Star Trek TNG Raspberry Pi Tricorder

Tom Swift is a longtime fan of Star Trek The Next Generation. When he saw the amazing capabilities and small form factor of the Raspberry…

Jeremy Cook
5 years ago

Tom Swift is a longtime fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation. When he saw the amazing capabilities and small form factor of the Raspberry Pi Zero, the idea to use it as the basis for a working Tricorder from the show seemed like the perfect project.

With this idea, the build started by obtaining a TR560 Tricorder toy (actually three) from eBay. After spending a bit more money than he anticipated for these toys, he cut and ground the internals as necessary to fit the new components, keeping things as close to the original as possible externally.

When flipped open and activated, the most obvious difference is an actual color display screen that shows off images and animations from the Pi Zero inside along with its sound output. A capacitive touch sensor was added so that the original inner surface, with new stickers, could be used for control. Power is provided by a new battery and boost circuit that’s stuffed into the original AA battery case.

On the other side of the Tricorder, there’s a small camera poking out of a hole cut into the surface, giving the ability to take pictures. Perhaps most impressively though, there’s a thermal sensor built in that produces a heat map on the tiny screen, as seen at 4:40 in the demo video. The device is also able to give a reading on ambient temperature, humidity, pressure and volatile organic compounds in the air for a “long range scan of planet,” further enhancing its usefulness.

Jeremy Cook
Engineer, maker of random contraptions, love learning about tech. Write for various publications, including Hackster!
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