{{short description|Fictional device}} {{Infobox fictional artifact | name = Tricorder | image = File:Original Series Tricorder - Star Trek - Exploring New Worlds Exhibit at the Henry Ford Museum - 49784790468.jpg | image_size = | caption = Tricorder from the original series | alt = | source = Star Trek | source_type = franchise | company = | first = Star Trek: The Original Series | first_ep = | first_type = | date = | creator = Gene Roddenberry | episode_creator = | type = Sensor | genre = Science fiction | owner = | traits = | uses = | affiliation = Starfleet }}
A '''tricorder''' is a fictional handheld sensor that exists in the ''Star Trek'' universe. The tricorder is a multifunctional hand-held device that can perform environmental scans, data recording, and data analysis; hence the word "tricorder" to refer to the three functions of sensing, recording, and computing. In ''Star Trek'' stories the devices are issued by the fictional Starfleet organization.
The original physical prop for the tricorder was designed by Wah Chang and appeared in "The Man Trap" in 1966, the first ''Star Trek'' episode to air.
==Types==
The tricorder of the 23rd century, as seen in ''Star Trek: The Original Series'', is a black, rectangular device with a top-mounted rotating hood, two opening compartments, and a shoulder strap. The top pivots open, exposing a small screen and control buttons. When closed it resembles a portable tape recorder.
Three main variants appear in shows. The standard tricorder is a general-purpose device used primarily to scout unfamiliar areas, make detailed examination of living things, and record and review technical data. The medical tricorder is used by doctors to help diagnose diseases and collect bodily information about a patient; the key difference between this and a standard tricorder is a detachable hand-held high-resolution scanner stored in a compartment of the tricorder when not in use. The engineering tricorder is fine-tuned for starship engineering purposes. There are also many other lesser-used varieties of special-use tricorders.
The ship's medical variant employs a detachable "sensor probe" stored in the bottom compartment when not in use. The probe, although originally thought to have been fashioned from a spare salt shaker, was actually scratch-built for the show; the conical Danish salt shakers were set dressing, used as laser scalpels.
The 24th-century version of the tricorder introduced in ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' is a small, gray, hand-held model with a flip-out panel to allow for a larger screen. This design was later refined with a slightly more angular appearance that was seen in most ''Next Generation''–era movies as well as later seasons of ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' and ''Voyager''. In the post-''Next Generation''-era (''Star Trek: Nemesis'' and ''Star Trek: Elite Force II''), a newer tricorder was introduced. It is flatter, with a small flap that opens on top and a large touchscreen interface.
==Production== The tricorder prop for the original ''Star Trek'' series was designed and built by Wah Ming Chang,{{r|insidestartrek|p=119|q=Wah Chang's design sketch for the Tricorder.}} who created several futuristic props under contract.<ref name="insidestartrek">{{cite book|last1=Solow|first1=Herbert|author-link1=Herbert Franklin Solow|first2=Robert|last2=Justman|author-link2=Robert H. Justman| title =Inside Star Trek: The Real Story| publisher =Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.| year =1996|pages=118{{ndash}}119| isbn =0-671-89628-8| quote=I struck a deal and gave them Matt's detailed working drawings, and they departed, with Wah already planning how he would execute Matt's phaser pistol design, in addition to building the other two props. He finished everything perfectly and made several beautiful hero models of all three props, and all the dummy mockups that I knew the show would require.| quote-page=119}}</ref><ref name="startreksketchbook">{{cite book|last1=Solow|first1=Herbert F.|author-link1=Herbert Franklin Solow|first2=Yvonne Fern|last2=Solow| title =The Star Trek Sketchbook: The Original Series| publisher =Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.| year =1997|pages=238{{ndash}}239| isbn =0-671-00219-8| quote=Wah was working as a partner in the special effects and design firm Projects Unlimited during the production of the first ''Star Trek'' pilot, "The Cage." Thereafter, Wah dissolved his relationship with Projects Unlimited and worked independently from his home studio in Altadena, California. He soon became the "phantom" supplier of most of ''Star Trek's'' alien beings and hand props. | quote-page=239}}</ref><ref name="startrek.com">{{cite web |title=Creative Staff: Wah Ming Chang |url=http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/library/creative/bio/5699.html |publisher=StarTrek.com |access-date=10 July 2009 |archive-date=27 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527092702/http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/library/creative/bio/5699.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Some of his designs are considered to have been influential on later, real-world consumer electronics devices. For instance, his communicator inspired cell phone inventor Martin Cooper's desire to create his own form of mobile communication device.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.editinternational.com/read.php?id=4810edf3a83f8 |title=Star Trek Tech |access-date=October 20, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111028200606/http://www.editinternational.com/read.php?id=4810edf3a83f8 |archive-date=October 28, 2011 }}</ref> Many other companies followed this example and life-sized replicas remain popular collectibles today. The tricorder in ''The Next Generation'' was initially inspired by the HP-41C scientific calculator.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ottens.co.uk/forgottentrek/tng_10.php|title=Interview with Rick Sternbach|access-date=January 16, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111121145857/http://www.ottens.co.uk/forgottentrek/tng_10.php |archive-date=November 21, 2011 }}</ref>
