Escape pods are small emergency craft designed to detach from a larger vessel or launch from a planetary surface as a means of escape from a disaster. As such, these pods feature a simplified design to make them easy to use. Some planets maintain a network of escape pods to flee from surface danger into the upper atmosphere. When at a high altitude, these pods then transmit distress signals. Some pods are used for interstellar travel, and are equipped with hyperdrives, but these are rare. Use of pods is usually restricted only to organic lifeforms -- not droids. As such these pods are also known as lifepods.