R4-P17, known simply as R4, was a courageous yet wary feminine R4-P astromech droid. Before and during the Clone Wars, she was assigned to Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. During the Battle of Coruscant, she met her end at the hands of a buzz droid.
Industrial Automaton manufactured R4-P17 sometime before the Clone Wars began. As an R4-P model within the R4 astromech line, this feminine astromech droid accompanied Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi to both Kamino and Geonosis. The Jedi was working to solve the mysteries surrounding the assassination attempts on Naboo senator Padmé Amidala, which had taken place on Coruscant, the galactic capital.
Following the acquisition of an Astromech Body allowing her to move independently of the Jedi starfighter, R4 continued her service to Obi-Wan during the Clone Wars. She went with her master to Tatooine in order to negotiate with Jabba Desilijic Tiure. On one occasion, she was surprised by Jawas and reacted by shocking them. She later journeyed to Teth alongside her master to aid Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano in rescuing Jabba's son.
R4 accompanied her master to Mandalore for discussions with Satine Kryze regarding an Attack on a Republic cruiser. While her master visited Sundari Royal Palace, R4 remained behind.
During the Battle of Sullust, R4 was present when she and her master were shot down by Asajj Ventress. After the destruction of the Command ship, they managed to escape.
R4 was seen passing by her master and Mace Windu as they had a conversation about Yoda.
In the closing days of the Clone Wars, R4-P17 once again teamed up with Obi-Wan Kenobi aboard his Eta-2 Actis-class light interceptor during a battle over Coruscant. During this engagement, Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker approached the Invisible Hand, the flagship of Separatist General Grievous, with the goal of rescuing Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, who had been kidnapped. As the two Jedi approached the flagship, they faced an attack from vulture droids that launched discord missiles at them. Anakin successfully tricked the missiles into self-destruction, but Kenobi was unable to do the same, resulting in a swarm of buzz droids latching onto his starfighter. Kenobi cautioned R4-P17, but the buzz droids had already begun sawing off her dome, leading to her destruction.
Later, R4-G9 took her place as Kenobi's droid companion during his journey to the planet Utapau.
R4, an R4-P astromech droid with feminine programming, had a height of 0.96 meters (equivalent to 3 feet and 2 inches). She was recognizable by her red replacement dome, which had belonged to another astromech droid, and she possessed an electro-shock prod. R4 demonstrated bravery when facing Separatists and was known for her cautious nature, making her an ideal companion for Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Being a product of Industrial Automaton, R4 was designed with the capabilities of a hyperspace navigator, able to calculate lightspeed jumps. Additionally, she was skilled in engineering for both repair and maintenance tasks. She was also proficient in information retrieval and proved to be a capable starfighter pilot.
R4 was equipped with an electro-shock prod, which she employed to safeguard Kenobi's Delta-7B Aethersprite-class light interceptor from Jawas during a visit to Jabba's Palace.
R4-P17 made her debut appearance in the 2002 film Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones, which served as the second film in the Star Wars prequel trilogy.