Many years from now when Tricorders are common place, we just might look back on October 30th 2009 as the birth of the first real tricorder. While the iPhone currently has motion, sound, light, location, radio wave and distance sensors, Jing Li a physical scientist, along with several other researchers at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California developed a working prototype of a harmful gas detector for the iPhone.

The team, working under the Cell-All program in the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate, created a small stamp sized detector to be plugged in to an iPhone to “collect, process and transmit sensor data.” The sensor can detect and identify low concentrations of airborne ammonia, chlorine gas and methane.

[Via NASA]

Who needs an plain old VoIP phone when you can have a Mac OS X 10.5 compatible USB Star Trek Communicator VoIP phone. The scale replica features a built-in microphone and speaker with 21 sound effects, mute button, volume switch and 6 foot long USB cable. It even works with iChat.

[via thumbsUp!]

Have something caught in your Astro-Droid or perhaps you need to adjust the Heisenberg Compensator or maybe a lug nut came loose on your ’73 VW. What ever the task, bring a little bit of the future to it with the Hydrokinetic Adjustable Wrench from ThinkGeek.

“To adjust the Hydrokinetic Adjustable Wrench, just open the valve, fit around the nut or bolt of your choice, and push the gripper on the opposite end. It will compress the liquid which will, in turn, push the gripper on the end you want. Once it is snug against the bolt, close the valve and your Hydrokinetic Adjustable Wrench is locked into position. It’s that easy! The slim heads of the wrench will let you sneak it into tight spaces, and the design of the grip will help you turn even damaged nuts and bolts.”

[$25 from ThinkGeek]

I could be making jokes like; “Your Living room, the final frontier…”, but you and I both know that that has been done to death. So lets just all agree that if you can convince your significant other that this is a good idea, you are so ordering this mural.

This original Enterprise bridge Full Wall Mural is a 6×10 detachable skin that can stick and restick to walls without damaging the paint job. 

[$249 from Urban Collector]