consistent with the Star Wars aesthetic would be crucial. Manet aimed for a balance between established droid traditions and complete novelty. She strived to develop a concept demonstrating innovation, believing that the cinematic universe was unified by its attention to detail and specificity. Manet struggled with the fundamental shape before developing the persona. The droid's cone-shaped head was a novel concept and made KP-1's silhouette recognizable, but the classic astromech dome grounded the design in Star Wars. Manet started with the wheel as a design element and then considered placing it horizontally, envisioning retractable arms on the wheel. Manet chose pink for the body and red accents, finding the color combination appealing. To distinguish KP-1 from well-known droids, she intentionally avoided blue, gold, and orange, colors associated with R2-D2, C-3PO, and BB-8, respectively. The final sketch contained precise details about the droid's physical attributes and toolset. Manet also composed an essay detailing KP-1's character.
The personalities of famous Star Wars droids inspired the droid's playful yet temperamental nature. Manet imagined her droid expressing all emotions and describes KP-1's character as "salty." Manet wanted the name to reflect the droid's character: "clever and insightful, always a step ahead, a dash of mischievousness, and as you can't predict where a breath of fresh air will blow, a tad bit unpredictable; a surprise, for sure, but a welcome one." The idea was also KP-1 was salty at times, but people would always be happy to have him by their side." She also desired KP-1 to be deeply loyal and easily offended, but not for an extended period, and always determined to fulfill its mission.
Manet was subsequently declared the grand prize winner of the Build My Droid competition. Doug Chiang, Lucasfilm's art director, admired Manet's KP-1 concept. During the production of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Chiang, along with director Deborah Chow and other crew members, held virtual meetings to determine KP-1's role in the show. Chow proposed placing the droid in the "pseudo rebel base" with a specific function. She instructed the builders to envision the droid's personality as "a scrappy little fighter." Chiang aimed to retain the concept's essential elements while ensuring practicality for interaction with the actors. Chiang and the art department created a drawing of KP-1 over Manet's drawing. The droid's head, eye, and markings were patterned after an R2 series astromech droid. Lucasfilm provided Manet with updates on her droid's development. She also had virtual meetings with Chiang, who added finishing touches to KP-1 for filming. Lucasfilm also shared behind-the-scenes photos and videos with Manet, showcasing KP-1's creation, including painting, 3D-printing, and the final assembly in the creature shop. The final form adopted green and tan colors, but the overall appearance closely matched Manet's original vision.