The magical medical tricorder of the Star Trek universe is no longer science fiction. Meet DxtER, a portable device that can diagnose 13 medical conditions while continuously monitoring 5 vital signs.

Health & Medicine

A Noninvasive Device That Can Diagnose 13 Medical Conditions

The Star Trek tech comes with some serious consequences.

You could describe transporters as "suicide boxes."

Watch: The trouble with transporters

Sci-Fi Visions

The fictional technology of transporters in the Star Trek universe bring about some philosophical and scientific questions regarding their use.

The Trouble With Transporters

<h2>Turning Fiction Into (Augmented) Reality</h2>
The sixth episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation&#8217;s fifth season introduced an augmented reality (AR) game that nearly took over the entire Enterprise crew. It was a deceptively simple game that used a person&#8217;s emotional state to enter red disks into blue funnels. In the TNG episode (aptly titled &#8220;The Game), when a player successfully gets a disk into a tunnel, they&#8217;re rewarded with a pleasurable signal, increasing the game&#8217;s addictiveness.
Anyone interested in trying the game for themselves can now do so, <a href="https://io9.gizmodo.com/the-best-use-for-microsofts-hololens-is-playing-a-star-1820410105" target="_blank" rel="noopener">as it has been almost perfectly recreated</a> using Microsoft&#8217;s Hololens AR headset and a biometric sensor. The only difference is that it doesn&#8217;t reward players by sending a pleasing signal to the brain, save for the satisfaction you may feel after managing to get a disk into one of the funnels.
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) graduate <a href="http://robburke.net/projects/star-trek-hololens-biometrics-game/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Robert Burke</a> brought the TNG game to life last year, noting on his website that &#8220;Star Trek has a history of envisioning technologies that eventually become real. Often faster and more addictive than anyone expects!&#8221;
<h2>Visualizing Stress</h2>
Burke used Hololens because it provides the same AR field of view demonstrated on Star Trek, but since it has no biometric scanning capabilities, he also used <a href="https://thepip.com/en-us/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the Pip biosensor from Galvanic</a>. The Pip is a handheld device that can measure one&#8217;s fluctuating stress levels through their fingertips. Pip &#8220;accurately captures these changes and through biofeedback, allows you to visualize them.&#8221;
When used in the game, stress is shown by the aforementioned red disk entering — or being rejected by — the blue funnels. The Pip isn&#8217;t required to play the game, though, as you can also use voice commands to move the disks to the funnels.
Burke&#8217;s game isn&#8217;t the first time we&#8217;ve seen science fiction become reality. Artificial intelligence (AI) was once thought to only be a sci-fi concept, but now we have Siri, Alexa, and <a href="https://futurism.com/googles-ai-still-isnt-smarter-than-a-first-grader/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Google Assistant</a>. Smartphones are another sign of sci-fi made real and are essentially a real-world counterpart to <a href="http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Tricorder" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Star Trek&#8217;s Tricorder</a> (though, it could be argued that our smartphones are much more stylish and feature-rich).

The game was recreated using Microsoft's HoloLens and the Pip biosensor from Galvanic.

HoloLens just brought a Star Trek: TNG game that nearly killed the crew to life

Virtuality

Star Trek predicted several futuristic technologies, and now an MIT grad has brought a notorious game from the show to life using AR and biosensors.

HoloLens Just Brought a Star Trek: TNG Game That Nearly Killed the Crew to Life

The real world version comes with significantly less risk.

Some of Star Trek’s most “far out” technologies could one day be a reality.

General Relativity says spacetime can warp.

Is Warp Drive Physically Possible?

Amazon&#8217;s voice-activated personal assistant Alexa has just upped her appeal to Star Trek fans with the addition of a simple new &#8220;wake-up word.&#8221; Now Trekkies can get Alexa&#8217;s attention and play out fantasies of being aboard the Enterprise at the same time by uttering &#8220;Computer.&#8221;
Characters in various iterations of the series used the word to activate the voice commands of the ship&#8217;s computer. To access this capability users just have to change their wake up phrase choice from the Alexa app. No word on the inclusion of a self-destruct command.
&nbsp;
<figure style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2017/01/ex5x1halblvrcy41s114-1-1200x675.png" alt="Paramount Pictures" width="1200" height="675" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Photo Credit: Paramount Pictures</figcaption></figure>
A note of caution: given how often a tech-savvy household might say the word &#8220;computer,&#8221; and Alexa&#8217;s <a href="https://futurism.com/this-is-why-you-shouldnt-speak-to-an-ai-when-youre-on-live-tv/">notorious tendency of activating itself</a>, this could turn novelty into annoyance. You wouldn&#8217;t want to have every season of every Star Trek series to show up at your door without knowing about it first.
Despite this possible annoyance, we are continually blurring the lines between science-fiction and what is possible to accomplish in real life. From <a href="https://futurism.com/star-treks-medical-tricorders-have-made-it-to-the-final-round-of-xprize/">actual tricorders</a> to <a href="https://futurism.com/videos/holographic-storytelling-on-command/">personal holodecks</a>, our lives are continually looking more like Star Trek&#8217;s vision of the future.
Let&#8217;s keep our fingers crossed for the development of a real Replicator and a lifetime supply of &#8220;Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.&#8221;

