Astromech Memories

[Master_Baerne]

BY memory, I mean computer memory, specifically with regards to hyperdrive coordinates. In one of the Boba Fett books that I got rid of a few years ago, it mentioned the hyper coordinates of Coruscant being 0,0. In the Essential Guide to Droids, it says an R2 unit can hold three sets of coordinates in it's memory. This seems like a pretty skimpy amount for a wonderbot like the R2, so what gives?

I've been assuming that the 0,0 is just convenient shorthand for a long string of numbers, or that coordinates get more complicated the farther from the core one gets, so the Kuat might have coordinates of 1,5, while Bespin might have 3,4,7,9,9,9,1,2.

Why this popped into my head, I couldn't tell you.

[Ryushikaze]

I believe the shorthand isn't in the coordinate system, but in calling what the Astromechs keep in active memory 'coordinates'. Hyperspace routes seems a much more likely thing to take up so much memory.

[skies]

BY memory, I mean computer memory, specifically with regards to hyperdrive coordinates. In one of the Boba Fett books that I got rid of a few years ago, it mentioned the hyper coordinates of Coruscant being 0,0. In the Essential Guide to Droids, it says an R2 unit can hold three sets of coordinates in it's memory. This seems like a pretty skimpy amount for a wonderbot like the R2, so what gives?

I've been assuming that the 0,0 is just convenient shorthand for a long string of numbers, or that coordinates get more complicated the farther from the core one gets, so the Kuat might have coordinates of 1,5, while Bespin might have 3,4,7,9,9,9,1,2.

Why this popped into my head, I couldn't tell you.

When they say coordinates, it might be shorthand for coordinates for the entire course through hyperspace so that they avoid major gravity wells. Anyone know anything more?

A navigation computer, also known as an astrogation computer, navicomputer, or nav computer, was a device that made the careful calculations necessary to navigate through hyperspace. Navicomputers would calculate data like the exact destination, the quickest and safest route to it, and the number of hyperspace jumps necessary. Most starships carried a nav computer of some sort, though some starfighters made do with only an astromech droid. Smaller ships often possessed limited nav computers, capable of containing data for only a small number of jumps; larger ships had large dedicated nav computers capable of storing coordinates for nearly any foreseeable destination.

[Master_Baerne]

Allrighty then, thanks a lot.

[Gullible Jones]

Hmm... In ANH, R2D2 was able to store the Death Star's 3D plans. The DS is at least 160 km in diameter, and the resolution had to be 1 meter at a minimum to show that exhaust vent - probably higher. R2 transferred that to the Rebels' computers in a matter of seconds, IIRC. I figure it should be possible to get some minumum (probably an extreme minimum) for memory and read speeds by looking at that.

(And I have to say, that does look pretty good to me by the standards of modern computers. Reading and sending detailed 3D plans for a moon-sized starship would probably keep my laptop occupied for hours, at least.)

[Zwinmar]

My initial reaction is that a number like 0.0 is the sector, however the navcomp has to calculate every variance, or at least that can be reasonably predicted. So, you not just going to 0.0, your going to 0.0 via an exponential amount of obstacles. This is not inclueding that space is 3 dimentions..the navigate around the earth, you use latitude and longitude, down to the minute and seconds. However, in space you have another axis to work with..so..I can see how it would be extremely complicated.

[Kurgan]

1.2 mb

[Stark]

640kb.

[phred]

R2 runs on a Commodor?