PERSONNEL ROSTER
PERSONAL ACCESS DISPLAY DEVICE (PADD)

	In its primary role aboard a starship, the personal access display 
device (PADD) is a handheld control and display terminal. Small, easily 
managed terminals and computers are in daily use throughout Starfleet, as a 
natural response to crew membersÕ needs to (1) execute hardware functions 
in a variety of locations, and (2) manipulate visual information and 
communicate that information to others aboard ship. Access to the 
Enterprise computers and other pieces of equipment can be accomplished 
through the usual control displays and larger terminal screens, of course, but 
the PADD has become a convenient adjunct to those panels.
	The standard small PADD is 10 x 15 x 1 cm and is constructed from 
three basic layers of imbedded circuit-composite material. All primary 
electronics, including multilayer display screen, are bonded to the casing, a 
boronite whisker epoxy. If dropped accidentally, even from a height of 35 m, 
a PADD will remain undamaged. Replaceable components are limited to 
three, the sarium power loop, isolinear memory chip, and subspace 
transceiver assembly (STA).
	In normal daily use, the power supply remains installed and is 
induction recharged. A full charge will last sixteen hours; if a PADD is about 
to exhaust its battery, it can set a memory flag in the main computer to 
transfer tasks to a working unit, or suspend them until a later time. The total 
memory capacity of the isolinear chips is 4.3 kiloquads. Like the tricorder, the 
PADD can transfer its total memory to the main computers in less than one 
second if the need arises. The STA is used to maintain data channels 
between the PADD and the Enterprise computers. If taken on an away 
mission, the PADD can also perform uplink/downlink operations and function 
as a transporter lock-on node. Data transmissions and computing functions 
can be shared with any other Starfleet device supporting the STA com 
protocols. As with the personal communicator, transmissions are encrypted 
for security purposes.
	The display screen, 4.25 times larger than that of a tricorder, allows 
for the manipulation of control graphics, numerical data, and images by 
touch. Electrosensitive areas of the casing (colored brown on the standard 
engineering PADD) are designed for specific data movement and storage 
functions. They can also be used to personalize the default setup and single-
crew member security restriction. An audio pickup sensor permits voice 
input.
	The PADDÕs control functions mimic those of any multilayer panel, 
insofar as the security restrictions for individual crew members are 
concerned. Properly configured with the Conn position bridge controls, a 
crew member can theoretically fly the Enterprise from a PADD while walking 
down a corridor. While this would be an impractical exercise due to PADD 
memory limitations and the relatively small display screen, it is an example of 
the overall multiple-option philosophy established in the Galaxy class 
starship design objectives by StarfleetÕs Advanced Starship Design Bureau.
	This philosophy treats the starship as an integrated organism in 
which each component can be regarded as a cell in a body directed by a 
central brain, but with processing capabilities distributed throughout the 
neural network. Because of this, PADDs and many other handheld data 
devices are capable of accessing any data file or command program to 
which the user has authorized access.
	Custom PADD configurations can be fabricated aboard the Enterprise 
or in any starship hardware replication facility equipped with custom 
isolinear circuit programming capabilities.  Æ