- "You seen that new VT-16?"
"Yeah, some of the other guys were telling me about it. They say it's… it's quite a thing to see…" - ―KE-829 and his partner aboard the first Death Star
The BT-16 perimeter droid, also known as the VT-16, was a bulbous, spider-like droid manufactured by Arakyd Industries.
Characteristics[]
The BT-16 came equipped with highly sensitive sensor packages, including a Fabritech seismic reader and a Carbanti motion detector. It was armed with a Taim & Bak repeating blaster cannon. The droid also featured a TranLang I Communication module and a vocabulator, though it was only able to speak droid languages.
History[]
- "A fanatical religious organization that believed they could achieve true enlightenment by having their brains surgically removed and placed into spider droid bodies."
- ―Mayor Mikdanyell Guh'rantt, about the B'omarr Monks.
Early production runs reused the chassis of the TS-Arach series Pest Control Droid before the six-legged design was introduced. The B'omarr Monks used these droids to carry brains of those who had achieved "enlightenment" and for this they were sometimes called Brain walkers.[5] The droids were occasionally equipped with vocoders, and lived in Jabba Desilijic Tiure's Palace until his death. The walkers generally went unarmed while carrying a brain, and had trouble doing anything beside walking.
A used BT-16 perimeter security droid was utilized by the Katarn family of farmers on Sulon, a satellite of Sullust. The droid, programmed to hunt vermin, possessed a faulty sensor package which caused it to fire upon and kill Patricia Katarn.[6]
One of the modified B'omarr version, seemingly without a brain, was present on Jib Kopatha's home, Void Station, in 0 ABY.
Behind the scenes[]
It is revealed in the non-canon story Tag & Bink Are Dead that Tag Greenley and Bink Otauna are the two stormtroopers who mention the BT-16 in the conversation posted above. However, as the story itself is non-canon, so is this information.
In Cynabar's Fantastic Technology: Droids, the picture of the BT-16 is a mirrored version of the TS-Arach series Pest Control Droid image from the same guide. The New Essential Guide to Droids established that early BT-16's reused the TS-Arach body, before the new design seen in the movie was introduced.
Appearances[]
Non-canon appearances[]
- LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
- † Tag & Bink Are Dead (Mentioned only)
- LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
- † Star Wars Tales 15
- Star Wars Pinball
Sources[]
- Galaxy Guide 7: Mos Eisley
- Star Wars Technical Journal of the Planet Tatooine (as perimeter droid)
- Star Wars Technical Journal (as perimeter droid)
- Star Wars: The Power of the Force (1995)
- Shadows of the Empire Planets Guide
- Cynabar's Fantastic Technology: Droids
- Star Wars: The Action Figure Archive
- Star Wars Handbook 1: X-Wing Rogue Squadron
- Star Wars: Behind the Magic
- The Essential Guide to Droids
- The Official Star Wars Fact File 7 (BOM1-2, B'omarr Brain Walker)
- "The Dark Forces Saga, Part 1" (original article link) on Wizards.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
- The New Essential Guide to Droids
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia (see BT-16 perimeter security droid)
- Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game — Squadrons Over Corellia (Card: B'omarr Monk) (backup link)
- Rebellion Era Campaign Guide
- The Essential Reader's Companion
- Star Wars: Age of Rebellion Core Rulebook (Indirect mention only)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Rebellion Era Campaign Guide
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 Cynabar's Fantastic Technology: Droids
- ↑ Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope
- ↑ Star Wars Galaxies: The Total Experience — Conversation with "Mayor Mikdanyell Guh'rantt" on Tatooine
- ↑ Dark Forces: Soldier for the Empire audio drama
- ↑ "The Dark Forces Saga, Part 1" (original article link) on Wizards.com (content now obsolete; backup link)