Artificial Intelligence

Put yourself in the Captain's chair and summon your technology with one simple word: "computer"
While this technology isn't scientifically groundbreaking, it is bringing us one step closer to dissolving the line between science and science fiction


Amazon is Ushering us into a Star Trek Inspired Future

Our Star Trek fantasies are slowly coming to life.

<h2>Discovery Delayed&#8230;Again</h2>
Trekkies across the world once again have to endure some bad news regarding the Star Trek universe&#8217;s highly anticipated return to television. <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/star-trek-discovery-delayed-again-as-spocks-father-is-cast-965494">The Hollywood Reporter</a> has received confirmation directly from CBS that the show is delayed indefinitely.
&#8220;This is an ambitious project; we will be flexible on a launch date if it&#8217;s best for the show. We&#8217;ve said from the beginning it&#8217;s more important to do this right than to do it fast. There is also added flexibility presenting on CBS All Access, which isn&#8217;t beholden to seasonal premieres or launch windows,&#8221; said a rep in a release to the Reporter. Hopefully, them worrying about getting it right more than getting it done can be a source of solace for fans.
<figure style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2017/01/CBS_STAR_TREK_REBOOT_sizzle_may_2016_final_834437_640x360.jpg" alt="Image source: CBS" width="640" height="361" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Image source: CBS</figcaption></figure>
<h2>More Than Just Pop Culture</h2>
Star Trek and its many stories have made an <a href="http://www.space.com/33986-nasa-making-star-trek-tech-reality.html">important impact</a> on the world. And that impact is not just reserved for the arts; many scientific innovations have their roots in the series. Even the Star Trek vision of the future is something that we strive to achieve. One of the series&#8217; most notable taglines is an inspiring call to action: &#8220;To boldly go where no man has gone before.&#8221;
There has been a ton of technology displayed on the Enterprise long before it was available in the real world. For just a taste of the embarrassment of riches that Star Trek may have had a hand in making real, take a look at this<a href="https://futurism.com/videos/burn-victims-can-heal-without-scarring-thanks-to-this-gun/"> stem cell spraying gun</a> used to help heal skin after severe burns similar to something a hypospray could accomplish, or the currently-in-development medical scanners being billed as <a href="https://futurism.com/star-treks-medical-tricorders-have-made-it-to-the-final-round-of-xprize/">actual tricorders</a>.
The technological capabilities of the spacecraft on the series are also finding their way into our reality. Virtual and augmented reality are burgeoning technologies and even in their infancy are allowing some pretty <a href="https://futurism.com/virtual-travel-google-is-bringing-the-national-parks-to-a-vr-headset-near-you/">incredible experiences</a>. Also, even <a href="https://futurism.com/we-might-actually-be-able-to-make-star-treks-photon-torpedoes/">photon torpedoes</a> and <a href="http://collider.com/star-trek-warp-ship-nasa-images/">warp drives</a> are in the earliest stages of development.
So while we may have to wait longer for new episodes, we can have some solace in the profound impact this beloved universe has had on the world, and the future it has helped to make possible.

Star Trek's return to television has been delayed indefinitely – the company believes "it's more important to do this right than to do it fast" according to a source at CBS.
Star Trek has done more than inspire sci-fi visions, it has impacted real scientific innovations including the stem cell spraying gun, tricorders, and warp drive. 

It Looks Like Our Sci-Fi Future Won’t Be Including Star Trek

It may have stalled, but the tech it inspired lives on.