=="Real" tricorders== {{see also|Medical tricorder}} Software exists to make hand-held devices simulate a tricorder. Examples include Jeff Jetton's Tricorder for the PalmPilot; the Web application for the Pocket PC, iPhone, and iPod Touch; and an Android version.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://code.google.com/p/moonblink/wiki/Tricorder |title=Tricorder - moonblink - A tricorder for Android. - Project Hosting on Google Code |date=2010-02-10 |access-date=2016-02-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100210033110/http://code.google.com/p/moonblink/wiki/Tricorder |archive-date=February 10, 2010 }}</ref>
Vital Technologies Corporation sold a portable device dubbed the "Official Star-Trek Tricorder Mark 1" (formally, the TR-107 Tricorder Mark 1) in 1996. Its features were an "Electromagnetic Field (EMF) Meter", "Two-Mode Weather Station" (thermometer and barometer), "Colorimeter" (no wavelength given), "Light meter", and "Stardate Clock and Timer" (a clock and timer). Spokespersons claimed the device was a "serious scientific instrument".<ref>{{cite web |date=1996-09-27 |title=Real Tricorders |url=http://www.stim.com/Stim-x/0996September/Sparky/tricorder.html |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211123032639/http://www.stim.com:80/Stim-x/0996September/Sparky/tricorder.html |archive-date=2021-11-23 |access-date=2016-02-15 |publisher=Stim.com}}</ref> Vital Technologies marketed the TR-107 as a limited run of 10,000 units before going out of business, although far fewer than 10,000 were likely ever built. The company was permitted to call this device a "tricorder" because Gene Roddenberry's contract included a clause allowing any company able to create functioning technology to use the name.{{citation needed|date=November 2013}}
In February 2007, researchers from Purdue University publicly announced their portable (briefcase-sized) DESI-based mass spectrometer, the ''Mini-10'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.purdue.edu/UNS/html4ever/2006/060316.Cooks.desi06.html |title=Purdue chemical-analysis method promises fast results |publisher=Pursue University |date=2006-03-16 |access-date=2016-02-15 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080408101747/http://www.purdue.edu/UNS/html4ever/2006/060316.Cooks.desi06.html |archive-date=April 8, 2008 }}</ref> which can be used to analyze compounds in ambient conditions without prior sample preparation. This was also announced as a "tricorder".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gearlive.com/news/article/purdue-scientists-create-portable-tricorder-03091253/ |title=Purdue Scientists Create Portable Tricorder |publisher=Gear Live |date=2007-03-09 |access-date=2016-02-15}}</ref>
In March 2008, British biotech company QuantuMDx was founded to develop the world's first handheld DNA lab, a molecular diagnostic point-of-care device which will provide disease diagnosis in under 15 minutes. In March 2014, the company launched a crowdfunding campaign to support clinical trials of the device and to name it.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-future-quantumdx-handheld-dna-lab#/ |title=The Future: QuantuMDx Handheld DNA Lab |access-date=2016-02-15}}</ref> Contributors and members of the public called for the device to be officially named a "Tricorder".
In May 2008, researchers from Georgia Tech publicly announced<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gatech.edu/newsroom/release.html?id=1886 |title=New Technology Puts Biomedical Imaging in Palm of Hands|access-date=June 16, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080526072853/http://www.gatech.edu/newsroom/release.html?id=1886 |archive-date=May 26, 2008 }}</ref> their portable hand-held multi-spectral imaging device, which aids in the assessment of the severity of an injury under the skin, including the detection of pressure ulcers, regardless of lighting conditions or skin pigmentation. The day after the announcement, technology websites, including Inside Tech<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=12322 |title=New "Miracle Diagnosis" Handheld Medical Scanner 800 Times More Sensitive Than Full-size Scanners |publisher=DailyTech |access-date=2016-02-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303230203/http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=12322 |archive-date=2016-03-03 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and The Future of Things,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thefutureofthings.com/news/1202/science-fiction-saving-lives.html|title=Science Fiction Saving Lives|access-date=August 17, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100205052622/http://thefutureofthings.com/news/1202/science-fiction-saving-lives.html |archive-date=February 5, 2010 }}</ref> began comparing this device to the ''Star Trek'' tricorder.
