Created by RobCo, protectron robots were designed (as their name suggests) for protection, although they can also be seen being used in a manual labor role as well. Typically used in office-type settings, their secondary programming is modular, making them useful as greeters, ticket collectors, bartenders, celebrity or historical figure impersonators, even sexual partners. Typically used in office settings, a large variety of available synthetic personalities and programming options made them universally useful. RobCo offered personalities like the R04 V9 "office helper" with the ability to process and track office protocols and agendas in real time, RobCo RS3 V4.1.6 "utility helper" with automatic routine download and pest extermination mode, RobCo RX2 V1.16.4 "vault helper," loaded with vault protocols. Other models of public service protectrons include medics which are outfitted with a defibrillator, firemen using an internal cryo gun, police officers with electric shock and melee capabilities and even heavy-duty construction workers utilizing internal nail guns. In terms of combat, protectrons are usually weak and easy to defeat, because of their weak weapons and slow movement speed.
In the Commonwealth, protectrons are usually found in charging pods attached to terminals that must sometimes be hacked to activate them. The terminal software allows for different "personalities" to be uploaded to the unit, which changes the unit's voice dialogue and weapon loadout. The choices are: Default, Subway Steward, Construction Worker, Medical Responder, Firefighter and Law Enforcement.
Some attributes of the protectron's looks were derived from 1950's comic books, which keeps with Fallout's overall retrofuturistic theme.
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