INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATON
Type: Droid manufacturing company
Location: Various
Products: R-series astromech, ASP droid, MD medical droid
One of the two biggest droid manufacturing companies in the galaxy - with Cybot Galactica being the other - Industrial Automaton are the creators of the phenomanaly sucessful R-series astromechs as well as a host of other renowned automatons.
Industrial Automaton was formed during the time of the Old Republic through the merger of Industrial Intellect and Automata Galactica. Though Industrial Automaton became most famous for its astromechs - namely the R2-series - it also produced a variety of other robotic helpers, workers and even military droids. They found sucess with the MD medical droids, the LOM protocol droid and many others. Their astromech line didn't meet such sucess early on; their first attempts, the P2 and R1 series, were large, clunky and slow. However, the R2 unit became a firm favourite, and even outlasted subsequent models. Industrial Automaton tried to build on their sucesses, but their future developments were not as popular. They also suffered a series of injuries resulting from faulty astromechs, all with rocket boosters as standard. Industrial Automaton was forced to cap the lifetime of all R2-, R3- and R4-series astromechs after just twenty years.
Yet thanks perhaps to a single R unit, Industrial Automaton became famous; R2-D2, hero of the Battle of Naboo and the Galactic Civil War, proved just how durable, reliable and loyal an astromech can be. R2 unit sales went up, and the droids became one of the most well-known models in the galaxy. Industrial Automaton, just like the droids they made, were on a roll. |
