Signed in as:
filler@godaddy.com
Signed in as:
filler@godaddy.com
Tricorders have evolved a great deal since their first appearance in 1966. Like all sci-fi gadgetry, their designs mirror our own expectations of where the relentless advancement of technology might lead us. This section broadly charts the evolution of the tricorder and its related technologies, and places them in the context of contemporary technological trends, specifically those relating to computing and its miniaturization. It is also an exercise in gaining some clarity on what a present-day functional tricorder should look and operate like, which is a crucial step if I am to make one.
In short, this section is part history, part technology, and part Star Trek lore.
The original tricorder from the 1966 broadcast of Star Trek came with a strap to wear around your neck and a detachable sensor probe to wave about (for taking readings). The tricorder was used to detect things considered both possible and impossible by today's standards. One of the most "detected" things in the show was life signs on ships, planets, moons, etc. . In a related function, a tricorder once famously told Dr. McCoy that the episode's (human) antagonist is actually a Klingon. Although this functionality is impossible to implement using current technology (especially since there isn't even a consensus on what makes something alive), other functions, like measuring radiation or concentration of gasses, are actually quite trivial by the standards of modern electronics.
By present standards, the original tricorder design was both large and unwieldy, with a screen that is comically small compared to the overall size of the device. Since graphical user interfaces hadn't been invented yet (irl), interaction with the tricorder was performed through the few buttons and switches mounted near its top. The readings or computational output are presumably shown on the small CRT-like display. There also seem to be two meshes, with one presumably being a speaker, considering their ship's computer had its own voice (and it was Lwaxanna Troi 🤯). The actual tv prop used a mesh from transistor radios of the time. The other mesh, described as a moiré disc, is possibly a microphone equivalent. Read more about the history of these props here.
Regardless, like all other sci-fi technology, the tricorder's features were simply a creative extrapolation of what society thought future electronics might be like (~200 years in this case). The writers would have drawn inspiration from the bleeding-edge technologies of their time, an analysis of which is presented in the coming paragraphs.
In a fortuitous co-incidence, the show happened to premier right at the cusp of a generational change in computing sophistication. Because of this timing, the original tricorder design would have been a reflection on the culmination of the previous ~30 years of computing advancements. This period saw computers evolve from experimental electro-mechanical research machines into some of the first purely-electronic general-purpose commercial devices. Until the end of the 60's (roughly), computing was reserved for only the most serious of tasks, such as accounting, flight ticketing, and delivering nuclear annihilation.
The closest thing that the writers of Star Trek would have seen to a portable (but not mobile) computer would have been the PDP-8 "mini" computer (1965). It cost the equivalent of $171,800 in 2022 money but was small enough to be transported in the back seat of your car (only if you really wanted to, because it still weighed 250 lbs). It also wasn't truly mobile since it had to be plugged into a power outlet to work. Still, this arrangement was a huge step up from needing dedicated power equipment like its predecessors.
Being almost at the peak of the space race, the creators of the show would have likely known about the Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC), considered to be the one of the very first embedded systems. The AGC is the ancestor of both modern personal and embedded computers, but was still under development when the show premiered in 1966/7 (moon landings are still ~2 years away!).
This was a revolutionary device with a volume of only 1 cubic foot and a weight of only 70 lbs. This is my favorite talk about it on youtube, and this is an incredible restoration of this incredible device.
Coming from the military sphere, the Autonetics D-17B missile guidance system (1962) was the closest thing to a portable, mobile computer that existed in this period. This remarkable device was a ruggedized general-purpose real-time computer that was used to guide minuteman 1 missiles to their targets. The D-17B's were embedded directly into the rocketry (in a ring shape) and weighed only a paltry 62 lbs. Unlike the tricorder, the D-17B was meant for autonomous functionality with almost no option (or need) for human interaction.
To sum up, even the most cutting-edge contemporary devices were still too large, expensive, and power-hungry compared to the (fictional) tricorder. For sci-fi enthusiasts and creators of Star Trek alike, a hand-held & battery-powered computer full of sensors really was a concept from the distant future, and this is reflected in the design of the original tricorder.
In their own words, an excerpt from the 1967 Writers/Directors Guide (pg 19) states: "TRICORDER: A portable sensor-computer-recorder, about the size of a large rectangular handbag, carried by an over-the-shoulder strap. A remarkable miniaturized device, it can be used to analyze and keep records of almost any type of data on planet surfaces, plus sensing or identifying various objects. It can also give the age of an artifact, the composition of alien life, and so on..."
The often-forgotten and short lived Star Trek: The Animated series used the same model of tricorder. Although not considered canon by the creator of Star Trek (Gene Roddenberry), I am still a big fan.
The ~20 year interlude between TOS/TAS and Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG), saw perhaps the most frantic period of development in electronics and computing technology. The 70's saw the commercialization of entire computers on single chips (i.e., microprocessors), radical new ways of interacting with computers (such as mice and GUIs), and unprecedented reduction in overall power consumption; all critical prerequisites for building mobile devices. It was a generational leap in the capability of computers, and was the establishment of the age of electronics.
Almost immediately after the end of TOS, the worlds first hand-held calculator was released. Calculators were some of the first devices to use the newly invented microprocessors. These were tiny high-speed brains that needed only a fraction of the energy required by previous technology. They allowed electronics to be produced in portable sizes and at unprecedented scales. The key to making processors was to fit as many densely placed transistors on a finger-nail sized circuit that is etched onto a single piece of silicon. These are what we now call chips. They are also what made the coming PC revolution possible.
As a result, TNG featured updated models of tricorders that better reflected the late 80s' expectations of future technology. The futuristic new models were now small enough to be held in your palm and fit into your pocket, as long as your pockets were large.
TNG also marks the start of the trend of putting flashing lights on tricorders, presumably so the audience knows they are supposed to be future-electronics and not some box or other tv prop. The hinged design is also new and would remain the standard for a while. I suspect they were added to easily distinguish scenes where they are in actual use.
I think this is the earliest example of what a real-world practical tricorder should look like. Even with hobbyist skills & COTS parts, it should be possible to make something that fits in one hand. This would leave the other hand free to use a phaser, in case of evil aliens and such.
While PCs were great and could be transported easily, they were not meant by design to be portable.
(more coming soon)