<h2>&#8220;I&#8217;m a Doctor, Not an Engineer&#8221;</h2>
Nonprofit organization XPRIZE aims to <a href="http://tricorder.xprize.org/">incentivize innovation</a> through competition, and they recently teamed up with <a href="https://www.qualcomm.com/" target="_blank">Qualcomm</a> to host a contest inspired by one of the most beloved of all sci-fi universes, &#8220;Star Trek.&#8221;
The world was first introduced to the medical tricorder in the original &#8220;Star Trek&#8221; series, which debuted in 1966. The device was used by Dr. Leonard &#8220;Bones&#8221; McCoy, chief medical officer of the USS Enterprise, to quickly scan and diagnose medical conditions. XPRIZE is hoping to help bring that kind of futuristic technology to the present.
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The competition has chosen two finalists to continue developing their tech. One, <a href="http://tricorder.xprize.org/teams/dynamical-biomarkers-group">Dynamical Biomarkers Group</a> (DBG), is composed of physicians, scientists and engineers out of Taiwan. The other, <a href="http://tricorder.xprize.org/teams/final-frontier-medical-devices" target="_blank">Final Frontier Medical Devices</a>, is led by siblings Basil and George Harris, an ER doctor and a network engineer, respectively.
<a href="http://www.space.com/35030-two-x-prize-tricorders-have-made-it-to-the-final-round.html?utm_source=facebook&amp;utm_medium=facebook&amp;utm_campaign=socialfbspc&amp;cmpid=social_spc_514630" target="_blank">According to Space.com</a>, the DBG group&#8217;s device employs an HTC smartphone they&#8217;ve modified and several sensors. Those sensors connect to the smartphone via Bluetooth, and all of the components fit into a box where they can be charged using just one USB cable. The Final Frontier Medical Devices&#8217; tricoder prototype comes in a kit that includes multiple 3D-printed devices that are wirelessly paired with an iPad Mini for diagnoses.
<figure id="attachment_64656" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img class="size-large wp-image-64656" src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2016/12/xprize-1200x392.jpg" alt="Credit: XPRIZE" width="1200" height="392" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Credit: XPRIZE</figcaption></figure>
<h2>Beaming up the Future</h2>
Under the rules of the competition, each device must be able to detect or monitor three different sets of information: the Core Set, the Elective Set, and the Vital Signs Set.
In this final round, the devices must be able to test for all 13 of the conditions on the Core Set list, which includes anemia, diabetes, and stroke. It must also be able to test for any three items from the Elective Set list, which includes hypertension, food poisoning, strep throat, and HIV. Finally, the device must be able to continuously monitor five essential vital signs: blood pressure, heart rate, body temperature, respiratory rate, and oxygen saturation.
With just a little incentive, like $6 million, we can move the clock of technology forward centuries. &#8220;Star Trek&#8221; is set in 2265, but we have <a href="https://futurism.com/how-close-are-we-to-bringing-star-trek-technologies-to-life/">already surpassed</a> a lot of the technology portrayed in the original series with devices like smartphones and software like Skype. Who knows? By the time even 2200 rolls along, we could be centuries ahead of those who first lived long and prospered.

Robots & Machines

Two teams have advanced to the final round of the Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE competition to create a medical tricorder inspired by the one in the "Star Trek" television series.
A handheld diagnostic device could improve healthcare tremendously, giving people instant access to information about their vital signs, illnesses, and more.

Star Trek’s Medical Tricorders Have Made It to the Final Round of XPrize

Futuristic tech can help us live long and prosper.

