Android

Androids are mechanical/robotic constructs built to take on the appearance and physical characteristics of a living being. While all androids may be robots, not all robots are androids. R2-D2 for example is designed to fulfill a specific function, which does not include direct interaction with living beings and as such, could never be confused for one. His partner, C-3PO however, while ostensibly a robot, is constructed to emulate certain physical traits common to sentient bipedal races including ocular vision, articulated limbs, joints, phlanges, reproductive organs, etc. Androids are also distinguished from cyborgs in that they are completely artificial with no organic components.

Highly advanced androids can be programmed to imitate human behavior and, depending upon the design, may even pass themselves off as human. Some androids have even convinced themselves that they are human. By and large, androids are non-sentient entities regardless of how lifelike they may appear. There have been many situations however, where an android's programming will become so advanced that it will achieve self awareness and develop into an artificial intelligence. A self aware android will develop the capacity for human emotion, a sense of expression, as well as desires and objectives beyond its original programming.

Androids feature heavily in nearly all elements of science fiction film and literature. One of the earliest classic examples of an android is the gynoid Maria, or Maschinenmensch featured in the 1927 dystopic silent film Metropolis by Fritz Lang. Maria's stark, striking features and calm, placid face later inspired the original concept sketches for C-3PO as designed by Ralph McQuarrie in the Star Wars mythos.

Aliens
Androids are presented in the Aliens film series and have appeared, to one extent or another, in all four of the original main films, as well as the 2012 prequel movie, Prometheus. The first android model presented in the franchise was the Hyperdyne Systems 120-A2, which appeared in the first film, Alien in 1979.

The Hyperdyne Systems 120-A2 model android was constructed by Hyperdyne Systems as a fully functional synthetic human. Hyperdyne created a 120-A2 unit that was named Ash, which was placed into service to the Weyland-Yutani Corporation. He was assigned to serve as Science Officer aboard the commercial towing vessel Nostromo under the command of Captain Dallas. Neither Dallas nor the rest of the crew were aware that Ash was an android, and as such, were unaware of his true mission. Weyland-Yutani sent Ash on the Nostromo under Special Order 937, which involved the procurement of an alien organism which was believed to originate somewhere in the Zeta II Reticuli System on the Outer rim of the galaxy. All other matters were considered secondary and the crew was expendable.

Eve of Destruction
A scientist named Doctor Eve Simmons created an advanced gynoid for the military in her own image called Eve VIII, which she claimed possesses all of the passion that she herself lacked. More notable however, was the fact that the android housed a nuclear bomb. As with most such cases, technology ran amok and the Eve VIII found herself in the midst of a bank robbery where she was accidentally shot by automatic weapons fire, causing her internal explosives to go active. As such, Eve VIII became a wild killing machine, acting out the darker passions of her creator. She called upon her most base programming, which required her to defend herself at all costs - even if doing so, cost the lives of everyone else around her. Doctor Simmons enlisted the aid of Colonel Jim McQuade to stop her.

Star Wars
In the world of Star Wars, all robots are referred to as droids. This includes androids, robots that do not maintain a humanoid appearance, as well as machinery, vehicles and spacecraft that implement droid components. The most popular android design featured in Star Wars are the protocol droid series. The character of C-3PO, played by British actor Anthony Daniels, is but one example of a protocol droid featured in the films, cartoons and comics. C-3PO is also the first character seen in the original film Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and has the first lines in the movie as well. The second android seen in the film was U-3PO, a gold-plated droid who bore a strong resemblance to C-3PO and was briefly seen in the beginning of the fil. An alternate design model found in the same movie was the RA-7 protocol droid (sometimes erroneously referred to as a "Death Star Droid"). An RA-7 droid was briefly seen in the Jawa Sandcrawler on Tatooine.

In the fifth episode in the series The Empire Strikes Back, a white-plated protocol droid called K-3PO can be seen at Echo Base on the planet Hoth in the first act of the film. Another protocol droid featured during these scenes was R-3PO, who is easily distinguishable from K-3PO due to his crimson plating.

An altogether different style of android was also seen in the form of IG-88. IG-88 was an assassin droid and a bounty hunter. Personified as a male, he was briefly seen with several other bounty hunters aboard an Imperial Star Destroyer.

In the prequel trilogy, series creator George Lucas introduced a different type of android - the B1 series Battle droid. The Battle droids were only quasi-humanoid and could never be mistaken for a living being. They were the infantry troops of the Trade Federation and were featured as the primary militant antagonists in the series. In an effort to bring some humor to the film series, the Battle droids were given personalities and were often portrayed as slow-witted and bumbling.

The second film installment, Attack of the Clones, introduced the B2 super battle droid, which were larger in size and capable of wielding heavier artillery.