Tricorder

Tricorder
Actor George Takei autographing a tricorder at Midtown Comics in Manhattan.
Plot element from the Star Trek franchise
First appearance	Star Trek: The Original Series
Created by	Gene Roddenberry
Genre	Science fiction
In-story information
Type	Sensor
Affiliation	Starfleet

In the fictional Star Trek universe, a tricorder is a multifunction hand-held device used for sensor scanning, data analysis, and recording data.

Three primary variants of the tricorder appear in Star Trek, issued by the fictional organization Starfleet. 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 word "tricorder" is an abbreviation of the device's full name, the "TRI-function reCORDER", referring to the device's primary functions: sensing, computing, and recording.

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. The ship's doctor uses a variant of this model with a detachable "sensor probe" stored in the bottom compartment when not in use. The probe was actually fashioned from a salt shaker to save costs. The 24th-century version 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.