History Main / EverythingSensor

* ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'': Incoming Scan Data...

* 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.

* ''Series/PowerRangersTurbo'' has the Turbo Navigators. Later, ''Series/PowerRangersInSpace'' would use the [=AmScanners=] for much the same things.

** The Doctor also has a [[TimeyWimeyBall timey-wimey detector]], which [[BuffySpeak goes ding when there's stuff.]] (And [[ItRunsOnNonsensoleum can boil an egg at 30 paces]], whether you want it to or not.) That might be one of these, but who knows?

* ''MetroidPrime'': Incoming Scan Data...

* In the Space Stage in ''{{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.

* Solid Snake gets an eyepatch that acts as an Everything Sensor in ''MetalGearSolid4.'' 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.

-->-- '''EddieIzzard'''

* ''VideoGame/MiddleEarth:ShadowofMordor'' 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

** The tricorders combines this trope with TheLittleDetecto; it's a hand-held, all-purpose detector for whatever GreenRocks or {{Phlebotinum}} residue they're looking for this week.

** Invoked in "[[StarTrekS1E27TheAlternativeFactor The Alternative Factor]]" when the ''failure'' of the sensors is sufficient prove that a parallel universe is involved:

** Invoked in ''[[StarTrekS1E27TheAlternativeFactor The Alternative Factor]]'' when the ''failure'' of the sensors is sufficient prove that a parallel universe is involved:
--> 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 Mars mission ship which appeared to be the first to mount an Everything Sensor - that's virtually how it was described!
** Tricorders are all-purpose detectors 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 The Next Generation that their sensors can pick up artificial life, such as androids.
*** And in Deep Space Nine 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)

*** Not anymore. [[http://mobile.slashdot.org/story/11/09/02/2229200/Android-Tricorder-Killed-By-CBS CBS killed it]].

* Clearly fraudulent, but cute nonetheless: one company in America makes dowsing rods that can detect anything from [[http://www.skepdic.com/quadro.html lost golf balls]] [[http://www.ted.com/talks/michael_shermer_on_believing_strange_things.html to marijuana in school lockers]].
** Not so cute when used [[http://news.discovery.com/tech/bomb-detecting-dowsing-rod-demonstrates-danger-of-pseudoscience.html to detect bombs]]. It gives a false sense of security.
** In 2010 [[http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/24/world/europe/24scanner.html?_r=0 a man was arrested for selling such bomb detectors to Iraq]]. Iraqi officials accused him of causing thousands of deaths, because police relied on his detectors and didn't notice explosives.

* Batman's detective vision in VideoGame/BatmanArkhamSeries, which can locate {{Mook}}s behind several walls, measure their heartbeats and find all kinds of different substances from air and surfaces. In VideoGame/BatmanArkhamOrigins it can even create perfect reconstructions of crime scene events.

* In ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2318355/1/Make-A-Wish Make a Wish]]'', Harry asked a mad scientist friend of his to come up with something that could "detect poisons and things". Upon producing a nifty little doodad called a Hex-Quarter, its inventor said that it also "can detect wards, has several forensic charms, several diagnostic charms, a database of plants and animals, and much much more".

* RealLife spacecrafts (read: unmanned space probes) have ''a whole lot'' of instruments to study everything, or almost everything, of their mission target(s): camera(s) with many different filters, spectrometers, magnetometers... to give an example, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassini%E2%80%93Huygens#Instruments here are]] the instruments carried by the Cassini probe.

* ''StarControl 2''. 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.

* Norman Jayden in ''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.

!!Examples

[[folder:Anime]]

[[folder:ComicBooks]]

[[folder:Fanfiction]]
* In ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2318355/1/Make-A-Wish Make a Wish]]'', Harry asked a mad scientist friend of his to come up with something that could "detect poisons and things". Upon producing a nifty little doodad called a Hex-Quarter, its inventor said that it also "can detect wards, has several forensic charms, several diagnostic charms, a database of plants and animals, and much much more".

[[folder:Film]]
* in Film/EuropaReport, they have a sensor that can not only scan for the life on ice, but display a full 3D graphic of the life faster than a person with a microscope could do so.
* Parodied (of course) in ''Film/GalaxyQuest'', where it would work a lot better if it wasn't being held upside-down. It does help them out after they fix that issue, though.

[[folder:Literature]]
* In ''Literature/TheHistoryOfTheGalaxy'' books, pretty much all sensors act this way. The author usually mentions that the sensors simply return the "energy signature" of the target, and it's up to either the operator or the machine to figure out what it could be based on known signatures. SpaceMarines are trained to be able to identify signatures at a glance. In one novel, a SpaceMarine gets [[PsychicPowers empathic powers]], allowing him to "see" nervous systems of living creatures. Instinctively, he combines this ability with his training, which allows him to shoot [[VoluntaryShapeshifting shapeshifters]] in the brain (i.e. the largest collections of neurons he sees).
** Specially-trained humans with multiple implants in their heads (known as cybreakers or mnemonics) are likewise able to scan their surroundings without any external devices. In fact, they are even able to see the force lines inside [[SubspaceOrHyperspace Hypersphere]].
* 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.

[[folder:LiveActionTV]]

[[folder:NewspaperComics]]
* 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.

[[folder:TabletopGames]]
* ''{{GURPS}}'' 4e simply refers to this as "para-radar" with the note that it does not mimic ''any'' realistic sense.
** The ''Ultra-Tech'' sourcebook actually has such devices, known as "Ultrascanners", which can used as radars, along with scanning for radiation and biological lifeforms, as well as allowing detailed analysis from a distance with scientific skills such as Chemistry and Physics.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:VideoGames]]

[[folder:WebOriginal]]

[[folder:WesternAnimation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' uses this as a fashion accessory. In the regular cast, Amy and Leela both have "Wristlojackameters", but only Leela's gets frequent use. Functions include tracing, transmission reception, and assurance that the food on a planet is edible.
** [[MundaneUtility And Tetris.]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{WALL-E}}'', the captain drops some dirt "into" a sensor and asks the computer to analyze it. While we never see it analyze anything else, the way that computer responded is a good indication that it can dig up the [[IncrediblyLamePun dirt]] on just about anything it's presented with.

[[folder:RealLife]]

[[quoteright:280:[[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/6a00d83452989a69e20115707c629e970b-800wi_2851.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:280:[[TheSpock Mr. Spock]] can detect anything with the tricorder. Even [[MySensorsIndicateYouWantToTapThat that]], yep.]]

* In ''TheHistoryOfTheGalaxy'' books, pretty much all sensors act this way. The author usually mentions that the sensors simply return the "energy signature" of the target, and it's up to either the operator or the machine to figure out what it could be based on known signatures. SpaceMarines are trained to be able to identify signatures at a glance. In one novel, a SpaceMarine gets [[PsychicPowers empathic powers]], allowing him to "see" nervous systems of living creatures. Instinctively, he combines this ability with his training, which allows him to shoot [[VoluntaryShapeshifting shapeshifters]] in the brain (i.e. the largest collections of neurons he sees).

* Since the ''GlobalGuardiansPBEMUniverse'' was a superhero game, with superhuman senses being almost commonplace, this sort of thing happened a lot. Especially with PoweredArmor-wearing heroes.

*** This in turn is aided by the 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.

[[caption-width-right:280:[[TheSpock Mr. Spock]] can detect anything with the tricorder. Even that, yep.]]