Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Tricorders
2. Raspberry Pi In The Sky
Back in the day, you could transform your PalmPilot or Pocket PC (remember those?) into a rudimentary tricorder. Then, there was (naturally) an app for that, although not without a few cease and desists from CBS. Taking full advantage of the miniaturised computer power of the Raspberry Pi, fans have also built their own impressive multifunctional models, neatly nicknamed 'Picorders'.
Chris 'directive0' Barrett, or obso1337 on YouTube, is one such fan who took a Diamond Select TOS Science Tricorder and turned it into much more. Barrett disassembled the toy, added in the Raspberry Pi, a display screen, battery, and a Sense HAT board (originally developed for use on the ISS) equipped with an accelerometer, magnetometer, gyroscope, barometer, and temperature and humidity sensors.
Not only does Barrett's TOS Tri/Picorder (TR-108 in his naming system) look like the 'real' thing, therefore, it works like one too — capable of recording sensor data from the environment and translating it on screen as close to the TOS graphics as possible. And if that weren't extraordinary enough, his next project — the Picorder 2 (TR-109) — was based on the TNG TR-560 VI model, with functional buttons, a display screen, lights, a thermal camera, and an environmental sensor package.
This guy is awesome, and I would like to be his friend!