Star Trek's Tricorder: Science Fiction's Most Fascinating Real World Device
Gene Roddenberry Conceptualized The Starfleet Tricorder In 1966 & Today Real World Scientists Are Trying To Bring The Sci-Fi Device Into Our Reality
Classic Tricorder Or TNG Era Model? For a Star Trek fan, it can be a tough, though wonderfully fun call to make choosing such a wonderful, iconic toy.
Both devices get a Landing Party or Away Team job done, certainly, and although I'm partial to the classic from Captain Kirk's TOS era, the Next Generation update first seen being employed by Captain Picard’s USS Enterprise crew is wonderfully realized. Creator Gene Roddenberry envisioned the tech gadget on paper, then hired artist and prop magician, Wah Ming Chang, to bring the prop into marvelous life.
When Star Trek: The Next Generation warped into our galactic exploring lives in 1987, TNG’s model proved smaller, yet still retained much of the charm found in the now cool retro model Spock (Leonard Nimoy) or Dr. McCoy (Deforest Kelley) would use to fulfill their science based Starship duties. It was rare to ever see Captain Kirk (William Shatner) using a Tricorder, since his primary focus was on leading his crew, not gathering the vital mission data they were charged with gathering and analyzing.
These nifty gadgets remain some of science fiction's most recognizable and inspirational devices for both Trekkers and science professionals. Why all the geeky tech fuss? Tricorders simply make the Star Trek universe feel that much more real.
With that tech inspiration foremost in mind, science isn’t just loving Tricorders on TV or movies. Our real world scientists & engineers try to give us real world models to scan & analyze the world about us. Some of these produced devices actually work well, but nothing comes close to the futuristic wizardry Trek promised.
So, can you really choose? Which is your favorite Star Trek portable computing wonder? Which will you take along on your next mission?
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