Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Combadges

Starfleet combadges were first introduced in The Next Generation as a more efficient and easily carried replacement for the communicators used before and during the Original Series films. Since then, they've become a staple of Star Trek.

These devices have gone through a number of slight design changes over the years, but always feature the same iconic Starfleet insignia that was originally seen in TOS.

Combadges are primarily known as communication devices (which is, of course, where the prefix 'com-' comes from), but they also have a variety of other uses that come up less often. In this list we're gonna take a look at some of these abilities as well as some general trivia about combadges that few people notice. We’re going to start off with details that are a bit more well known, and gradually get more obscure as we go on.

One of the most important devices inside of combadges were their universal translators. These devices can scan the brainwaves of most sentient aliens to translate their words into the user's native language in real-time.

Universal translators were invented shortly before the launch of the NX-01 Enterprise, and could be handheld or built into many ship systems, but incorporating them into combadges made them much simpler to use, as the whole process was basically automated and available at any time.

With a universal translator on them at all times, Starfleet officers were much more prepared in emergencies and while on away missions.

Members of other species, such as the Ferengi, also kept universal translators on them at all times, but in the form of small devices inserted into their ears (as we saw in the Deep Space Nine episode Little Green Men), but the combadge design seems much less invasive and easier to replace or repair.