The Mountain Terrain Armored Transport (MT-AT), also known as the "Spider Walker" due to its resemblance to an arachnid, was a legged walker with eight limbs. It was supposedly conceived on Carida, the Galactic Empire's heavily fortified fortress world.
Each individual walker-unit was delivered to a planet utilizing a cocoon pod. This deployment method mirrored that of Arakyd Viper probe droids. The walker emerged from the resulting impact crater in a fully operational state. The cocoon pods contained a fluid gel that served to protect the walker as it descended to the planetary surface.
A droid brain within the pod regulated both the speed and direction of descent, while also triggering decelerating thrusters just before impact. Upon impact, the bistate gel solidified, effectively absorbing kinetic energy and shielding the walker from any potential damage.
The MT-AT's design was inspired by the Separatist LM-432 crab droid, which was used at Imperial academies after the conclusion of the Clone Wars.
MT-ATs participated in the attempted abduction of the infant Anakin Solo. Despite half of the attacking force being eliminated by Admiral Gial Ackbar's FIDO unit, the operation proceeded. Nearly all of these vehicles were destroyed during the kidnapping attempt, a testament to the strength of the Alliance's defenses.