Droid

Droids, less commonly known as robots, were mechanical beings that possessed artificial intelligence. Contrary to living organisms, who were born and healed slowly, droids were built and could be repaired easily. They did not have to learn skills, as they were directly programmed with them. Many droids had calculation abilities installed into them. Most droids possessed a form of self awareness, with some even having emotions such as fear for their existence. They were unable to sense the Force. They did not need to sleep, although they could be deactivated as a form of sleep and had occasional maintenance cycles.

Droids were used in a variety of roles and environments, often those considered too menial or too dangerous for other species. Droids such as protocol droids and astromech droids were also used in fields that required extensive specialization and knowledge. Droids were usually completely obedient and precise, and normally followed their masters' orders. Some droids served as bounty hunters, operating independently, without a master. Other droids were created for military use, such as battle droids that were used by the Trade Federation and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. During the Age of the Empire, many people in the galaxy were afraid or otherwise distrustful of droids, due to their bad memories of the Clone Wars, when the Confederacy used a variety of battle droids.

Droids could remain active for centuries: the architect droid Huyang served the Jedi Order for a millennium before the Clone Wars.