On May 10, 2011, the X Prize Foundation partnered with Qualcomm Incorporated to announce the Tricorder X Prize, a $10 million incentive to develop a mobile device that can diagnose patients as well as or better than a panel of board-certified physicians.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/x-prize-foundation-qualcomm-join-forces-develop-competition-enhance-integrated-digital-1512263.htm |title=The X PRIZE Foundation and Qualcomm Join Forces to Develop a Competition to Enhance Integrated Digital Health |date=May 10, 2011 |publisher=Marketwire }}</ref> On {{nowrap|January 12, 2012,}} the contest was officially opened at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16518171 |title=Star Trek-style 'tricorder' invention offered $10m prize - BBC News |work=BBC News |date=8 March 2012 |access-date=2016-02-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/01/13/build_star_trek_tricorder_please_ask_x_prize/ |title=X Prize: Build a Star Trek 'tricorder' and win $10m |publisher=The Register |date=2012-01-13 |access-date=2016-02-15}}</ref> Early entrants to the competition include two Silicon Valley startups,<ref>{{cite web|last=Wilson |first=Mark |url=http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/health/med-tech/the-race-to-build-a-real-star-trek-tricorder-6649721?click=pm_latest |title=The Race to Build a Real Star Trek Tricorder |publisher=Popularmechanics.com |date=2012-02-01 |access-date=2016-02-15}}</ref> Scanadu and Senstore, which began work on the medical tricorder in early 2011. Entries included ones from CloudDx and DMI, among others. The winner of the competition was Final Frontier Medical Devices,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.xprize.org/prizes/tricorder/articles/family-led-team-takes-top-prize-in-qualcomm-tricor |title= Family led team takes top prize in QUALCOMM tricorder competition| publisher= xprize.org |date = April 13, 2017 |access-date = March 31, 2020}}</ref> which is now known as Basil Leaf Technologies.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.basilleaftech.com/dxter |title= A new kind of medical device| publisher=basilleaftech.com |date = March 9, 2017 |access-date = March 31, 2020}}</ref>
On August 23, 2011, moonblink's tricorder app for Android was served with a copyright infringement notice by lawyers for CBS and it was deleted from the Android Market by Google. On January 5, 2012, it was put back again as a new app in the Android market, although it is no longer available.<ref>{{cite web|date=August 25, 2011|title=Killed by CBS Lawyers|url=http://code.google.com/p/moonblink/wiki/Tricorder|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110904053912/https://code.google.com/p/moonblink/wiki/Tricorder|archive-date=September 4, 2011|access-date=October 7, 2011|publisher=moonblink}}</ref>
In 2012, cognitive science researcher Dr. Peter Jansen announced having developed a handheld mobile computing device modeled after the design of the tricorder.<ref>{{cite web|last=Paul |first=Ryan |url=https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2012/03/researcher-publishes-specs-for-real-linux-powered-star-trek-tricorder.ars |title=Researcher publishes specs for real Linux-powered Star Trek tricorder |publisher=Ars Technica |date=2012-03-29 |access-date=2016-02-15}}</ref> A version that expanded the original capabilities to include visible spectroscopy, radiation sensing, thermal imaging, and environmental sensing was released as open source hardware in 2014.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Open Source Science Tricorder|url=https://hackaday.io/project/1395-open-source-science-tricorder|access-date=2020-09-21|website=hackaday.io|language=en}}</ref>
On December 7, 2020, genomics researcher Dr. Michael Schatz and his intern Aspyn Palatnick published a paper<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Palatnick|first1=Aspyn|last2=Zhou|first2=Bin|last3=Ghedin|first3=Elodie|last4=Schatz|first4=Michael C|date=2020-12-07|title=iGenomics: Comprehensive DNA sequence analysis on your Smartphone|url= |journal=GigaScience|volume=9|issue=12|doi=10.1093/gigascience/giaa138|issn=2047-217X|pmc=7720420|pmid=33284326}}</ref> on the first mobile app to allow anybody to study DNA virtually anywhere using an iPhone or iPad, which many media outlets dubbed to be a "DNA tricorder."<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-12-07|title=The world's first DNA "tricorder" in your pocket|url=https://www.cshl.edu/the-worlds-first-dna-tricorder-in-your-pocket/|access-date=2020-12-26|website=Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory|language=en-US}}</ref>
