R2 Unit Vision..

[Counciler]

In ANH, C-3PO barked at R2 when he was presented with the idea of going in the direction of the canyons.

"You'll be malfunctioning within a day, you nearsighted scrap pile!"

Was R2-D2 actually 'nearsighted'? Did he have problems with his vision components, possibly from battle or poor maitenance? Or was it a design defect?

I noticed; as did Lando, Leia, Chewie, and 3PO; that R2-D2 plugged himself into a power outlet at Bespin. Gathered from what 3PO said, R2 supposedly thought that it was a computer terminal. Could that have been becuase of his vision issues? Probably not due to nearsightedness, b/c he would have been able to see it clearly at that range.

I cant think of any more examples where R2 might have done something similar... and I cant check Epi. 1-3 for it either... I dont have them on DVD.

So my question stands... was R2-D2 actually suffering from a visual problem? Or was C-3PO just throwing insults around?

[Deathstalker]

It was an insult. I can't believe an Astromech, a machine designed to make precise repairs on all manner of things up to and including starships, would have a design defect. Maintence is out, as he was well maintained by his owners, and if he had suffered damage during the boarding action, 3PO would only know that if R2 told him. For the plug in on Bespin, droids are capable of being stressed, it is understandable that a mistake was made in the heat of the moment.

[DPDarkPrimus]

....

Some people...

[Counciler]

Ok, thanks... just asking.

[RedImperator]

I doubt astromechs even "see" in the same way humans do. There's no reason a droid has to process visual information the same way humans do. I imagine R2 is capable of integrating data from all his sensors into a complete 360 degree picture of his environment.

I suppose you could say that R2 is "nearsighted" because in his originally designed role, maintenence of starship components, long range vision wasn't necessary, but it would be trivial to give him optics capable of seeing far further than a human eye. The idea that they'd deliberately build a droid that can only clearly make out visual details a few feet away, literally nearsighted like a human, is just ludicrous.

[Counciler]

Well I agree with that. I meant that perhaps some irrepairable damage may have caused him to lose some sight capabilities. After all, R2-D2 is by far, not a new design. We first see him in Padme's starship... who knows how long he had been in service there.. or in other starships before that.

He certainly has been in enough battles to recieve damage to sensitive components that may not be able to be replaced. I dont know how an R2 unit works.. but its possible.

[RedImperator]

Well I agree with that. I meant that perhaps some irrepairable damage may have caused him to lose some sight capabilities. After all, R2-D2 is by far, not a new design. We first see him in Padme's starship... who knows how long he had been in service there.. or in other starships before that.

He certainly has been in enough battles to recieve damage to sensitive components that may not be able to be replaced. I dont know how an R2 unit works.. but its possible.

I can't imagine damage that would cause a camera to become nearsighted without knocking it out completely. Nearsightedness in humans is the result of the eyeball changing shape so light focuses in front of the retina. A camera isn't made out of soft material that can change shape like that without breaking. Maybe you could knock it just right so the lens is out of position, but even if you could, I can't imagine why you couldn't just replace the camera. Among the many advantages droids would have over humans, you can replace their parts when they break down much more easily than you can squishy biological parts.

[freker]

btw how come that the droids are stress sensitive? droids can think much faster than humans. or is the stress caused by the fear of being destroyed?

[RedImperator]

btw how come that the droids are stress sensitive? droids can think much faster than humans. or is the stress caused by the fear of being destroyed?

One would assume any self-aware being with a self-preservation instinct would be vulnerable to stress when in danger of death. Though it would be odd for a droid to make a mistake like sticking a data probe into a power outlet, because, as you noted, their brains should operate much faster, giving them time even in dire situations to spot the difference. Though it's also odd that data and power sockets would be so much alike a dataprobe would even fit into one; kinda like designing ethernet jacks so they look like electrical outlets. Maybe Bespin used nonstandard outlets and R2 didn't immediately spot the difference; hell, maybe Cloud City was designed with fake data ports to fry nosy droids.

[Counciler]

I can't imagine damage that would cause a camera to become nearsighted without knocking it out completely. Nearsightedness in humans is the result of the eyeball changing shape so light focuses in front of the retina. A camera isn't made out of soft material that can change shape like that without breaking. Maybe you could knock it just right so the lens is out of position, but even if you could, I can't imagine why you couldn't just replace the camera. Among the many advantages droids would have over humans, you can replace their parts when they break down much more easily than you can squishy biological parts.

Actually, I was referring to the circuitry inside the droid. Possibly some part of his "central processing unit" or 'droid brain' was damaged and no longer processes the visual input correctly. Kinda like if you bang your PC enough times, certain aspects of it will malfuntion or cease to work altogether. Although in R2's case.. it would be malfuntion.... assuming thats the case.

