Diagnostic Drone


 * Diagnostic drones are characters/devices in the Beast Machines portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.

The diagnostic drones were used by Megatron during his tenure as ruler of Cybertron. They were small, very roughly ovoid, flying devices with one visual sensor, two clawed arms, and two "wings". They are explictly depicted as sparkless, and have no apparent altmode, and thus are not Transformers. However one drone possessed a voice, the ability to use advanced and experimental technology, and apparently emotions and a sense of humor. It was thus either a true artificial intelligence, or a very good simulation of one. Whether all drones were that advanced, or just the one that got the most screen time, is unclear.

On the other hand, Megatron got his spark stuck in one, once. So, either they are capable of having sparks (and thus, being real Transformers), or Megatron's spark has the ability to possess things not normally suitable as Transformer bodies. Probably the latter.

Diagnostic drones sometimes show up in comics in the background of scenes set on Cybertron and elsewhere, even millions of years removed from the Beast Era. (E.g., in The War Within.) These sightings are probably just Easter eggs, but could indicate that diagnostic drones are actually a very ancient and ubiquitous technology.