Binary loadlifters were low-level labor droids that functioned in a cargo loading capacity. Binary loadlifters were one of the best examples of the pre-Republic droid inventions in the galaxy's murky history. Most load lifters had two strong hydraulic limbs which could slide underneath crates and other cargo, although some had strong grasper-like claws for smaller cargo. A loadlifter could only speak in binary code. They understood simple verbal commands, but more complex requests were better left to the protocol droids. All loadlifters had a single photoreceptor that doubled as a cargo code reader. They were very dull witted. A well-known example of this is an incident on the planet Stassia in which a loadlifter stacked crate after crate on top of one another, the floor boards straining beneath the weight and finally collapsing. The loadlifter looked down the very deep hole, and returned for another crate. With no guidance for such a situation, it continued its work and dropped every crate down the hole.
C-3PO believed he had initially been employed in the preparation of binary loadlifters, after his memory was erased aboard the Tantive IV.