R1-series astromech droid

This article is about the astromech droids model. You may be looking for individual droids named R1 (disambiguation).

The R1-series astromech droid, also known as the R1 reactor drone, was Industrial Automaton's first production model of their new consumer-market R-series astromech droid line.

Description

The R1-series integrated the developments of the P2-series prototype astromech and was an improvement over the P2, despite its unconventional appearance. As a result of the legal cases that stopped Industrial Automaton bringing the P2 to the commercial market, the R1 reused the black body shells from the company's Mark II reactor drones. The dense shielding of the heavy shell gave the R1 protection against intense radiation. The droid moved about via a treaded unipod, which was slow and often malfunctioned, causing a frequent lack of locomotion.^[1]

The center of the R1's design was the Intellex III computer brain, which contained a comprehensive catalog of five hundred starship configurations^[1] and an operating speed of 10,000 MPF. The computer made the R1 capable of handling large transports and capital ships.^[3] In addition, the R1 was the first Industrial Automaton astromech able to calculate complex navigational coordinates necessary to complete a single hyperspace jump.^[1]

A Jawa-modified R1 astromech droid.

R1s possessed a number of retractable tools that made them efficient technicians. The droids were also capable of producing "Droidspeak", allowing them to effectively coordinate with other droids and data networks. However, their personalities tended towards being obstinate^[1] and surly. Regular memory wipes were used to counter this issue, but it had a side effect of ensuring that the droids were less than familiar with the ships they were stationed on.^[2] Owners often complained about the droid's personalities and the frequent breakdown of the treader unipod. Industrial Automaton promised to address all these issues in their next model.^[1]

History

While ongoing legal issues stalled the release of Industrial Automaton's P2-series astromech droid, the company's creative, technical, and marketing departments did not sit idle waiting for the lawsuit to move through the judiciary. In an attempt to recover the millions of credits being lost, the company created the R1 with as little overhead costs as possible. The droid series was designed, marketed, and distributed in less that a decade and proved to be a roaring success.^[3] Due to its cumbersome size, R1s were commonly stationed aboard capital ships and large freighters.^[1]

The R1 unit behind the counter in the shop Watto's Parts.

By 32 BBY, the Toydarian junk dealer Watto owned an R1-series astromech droid, kept behind the counter in his shop Watto's Parts in Mos Espa on the desert planet Tatooine.^[4]

An R1 was employed as the principal controller of the Sun Runner counterfeit ship fabricated in 23 BBY by Groodo the Hutt for his Jedi-foiled attempt to destroy the orbital Fondor Shipyards. Coming face to face in the ship's control chamber with a 18-year-old lightsaber-wielding Jedi Padawan Anakin Skywalker, the R1 droid triggered a self-annihilating shutdown just prior to Skywalker destroying the false Sun Runner itself with a hypermatter reactor-planted proton grenade.^[5]