Bonus Content: The 00 Automaton Series · 3:15am May 8th, 2017
In light of the most recent chapter, I thought it might be nice to have some profiles on our favorite robot and her siblings. I've been wanting to do this for a while, but I wanted to wait until... well, if you haven't read the latest chapter, I won't spoil things.
For those of you who have, let's talk about the 00 production line! 
Note: For height comparisons, I estimate most ponies stand at around 3 feet, 6 inches / 107 cm, based on some findings in this thread. Take it as my headcanon, and by no means official. 
Unit 001: Prototype Model
001 was originally designed to be a vessel for Georgia Peach's mind, but due to flawed ideas about the mind and the ability to adequately preserve information from it, the process failed. 001's brain is the least complex of her siblings, and due to that, her thoughts get crisscrossed and diverted, making her behavior impulsive and random. She's also the least intelligent of the siblings; essentially she has the mind of a small child. Despite this, her reflexes are still those of a robot, and thus better than any organic pony's.
-Age: 9 years, 6 months
-Eyes: Green
-Height: 3'4" / 101.5 cm (slightly below average mare's height)
-Material: Steel (exterior), which is why she's less shiny than the other robots; polymer (mane/tail)
-Modes: None / Neutral
-Abilities: None known.
-Battery Life: 2 weeks of continuous operation (longest of the series)
-Misc: Due to the way her neural net was created, 001 is the only one of the robots with no "programming," meaning she lacks built in directives and there is no way to add them. Thus, she cannot be commanded or given directives that she has to follow. Like an organic pony, she can choose to obey or disobey as she pleases. Fortunately for TechQuestria, she isn't particularly strong, and wouldn't be difficult to subdue if she tried to resist.
Unit 002: Test Model
After 001 was regarded as a failure, 002 was constructed with a much more complex brain and additional components to allow her to be programmed with directives. Her design was also simplified in many ways, which is why she has only one eye. At her construction, she had only the barest functionality: she could walk, but not talk, for instance. She had to be taught and slowly adjusted to understand what principles for creating an automaton worked and what didn't. She became exceptionally intelligent and capable in numerous areas. After being deemed a success, however, she was mostly relegated to assisting around TechQuestria, while the data gained from her was used to construct the most advanced robot to date: the 003 units.
...She was not happy about this.
-Age: 6 years
-Eye: Yellow
-Height: ~3'9" / 114 cm (about as tall as Twilight or the average adult stallion)
-Material: Titanium (exterior), brass alloy (hooves); polymer (mane and tail)
-Modes: None/Neutral
-Abilities: Can interface and control drones and various other devices around TechQuestria; this was done to make her a better assistant with maintenance tasks, allowing her to get to tough places where nopony else could go
-Battery Life: 1 week
-Misc.: 002 is the longest continuously-functioning robot in the series. She is also the only one that regularly uses contractions when speaking, a result of her longtime exposure to organics and her attempt at emulating their behavior. Despite that, her high intelligence is mostly underutilized for menial tasks. She has been used to partly program her younger siblings and make them even more complex and stable, but she hates the fact that the thing she's been used for most is a stepping stone to her successors. She's bored, resentful, embittered, and increasingly looks down on her masters. Trying to figure out what she's really after is more complicated than it might seem...
Most TechQuestrian personnel find her unsettling or annoying, but their comments to Professor Cobbler have fallen on deaf ears, as he doesn't believe 002 is trying to be antagonistic (since he doesn't believe automata can have emotions). As long as she completes her tasks quickly and efficiently (which she does), he doesn't see a problem.
Unit 003M (Turing Test): Production/General Purpose Model
003M, better known as Turing Test, was designed to act as Twilight's assistant and bodyguard while secretly gathering information and analyzing weaknesses and also subtly trying to make her more sympathetic to the idea of a democracy. Umahara would have been her contact in Ponyville. When her original programming was lost, TechQuestria left her in place, an unknowing spy in Twilight's midst. The components that allowed for more computer programming were used more extensively with her than with 002, though, which is why she has more rigid mannerisms and stiffer language.
