The Essential Guide to Droids (Page 20-21)
Protocol: Em Teedee
[edit]- "Greetings. I am a Miniaturized Translator Droid specializing in human/Wookiee relations. I am fluent in over six forms of communication..."
- ―Em Teedee
These formal, precise-sounding greetings are the low switches on the tiny computing device known as Em Teedee. And if the prim tones sound familiar, it's no coincidence—Em Teedee was programmed by none other than C-3PO. One half of the most famous droid duo in the New Republic.
When Lowbacca the Wookiee decided to attend Luke Skywalker's Jedi academy on Yavin 4, his uncle Chewbacca foresaw a problem. Wookiees can't vocalize Basic speech, and few humans can understand the barking, growling language of Shyriiwook. To spare his nephew frustrating miscommunications, Chewbacca and C-3PO collaborated to build a compact, self-aware translation module.
Using the finest components from the Thikkiiana fabrication facility on Kashyyyk, Chewie assembled a metallic silver oval slightly longer than his hand. Flat on the back and rounded on the front, the device was studded with sensory inputs that resembled a crude face.
Twin yellow photoreceptors provided visual data and could adjust to different light wavelengths and magnifications; they could also provide adequate illumination to light up a dark passageway.
Between the eyes, a rough protuberance covered an array of specialized sensors including olfactory and temperature receptors. A perforated, oval vocoder grille completed the facial features and gave the droid an open-mouthed, surprised appearance.
See-Threepio took great pride in programming his tiny new counterpart. Due to his small size, Em Teedee could hold only a few of the knowledge patterns contained in C-3PO's AA-1 Verbobrain, but they were sufficient. The miniature droid was given complete glossaries of Shyriiwook, Basic, and a few other languages, as well as information on Wookiee customs and traditions.
Realizing that Em Teedee could be useful in other capacities as well, Chewbacca made sure to install limited databases on planetary geology, starship repair, and hyperspace navigation. The small droid could link to any computer network via an interface port. Lowbacca could also switch off Em Teedee with a multiposition circuit breaker on the droid's back.
Lacking locomotors of any kind, Em Teedee initially relied on others to get him from place to place. Lowbacca firmly affixed him to a belt of syn-fibers he wore around his waist, though the droid's outer casing was built to withstand sudden shocks should he be accidentally dropped.
Eventually Em Teedee was fitted with a maneuverable array of microrepulsorl jets that allowed him to fly through the air like a seeker ball.
Em Teedee's success as a miniaturized translator has sparked industry interest. There are unconfirmed rumors that Cybot Galactica plans to mass produce a similar design for the consumer market.
Info Boxes
[edit]Side View
[edit]- Multi-position Circuit Breaker
- Shock-resistant Outer Casing
Front View
[edit]- Specialized Sensor Cluster
- Photoreceptors/Illuminators
- Internal Language Glossaries & Databanks
- Vocoder Grille
- Computer Interface Port