MotleyThe OMNI-CORDER is a handheld, self-contained scientific field instrument built around three ESP32-S3 processors, a 3.5" TFT touchscreen display, and a sensor suite that covers radiation spectrometry, real-time 3D depth mapping, thermal imaging, environmental monitoring, GPS, and dual 5MP cameras.
It's inspired by the tricorders of Star Trek: The Next Generation — but every sensor on this device is real and functional. Note for Paramount - This is not a prop, not a cosplay replica, and not LCARS.
This is a fully functional field device that hopefully will look like it came out of the Trek-verse.
The star of the show, what made me want to do this project and doing a lot of the heavy lifting in terms of raw science and sci-fi vibes, is the Radiacode 110. Doing all the isotope spectrum detection and analysis, acting as a radiation detector for beta and gamma rays and helping to identify what sources are and what the background readings are. Just by having this I feel 1000x cooler than before and I've learnt a load of stuff about radiation and spectrometry just by working out how to use it.
To compliment that I want to make sure the Omni-corder has a decent suite of scan tools. The overview is: Radiation detection, type of radiation, background spectrometry, 3D scanner for pointclouds and textured models, thermal imaging, environmental sensors (temp, pressure, humidity etc), I'm working in VSC for the coding, using Claude Code to iterate and debug. I'm also using Claude to help organise my brain dumps into actually useful project documents.
The device is going to have three modes: ENV (enviromental), GEO (geological), LOG (for logging data). Each mode will have several 'pages' within the UI to give the user data around specific use cases or sensor suites. Here's how I plan for each of these modes to play out:
ENV Mode — Environmental Analysis
Atmosphere & Weather
- Temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure (BME688)
- Dew point calculation
- Pressure trend graphing
- Air quality index and VOC gas detection (BME688 / BSEC2)
- UV index (VEML6070)
- Ambient light level in lux (BH1750)
Radiation & Electromagnetic
- Background gamma dose rate (Radiacode 110)
- EMF / magnetic field strength (Hall effect module)
Location & Navigation
- Multi-constellation GPS fix (GPS, BDS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS, SBAS)
- Waypoint marking
- GPS track logging
- Compass heading (HMC5883L)
Logging
- All sensor readings timestamped and GPS-tagged to microSD
- Continuous background logging across all ENV pages
GEO Mode — Geological & Material Analysis
3D Spatial Capture
- Live 8×8 depth map display (VL53L5CX ToF)
- Static single-frame 3D point cloud with perspective projection
- IMU-guided sweep — accumulate depth frames across multiple positions
- Photorealistic textured 3D model — OV5640 camera imagery projected onto depth geometry
- On-device model display; saved to SD card as PLY file with texture map
Thermal Imaging
- 32×24 live thermal array (MLX90640)
- Thermal overlay on camera feed with adjustable opacity
- Thermal mapped onto 3D geometry
- Temperature distribution across scanned object
- Saved as raw thermal data, raw JPEG, and blended JPEG
Radiation / Spectrometry
- Real-time gamma dose rate and CPS (Radiacode 110)
- Full gamma spectrum display
- Isotope identification
Material Inference
- Multi-sensor correlation across spectrometry, thermal, and visual data
- Cross-reference against materials database
- Confidence levels shown for all identifications
- Analysis method always labelled (spectroscopic / thermal / visual / multi-sensor)
Illumination
- 10W white rear LED for scan illumination (MOSFET-switched)
- 3W UV (365–370 nm) rear LED for fluorescence scanning
- One active at a time
Logging
- All scan data, spectra, and 3D models timestamped and GPS-tagged to microSD
LOG Mode — Field Notes & Documentation
Photography
- 5MP stills via front OV5640 autofocus camera
- GPS coordinates and sensor data embedded in EXIF metadata
- Photo gallery with location tagging
- 10W white front LED for illumination on demand
Video
- Video capture via front camera
- Video library with timestamp and location metadata
Audio
- Voice note recording via MEMS microphone array (INMP441 ×3)
- Playback on device
Text Notes
- Structured field notes with timestamp and GPS tag
Mission Management
- Start a mission to group all captures (photos, video, scans, logs) into a named folder on SD card
- All LOG mode events automatically associated with the active mission
Logging
- Everything written to microSD with timestamp, GPS tag, and ambient sensor overlay
This project is super subject to change as I go, I keep making changes to previous decisions based on something new I find. For example, to start with it was meant to have 2MP cameras but then the ones I ordered didn't have the USB connection so I need breakout boards, then I saw ESP32S3 with 5MP camboards on them, on a flash sale on Aliexpress so I ordered those and that lead to a whole redesign of the entire project. Which actually is 1000x (not quantifiable) better as now each cam has it's own processor. Anyway, what I'm getting at is, that all of the above may change at a whim.