A tricorder is a sophisticated handheld device used by Starfleet and other Alpha and Beta Quadrant races. It has been in use since the 23rd century. The tricorder is designed as a portable sensing, data analysis, and data communications device, with many specialized abilities which make it an asset to crews aboard starships and space stations as well as on away missions.
Tricorder functions
The tricorder incorporates several sensor clusters, multi-channel communications assemblies, and multiple databank modules. Encompassing visual displays and standard graphic touch pad interface, it provides easy means for on the spot archive retrieval, the recording of away mission events, and constant scientific measurements including biological, geographical or meteorological. (TNG: "The Survivors," "The Enemy") Tricorders could also be used for tasks such as recording time trials (TNG: "Chain of Command, Part I") or interfacing with starship systems such as forcefield controls. (Star Trek: Nemesis) They are also capable of playing holographic messages (TNG: "The Chase") and feature a built in universal translator. (TNG: "Booby Trap") An individual can be instructed in the use of the tricorder by reading the tricorder operations manual. They are also equipped with a bioscanner. (VOY: "Phage") To prevent interference with objects, tricorders can be set to perform a passive scan. (VOY: "Emanations")
A tricorder could be locked into a continous scan, thereby recording data, even when the lid was closed. (TNG: "Schisms")
In the 23rd century, captain's yeomans such as Janice Rand regularly carried tricorders in order to record and retrieve information for the captain. (TOS: "The Man Trap," "Charlie X")
Tricorders are capable of communicating with non-Starfleet computer systems, and are therefore vulnerable to some types of computer viruses, and can even carry the virus to another computer system. (TNG: "Contagion"). Along with communicating with other computer systems, Tricorders can be networked to operate together, to act as a small computer system or to act as a relay to transfer information to other locations. (TNG: "Brothers", VOY: "Heroes and Demons")
By the 2370s, tricorders could record and interpret data pertaining to temporal phenomena, such as the phase variance of a chroniton field. (VOY: "Before and After," "Year of Hell, Part I") Sensor emissions from tricorders can cause unpredictable changes in certain temporal distortions, including those generated by the quantum singularity lifeforms encountered in 2369. The scans caused time to reverse several minutes, and this fact was later used by USS Enterprise-D personnel as part of a plan to repair temporal anomalies caused after the lifeforms colonized the engine core of a Romulan warbird. (TNG: "Timescape") Tricorders also have the ability to emit a polaric field if connected to a polaric ion generator, allowing a user to scan for subspace fractures caused by a polaric detonation. (VOY: "Time and Again")
Tricorders are stored in most equipment lockers onboard a Federation starship. (TNG: "Disaster," VOY: "Relativity") It was also common for individual crewmembers to have them in their quarters. (TNG: "A Matter of Time") Starfleet also distributes tricorders to Federation allied worlds. On station Deep Space 9, the Starfleet version of the tricorder was available to Bajoran personnel. (DS9: "Babel," "Tears of the Prophets") Tricorders can also be used by civilians, and can be shipped en masse to areas in need, such as disaster sites. (TNG: "True Q") Children are sometimes trained in their use. Ensign Robin Lefler commented that she considered a tricorder her first friend. (TNG: "The Game")
Tricorders are constructed of a durable casing, but can be easily destroyed by a phaser set to disintegrate. (TNG: "Contagion")
Tricorders (at least the VII) has a directory structure (TNG:"Attached") When abducted by the Prytt Beverly noted that the Tricorder had a map added to the main directory.
Tricorder limitations
Starfleet Medical Academy teaches its first year students that tricorders are very accurate with live people, but not so accurate with dead ones. (DS9: "The Passenger") Tricorders are unable to detect certain subspace phenomena. (TNG: "The Bonding") They are also incapable of finding neutrino emissions, but could be attached to specialized peripheral devices, such as a VISOR, to detect neutrinos. (TNG: "The Enemy") Tricorders also have difficulty detecting chlorinide leakage and are unable to detect Talarian subspace proximity detonators. (TNG: "Ethics") The Maquis discovered a flaw with the tricorder - when a high enough concentration of thoron particles exist in a localized area, the tricorder would be prevented from attaining any credible readings. (VOY: "Basics, Part I")
Tricorder variants
There are several different types of tricorder used by Starfleet. The most common has been the scientific tricorder, used on away missions and general applications in science and engineering.