On February 19, 2022, NASA sent the rHEALTH ONE,<ref name="rHEALTH t860">{{cite web | title=rHEALTH ONE | website=rHEALTH | url=https://www.rhealth.com/rhealthone | access-date=2023-09-13}}</ref> a miniature cytometry-based biomedical analyzer, to the International Space Station.<ref>{{Cite web |title=NASA Launches rHEALTH Blood Analyzer to International Space Station |url=https://www.prweb.com/releases/nasa-launches-rhealth-blood-analyzer-to-international-space-station-856955832.html |access-date=2022-03-11 |website=PRWeb}}</ref> This was successfully tested by ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti on May 13 and May 16, 2022. She demonstrated the device's ability to take a small drop of sample (< 10 uL) and perform measurements on samples prepared by NASA to evaluate device performance in a microgravity environment.<ref>{{Cite web |title=MAY 2022 - RHEALTH ONE NASA HUMAN RESEARCH |url=https://www.esa.int/esatv/Videos/2022/05/Samantha_Cristoforetti_Minerva_Mission_B-Rolls/May_2022_-_rHEALTH_ONE_NASA_Human_Research}}</ref> Over 70 million raw data points were recorded across five detector channels using two lasers over a ~2-minute acquisition period per sample, enabling discrimination of sample populations based on forward scatter (size) and fluorescence intensity across multiple channels.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rea |first1=Daniel J. |last2=Miller |first2=Rachael S. |title=Single drop cytometry onboard the International Space Station |journal=Nature Communications |year=2024 |volume=15 |article-number=2634 |doi=10.1038/s41467-024-46483-6 |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-46483-6}}</ref>
==Toys and replicas== The first mass-produced tricorder replica was featured in AMT's ''Star Trek'' Exploration Set in 1974, followed shortly thereafter by a palm-sized version in Remco's 1975 ''Star Trek'' Utility Belt which was sized and marketed to young children in hopes of taking advantage of ''Star Trek: The Animated Series'' that was on TV at that time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://trekpropzone.com/tricorderhistory.htm |title=The Trek Prop Zone Tricorder History |publisher=Trekpropzone.com |access-date=2016-02-15}}</ref>
The first life-sized tricorder was produced by Mego Corporation in 1976 and was actually a cassette tape player made to look like a tricorder.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.superunderdoggie.com/mego-warehouse-tricorders.html |title=Mego Warehouse Tricorders - Superunderdoggie.comVintage Toys and Nostalgia |publisher=Superunderdoggie.com |access-date=2016-02-15}}</ref> In the 1990s, ''Star Trek'' replicas were mass-produced by Playmates, Playing Mantis, and Master Replicas, making commercially produced replicas affordable to the average fan for the first time. In the 2000s, Art Asylum and later Diamond Select produced prop replicas of the original tricorder.
In April 2025, The Wand Company Ltd. released a working replica of the tricorder,<ref name="twc_tricorder">{{Cite web |url=https://www.thewandcompany.com/tricorder/ |title=The Original Series Tricorder |website=The Wand Company|access-date=August 17, 2025}}</ref> featuring a working LCD screen, authentic sounds and controls, and numerous immersive features.<ref name="twc_tricorderblog">{{Cite web |url=https://www.thewandcompany.com/blog/ |title=Star Trek Tricorder Blog |last=Barnardo |first=Chris |website=The Wand Company|access-date=August 17, 2025}}</ref> Based on Wah Chang's original design drawing of the tricorder indicating interchangeable discs for data or expanded functions,{{r|insidestartrek|p=119|q=Wah Chang's design sketch for the Tricorder.}} the replica has removable discs that put the tricorder into multiple functions like Logs, Archive, Audio sensor, Radiation sensor, Orientation (compass), or Status. The Logs section includes "Captain's Log" entries from every episode of the entire original series. The Archive includes recreations of the two conflicting newspapers showing Edith Keeler's fractured timeline in "The City on the Edge of Forever." It also includes stills of Wah Chang's Balok mannequin and Romulan stealth Bird of Prey vessel created for the series.<ref name="insidestartrek" /> The replica includes spacers for the bottom compartment that can hold an accurate medical scanner replica.
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
==External links== {{commons category}} {{Wiktionary}} * {{Memory Alpha|Tricorder}} * [http://news.cnet.com/2300-11395_3-6121389-6.html?tag=ne.gall.pg Life imitates ''Star Trek''] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20071104133153/http://uwnews.washington.edu/ni/article.asp?articleID=36364 ''Star Trek'' medical device uses ultrasound to seal punctured lungs] * http://www.tricorderproject.org/index.html
{{Star Trek}}
Category:Star Trek devices Category:Fictional computers Category:Mobile phones Category:Fictional story elements introduced in 1966