Tricorders
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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!
Several models are currently in service; the TR-580 issued in 2358 is now being phased out of service in favour of the more modern TR-590 X, recently developed by Starfleet R&D. The TR-600 is currently in the early planning stages; delivery was expected to begin from 2380, but Starfleet is reported to have speeded up the project and requested modifications to increase capability against various types of stealth technology, a measure clearly aimed at the Dominion war.