History Main / EverythingSensor

* The Google UsefulNotes/{{Android}} platform has an experimental app called "Google Goggles" which is a step in that direction. It uses the camera to analyze photos and display information on book covers, artwork, landmarks, or restaurants.

* Smartphones include besides several cameras, up to ultra-wide and/or telephoto ones, a good deal of sensors that range from (obviously) microphones, GPS, and accelerometers to magnetometers -which allows them to be used as compasses with the adequate app-, luxometers, barometers, etc.

* ''Franchise/StarTrek'' is easily the biggest user of this trope. The sensors on starships can detect things as nuanced as the particular species of individuals on a planet from millions of kilometres away, and pick up whatever {{Phlebotinum}} is being sought or fired at them this week. Even more egregiously, if something shows up that sensors can't detect, they can be 'reconfigured' to do so, no matter how completely different it may be from the sensor's original purpose.
** Invoked in "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E27TheAlternativeFactor The Alternative Factor]]" when the ''failure'' of the sensors is sufficient proof that a parallel universe is involved (or that early Starfleet was a little too overconfident in its technology):

** The tricorder combines this trope with TheLittleDetecto; it's a hand-held, all-purpose[[note]]with one partial exception. Standard tricorders can detect people and give ''some'' indication on their physical status, but for medical diagnosis specialized medical tricorders are brought out.[[/note]] detector for whatever GreenRocks or {{Phlebotinum}} residue they're looking for this week.

* The Google Android platform has an experimental app called "Google Goggles" which is a step in that direction. It uses the camera to analyze photos and display information on book covers, artwork, landmarks, or restaurants.

** The Sonic Screwdriver is even stranger in that it has no screen or any other way of relaying information, and yet the Doctor always knows ''exactly' what it's detecting.

-->-- '''Creator/EddieIzzard'''

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* The ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' uses a handheld device called an Omnicom.

* ComicStrip/DickTracy's original two-way wrist radio evolved over the decades into the wrist TV, and finally into the "wrist computer," described as a kind of portable crime lab. While not really on par with most of the gizmos on this page, it's still a much nicer portable analyzing device than anything we have yet in real life. The current version is called a "wrist geenee," basically the same thing with a few more bells and whistles.

* The canonical idea of the Thaumometer is given in extra twist or two in Creator/AAPessimal's take on the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}''. When hooked up to HEX and a handy omniscope, they become a versatile tool for detecting... just about anything. Even if the reading can be vague, contradictory, confusing or downright unhelpful.

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/BigHero6'', Baymax can do a full medical scan of a patient in about 2 seconds that not only reveals even minor injuries, but also emotional states (via brain chemistry), allergies, blood types, and cholesterol levels. He's later upgraded with an enhanced sensor that can scan thousands of people in the city all at once in about 10 seconds.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* In the ''Literature/{{Boundary}}'' series, A.J. Baker uses nanotechnological "Faerie Dust" to scan just about everything for everything. Justified in that the Dust's capabilities are fairly well defined and based on actual research work being done now and extended into the future; the Dust Motes are very small computing devices with micro-scale sensors and actuators but can act in concert wirelessly, within limits of the power available and their programming.
* The Thaumometer, and related devices used by wizards on the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' are handy devices apparently running on Phlebotinum, used to ascertain the precise degree of eldrich, strange and potentially unseemly things going on in the vicinity of Ankh-Morpork and Unseen University. Most wizards carry one somewhere about their persons as the accepted Everything Sensor. Ponder Stibons is never without one.

* ''Literature/TheLostFleet'' series is a notable aversion, despite being a SpaceOpera series that owes more than a little to ''Star Trek''. The sensor systems aboard a warship are explicitly limited to optical and infrared cameras and wide-spectrum radio telescopes, and both the sensors themselves and the ship-to-ship voice and data links are limited to the speed of light. Much tension is derived from trying to figure out what a distant enemy warship formation are doing ''now'' when all the heroes know is what they were doing minutes or hours ago, or infer what's going on inside a space habitat or an outpost beneath the surface of an airless planetoid from whatever radio traffic they can intercept.

