Among the many devices that the future owes us with extreme urgency, one of the most prominent is the tricorder. Not a few people see smartphones as worthy heirs to its concept, but personally I think they are incomparable. Many groups and laboratories have tried to reproduce this formidable universal accessory with current technology, yet there is still a long way to go. A more “humble” alternative is the Picorder developed by GitHub user “directive0”, which uses an official replica case and a Raspberry Pi Zero.
The Tricorder We Still Dream Of
The tricorder is wonderful. Perhaps it served as a plot device too many times to oil the plots in certain episodes, but that doesn't change the fact that it is indeed wonderful, I want one, and nobody has invented it yet. “Buy a replica and stop bothering” would be an appropriate response, although in the end insufficient. We desire it the same way we desire Mr. Fusion, the miniature dehydrated pizza, the sleep inducer (pleaseeeeee!), and a hoverboard that works on any surface. Over the years, several projects have tried to create a real tricorder, but in most cases they threw in the towel, or delivered a small set of functions.
The Picorder Project
The Picorder made by “directive0” is no exception, but it has a fundamental advantage: it can be built with relative ease. Inspired by the previous project by Rob Vincent, directive0 obtained one of the replicas of the tricorder from the original series made by Diamond Select Toys ($60 if you find it), opened it carefully, made the necessary modifications, and installed inside it a Raspberry Pi Zero, accompanied by a screen and the Sense-HAT, a module equipped with a gyroscope, accelerometer, magnetometer, thermometer, barometer, and a humidity sensor (hygrometer). A good amount of epoxy putty to reinforce the interior, and another good portion of code later, the Picorder was finished.
It is not cheap, and directive0 admits to having made several mistakes on the backplate, but the final result is excellent, and if there is any problem with the components, it can be repaired without much fuss.
