In Star Trek, tricorders are multifunctional devices that do everything from mass spectrometry and genetic analysis to communications. Now there are a host of mobile apps you can turn your phone into a scientific tool not entirely unlike what Data uses to analyze new planets.
Star Trek's Tricorder May Be Here Sooner Than You Think
A new medical device that works much like a primitive version of Star Trek's tricorder could allow medics to check patients' vital signs from up to forty feet away, greatly shortening triage time at disaster sites and potentially saving countless lives.