* ''Franchise/StarTrek'' is easily the biggest user of this trope. The sensors on starships can detect things as nuanced as the particular species of individuals on a planet from millions of kilometres away, and pick up whatever {{Phlebotinum}} is being sought or fired at them this week. Even more egregiously, if something shows up that sensors can't detect, they can be 'reconfigured' to do so, no matter how completely different it may be from the sensor's original purpose.
** Invoked in "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E27TheAlternativeFactor The Alternative Factor]]" when the ''failure'' of the sensors is sufficient proof that a parallel universe is involved (or that early Starfleet was a little too overconfident in its technology):
--->'''Spock:''' Our ship's instruments are specifically designed to locate and identify any object in our universe, be it energy or matter.
** Interestingly, one episode of ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' featured them finding the wreck of an early 21st century UsefulNotes/{{Mars}} mission ship which appeared to be the first to mount an Everything Sensor - that's virtually how it was described!
** The tricorder combines this trope with TheLittleDetecto; it's a hand-held, all-purpose[[note]]with one partial exception. Standard tricorders can detect people and give ''some'' indication on their physical status, but for medical diagnosis specialized medical tricorders are brought out.[[/note]] detector for whatever GreenRocks or {{Phlebotinum}} residue they're looking for this week.
** When they scan a ship for "life", they appear to actually scan for "life" -- it is pointed out at least once in ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' that their sensors can pick up artificial life, such as androids.
*** And in ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' they find a tiny little miniature ''universe'' and their sensors can detect there is life in it. In this case, they explicitly ''infer'' the presence of life based on "localized decreases in entropy." (Things were not as random within specific areas within the micro-verse in specific ways which indicated life-forms were responsible.)
*** The sensors are aided by the [[ExpositronNineThousand ship's computer]] which is sophisticated enough to simulate fully sapient beings (at least from ''The Next Generation'' onward). The computer is frequently shown being able to theorize and extrapolate from available data based on spoken natural language commands. So the computer is piecing together evidence from a wide array of sensors.
** One TNG episode does claim that there are materials their internal sensors are not calibrated to scan for by default, and the Danger of the Week just so happens to be caused by one of the materials which went out of common usage decades ago.
* The Robot on ''Series/LostInSpace'' definitely had one installed.
* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' actually ''didn't'' have an Everything Sensor, interestingly enough. While it was certainly possible to scan ships from a distance, the information provided seemed limited, such as scanning for lifeforms (or rather for heat signatures that ''could'' be life forms), scanning for model/type of ship, and scanning for radiation. [[TheFederation The Alliance]], on the other hand, may have something approaching an Everything Sensor.

** In "Planet of the Dead", Malcolm's equipment can't detect a wormhole. So he makes it display ''what it can't detect'', and that shows the wormhole just fine.

** In the episode "Flatline" of the revival series the Doctor was confused because the TARDIS couldn't detect something that was causing weird phenomena. By mentioning the TARDIS was build to detect virtually anything in the known universe he reasoned the phenomena were caused by beings from beyond the known universe [[spoiler: and he was right of course.]]
* ''Series/StargateSG1'', when mankind learned to build starships, we also got the bonus package of sensors that can pinpoint life form readings and all energy sources from orbit. It also plays with it a bit, since the initial Earth-designed sensors were rather poor, needing ground teams to tag objects with beacons before they could localise them. An upgrade from the friendly neighbourhood Asgard solved the problem about the time the Daedalus was introduced.
* Heavily lampshaded in the ''Series/RedDwarf'' revival. The gang are in a TV store (NoFourthWall) where a salesman is discussing the show and talking about how stupid the 'psi scan' Kryten uses is. At the same time Kryten psi-scans him, before telling the others the guy's name, address, clothing size, the fact that he's a jerk and that he has a very small penis as a result of the scans data. Toyed with further - Rimmer asks how the scan could possibly have found that and Kryten explains it was a simple matter of the machine hacking into his email account.
** Parodied in the opposite direction in an earlier episode, when Kryten scans the crew to see if they've been infected by mutated diseases. After beeping and whirring for several seconds, it turns out that the most accurate the scan can get is "going to live".

* Sensors even aboard a SpaceFighter in ''Series/BabylonFive'' can scan for life readings aboard other ships. While it could be interpreted as scanning for heat signatures, it's also clearly established that one is also able to scan for ''dead'' lifeforms. How those are distinguished from the surrounding materials is not clear. This comes up in an episode when Garibaldi, flying a [=StarFury=], has the fighter's computer scan a transport ship for life signs. The computer reports the number of life ''forms'' it found. Garibaldi even asks for confirmation that the computer didn't make a mistake in the terms (i.e. the people aboard the transport are all dead).
** We also frequently hear someone reporting an energy spike just before weapons begin firing. This one might be justified, though.
* In ''Series/MightyMed'', in one episode Gus is shown to have a lie detector, a radiation detector, and a detector detector, which was going off because of the other detectors.

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Crimestrikers}}'', the titular team's standard equipment includes the Scanscope, which (according to the gamebook) "can detect, scan and analyze anything the heroes need it to in each story." It's also a [[CommLinks communications device]].

