Cyber-Planner

Cyber-Planners were used by the Cybermen to create and direct battle plans and strategies.

Physical Characteristics
The Cyber-planners were approximately six feet tall and consisted of a framework of metal and transparent tubes with a number of lights and a rotating head section, completely immobile and often concealed in a secure place.

The shape of Cyber-Planners differed between the 20th (DW: The Invasion) and 21st centuries. The later "head" section had a more a bulbous, egg-like appearance (DW: The Wheel in Space)

Functions
The Cyber-Planner gathered data from a large variety of sources. It could scan local media transmissions and even channel data from certain human subjects. It used this data to formulate strategies and make decisions based upon probability of success.

The Cyber-Planner had no defensive capabilities and could be destroyed by emotions created by the cerebration mentor, suggesting that they had organic components. (DW: The Invasion)

History
The first Cyber-Planner was formed when the Central Comittee of Mondas abandoned their individual personalities and funnelled their collective intelligence into a mechanical shell. This Cyber-Planner was sabotaged by the Fifth Doctor, who poured wine into its nutrient vats, severely impeding its thought processes. It was later destroyed by a swarm of Cybermats, which had been reprogrammed by the Doctor. (BFA: Spare Parts)

It is not known when the later versions of the Cyber-Planner were built, although the fact that, in the late 20th century, one had knowledge of the Second Doctor's visit to Planet 14 might suggest certainly before that encounter. (DW: The Invasion)

Years before, Tobias Vaughn had a Cyber-Planner (Known as the Cyber-Director) installed in his office at International Electromatics where it acted as a communications channel between Vaughn and the Cybermen. (DW: The Invasion)

The Second Doctor found another Cyber-Planner at work on Earth during a movie shoot of a film based on the Tobias Vaughn incident. (ST: Scientific Adviser)

In the 21st century, Cybermen deferred to a Cyber-Planner while advancing their plan to take Space Station W3. (DW: The Wheel in Space)