M-series Utility/Astromech Droid

The M-series Utility/Astromech droids were created by Industrial Automaton to fill a void that existed in the droid market of the modern day, and where very popular, being seen across the galaxy in a variety of roles.

## Description

The M-series Astromech/Utility droids were created by Industrial Automaton to fill a void that existed in the droid market of the modern day. While medical droids, protocol droids, and combat droids were all easily found - alongside the obvious labor droids - droids that were dedicated to shipboard use were, outside of a few old and hard-to-find models due to their manufacturers having since gone out of business, hard to find. Pilot droids, astromechs, both were becoming rather rare. As such, executives and designers at Industrial Automaton got together in order to create a new entry into the long line of Utility droids they had been making for a while, giving one astromech capabilities (such as a great knowledge of numerous ships and how to repair them, as well as piloting abilities and the ability to operate weaponry) and starting a very popular line of droids for the market of the current day.

The M-series droids all had the same shape - the main difference was in colouration and accentations, primarily. The latest entry into the line was the M8-XX series of droids, with primarily white-coloured durasteel casings and varying buyer-chosen accent colours, a pristine appearance that appeals to all types throughout the galaxy. The M0-XXs were all a flat durasteel grey, with the M1s having green accentations, the M2s having a transparent upper dome, M3s having red accentations, M4s blue, M5s black, M6s yellow, and - distinctly unpopular, for some odd reason - the M7s were completely transparent, similar to their M2 counterparts (interestingly, both series units often complained of feeling 'naked' when not given frequent memory wipes).

All M-series droids had roughly the same level of functionality, although the M0s through the M5s were primarily utility droids first and foremost, with their astromech capabilities - such as the number of ship configurations that could be stored overall and the number of programmable hyperspace coordinates that could be stored in the navigational memory, and definitely their piloting ability - being considered an addition to their original utility droid programming, with the M6s beginning a trend towards specifically astromech-focused abilities. The main differences between each specific iteration of the series lay in the fields of programming and appearance, although some small parts differences where common, meaning that roughly 98% of the parts in each iteration of the series was interchangeable through to the rest of the series (this was an overall average, not specific; check your owner's manual for futher information). HoweverHowerver, the M-series was almost as modifiable as a Corellian-designed ship, with many different modifications being available on the market, so that any one of the droids could be configured to suit any need.

Each M-series droid comes with a few completely common features. Within the freely-rotating arm atop the body (also with y-axis movement, able to aim almost straight up but only about 40 degrees downwards) sits a photoreceptor, alongside an electroshock probe with a 3 meter shock range; extra space within the mounting was left open for the integration of a blaster pistol of up to heavy blaster strength, with its own power cell and recharging port available. The photoreceptor attached to the weapon mount was controlled by basic targetting programming uploaded into the droid brain, although models made specifically for military use will had a separate targetting computer with more enhanced programming under the droid brain's control. Within the upper hemisphere of the body a retractable periscopic photoreceptor was also found.

The M-series Astromech/Utility droids operatef off an array of rather standard power cells, with a recharging port located on the droid's lower hemisphere; the droid normally had a 168 hour (1 week) 'battery life' with the power cell set up; in low power/standby mode, the power supply could last for up to 2 months, assuming completely minimal activity.

Beyond the standard photoreceptors (with some small range into both the infrared and ultraviolet ranges) present on the upper hemisphere of the droid and on the rotating mount atop it, the M-series also har a retractable periscoping photoreceptor, standard with the model. Also standard were radiation detectors, able to determine whether the radiation in an area was lethal to organics/possibly able to cause damage to various components within the droid itself.

The two hemispheres of the droids' bodies where not linked, with the upper half able to freely rotate; as well, it could extend outwards from the lower hemisphere, allowing the droid to fit into starfighter sockets made for taller droids than it. This also allows a view inside the droid, showing how the tools it holds where arrayed. The center of the droid has a rotating carousel with the various tools the droid uses attached, including a computer interface arm, a small saw, a fire extinguisher, three claw manipulator arms, a fusion cutter, an oil injector, a lubricant application arm, a screwdriver, and a drill, among other tools, with space left to add in further tool-arms within the droid. Each tool arm was attached to the carousel by a ball bearing at the end of it, with specialized motors turning wheels attached to the bearings, giving them a degree of movement comparable to (but slightly greater than) that of a human arm at the shoulder. These arms also had two movable and controlled joints along their length, allowing the droid to had a great degree of dexterity with them. These arms could either extend through hinged panels on the droids upper and lower hemispheres or directly through the opening between the upper and lower hemispheres if the upper hemisphere was extended just enough to let the arms through. Many of the droids prefer to utilize that method, due to the greater flexibility of tool use afforded by that method.

The droids' primary photoreceptor also doubled as a holorecorder and holoprojector, allowing the droid to record and project holographic recordings, with sound being recorded via a microphone and played via the droids' main speakers. They also had space for external memory storage, either in forms similar to thumb drives, SD cards, and discs or microdiscs.

The droids primarily spoke binary as the standard programming language they where given, although they could be modified and programmed to speak basic; however, this was an expensive modification, and often wasn't necessary, as many beings in the galaxy either understand binary or their datapads had the ability to translate it in real time.

These droids where very prone to developing a personality without frequent memory wipes, with the only model-specific commonality in this personality being shared by the M2s and the M7s, complaining about a feeling of nudity due to their transparent domes. Many of these droids do, however, take on a thrill-seeking aspect to their personality; this could prove dangerous in the more utility-oriented primary models when given the task of piloting a ship, as, in their excitement, they forget about the fragilities of their organic owners and engage in maneuvers that where too dangerous for an organic occupant in a ship; coincidentally, when they hadn't been allowed to develop a personality, their piloting was instead considered overcautious and slow, as well as slightly jerky when maneuvering. The M6s and later, however, had few problems with this.

Licensed production of the M0s through M5s was common, with the model names possibly being different depending on the company doing the production; the M6s and later where produced exclusively by Industrial Automaton. The average cost for the M0s through the M5s generally sits about 2750 credits new, with the M6s and onward being more around 3500 credits new. Prices vary slightly depending on model.​