Starfleet Science Equipment

TangoFleet Science
Starfleet Equipment

SCIENCES TRICORDER

The tricorder is the standard portable scanning, recording and information processing device for all Starfleet operatives. The initial concept evolved out of a series of scanning devices issued by Starfleet in circa 2230; intended to reduce the size and weight of equipment issued to landing parties, these scanners incorporated both significant amounts of internal data storage and a high degree of processing capacity. By 2240 the various scanning functions of the series had begun to be combined into a single unit; in 2248 a unit was fielded which integrated scanning, processing and communications facilities. Dubbed the "tri-function recorder", the official name was quickly replaced by the more simple "tricorder". Many dozens of tricorder variants have been fielded over the 125 years or so. Some, such as the psychotricorder, are optimized for specific tasks - but specialization is not in keeping with tricorder design philosophy, and most new models have simply increased the number of functions and speed of the device while reducing the size and mass. Over the decades the tricorder has proved to be one of the most massively useful instruments in service with Starfleet. It's ability to detect and classify a huge range of different types of phenomena has become legendary, to the extent that Starfleet personnel frequently remark that there seems to be little these handy devices cannot do! Power is provided through a sarium crystal similar to those used in standard phasers, and is rated as sufficient for eighteen hours of continuous use of all sensor systems. Such levels of use are unlikely within the field, and in fact the average power consumption has been found to be slightly over 15 Watts. Within the tricorder are sensor assemblies which cover a total of 235 mechanical, electromagnetic and subspace devices. Of these, 115 are located in the directional sensor cluster at the top of the device, with the remaining 120 scattered throughout the body for all-around coverage. The tricorder can combine input from any or all of these sensors in order to give the most complete possible image of the object being scanned.
PERSONAL ACCESS DISPLAY DEVICE (P.A.D.D.)

The Personal Access Display Device is one of the most widely used methods of accessing and manipulating information. Although the capabilities of the Padd are limited compared to the larger desktop units, their small size offers a convenience that larger units lack. Indeed, the effectiveness of the principle is shown by the fact that while they have been produced in a massive variety of sizes and shapes, virtually every major species has produced a design which shares the same basic features. Padds are almost always handheld devices with a large surface area relative to their thickness. They include both memory and processing capacity, usually with some form of remote linkage to larger more capable systems. Almost all have a display screen which takes up 50% or more of the surface. This is usually touch sensitive, but is supplemented by a small number of physical controls. Starfleet employs three standard model Padds; a 10.16 x 15.24 x 0.95 cm, a 20.32 x 25.41 x 0.95 cm, and a 22.86 x 30.48 x 1.27 cm model. Made from micromilled duranium, the units operate on sarium-krellide energy cells and have masses ranging from 113.39 to 340.19 grams. Dynamic resolution switching is employed by the nanopixel molecular matrix screen. Memory ranges from 15.3 kiloquads in the smallest to 97.5 kiloquads in the largest. All units contain a subspace transceiver assembly to allow connection with more powerful computers in order to send or receive data or share larger processing tasks. Starfleet is currently evaluating Padds which will introduce bio-neural elements, speeding up response time in line with the performance gains in modern Starships.