Editing Tricorder (section)

==Types==

The tricorder of the 23rd century, as seen in ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'', is a black, rectangular device with a top-mounted rotating hood, two opening compartments, and a shoulder strap. The top pivots open, exposing a small screen and control buttons. When closed it resembles a portable tape recorder.

Three main variants appear in shows. The standard tricorder is a general-purpose device used primarily to scout unfamiliar areas, make detailed examination of living things, and record and review technical data. The medical tricorder is used by doctors to help diagnose diseases and collect bodily information about a patient; the key difference between this and a standard tricorder is a detachable hand-held high-resolution scanner stored in a compartment of the tricorder when not in use. The [[engineering]] tricorder is fine-tuned for [[starship]] engineering purposes. There are also many other lesser-used varieties of special-use tricorders.

The ship's medical variant employs a detachable "sensor probe" stored in the bottom compartment when not in use. The probe, although originally thought to have been fashioned from a spare salt shaker, was actually scratch-built for the show; the conical Danish salt shakers were set dressing, used as laser scalpels. The 24th-century version introduced in ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' is a small, gray, hand-held model with a flip-out panel to allow for a larger screen. This design was later refined with a slightly more angular appearance that was seen in most ''Next Generation''–era movies as well as later seasons of ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'' and ''[[Star Trek: Voyager|Voyager]]''. In the post-''Next Generation''-era (''[[Star Trek: Nemesis]]'' and ''[[Star Trek: Elite Force II]]''&thinsp;), a newer tricorder was introduced. It is flatter, with a small flap that opens on top and a large [[touchscreen]] interface.