Another common tricorder type is the medical tricorder, used mainly by medical personnel. This tricorder differs in that it is always equipped with an extra attachment on the top of the device, housing a detachable sensor that is used to pinpoint a specific area for a detailed scan. (TOS: "The Man Trap") The standard tricorder can function as a makeshift medical tricorder if necessary (TNG: "Time's Arrow, Part II"), although not all medical personnel are happy to do this. (VOY: "Caretaker")
Another variant is the psychotricorder, which can be used to record memories. (TOS: "Wolf in the Fold")
Tricorder Development and Progression
Starfleet
The tricorder is the followup to the scanner device used by Starfleet in the 22nd century. (ENT: "Strange New World")
2260s
Tricorder, 2266.
The tricorder of the 2260s was segmented into three areas: an upper portion containing most controls and the display readout, which pivoted open; a middle section containing data chips, hidden behind a foldout door; and a lower compartment which could be adapted for special purposes, as on the medical tricorder. The device was mostly black, trimmed in silver. (TOS: "The Naked Time") The tricorder could also be configured to work with devices such as a mnemonic memory circuit and allow retrieval of temporal information. (TOS: "The City on the Edge of Forever") One of the Dax hosts owned this version of the tricorder. Jadzia Dax remembered it fondly when she used this version of the tricorder during a time-travel mission to the year 2267. (DS9: "Trials and Tribble-ations")
- The original series tricorder was designed by Wah Chang.
2270s
Tricorder, 2273.
Most Starfleet technology was redesigned during the refit of the original Starship Enterprise in the 2270s. The new tricorder was slightly smaller than the previous version, built out of a blue gray material. The tricorder had two grips on either side of the body. The controls were located beneath a lid on the top of the device.
When Ilia was absorbed by the V'Ger entity, her tricorder was the only thing which remained behind. (Star Trek: The Motion Picture)
- Andrew Probert contributed designs for the Star Trek: The Motion Picture redesign of the tricorder.
2280s
Tricorder, 2280s.
At least two different tricorders were in service by the 2280s. There was a smaller device, similar to the two previous editions (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock) as well as a large heavy-duty version for landing party use, carried by Commander Chekov and Captain Terrell while exploring Ceti Alpha V, and also Lieutenant Saavik aboard the Regula I spacelab. (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)
2360s
By 2361, a new version of the tricorder had been introduced, the TR-560 Tricorder VI. It featured a compact design with a flip-open lid. All tricorder functions could be accessed from beneath the lid. (TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint") Most tricorders were equipped with a small hand sensor similar to that of the medical tricorder, although it was rarely used. (TNG: "Angel One")
- This tricorder was designed by Rick Sternbach for Star Trek: The Next Generation. The earliest use of this tricorder was in 2361, as shown during TNG: "Identity Crisis."
2366
Tricorder, 2370.
In 2366, tricorders underwent minor alterations, resulting in the release of the TR-580 Tricorder VII into the Starfleet inventory. It was essentially identical to the previous version, although the font style on the control interfaces had changed and the white border around the EMRG button had been changed to black. Some tricorders retained the hand sensor, but nearly all standard tricorders had the sensor phased out by 2370.
In 2368, Professor Berlinghoff Rasmussen stole one of these tricorders from Data's quarters and intended to take it back to the 22nd century and claim he invented the tricorder, along with several other 24th century devices. The Enterprise-D crew foiled his plan. (TNG: "A Matter of Time")
- These tricorders were built by Ed Miarecki for the third season of TNG, based upon Rick Sternbach's original design. The 2366 versions of both the tricorder and medical tricorder were erroneously seen in flashbacks by Benjamin Sisko during DS9: "Emissary" in years such as 2355, ten years before their introduction. The model number "TR-580" is a in-joke tribute to the TRS-80, a 1980s home computer.
