One thing I sort of enjoy drawing, but don't really draw all that often, is robots. I was dealing with some serious burn-out a while back, but wanted to be productive still, so I decided to take a shot at robots again.

With a few advanced space-faring races and factions in my galaxy it seemed like a good excuse to take a bit of a break from drawing anthro stuff and draw some of the machines that would work alongside them.

This is a rather common Starfarer automech, and similar to the Jeroban units I posted previously, it's meant to be a multi-purpose unit, versatile and capable of handling a variety of tasks. Equipped with both legs for walking (the tips of the legs are also manipulator claws, enabling the mech to grab and manipulate objects or even climb over rough terrain) and a repulsorlift engine (enabling it to hover), these drones are exceptionally useful around the massive interstellar starcruisers the Starfarers call home.

These units can perform any number of tasks, ranging from simple security patrols to ship maintenance, and some machinery and starships come equipped with a special docking port that one of these automechs can sit in and assist in operating. With some minor modification to their engines, they can be used as probe drones. They can also be equipped with a variety of specialized tools and attachments by the end user to specialize them for particular roles and tasks.

As Starfarers typically live aboard interstellar ships but also explore uncharted areas of space, including the surfaces of planets, asteroids, comets and moons, these robots need to be extremely tough, adaptable, and independent, able to figure out how to perform their assigned duties without the input of organic supervisors in many cases. As a result, they are far more intelligent than their Jeroban counterparts.

However, numerous similarities between Starfarer and Jeroban automecha exist, as both races need their mechs to be able to perform similar tasks, and interaction (although very limited, with the most prominent interaction being a war between the Cygnian Federation and the Lightbearer Dominion) between the two groups leading to a bit of cross-pollination of ideas. This makes it a bit challenging to describe one in detail without basically copying the description of another, as aside from their means of movement (Jeroban favoring wheeled units while Starfarers equip theirs with legs and repulsorlift) and Starfarer units being far more intelligent as their creators are far more comfortable with AI, they are very similar in overall use and functionality. Both groups' mechs feature a variety of sensors, interface ports for connecting to other machinery, an expandable architecture designed for the end user to add useful attachments, and the ability to dock with and take control (partially or completely) of equipment and vehicles with the necessary docking sockets.

The term "automech" (a combination of "autonomous" and "machine") is going to be my universe's equivalent to the term "droid", which as it turns out, is a registered trademark. I'm offering "automech" as an alternative term, and if anyone else wants to use the term, feel free.