An R-H029 sifter droid Sifter droids represented a specific category of mining droid of the fifth-degree, employed by scavengers to locate precious minerals and salvageable materials hidden within the sandy terrain of desert planets such as Jakku. The R-H029 sifter droid, in addition to the SN-1F4 miniature sifter droid, were examples of sifter droid models actively used approximately three decades following the Battle of Endor.
These droids made their debut appearance in the motion picture Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens, which premiered in 2015. While the droid's designation wasn't given in the film, it was later identified in Star Wars: The Force Awakens: The Visual Dictionary, a companion book penned by Pablo Hidalgo that came out alongside the movie.