Star Trek: Discovery Debuts Starfleet’s Most Advanced Tricorder Ever

WARNING: Contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 6, “Whistlespeak.”

Star Trek: Discovery just introduced the most advanced tricorder ever seen in the Star Trek franchise. Tricorders have been a staple of Star Trek landing parties and away teams since Star Trek: The Original Series, but their look and functions have been updated over time. TOS was obviously limited by the technology of the 1960s, while modern Trek shows like Star Trek: Strange New Worlds are limited by their place in the Star Trek timeline. One of the coolest parts about Discovery’s jump to the 32nd century is that the show can use modern CGI and special effects technology to upgrade the imaginary technology of the far future.

In Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 6, “Whistlespeak,” Captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and Lt. Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman) go on an away mission to a pre-warp planet in their continuing pursuit of the Progenitors’ technology. Since Burnham and Tilly must blend in to avoid breaking the Prime Directive, they cannot carry Starfleet’s advanced equipment. To remain discrete, Burnham and Tilly insert implants into their eyes that function like tricorders, scanning the objects around them and sending data to the crew members on the USS Discovery. Discovery’s time jump allowed the creators to depict truly futuristic-looking technology without breaking Star Trek canon, and the eye implant tricorders are a great example of that.

Star Trek: Discovery’s New Tricorder Is An Eye Implant

Discovery just introduced a new and very cool piece of 32nd-century tech.

The away mission in Star Trek: Discovery season 5, episode 6, “Whistlespeak,” finds Captain Burnham and Lt. Sylvia Tilly joining up with a group of villagers on a pilgrimage to the high summit on the planet Helem’no. Discovery’s crew already determined that the pillar of stone that represents the high summit is actually a Denobulan weather tower. This technology not only controls the planet’s environment but is also the location of the next of the Progenitors’ five clues. Burnham and Tilly both make good use of their new retinal tricorders, as they take in their surroundings in search of the controls for the weather tower and a way to get into the temple.

Not only are Star Trek: Discovery’s new tricorders more discreet (aside from a glowing blue eye), but they also provide real-time three-dimensional scans to those on board the ship. This proves useful on two occasions, when Burnham scans a log hiding the computer’s controls and when Tilly scans the inside of the high summit temple. The retinal tricorders allow their users to display information about objects in their field of view without the need for an external display. This is the kind of technology that makes Star Trek feel truly futuristic, and it’s also a very practical upgrade for an iconic piece of Trek tech.

Star Trek: Tricorders Have Gotten Smaller Over The Years

From clunky and cumbersome to handheld to tiny and discreet.

Like technology in the real world, Star Trek’s tricorders have gotten smaller over the years. Much like telephones went from clunky landlines to flip phones to sleek touchscreens, tricorders have seen a similar progression. On Star Trek: The Original Series, away teams carried box-shaped tricorders with shoulder straps and removable scanners. The tricorders of the Star Trek: The Next Generation era were slimmer and more handheld, but still required the user to hold the device near the object they were scanning and then manually read the display.

Star Trek: Discovery‘s eye implants are not only tiny in comparison to previous tricorders, but they also appear to provide more comprehensive information. When Burnham scans the weather tower’s control panel, Ensign Adira Tal (Blu del Barrio) receives a three-dimensional rendering of the panel. From the bridge of the USS Discovery, Adira can see almost exactly what Burnham is seeing and talk her through how to reset the controls. Star Trek: Discovery’s 32nd-century setting has allowed the show to truly go where no Star Trek has gone before, and the new tricorders are one of the show’s coolest new technologies.

New episodes of Star Trek: Discovery stream Thursdays on Paramount+.