Are we alone?
This question has been the subject of science fiction literature since H. G. Wells, and has popped up in films, video games, and more. But how close are we to truly finding life out there?
A panel of experts spoke on this topic during an event celebrating <a href="http://www.space.com/33944-star-trek-mission-new-york-50th-anniversary.html" target="_blank">Star Trek&#8217;s 50th anniversary</a> in NYC. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory&#8217;s Bobak Ferdowski, together with Dan Werthimer, University of California Berkeley&#8217;s <a href="http://www.space.com/33626-search-for-extraterrestrial-intelligence.html" target="_blank">Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence</a> (SETI) chief, led the discussion.
Let&#8217;s dive into their answers to two of the most intriguing questions from the discussion.
<figure style="width: 660px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="" style="width: 632px" src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2016/09/star-trek-panel.jpg" alt="Credit: Marshall Honorof/Space.com" width="660" height="421" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Ferdowski and Werthimer. Credit: Marshall Honorof/Space.com</figcaption></figure>
<h2>If we do find life, will it be primitive or intelligent?</h2>
Intelligent life does not necessarily equate to technological life. For example, dolphins are intelligent, but you don&#8217;t see them building VR devices (that we know of, anyway). It will most like be some time before we find intelligent life. Primitive extraterrestrial life, on the other hand, could be discovered in the next 20 to 30 years, according to Ferdowski and Werthimer.
They pointed out the potential for life on Europa, one of Jupiter&#8217;s moons. &#8220;Europa [may be] completely covered in water. That&#8217;s great for primitive life, but if you want technology, you&#8217;ve got to have some land surfaces as well,&#8221; Werthimer explains. We may find primitive life there, &#8220;but it won&#8217;t necessarily evolve into something more complex than single-celled life&#8221; he points out.
If extraterrestrial technological life does exist, the beings may not be interested in contacting us. The panelists contrasted two popular theories — the <a href="http://www.seti.org/drakeequation" target="_blank">Drake Equation</a> and the <a href="http://www.seti.org/seti-institute/project/details/fermi-paradox" target="_blank">Fermi Paradox</a>. The former posits that intelligent life should be a fairly common occurrence in the universe. The latter questions why alien life, if it was indeed possible, is not observable in a universe teeming with it.
The panelists answered by assuming an extraterrestrial version of Star Trek&#8217;s &#8220;Prime Directive:&#8221; this technological life may be prohibited to mingle with less advance cultures. Or maybe some just aren&#8217;t explorers by nature.
<h2>Will extraterrestrial life resemble humanity?</h2>
&#8220;If it&#8217;s exactly the same as us, that probably doesn&#8217;t mean there were two independent origins of life,&#8221; says Ferdowski.  If extraterrestrial life does exist, and resembles human beings in basic biology, that could prove there was a common precursor of life in the cosmos, <a href="http://www.space.com/811-panspermia.html" target="_blank">a theory known as panspermia</a>.
Werthimer concluded:
<blockquote>&#8220;It&#8217;s a profound question either way [&#8230;] If we find out we&#8217;re alone, that means we&#8217;d better take incredibly good care of the precious life here on Earth.&#8221;</blockquote>
The panelists may not have come to a definitive answer, but they did leave us a lot to consider when we look at our own galactic existence.

Off World

NASA and SETI experts discussed the question of life outside our own planet during an event celebrating Star Trek. Is extraterrestrial life possible? If so, what form will it take and how close are we to finding it?

Will We Ever Find Alien Life? NASA and SETI Just Weighed in

Will we ever phone E.T.?

