You probably heard of the X Prize Foundation back in 2004 when they
offered (and awarded) $10,000,000 to the creators of the first privately
developed reusable space vehicle. In the years since, they've offered
similar prizes for fuel-efficient cars, technology to clean up oil
spills, and even a private lunar rover to explore the moon. Their latest
prize, however -- as spotlighted this week at the Mary Sue -- is taking its cue from science fiction.
They want you to build a Tricorder.
The stated goal of this prize -- which is called, no joke, The Quaalcomm Tricorder X Prize and has been endorsed by the son of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry -- is to catch us up with the 23rd century by creating a wireless, mobile device that can "diagnose patients better than or equal to a panel of board certified physicians."
To that end, the real-life tricorder will have to be able to
non-invasively gather basic health data like blood pressure or,
presumably, the presence of any unwanted cybernetics that were implanted
when you were absorbed into the Borg collective.
It's a pretty tall order, especially considering that catch: The whole
thing has to weigh less than five pounds. But really, when you think
about it, we're already halfway there. A great deal of the technology
that seemed so futuristic when it was on TV back in 1987 has become
commonplace. The schematic above touts the Tricorder's touch-screen
buttons and response to voice commands, which essentially just makes it
an iPhone that went to med school.
Heck, there are even people right now -- like CA's own Andy
Khouri -- who insist on referring to their smartphones as Tricorders in
their email signatures. Anything that gets that to stop has to be a good thing.
If nothing else, the $7,000,000 prize is bound to do exactly what the X
Prize was set up for: encouraging development of beneficial technology
that can help make the world better for everyone. But at the same time, I
have my worries. Call me a pessimist if you will, but who knows what
this could lead to? One day someone invents a medical tricorder, and
then the next we've got a sentient hologram of Professor Moriarty to
worry about.
I'm going to start learning how to reverse the polarity, just in case.
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