Industrial Automaton's V1 pilot droids were the first model in their V-series pilot droid line. Like other pilot droids, they were designed to supplement or replace biological pilots for starships. As the most common pilot droid model in use during the Galactic Civil War, they were used by both the Galactic Empire and the Alliance to Restore the Republic.
Unlike the R2-series astromech droids, which preceded the V1, the design and programming of the V1 droids concentrated less on repair and hyperspace navigation, and more on acting as automated pilots for short haul transport spacecraft.
V1 droids, like the R2-units they resembled, had one-meter tall cylindrical bodies, dome-shaped heads and propelled themselves on three wheeled legs, the middle one being retractable. Internally, V1 droids had a retractable arm and a starship interface jack. The interface jack was the droid's most important component, which they could use to access almost all the functions of a vessel to replace or supplement a living pilot. In addition to their expert piloting skills, their standard programming included basic skills in repairing space transports, computers, and astrogation. V1 droids could only store three sets of hyperspace coordinates, as opposed to an R2 unit's ten.
V1 pilot droids were the most common type of pilot droid in use during the Galactic Civil War. V1 droids cost 11,800 credits when new, with used models going for 9,600 credits. The high price was a consequence of the new technology used in their production. This made them too expensive for the Rebel Alliance to purchase new, though they gladly accepted them when they were donated or stolen from the Galactic Empire. V1 units were used by the Alliance to run cargo when living pilots could not be spared.
Both Rebel and Imperial V1 droids were programmed to recognize friendly and enemy starships, but they were not meant to be used in combat. When attacked, they could only raise shields and perform evasive maneuvers. Alliance droids were usually fitted with self-destruct mechanisms to prevent the Empire from learning anything from captured droids.
V1 droids served as systems operators aboard the Death Star I.
The V6-series pilot droid was the successor to the V1-series in Industrial Automaton's pilot droid line.
- The Rebel Alliance Sourcebook
- Death Star Technical Companion
- Death Star Technical Companion, Second Edition
- The Rebel Alliance Sourcebook, Second Edition
- "Cracken's Rebel Field Guide: Slicing Aids" — Star Wars Adventure Journal 10
- Shadows of the Empire Planets Guide
- Cynabar's Fantastic Technology: Droids