DRK-1 Dark Eye probe droid/Legends

"Probe droid. Very unusual&hellip; not like anything I've seen before."

- Qui-Gon Jinn

The DRK-1 Dark Eye probe droid was a repulsorlift probe droid employed by the Sith prior to the Clone Wars.

Characteristics
Developed by Arakyd Industries, the DRK-1 probe droid was a small, spherical automaton equipped with sophisticated sensor and communications packages. The design dated back centuries to early Dark Eye models based on schematics provided by Sith holocrons. The DRK-1 version featured a trio of imaging sensors: a central photoreceptor, a magnetic imaging device, and a thermal imager. An antenna atop the Dark Eye's dome allowed its master to relay commands to the probot, programming it to seek out individuals or information. Data was then sent back to headquarters via the transmission antennae.

Dark Eye probe droids were designed as passive spy units, and were plated with energy-absorbing stealth armor that baffled most sensor scans. However, weaponry could be mounted on the DRK-1 in many configurations, the most common being a miniaturized grenade launcher. Armaments adopted by the Sith included blaster cannons, stun blasters, and dart launchers loaded with poison needles.

History
DRK-1 probe droids were commonly seen in the years prior to the Battle of Ruusan. Darth Maul carried three Dark Eye probe droids aboard Scimitar during his time as the apprentice of Darth Sidious. Maul recreated these spherical robots using the most disparate, off-the-shelf pieces. He also used his probots to spy on a Black Sun meeting on Ralltiir, and later used them to track down Qui-Gon Jinn on Tatooine, where the Jedi struck down one of the spying probes. The act resulted in a misunderstanding that cost the life of Pa'lowick pilot Aneesa Dym at the hands of Maul.

Following Maul's presumed death at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Sith Infiltrator, presumably along with the last two remaining probe droids, was taken into custody on Naboo by the Jedi.

The Dark Eye closely resembled the R-1 recon droid, which were used by snipers from the Invasion of Naboo to the Battle of Endor.

During the Galactic Civil War, many bounty hunters found droids of this model very useful and effective in tracking their prey throughout the galaxy. However, because of their size and communications range, they were only useful in planetary surface tracking.

Behind the scenes
The DRK-1 probe droids first appeared with the release of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace and its tie-ins.

The IM-series droid from the Tokyo Disneyland version of Star Tours: The Adventures Continue bore a strong resemblance to the Dark Eye in terms of design.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Darth Maul 1
 * Star Wars: Darth Maul 3
 * Episode I Adventures 3: The Fury of Darth Maul
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace novel
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace comic
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace junior novel
 * Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace video game
 * Star Wars Episode I Journal: Darth Maul
 * "End Game"
 * Star Wars: Episode I Jedi Power Battles
 * Star Wars: Battlefront II
 * Star Wars: Republic 40: The Devaronian Version, Part 1
 * Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Lost Command 1
 * Shadows in the Force

Non-canon appearances

 * LEGO Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace
 * LEGO Star Wars: Darth Maul's Mission