Reformat

Reformatting

Reformatting is a term used throughout the Transformers universes. Its use originated in the Beast Machines continuity, where it referred specifically to the change from mechanical or biological to technorganic by the power of the Oracle, a supercomputer deep within the heart of Cybertron. Since then, it has also come to refer to Transformers using internal or external devices to "scan" an alternate mode, such as a car, so they can transform into it. In the movie continuity, for example, the Autobots use individual, internalized systems to scan cars and trucks in the "Autobots Descend" sequence, as Starscream does with a jet fighter in episode 3 of the new Transformers Animated series. In slight contrast, the Autobots in TF Animated, as well as the Transformers in Beast Wars, use an external scanning device and a special reconstruction chamber to effect the reformatting.

From Teletraan I: The Transformers Wiki, a Wikia wiki.