[KhyronTheBackstabber]

Maybe Bespin used nonstandard outlets and R2 didn't immediately spot the difference; hell, maybe Cloud City was designed with fake data ports to fry nosy droids.

That's what I think too. Considering who Lando is, and the type of people he deals with, fake data ports make sense. Plus when R2 tries to jack in, he uses a different probe then usual.

[Spanky The Dolphin]

data port

Scomp link.

[RedImperator]

data port

Scomp link.

Your mom is a scomp link.

[Ted C]

"You'll be malfunctioning within a day, you nearsighted scrap pile!"

I daresay that C-3PO meant this figuratively, not literally. "Nearsighted" in the "you can't see the obvious consequences of this choice" sense, not the "things get blurry for you at more than 2 meters" sense.

[Counciler]

Well that definately makes more sense.... I never thought of it that way. After all, it was the idea that R2 was throwing out that 3PO didnt like. And the whole concept of his insult makes all the more sense if its the IDEA he is insulting.

Hmmmm....

[Spanky The Dolphin]

Well that definately makes more sense.... I never thought of it that way. After all, it was the idea that R2 was throwing out that 3PO didnt like. And the whole concept of his insult makes all the more sense if its the IDEA he is insulting.

Hmmmm....

Dear lord, just hearing that from you is making me feel stupid...

[Isolder74]

Then again C-3PO is the one who wanted to head out into the DUNE SEA. You would think he would want to listen to a droid that is basically a rolling atlas when it come to directions. I think this scene all stems from C-3PO being mad at R2 for getting him into this mess. After all its because of R2 that he got into that escape pod in the first place.

It seems that poor C-3PO was straining to make sense of what was going on, after all being shot at can be very stressful.

[Ted C]

Then again C-3PO is the one who wanted to head out into the DUNE SEA.

Yes, C-3PO disliked R2-D2's choice of direction because it was "too rocky", but later complained that R2 "tricked me into going this way". He's the classic "sour grapes" type. All that doesn't really change the context of his original insult, though.

R2, of course, had a vague idea of where he was going, while 3PO was utterly lost, having had his memory of Tatooine erased. 3PO was already angry at being dumped in the middle of a desert and blamed R2, hence his contrariness.

Personally, I'd have headed for the rocks myself. The rocks will have shade, if nothing else, and people are more likely to settle there than in the open desert. Of course, I'd probably have ended up dying a horrible death in Tusken Raider camp, too.

[Aquatain]

well about bespin ..R2 just came there after being at Dagobah where he got almost eaten an the spit out by a large animal living in the lake, maybe R2 simply had dirt on his Photorecepter (in fact we see luke wiping some dirt off R2's primary "eye" on Dagobah).

[Soontir C'boath]

well about bespin ..R2 just came there after being at Dagobah where he got almost eaten an the spit out by a large animal living in the lake, maybe R2 simply had dirt on his Photorecepter (in fact we see luke wiping some dirt off R2's primary "eye" on Dagobah).

A better explanation was that they were running from stormtroopers firing at them and in that stressful environment he used the wrong appendage to access the data port. The device he used was the same one that discharged electricty as seen in ROTJ when he zapped an Ewok. R2 as was Luke's X-Wing were cleaned up on Dagobah.

[Counciler]

Dear lord, just hearing that from you is making me feel stupid...

Hahahaha, I know.... i just re-read that, and I have no idea what I was saying. I wrote it when I was extraordinarily tired after staying up all night. Heh... sorry.

I'll try to think about my posts next time. [Playful Sarcasm, no offense meant]

[Soontir C'boath]

Dear lord, just hearing that from you is making me feel stupid...

Hahahaha, I know.... i just re-read that, and I have no idea what I was saying. I wrote it when I was extraordinarily tired after staying up all night. Heh... sorry.

I'll try to think about my posts next time. [Playful Sarcasm, no offense meant]

You know, just saying the bolded sentence would've just done you well.

[Elheru Aran]

Regarding Artoo's vision: The large lens in his dome doesn't quite seem suited to his role, especially considering the posture he takes when rolling along. One would think putting the lens on his body, perhaps, would work better, or having multiple lenses available. I'm aware there are more sensors on the dome, but considering the majority of his tools are in the body, and that he's a mechanic droid, it would make sense to have the optical elements closer in to the tools...

[freker]

perhaps there are to many tools to fit more optical instruments

[KhyronTheBackstabber]

The device he used was the same one that discharged electricty as seen in ROTJ when he zapped an Ewok.

The tool he used on Bespin wasn't the same thing he used to zap the Ewok. I couldn't find a picture of them on line, but I made a quick one in MS paint.

The prod he shocked the ewok with, was rectangular, flat and had two prongs sticking out.



The tool he used on Bespin looked like this



He also used this tool to reactivate the Falcon's hyperdrive.