* ''VideoGame/MetroidPrimeTrilogy'': The Scan Visor which is not ''just'' a scanner, it also translates ancient languages, and hacks ''everything''. One scan data from a Space Pirate terminal talks about how the Hunter is casually annihilating their best encryptions. There's also a passive sensor that alerts Samus to environmental dangers, such as fire or lava.
* In the Space Stage in ''VideoGame/{{Spore}}'', your ship is equipped with a scanner that can identify any animal, plant or vehicle. It can point you towards missing objects, when you don't know where they are but for some reason you still have to scan it manually.
* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrails'': The 'Scan' ability lets a party member fully analyze enemies to learn their weaknesses.
* ''VideoGame/StarControlII'': When you go to a planet, you can scan it in one of three different ways: Scan for minerals, scan for life forms, or scan for energy readings (though it won't tell you much about the readings you get... you have to land on the surface to find out what's what). Also, scanning will give you other information about the planet, such as its tectonic movements, level of hazardous weather, average surface temperature, and gravity. Oh, and there's also an autoscan feature which does all three basic scans one after another, showing you anything you'd need to know about the planet.
* Solid Snake gets an eyepatch that acts as an Everything Sensor in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots.'' It can scan the faction affiliation, health level, emotional state, and gun equipped of any soldier you look at. Considering that a large part of the setting of that game is that ''everyone'' is connected to a huge system that monitors all these things on a global scale, it is perhaps simply tapping into that.
* Norman Jayden in ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'' has a pair of VR Goggles that allow him to scan crime scenes for all sorts of stuff that most CSI labs would take weeks to analyze, including ''DNA''. Note that the game takes place in 2011 (one year into the future for its year of release). It also has a couple of [[MundaneUtility minigames he can play]] like a "Throw ball at a brick wall" simulation.
* ''VideoGame/MegaManX2'': The Radar Helmet detects secret passages and for power-ups that are hidden out of view.

* In ''VideoGame/StarCraftII'', the "sensors" are able to detect whatever is convenient for the plot.
* ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'' plays this straight with the Detective Skull, which tells you important stats of the monster you're fighting, then parodies it with the Defective Skull joke item, which is an Everything Sensor that only gives ''useless'' information. For example, it might tell you that the monster you're fighting ''has'' HitPoints (but not how many), or pick a random, absurdly high number and say the monster has that many hit points, or say that it has "approximately [[EleventyZillion eleventy-seven hojillion]]" hit points.

* ''VideoGame/MiddleEarthShadowOfMordor'' has Talion acquire "Wraith Vision" allowing him to see everything similar to Arkham's Detective Vision. Justified as he is possesed by a Wraith that can naturally see this way.
* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilRevelations'': The Genesis Scanner is a multi-purpose tool that can detect hidden items, enemy weak points and handprints, as well as somehow build a composite profile of a virus from a visual scan of infected tissue.
* ''VideoGame/TimeShift'': Your on board A.I warns you about electrical hazards, fire hazards, quantum anomalies, shielded enemies, structural instabilities and concealed threats, which could be landmines, enemies about to burst though doors or giant mechs tearing up the place. You can only tell which one after they happen, making the warning slightly less useful.
* Omni-tools in ''Franchise/MassEffect'' seem capable of scanning and interfacing with anything, from doors, computers and weapons, to 50,000-year-old alien technology that no-one has seen before. They can also be used as a camera, a phone and [[MundaneUtility a flashlight]]. In ''3'' they can also stab things.
** Additionally, in ''2'' and ''3'', the ''[[CoolShip Normandy]]'' carries a scanning system capable of isolating 4 very specific, useful elements (one of which is not metallic, so it can't just be a metal detector). The same scanning system can also identify anomolies including distress beacons, lifesigns, and shipwrecks. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in its element-scanning operations, as the scanner could be measuring density vs. mass and estimating the chances of the specific element at that spot.
** Prothean [=VIs=] are capable of determining whether someone is [[BrainwashedAndCrazy indoctrinated]] or not.

* In ''VideoGame/AlienLegacy'' there's a phenomenon called "transcendental radiation". It was discovered by scientist from a destroyed human colony, and is rediscovered early in the game. It allows to "create a resonance between what the brain can conceptualize and what is physically on the planet's surface", thus allowing to find places or objects of interest, primarily the ruins of the destroyed colony. It is required to get the best ending.

* ''Videogame/DeepRockGalactic:'' Despite being mounted on the Space Rig, a space station far above Hoxxes IV, the scanners that Mission Control can read and operate are able to detect movements of individual lifeforms deep underground in order to relay them directly to the mining team moments before they can be attacked, and even telling them when the swarm is coming to an end. They can even pick up individual species, from massive carpeted hordes of Swarmers to just the singular, if gigantic Dreadnought, telling you as much before they can pounce you.

* Since the beginning of ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' Zordnon has talked about how his "Sensors indicate" one thing or another. ''Series/PowerRangersTurbo'' has the Turbo Navigators. Later, ''Series/PowerRangersInSpace'' would use the [=AmScanners=] for much the same thing.

* ''Videogame/DeepRockGalactic:'' Despite being mounted on the Space Rig, a space station far above Hoxxes IV, the scanners that Mission Control can read and operate are able to detect movements of individual lifeforms deep underground in order to relay them directly to the mining team moments before they can be attacked, and even telling them when the swarm is coming to an end. They can even pick up individual species, from massive carpeted hordes of Swarmers to just the singual, if gigantic Dreadnought, telling you as much before they can pounce you.

* Smartphones include besides several cameras, up to ultra-wide and/or telephoto ones, a good deal of sensors that include accelerometers, magnetometers -which allows them to he used as compasses with the adequate app-, luxometers, barometers, etc.

* Smartphones include besides several cameras, up to ultra-wide and/or telephoto ones, a good deal of sensors that include accelerometers, magnetometers -which allows them to he used as compasses with the adequate app-, light intensity, barometers, etc.