The smartphone is often called the real-world version of the handheld communicators from the original Star Trek, a nod to how prescient the TV series was about personal technology.

Well, another Star Trek gadget is on the verge of becoming common. The tricorder — the device that Spock and Dr. McCoy would use to analyze all kinds of objects and materials on the show — is becoming a real thing. And it’s coming to smartphones.

Read more on Mashable here.