In the original Star Trek series from the 1960s, creator Gene
Roddenberry needed a prop that allowed his characters to quickly
gather information from a scene to advance the plot at
television speeds. According to Wikipedia, “The word ‘tricorder’
is a portmanteau of ‘tri-’ and ‘recorder’, referring to the
device’s three default scanning functions: GEO (geological), MET
(meteorological), and BIO (biological).” The Tricorder proved a
very useful device in advancing plotlines by quickly giving the
characters enough information to make decisions and eventually
Dr. Leonard McCoy started to carry around a medical Tricorder.
Through the various incarnations of the Star Trek series
pantheon, many more Tricorders appeared including ones
“developed” by the Bajorans, the Ferengi, the Jem’Hadar, the
Klingons, and the Romulans. Oh, and the Vulcans! How could I
forget them? Well, Qualcomm agrees that Tricorders are useful
things and so the company has created an X Prize, along with a
$10 million pot, to encourage the devel