The Essential Guide to Droids (Page 16-17)
Protocol: 3PO Protocol Droid
[edit]Cybot Galactica's 3PO protocol droids are among the most humanlike automatons ever developed--a triumph, one might think. Unfortunately, human beings can be nervous, flighty, and borderline neurotic.
Some 3POs are all that and more, thanks to the highly advanced neural network of the SyntheTec AA-1 Verbobrain. This superior cognitive module doesn't just allow for intense content parsing or number crunching, though it performs those functions with ease. The Verbobrain, designed to produce flawless interpreters and impeccable diplomats, permits a droid to develop genuine emotions and a surprisingly original personality. Cybot Galactica was actually forced to install credibility dampers in their 3PO units to ensure unembellished translations, and they recommend regular memory wipes to iron out any unexpected quirks.
The standard TranLang III communications module features over six million languages, including obscure dialects, trade vernaculars, security codes, and droid communications. The vocabulor speech/sound system allows the 3PO unit to reproduce nearly any sound it hears with the proper intonation and timbre, though the droid's humanoid construction limits its ability to duplicate nuances of alien sign language, such as the subtle lekku flicks of Twi'leki. By analyzing speech construction and noting repeating patterns, 3POs can often translate previously unknown languages, making the droids invaluable tools for anthropologists and linguistic researchers.
3PO units are widely used by ambassadors, politicians, consuls, and members of royalty as personal attachés in diplomatic or social settings. In a galaxy with thousands of alien species and millions of distinct cultures, no senator wants to trigger war with the Kian'thar, for example, by accidentally twisting a simple greeting into a personal insult. Not only are 3POs unrivaled in speaking alien tongues, but they are experts in etiquette, decorum, customs, posture, religious rituals, and table manners.
3POs stand 1.7 meters tall and are encased in a glittering, burnished body shell of gold, silver, white, and a handful of other hues. They possess photoreceptors, auditory pickups, broadband antenna receivers, microwave detectors, and olfactory sensors. The primary circuit breaker — a master on/off switch — can be accessed at the back of the neck. The droids require frequent oil baths to keep their joints and couplings in prime working condition.
Cybot Galactica has made 3PO droids in one form or another for over a century. Recently they have introduced a similar line of protocol units, the C series. Whether this line was commissioned to cash in on the fame of New Republic personality C-3PO is speculated, but officially denied. These new droids have been produced exclusively on the factory moon of Telti, and their model numbers range from C-1 to C-9.
Info Boxes
[edit]Front View
[edit]- Servomotor
- Logic Functions Computer
- Microwave Emitter/Sensor
- Photoreceptors
- Broadband Antenna Receiver
- Vocabulor
- Auditory Sensors
- Primary Circuit Breaker
- Olfactory Sensor
- Restraining Bolt Mount
- Recharge Coupling
- Powerbus Cables
- Intermotor Actuating Coupling
- Reinforced Knee Joint
Rear View
[edit]- Broadband Antenna Receiver
- Primary Circuit Breaker
- Powerbus Cables
- Intermotor Actuating Coupling
- Reinforced Knee Joint