R2-0, also referred to as Artoo-Oh or ArOh, represented the initial design for the R2-series astromech droid. This antiquated droid was an astromech model featuring a brass exterior, and its construction likely predates 32 BBY significantly.
By the year 36 ABY, the droid was in a state of neglect within an abandoned storage area at the time Industrial Automaton was acquired by Bornaryn Trading. Aryn Thul located the droid and offered it to Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade as a token of good faith. Her intention was that they, along with slicer Zakarisz Ghent, might utilize the OmniGate feature of its original Intellex IV droid-brain. This was done to potentially gain access to additional holofiles pertaining to Luke's mother, Padmé Amidala, which were contained within a restricted portion of R2-D2's memory.