X Prize Announces $10 Million for First to Develop Star Trek Tricorder

The X Prize Foundation, the people who have given prizes for various first's, such as to Virgin Galactic for being the first non-governmental entity to send a person into space, has announced a prize of $10 million to the first person or group who is able to create a Star Trek type tricoder that is able to perform medical diagnosis with the simple wave of the hand.

The announcement was made by Dr. Paul Jacobs, president of the foundation, at this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

There are stipulations of course, as creating a real device from a fictional one doesn't leave much room for specifications. Thus, the foundation has set down a very broad definition in what it is looking for in a winner.

As described on its site, "the winner will be the team whose technology most accurately diagnoses a set of diseases independent of a healthcare professional or facility, and that provides the best consumer user experience with their device."

More specifically, the winner will create a tool capable of diagnosing 15 predefined medical conditions, as well as offering a set of metrics that have yet to be specified; the device must weigh less than five pounds.

As stated on the site's main page, the goal of the X Prize foundation is to stimulate breakthroughs in various scientific endeavors. Those preferred are those that are both innovative and create a path for others to follow. All prize money given out is donated to the foundation.

In attendance at CES, was BBC staff writer Chris Vallance, who explains in a recent article on the site, that if anyone is able to actually figure out a way to make a tricorder, it would be enormously valuable, especially in places where patients have difficulty getting to a medical facility in a timely fashion. Third world countries come to mind, but then so do small town family practices in countries all over the world.

In an interview with Mr. Vallance, X Prize Chairman said that the foundation is looking for a groundbreaking product, one that will do what fans of Star Trek have seen for years, and that is, diagnose health problems in a minimally invasive way in a real-world setting, in a short amount of time. He also noted, smiling, that the only thing the foundation is not too concerned about is that the device sound like the one from the television and movies.