-Age: ~1 year, 3 months (about 7 months since being found in AJ's orchard)
-Eyes: Purple
-Height: 3'6" / 107 cm (average height for mare)
-Material: Titanium (exterior), brass alloy (hooves), orichalcum (horn & wings), polymer (mane/tail)
-Modes: Neutral, E, U, P (cannot use simultaneously)
-Abilities: Is capable of perfectly mimicking almost any spell she has seen performed; enhanced ocular lenses allow her to see energies and magical fields as well as grant her night vision; a component in the core of her neural net has a copy of her default programming, allow her to reboot and operate even if her higher functions are wiped (which is how she managed to function after being struck by lightning); her Faraday cage (given to her by Gadget) makes her strongly resistant to electrical shocks
-Battery Life: 3 days (neutral mode); ~12-24 hours (E, U, P mode depending on activities)
-Misc.: She can use contractions, but dislikes doing so because she finds them imprecise (her programming deliberately made her favor stiffer, more technical/formal language for the sake of being precise). She was also the 2nd of the 003 units to be created; the engineers working on 003S commented that having 2 such machines would be beneficial, and Twilight might subconsciously prefer a female companion and grant her greater access to her private life, so they started work on a female model.
Unit 003S
Turing's twin brother. He was destroyed during a test flight when all three of his modes were activated simultaneously. For this reason, 003M was given the Mode Switch.
-Age: 1 years, 6 months (2.5 months at time of destruction)
-Height: 3'9" / 114 cm
-Material: See 003M
-Modes: Neutral, E, U, P, A (for "alicorn mode," using all 3 modes simultaneously, which created so much heat that it fried his circuitry and demagnetized his neural net, destroying him)
-Abilities: See 003M; A-Mode
-Battery Life: See 003M
-Misc.: The first male in the series. After his destruction, many of 003S's parts were used in Turing's construction to save time and money, most notably her ears (which is why they squeak on their hinges and why they snap off rather easily - they weren't made to be a perfect fit). After Turing was damaged by 004, many of his components were also used in her repair, notably one of his eyes and his wings. 003S is beyond repair and should be considered "deceased."
Unit 004S: Combat Model
004 was already being designed when Turing Test was struck by lightning, but they hurried the process and shortened the schedule when they realized they probably wouldn't be able to control Turing at all after Umahara's cover was blown. TechQuestria already had plans to create automata that could be used in combat after the revolution to suppress resistance, so designing something that could overcome 003 was their goal.
-Age: 3 months
-Eyes: Blue
-Height: 5'6" / 168 cm (taller than Big Mac, almost as tall as Celestia)
-Material: Titanium (exterior), brass alloy (hooves), orichalcum (horn), polymer (mane/tail)
-Modes: Neutral, E, U
-Abilities: 004 is the only robot to be able to use multiple modes without risk. To cool himself more quickly, he can vent steam externally, rather than relying on only his mane as a heat sink. He's also the strongest and most durable, and he also has a Faraday cage to avoid what happend with 003.
-Battery Life: 1 day in Neutral Mode; 12 hours using one mode continuously; 4 hours using two
-Misc.: The youngest of the siblings. Due to the short amount of time that he's been active and the narrow focus of his programming (combat and security), he has a very straightforward and simplistic view of the world. He narrowly focuses on his objectives and will work relentlessly to accomplish them. He doesn't understand much about why his sisters act the way they do.
Well, I hope that was interesting for you all. If you have any further questions, I'll try my best to answer them without giving spoilers. Until next time! 
Interesting. (and a nice way to have something to ponder on while waiting for the next chapter
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3 questions that came to mind :
-What's the reasons behind the shift in design regarding the faceplate area ? While the overall design remained mostly the same across models, this part was consistently changed. Was it purely a aesthetical statement or was there some other reasons ?
-What about their weights ? Given her "hull" material, 001 should be substantially heavier than every other model, baring maybe 004 (because of his sheer bulk) , because of the fact that steel density is nearly twice that of titanium.
-Related to the above, does all models use the same battery model or does they each use a different one ? Based on her supposed weight (hence with I said it was related to the above question) and her operating time, 001 must either use a greater power supply than her later siblings, or be so simple in design that she use barely any power to function (and most of it is being used to move her weight... )
... I couldn't help but make a parallel with phones, 001 is the Nokia 3210 (Ancient, bulky, heavy but durable and with an exceedingly long battery life) to 004 "smartphone" (Advanced, but with an extremely short battery life... Also ironic, because 004 isn't that smart
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Ooh, so 001 has complete free will? Nice.
