The Starfleet Tricorder is a multi-purpose tool designed to be
carried by personnel either whilst aboard ship or on away
missions. The basic functions of a tricorder involve collecting
data via a variety of sensors, analysing and processing the data
via a compact onboard computer system, and presenting it to the
user via a visual display and/or auditory cue. But this is
barely the start of the capabilities of this amazing device. The
sensor capabilities of a tricorder are awesome. From scanning a
planetary core from the surface at one extreme1down to checking
a room for listening devices at the other2, tricorders can do an
amazing variety of things. They can record visual information,3,
detect neutrino emissions4, determine the structural stability
of caves4, scan electronic systems to determine their
functions5, download or upload information to computer systems,
bypassing normal access methods to read and alter memory or
storage directly from the tricorder6, analyse and if necessary
disrupt powerful electro