Spelunker probe droid/Legends

"Come out, come out, sly droids. To my eyes, hidden you are not."

- Yoda

The Spelunker probe droid, also known as the chameleon droid, was a mine-laying sabotage probe droid used by the Commerce Guild, and later the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars. Originally mining exploration droids, they were outfitted with weaponry for military service. It saw use in many battles, such as Ilum, Geonosis, and Felucia.

The droid was equipped with three laser cannons, a mine releaser, and a cloaking device. The "cloaking device" in the droid actually just made the droid seem invisible. After scanning its background and the angle of the viewer's sight, it could project a hologram of the background behind the  droid. Thus, the droid did not actually make itself invisible, it just camouflaged itself. If the viewer's angle was changed, the droid would be exposed.

The droid was used throughout the Clone Wars. Its first use was at the Battle of Geonosis. Later, the droids fought in the Battle of Ilum, and heavily damaged the Crystal Caves, albeit taking many casualties. The droids saw later use in the Battle of Felucia during the Outer Rim Sieges.

Description
The spelunker probe droid had four legs for traveling, but they could not completely support the droid's upper body so it was given a repulsorlift to ease the support. Other equipment the droids had were sensors that could detect objects from far away.

The Techno Union retrofitted the droid with blasters, mines and a cloaking device, effectively transforming it into a battle droid. This cloaking device, however, was not a "pure" cloaking device, as cloaking devices were usually defined as making the ship invisible. The chameleon droid's "cloaking device" actually scanned its surroundings and computed the location of viewers. After finishing these two tasks, it displayed a holographic screen of the backdrop behind it. This enabled the droid to become camouflaged to observers. However, if the viewer's angle was even slightly changed, the droid could be seen before it could correct itself.

Spelunker droid
The Commerce Guild owned mining spots on several planets. The Guild would use their spelunker droids to explore the resources. The droid's name comes from the word "spelunker," a person who explores underground caves and such, so they were named accordingly.

The droids used hyperspace pods to get to any planet they needed. The spelunker droid was fitted with a sensor array that could locate wanted objects, particularly ores and other resources. After the spelunker droid studied the data obtained from a mine site, it would begin blasting away a tunnel for larger mining teams.

The president of the Guild, Shu Mai, bought thousands of the spelunker droids for exploration. They were used only for their primary purpose. However, towards the end of the Separatist crisis, the Commerce Guild joined the newly formed Confederacy of Independent Systems. Shu Mai brought the design along with several others to be converted for battle, as she thought that the spelunkers would be "perfect" minelayers.

Conversion


As many large corporations and droid manufacturers joined the Confederacy under the leadership of Count Dooku, they used several peaceful practical designs for droids and converted them into droids fit or battle. The Arakyd Spelunker droid was remodeled by several Techno Union designers to become the chameleon droid, a mine-laying droid utilized by the Confederacy for both reconnaissance and sabotage missions.

The mineral sensors of the spelunker probe droid were replaced with three laser cannons on the chest. It was also fitted with several mines that could be released through the bottom of its cylindrical body. The droid, after conversion, was also given the camouflage screen that gave it the nickname "chameleon droid." These conversions violated the contract between Arakyd Industries and the Commerce Guild.

Clone Wars
"You will find the temple on Ilum. Destroy it."

- Dooku

The droids were ready for use by 22 BBY, as they saw use during the Battle of Geonosis. During the battle, three of the chameleon droids used their cloaking device.

About four months after the defeat on Geonosis, Dooku ordered the droids to the ice planet of Ilum. The Crystal Caves on Ilum held hundreds of Adegan crystals for use in making a lightsaber. The chameleon droids were ordered to destroy this cave to halt the Jedi's production of lightsabers. The droids descended to the planet in hyperspace pods and found the temple almost immediately. They assaulted the base as two Jedi, Luminara Unduli and her Padawan, Barriss Offee, were constructing the latter's lightsaber. After sensing the presence of the droids, they counter-attacked the droids. However, the droids were able to lay enough mines to collapse the temple.

Aboard Padmé Amidala's H-type Nubian yacht, Jedi Grand Master Yoda sensed the two Jedi's distress at the Ilum temple. Yoda demanded that Senator Amidala set course for Ilum. However, Gregar Typho, Amidala's bodyguard, disagreed. Yoda, using a mind trick on Typho, convinced Amidala to rescue the Jedi. After arrival, Yoda left first, and was able to destroy several of the droids in an avalanche. Worrying of Yoda's delayed return, Amidala destroyed several more droids with a blaster, along with her two droids, C-3PO and R2-D2. Yoda eventually returned with the two Jedi, and R2-D2 discovered a recording of the droids' orders in one of the destroyed droids.

Later in the war, during the Outer Rim Sieges, the droids were used on the plant-covered planet Felucia, during the Battle of Felucia. Three of the droids traveled cloaked in front of several OG-9 homing spider droids. These units were deactivated after the execution of the Separatist Council by Darth Sidious's new apprentice, Darth Vader.

Behind the scenes
The chameleon droid was first seen in Clone Wars Chapter 14, and no backstory was given for the droids, although it was revealed they had blasters, mines, and a cloaking device. Later, The New Essential Guide to Droids expanded on the droid and gave them a history.

Notes and references
Chamäleondroide Droide sonda investigador de cuevas Spelunker Droid