Personal Drone Swarms

Many of the galaxy's inhabitants, especially the well-to-do and those from technologically advanced worlds, are often attended by swarms of small robots.  These drones are typically coordinated via an app on the user's personal media device, or neural interface.

Often, a group of drones with related functions will be packaged and marketed together as a swarm.  One of the more popular swarms is the "Pixie Pals" by Pegasus Cybernetics, a group of personal security devices marketed primarily to young women.

Another common application of this technology is the personal constructor swarm, a group of robots designed to rapidly fabricate a wide variety of items.

Some personal drone swarms are purely ornamental, acting as a form of automated jewelry.

Flashlight Robot

The Flashlight Robot made by Pegasus Cybernetics, was originally designed as a gift by Barvik Muglow (one of Pegasus' lead engineers) for his son's birthday in GSC 65.  It was so popular among Muglow's coworkers that he later submitted an official prototype that was developed into the popular workshop assistant.

Standing a svelte 20cm high,(with the head extended), and weighing about half a kilogram, the Flashlight-bot was easily portable.  Later iterations of the design included additional features, such as a video projector.

General-purpose humanoid robots

One of the most persistent designs in robotics is the humanoid.  Mimicking humanity was the most obvious path to development for many early efforts in the field.  As a result, many of the most successful robot designs have been humanoid in form.

After the Third Robot War, the Planetary League adopted the Rubric of Duty into law, officially confining all commercially produced robots and AIs to a single specialized purpose, effectively preventing them from achieving general intelligence.  Even with this regulatory regime, general-purpose hardware remained popular, and many programmers and DIY enthusiasts (on both sides of the law) continually sought to push the boundaries of ability.

For example, the Pegasus Cybernetics S-series, which first saw production in GSC 54 was widely popular, and was adapted to a wide variety of tasks.

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Robots

Robots fill many roles, and have a wide array of functions here are some examples:

Cargo robots are designed to carry heavy loads.

General-purpose robots could perform most of the functions of a human worker, but were generally limited to a single function.

Power Utility robots store and dispense large amounts of energy.

Superstructure Maintenance robots repair the outer hulls of space-craft and space stations.

Virobots are parasites on intelligent life-forms.

Virobots

Based on an original concept by TR Merchen

Description

Virobots (short for Virus Robots) are small robots that attach themselves to intelligent life-forms in order to have those life-forms build more of their kind. This is usually accomplished via neural probes that connect to the host's brain or spine.  The Virobot then communicates the idea to build robots, and the plans to build its offspring directly into the host's nervous system.  The effects vary by strain.  The most common Virobots give their host a quirky hobby that can last for several weeks.  The more dangerous strains can be fatal, causing the host to obsess over the construction process while neglecting to eat or sleep.  Most strains of Virobots stick to a single species of hosts, although cross-species infection is not unheard-of.

Sometimes, during an epidemic, star-ships are found drifting through space filled with Virobots, the entire crew dead from converting the life-support systems into Virobots.  At one point, an exploration mission from the Planetary League even found a planet with the crumbling remains of an advanced civilization thickly infested with Virobots.

History

Nobody knows for sure who built the first Virobot or why, but most speculation points to the Cult of Troniac.  The first known outbreaks of Virobot activity in the Empire of 1,000,000 Suns date to the middle of the 1,000 Years War.  

The first cases in human-dominated space were in the corporate state of Gazillion, but they rapidly spread to the Planetary League and beyond.  

Midway through Era-1, scientists at the University of Aldebaran 2 discovered several methods of altering Virobots to  perform more precise forms of mind-control.  It became common for mental health patients to have Virobots attached as part of treatment.  They also saw wide use in the criminal justice systems of the more advanced cultures.  

During Era-2, The Holy Empire of Man used Virobots to enhance the fanaticism of its followers, and to enforce it in dissidents.  

During Era-3, the Galactic Republic specifically engineered strains of Virobots to enhance the mental capabilities of its citizens.  These custom-designed Virobots became fashionable, and functional appendages to many life-forms.