Brief description
The scanner is used to add new blueprints and analyze unknown entities. It emits electromagnetic radiation in the specified direction, which is reflected by the environment and then analyzed to determine the physical make-up of the targeted object. It has four primary functions: blueprint acquisition for the databank (for 3D printing), organism analysis (matching against database or creating new entries, also synthesizing theories on behavioral tendencies and evolutionary origins), medical analysis, and self-scan (search for e.g. foreign bacteria, compare with available data to provide diagnosis).
"The Alterra Spectroscope Scanner - Understanding the world so you don't have to."