November 12, 2012 | 1 A group of college and high school
students has designed a Star Trek-inspired sensing device that
can beam environmental data to a smart phone. The team developed
their project during a summer internship program run by the
Wright Brothers Institute and the Air Force Research Laboratory.
and shared their results at this fall’s World Maker Faire in New
York City—a showcase of DIY ingenuity. The Summer at the Edge
program gives student teams ten weeks to work on science and
engineering projects. The tricorder device is the team’s
response to a challenge from the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency: “Is there an effective way to integrate external sensors
with smart phones and can we globalize this information?”
Applications could range from data collection for research to
educational hands-on activities to disaster-zone assessment. The
description reminded the students of a Star Trek gadget. In the
sci-fi television series, the tricorder is a hand-held device
used to diagnose illness, scou