The Essential Guide to Droids (Page 10-11)
Astromech: R3 and R4
[edit]Flush with the staggering success of the legendary R2, Industrial Automaton scrambled to capitalize on their newfound dominance. The R3 and R4 lines were specially models tailored for two wildly disparate markets — high-tech government agencies and low-income urban consumers.
Outwardly, the R3 aped its popular predecessor, right down to the brightly colored trim on its white metal chassis. The most obvious difference was its head, a clear dome of durable plastex. The transparent hemisphere gave the internal sensor package greater range and proudly showed off the R3's claim to fame- a newly updated Intellex V computer system.
The Intellex V contained on impressive database with detailed statistics on every vessel in the Old Republic navy. Armed with this information, the R3 worked effectively with gunnery crews, security troopers, and naval chiefs of operation aboard large-scale Capital warships. Though not primarily designed as a starfighter plug-in, the unit could still hold up to five hyperspace jumps in active memory.
Due to the specialized and sensitive nature of the R3's programming, sales of the high-priced model were restricted to recognized government militaries. The Old Republic purchased 125 million of the droids during IA's first production run, and the Empire later used R3s aboard its Star Destroyers and Death Star battle stations.
The R4 was a successful attempt to capture a new market prospect— the Outer Rim city-dweller who might not hove an X-wing parked in her bock lot, but who could really use a hand with her souped-up landspeeder. Accordingly, the R4 was simpler, tougher, and cheaper than previous R-series models.
To save money on production, items such as the video display screen and miniature fire extinguisher were omitted. The droid's Intellex VI computer was advanced, but geared toward common repulsorlift designs and specs for commercially available space transports. The R4 was almost never used as a starfighter astromech — a good thing, as it could only hold coordinates for a single hyperspace jump in active memory.
The droids were rugged and able to shrug off the nicks and dents common to a working garage environment. IA was pleased to discover that, with regular maintenance checks, the R4 outlasted its design parameters for operational life, weather endurance, and lime elapsed between recharge sessions.
Mass-market buyers liked the R4, as did the freedom fighters of the Rebel Alliance. The model's low cost and knowledge of general-purpose vehicles were appreciated by the resource-poor Rebels, and soon the droids' conical heads were familiar sights in Alliance bases and Mon Calamari hangar boys. A few R4s, rigged with nonstandard magnetic fault sensors, were used by the Empire lo detect flaws and weaknesses in the Death Star's atmosphere containment fields.
Info Boxes
[edit]R3 Astromech Droid - Front View
[edit]- Computer Interface/Lubricant Arms Compartment
- Capital Ship Linkage Arms
- Function Indicators
- Plastex Head Dome
- Sensor Wands
- Auditory Sensors
- Intellex V Computer
- Radar Eye
- Electromagnetic Field Sensor Unit
- Third Tread (retracted)
- Power Cells
- Motorized Treads
- Recharge Coupling
- Polarity Sink
- System Ventilation
- Loudspeaker
- Charge Arm Compartment
R4 Astromech Droid - Front View
[edit]- Grasping Arm Compartment
- Repair Arms
- Auditory Sensors
- Radar Eye Access Panels
- Holographic Computer
- Third Tread (retracted)
- Power Cells
- Motorized Treads
- Recharge Coupling
- Heat Exhaust
- System Ventilation
- Loudspeaker