More Star Trek Tech: A Tricorder!

There is an X-prize for building the first Star Trek inspired "tricorder" and many corporations are vying to win it, but it looks like a group of college and high school students have gotten there first.

The students developed their project during a summer internship program at the Wright Brothers Institute and the Air Force Research Laboratory.

From the Scientific American article:

"The device itself looks like a clear brick filled with computer parts and batteries. It is built around an open-source computing platform called an Arduino microcontroller and transmits data via Bluetooth. An environmental sensing pod connects to the controller and collects measurements on variables like temperature, wind speed and radiation levels. Users can view data collection in real time via Google maps or an interactive graph and monitor changes and search for patterns."

I'm still waiting for my transporter.