Yeah I kind of feel for 002, the creators believing she is incapable of more than what she was designed for must infuriate 002 intellect.
Awww, poor 003s, I feel saddened by his story.
Woohoo! 003m is Best beepboop mare.
Ok, just keep running away from 004s for 24 hours and he will run out of power, got it. (I know, easier said than done.
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The way they treat 002 is just wrong. I feel really sad for 003s died. I wonder if 002 would join Turing in ponyville?
4524423 I don't think so, after all, she has been so abused (and exposed to Valentine) that she has developed an evil personality...
005 hype?
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That's what makes the scenario interesting !
(not to mention the fact that Twilight is a real pro when it comes to redemption/turning a vilain around...not that 002 is strictly a vilain at this point)
Plus, seing 002 interacting with Ponyvilians along with Turing would be... Interesting, to say the least.
Especially given her personality
Just imagine for a second Turing trying to teach her sadistic big sister everything she learned, and trying to justify and/or improve her behavior regarding others in order to be both a good sister and a good friend.
Really interesting and really explain a lot! Why I think that 004's battery life will be a Chekov's Gun...
I'm really glad that Turing was struck by a lightning because otherwise she would have acted as a Poison Friend...
EDIT: Also it is interesting that TechQuestria developed a general purpose model *and* a combat model
4524355 Great questions, Deynarth!
001's jaw moves as she speaks. However, they quickly realized that this didn't really add much to the process and was just one more thing that could go wrong and need maintenance, so they did away with it in favor of a faceplate with vents.
002's they changed to give the 003 units a more pronounced nose, deciding it made the model "cuter," and they needed it to be able to interact with strangers as best they could. From 003 to 004, they wanted to give him a more masculine muzzle while looking a bit more intimidating (since he is, after all, designed for combat). However, truth be told, I asked Green for a "trapezoid" shape and it kinda looks more like a barn or a house. That's my fault, though, as I didn't leave enough time for a ton of revisions.
I'm sure Green would have changed that if I'd asked.
The steel hull would make 001 pretty heavy, yes, but TechQuestria didn't really have access to titanium, while Carneighgie Steel has made steel readily available. It's not very thick, though, so she doesn't weigh that much more than 003 (and 004 is much heavier). A lot of 001's machinery is put into carrying herself. Transitioning into the next question...
The models are slightly different, but they each have about the same capacity. The issue is with what they do: runic computing relies on electricity to activate the runes. Since the automata have neural nets that are constantly firing, the more complex the brain is, the more juice they use. 001's is the simplest and she has no modes or special abilities that would drain her power, thus she can operate pretty well for a long time. As an example of what I mean, her nose is just for decoration, while the other robots are constantly analyzing the air, "smelling" it, which takes up brain power. The others are also constantly taking in data on every single thing around them at all times, while 001 can only focus on a few things. Her memory's just as good, but only if she was actively paying attention to something. Put simply, 001 sees the forest, but 003 has already counted the trees. The weight and other abilities of 003 and 004 also drain their power, so they have less battery life than 001 and 002.
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Ha! That's not too far off from the truth! Though I will say that 004 isn't dumb... he's just very single-minded and needs more time to develop. After all, if you look at Turing's early behavior, you'll see that she was pretty dense right out of the box. That's pretty normal for a young automaton without much experience, and 004's experiences have been very limited.
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I'll just go ahead and state that there is no 005 waiting in the wings, nor will one show up in this story. Sorry.
Thanks for the comments and additional questions, folks. I hope you'll enjoy the next chapter, when all of the siblings will get some moments in...
4525511 We like how you say "they" when the number of IRL people hardly qualifies. :D
We keep thinking this internally, but 002 would make an excellent Consensus Monitor and Facilitator drone...
4525905 Ha! Well, it's true that the design choices are mine, but those decisions are made with some consideration for what Cobbler and the other engineers might actually have had in mind. Plus, it gives the excuse to have varying body types between the robots.
4525511 Runic computing with neural networks?
Dang! This is right in line with my personal interests. I have GOT to catch up on this story!