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"Tokyo homeless people reiterate the whole nature of living in Tokyo in cardboard boxes, they're only slightly smaller than Tokyo apartments, and they have almost as many consumer goods. It's a nightmare of boxes within boxes."
- William Gibson
 |
| Droid (Star Wars) | ||
| A contraction of "android", it actually describes one of a variety of robots. |
Unique to the Star Wars universe (LucasFilms has a trademark on it, as far as I know), this contraction has entered the common language of science fiction. It has been used before, however; see droid from Robots of the World! Arise! by M. Wolf.
The only reasonable derivation of the word "droid" is from "android" which means "having human features." However, in the Star Wars universe, the term droid is always used to describe mechanical robots; not all of them have recognizable human shapes. One robot that is human-shaped is C-3PO (See Threepio).
| ...the farmer's eyes narrowed as he concentrated on the sand-scoured but still flashy bronze finish of the tall, humanoid Threepio. "I presume you function," he grumbled at the robot. "Do you know customs and protocol?" "Do I know protocol?" Threepio echoed as the farmer looked him up and down. Threepio was determined to embarass the jawa when it came to selling his abilities, "Do I know protocol? Why, it's my primary function. I am also well-" "Don't need a protocol 'droid," the farmer snapped dryly. "I don't blame you, sir," Threepio rapidly agreed. "I couldn't be more in agreement...For someone of your interests, sir, a protocol 'droid would be a useless waste of money. No, sir - versatility is my middle name. See Vee Threepio - Vee for versatility - at your service... "I need," the farmer broke in... "a 'droid that knows something about the binary language of independently programmable moisture vaporators." |
| Technovelgy from Star Wars,
by George Lucas. Published by Del Rey in 1976 Additional resources -
|
Low moisture planets were much in the minds of science fiction authors; read more about the vaporators of Tatooine.
Alternatively, you might enjoy a look at another kind of automaton with its own point of view; see the self-satisfied door from Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
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More Ideas
and Technology from Star Wars
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and Technology by George Lucas
Tech news articles related to Star Wars
Tech news articles related to works by George Lucas
Droid (Star Wars)-related
news articles:
- GRACE Robot Specializes In Etiquette And Protocol
- Dexter Dynamically Balancing Humanoid Robot
- US Army To Be 30 Percent Droid By 2020?
- Lingodroid Robots Invent Spoken Language
- Aldebaran Robot Talks Like C3PO - Almost
- How Rude! DARPA Wants Robots To Behave More Like Threepio
| Robotic Hands Have More Than One Use |
| 'No, I'm Not A Robot' - Robot |
| Barista Robot Perfects Latte Swirl With Multi-DOF Wriggle |
| Safe Street Rebel Autonomous Vehicle Luddites And Schachner's 1931 Robot-Deranger |
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'The crawling, exploring object was V-Stephen's surgeon-hand...'
'It radiates outward in a cone which, by the time it has reached our section of space, is many lightyears across.'
'Drake was the young spatial engineer he employed to terraform the little rock.'
'... with a weird simulation of life, the ten forked ends of each arm commenced a rattling pressing of the buttons.'
'Each of the four areas is enclosed by a sonic wall...'
'It's done with a flip of the third joint of the tentacle on the down beat.'
'If you surf over a bump... If you surf over a pothole...'
