Before robots can be discussed, it is necessary to detail a piece of Fourth Edition equipment that has been omitted from Fifth Edition: the I. D. Card.

An I. D. Card is a physical representation of the authority to command a robot. Each I. D. is a color-coded plastic card containing electronic circuits that the robot scans to determine the access level that it provides. The robot then scans and records the voice and retinal patterns of the presenter, so that the card does not need to be repeatedly presented. I. D. cards are divided into six access categories detailed below. It is important to note that different organizations utilizing I. D. cards would have separate cards that will not overlap in authority. For example, a police I. D. card cannot command a military robot and a domestic I. D. card cannot command a corporate robot. It
must also be noted that separate cards were issued to each individual power structure. Thus, a military I. D. will only command robots from the base where it is recovered, a corporate I. D. will only command robots from the corporation that issued it, a police I. D. will only command robots from the I. D.’s original city, and so on.
In addition, each I. D. card has a further secondary access level rated from 1 to 6 (1d6) within the basic access level. A card with a higher number can override commands given using a card with the same authority but a lower number.

The six access levels are:

Common-Everyday cards used by ordinary people. These can be used to command a robot to perform its normal functions.
Supervisor-Override any current activity. The robot obeys the supervisor’s orders, as long as they are within the robot’s normal functions.
Maintenance-Causes a robot to allow itself to be shut down or partially disassembled for repairs or modification.
Program Override-Allows the basic function of the robot to be changed. For example, a security robot could be reprogrammed to function as a valet.
Civil Authority Override-Allows any corporate or private robot to be completely controlled, regardless of the robot’s normal function.
Security Override-Allows complete control of civil security robots, such as police robots. Each type of civil function has separate cards.
There is also a separate military security override card.