2372
Tricorder, 2372.
In 2372, another tricorder was introduced, the TR-590 Tricorder X. While the control interfaces were identical to the Tricorder VII, the entire unit was streamlined and made much smaller and lighter. The top of the device was now slightly sloped.
- The Tricorder Mark VIII and IX, was a built prototype by Mike Moore and Steve Horch from HMS-Sudios.
- It was never featured in any episode or movie, it became the Mark X.
- Quote: "Yes there is a Mark VIII. It is on our site hms-studios.com. It was the proto that we first introduced to the Producers. It has a longer nose end and is a combo Med and Sci version. It does have a Mark IX number on it because it had the med door put in the back. So we made it shorter to make it smaller and made ones with Flat doors as Sci ( Mark IX ) and with pocket backs for the Med's ( Mark X)."
- In an interesting curiosity, the USS Voyager was stranded in the Delta Quadrant with the 2366 version of the tricorder, only to have the new versions magically appear during the first episodes filmed for the second season. It was also shown, incorrectly, during flashbacks in episodes like VOY: "Relativity" and "Shattered."
2379
Tricorder, 2379.
A variant of the tricorder was introduced sometime before 2379. It resembles a PADD more than previous tricorders, with a large touchscreen dominating the face of the device. It is not hinged as with the previous versions. (Star Trek: Nemesis)
- The Tricorder X was still in use aboard the Enterprise-E during Star Trek: Nemesis, possibly indicating that the older version is still in use. This tricorder is also used by the player in Star Trek: Elite Force II. Some people relate this tricorder variant with present day Palm Pilots.
2400s
In an alternate timeline erased due to the actions of Admiral Kathryn Janeway, a new version of the tricorder was in use by 2404. It was an extension of the 2372 edition, with a hinged cover, but now featured more touch control surfaces as opposed to toggle switches. The casing was black. It also features a small antenna as a scanner. (VOY: "Endgame")
2800s
In the 29th century, the crew of the USS Relativity used a slim and sleek version of the tricorder. It was labeled as the TR-890 Tricorder XV. Seven of Nine was given one of these tricorders as she hunted for a temporal disruptor hidden on the USS Voyager by Captain Braxton. (VOY: "Relativity")
There was also a smaller, palm-sized device in use during this period. Henry Starling found it aboard the Aeon and carried it with him at all times. He used it in an attempt to escape the transporter of the USS Voyager when the ship tried to retrieve the Aeon in 1996. (VOY: "Future's End, Part II")
Klingon
Klingons have also used devices like tricorders. In 2285, Kruge's crew used tricorders during their attempt to learn the secrets of the Genesis Planet. (Star Trek III: The Search for Spock)
Romulan
Romulan tricorder, 2371. |
 Vulcan tricorder, 2153. |
The Romulans have their own version of a tricorder. A model studied in 2371 was very similar to that of the Federation. It was much larger, but still featured touch interface control surfaces. A Romulan tricorder was recovered from the Amargosa observatory in 2371 and allowed the Enterprise-D crew to learn that the Romulans had been searching for trilithium stolen by the Duras sisters for use in Dr. Tolian Soran's trilithium weapons. (Star Trek: Generations)
- The Romulan tricorder was designed by John Eaves. In TNG: "The Next Phase," Romulan crewmembers aboard the damaged science ship used devices which seemed similar to tricorders, although they were not explicitly stated as such.
Vulcan
Onboard the Enterprise (NX-01), T'Pol used a device with similar functions to a tricorder. (ENT: "The Shipment")
Miscellaneous
A real-world device comparable to the tricorder was developed by a Canadian company called the Vital Technologies Corporation in 1996. The scanner was called the TR-107 Mark 1; Vital Tech. sold 10,000 of them before going out of business in 1997. The TR-107 could scan EM radiation, temperature, and barometric pressure.
See also: Sensor devices, List of tools and technology, Computer