<h2>Live Long and Prosper</h2>
While clearly in the realm of fiction, the technologies and equipment presented in Star Trek inspired generations. Who didn&#8217;t want their own Holodeck or personal communicator?
But now, real life advancements in computing and robotics have become so robust that we are anticipating <a href="https://futurism.com/new-insights-on-when-humanity-will-reach-singularity/">the &#8220;Singularity,&#8221;</a> and NASA has actively been pursuing projects like <a href="http://collider.com/star-trek-warp-ship-nasa-images/">warp ships</a>. So, just how excited should you be about all of this work? Is the world of<a href="http://www.space.com/33986-nasa-making-star-trek-tech-reality.html"> Star Trek</a> really that far off?
<figure id="attachment_52063" style="width: 985px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img class="wp-image-52063 size-full" src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2016/09/284702main_GPN-2000-001363_full.jpg" alt="284702main_GPN-2000-001363_full" width="985" height="857" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">In 1976, NASA&#8217;s space shuttle Enterprise rolled out of the Palmdale manufacturing facilities and was greeted by NASA officials and cast members from the &#8216;Star Trek&#8217; television series. Credit: NASA</figcaption></figure>
In some respects, we have actually surpassed the gizmos producer Gene Roddenberry and the writers of the show originally thought up. Our cellphones, laptops, and tablets can stream video, images, and text. Moreover, our network of satellites means that, thanks to things like Skype, you can have an instantaneous video call with anyone anywhere on the planet.
In contrast, the crew&#8217;s communicators could only do verbal reports. True, their larger computers were capable of a lot more, but as far as handheld devices go, our cell phones are a lot more than what the early creators of Star trek seemed to imagine.
Similarly, the handheld, portable tricorder from Star Trek was essential to the crew. It was able to scan and record biological data from almost anything, and (like the communicators) it could do it anytime and anywhere.
Ultimately, recent technology seems to have been pulling the device out of science fiction and turning it into reality.  Take, for example, the tech developed by British company <a href="https://nanoporetech.com/" target="_blank">Oxford Nanopore Technologies</a>, which aims to bring portable DNA sequencing into everyday reality. They have made significant advancements in processing the information contained within an object&#8217;s genetic code, but while the early work is notable, we&#8217;re not there yet. Known as the MinION, production was a disappointment to many scientists due to manufacturing delays, inaccurate results, and lack of truly significant features (but we&#8217;re taking baby steps).
And what about warp drive? Well, to begin, the core idea behind this travel is not the propulsion we are familiar with. You don&#8217;t accelerate at all. Instead, this method utilizes the flexibility of the fabric of space itself.
The most practical design thus far has been a ring built around a smaller craft that could expand space behind it and shrink it in the front. This essentially creates a <a href="http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Warp_bubble" target="_blank">warp bubble</a> that would shift space-time around the craft. From the inside, it would appear as though you were racing through space, when in fact there would be no acceleration whatsoever!
But there are problems. Sean Carroll, a theoretical cosmologist famous for his popular science books, <a href="http://jalopnik.com/the-painful-truth-about-nasas-warp-drive-spaceship-from-1590330763">went on record saying</a>;
<blockquote>
The Alcubierre warp drive is a very interesting arena for thought experiments to try to better understand general relativity and quantum field theory, but it should give you zero hope for actually building a spaceship some day. Some of the many problems are <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcubierre_drive#Difficulties" target="_blank">discussed on Wikipedia</a>.
In short, it requires negative energy densities, which can’t be strictly disproven but are probably unrealistic; the total amount of energy is likely to be equivalent to the mass-energy of an astrophysical body; and the gravitational fields produced would likely rip any ship to shreds. My personal estimate of the likelihood we will ever be able to build a “warp drive” is much less than 1%. And the chances it will happen in the next hundred years I would put at less than 0.01%.
</blockquote>
And, of course, there is more. Take technology like the Holodeck. Arthur C. Clarke&#8217;s Third Law says, &#8220;Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.&#8221; But, <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/topics/technology/features/star_trek.html">as NASA notes</a>, &#8220;we can&#8217;t assume every magical feat could be accomplished, given sufficiently advanced technology. Holograms are images that appear to have three-dimensional structure. We can&#8217;t yet imagine a way to assemble matter in the same way as the light in a hologram.&#8221;
However, we do have some <a href="https://futurism.com/virtual-travel-google-is-bringing-the-national-parks-to-a-vr-headset-near-you/">pretty impressive virtual reality technology</a> that can simulate actual places and activities. Likewise, <a href="https://futurism.com/magic-leap-brings-your-favorite-star-wars-characters-to-life-and-its-amazing/">augmented reality is progressing</a> day-by-day. So, in a sense, we are getting there.
<h2>Feats of Fancy and Imagination</h2>
While many Star Trek technologies are in the works in one way or another, we still haven&#8217;t got around to making the big stuff real. Warp and ion drives, Mr. Data, fusion engines&#8230;and a whole lot of other major projects are still major engineering challenges.
In fact, even sending signals over astronomically short distances (like to Mars) still results in lag—while they may be based on shreds of actual math, subspace communications of the Star Trek Variety are still rather impossible.
But as was noted, a number of these technologies are already in the works, and we have surpassed Star Trek in several different areas. So although we might not have Klingons and interstellar travel, we have instantaneous global communication; we have computers that we speak to, and they speak back; we have people living in space&#8230;so in some ways, we already are living in a Star Trek-esque world.
And it&#8217;s that combination of real science and creative imagination that keeps us all coming back to Roddenberry&#8217;s world.

We see the marvels of science and technology every day. But where do we stand? From tricorders to holograms to warp drive, here's a look the gadgets and gizmos in Star Trek and how close they are to reality. 

How Close Are We To Bringing Star Trek Technologies to Life?

Are we boldly going...anywhere? 

This app lets you summon a hologram of George Takei (or anything else you need) to tell a story.

/Star Trek

Health & Medicine

A Noninvasive Device That Can Diagnose 13 Medical Conditions

Sci-Fi Visions

The Trouble With Transporters

Virtuality

HoloLens Just Brought a Star Trek: TNG Game That Nearly Killed the Crew to Life

Sci-Fi Visions

Is Warp Drive Physically Possible?

Artificial Intelligence

Amazon is Ushering us into a Star Trek Inspired Future

Sci-Fi Visions

It Looks Like Our Sci-Fi Future Won’t Be Including Star Trek

Robots & Machines

Star Trek’s Medical Tricorders Have Made It to the Final Round of XPrize

Off World

Will We Ever Find Alien Life? NASA and SETI Just Weighed in

Sci-Fi Visions

How Close Are We To Bringing Star Trek Technologies to Life?

Virtuality

Holographic Storytelling on Command

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