NR - 5 series repair droid The NR - 5 series repair droid , also known as the NR - 5 maintenance droid or Imperial maintenance droid , was a knockoff of Cybot Galactica ' s WED Treadwell repair droid manufactured by Kalibac Industries during the Galactic Civil War . Despite heavy accusations of stealing the WED ' s design , it proved hugely popular with technicians and freighter captains alike and was more reliable , if more expensive , than its competitor , even seeing use in the Imperial Navy . However , sales of the NR - 5 dropped considerably when Industrial Automaton introduced its R4 - series agromech droid , though the NR - 5 generally did a better job than the R4 in the clean environments of starships and many remained in use well into the New Jedi Order era . Characteristics . A general maintenance and repair droid that could handle many starship repair tasks , the fifth - degree NR - 5 series repair droid was a knockoff of the WED Treadwell repair droid , the very droid it was designed to compete with and bore a striking resemblance to . Designed by Kalibac Industries to address most maintenance issues aboard commercial and military vessels , it was small and unobtrusive , standing only 0 . 7 meters in height and able to fit into most repair bays without modifications . It addition , the NR - 5 ' s tread bases was a bit more narrow , allowing it access to some areas that WED droid could not enter and traverse all but the most constricted access ducts with relative ease . The NR - 5 ' s two heavy tracks kept it remarkably stable , its three manipulator arms , stronger than those of a WED , made it handy , and its square head and round body were often seen as cute . The NR - 5 was equipped with a telescopic heavy grasper arm , fine manipulator arm , and general purpose appendage , with which it was ambidextrous , as well as three tools mounts , an integrated arc welder , and built - in repair tools . Its sophisticated visual sensor system , with Human range , ultraviolet , infrared , and low - light capabilities , were mounted on a much longer and more adjustable arm than a WED , which gave it greater ability to poke around in tight spaces to find problems with ships . The NR - 5 was also equipped with a wide - band comm receptor , a diagnostics package , and a secondary battery . The only problem with the series was that the droid was not particularly sturdy . Though they worked fine in the clean environment of a starship , NR - 5s often did not do to well working outdoors in the harsh conditions of many Outer Rim worlds and needed continual maintenance . Intelligent and skilled enough to carry out a wide variety of tasks , but not so curious as to get itself into trouble , NR - 5s ' simple personality matrices did not have short attention spans like WEDs . Equipped with a Kalibac Industries Mechro - II droid brain , they were famous for their determination , which could be both a boon and a liability . Some NR - 5s refused to leave their jobs until they were been completed . In addition , they were not particularly bright or personable and were also cautious . Their vocabulators were capable of communicating in both Basic and Binary , as well as four unassigned languages , and could read and write in the former . History . Produced by Kalibac Industries during the Galactic Civil War , the awkward NR - 5 was considered the perfect maintenance droid when first introduced in the year 2 BBY for 2 , 200 credits new . However , the company was heavily accused of stealing the design of Cybot Galactica ' s cheaper , if less reliable , WED Treadwell unit when it released the droid to market . Despite the allegations being well founded , KI insisted that the NR - 5 was their response to the impact of their chief competitor , Industrial Automaton , and their competing R2 - series astromech droid . It found popularity among shipboard technicians who needed addition assistance in starship maintenance and individuals who needed additional technical help they could count on . In addition , while the NR - 5 lacked astrogation and piloting skills , it was also substantially cheaper than an R2 unit , making it a good choice for budget conscious freighter captains . Within a year of its release , a small company of outlaw tech s know as " Tredwall " stole the droid ' s design and produced a cheap , faulty imitation that worked for about ten hours before completely frying all its circuits . The NR - 5 was virtually ignored throughout the Outer Rim Territories after Industrial Automaton introduced its R4 - series agromech droid , causing sales of the former to drop considerably . Still , in gentle conditions the NR - 5 generally did a better job than the R4 and was commonly regarded as more effective on planets with milder climates , and many remained in use well into the New Jedi Order era . By 0 ABY , NR - 5 series repair droids were assigned to the Imperial Navy ' s Perlemian Haul convoy , including the slightly modified " Temple " - class heavy freighter M226 , and , though largely simple - minded and harmless , were programmed to raise an alarm in the event they spotted unauthorized individuals in their area of activity . Though they had only simple programmings , they were smart enough to recognize that armed indivduals lacking unifroms were out of place , especially if they happened to be crawling around a ship ' s maintenance ducts . If such an encounter took place , an NR - 5 would attempt to escape without making too much of a fuss . If confronted violently , it would defend itself using its heavy grasper arm , as well as its integrated arc welder . Behind the scenes . The NR - 5 series repair droid was designed and submitted to West End Games as the NR - 5 maintenance droid by Greg Dove as part of " The Fantastic Technology Contest , " a contest sponsored by the , placing 17th out of about 75 entries . As a result , it was included in " Galladinium ' s Fantastic Technology " , a " Star Wars " Legends supplement written by Rick D . Stuart for " " and released on June 1 , 1995 , where it was depicted in an illustration by Christina Wald . The NR - 5 first appeared in the eighteenth installment of " Star Wars Missions " , " " , written by Ryder Windham and released on February 1 , 1999 . It was first identified as the NR - 5 series repair droid in " Arms & Equipment Guide " , a sourcebook written by Jeff Grubb and Owen K . C . Stephens for the " Star Wars Roleplaying Game " and released on October 1 , 2002 .