The science console allows the Science officer to interface with the ship’s sensor systems as well as the ship’s database. The ship’s sensors also draw information from the ship’s communication network in order to use information broadcast for allied ships to identify all position indicators on the science console display.
On the outer hull, ships have various sensor arrays which continually scan the surrounding space. These sensors are capable of analysing, electromagnetic signals, gravitational waves and other signals. For this purpose, there are several different sensor instruments at the sensor points along the outer hull. Some take the form of small aerials, whilst others take the form of sensor plating. The aerials are located at various points around the ship in order to provide 360o of scanning ability.
Active Scans are initiated by the Science officer by selecting a target and activating the scan. In doing so, power is rotated different locations of ship sensors to gain a higher resolution scan of the target. Secondary scans of a target continue to use the increased resolution to gather more information about the target.
Information from the sensor arrays are relayed to processing nodes located in the ship’s internal computer network. This raw data is processed and cross referenced with the ship’s internal database before being used to update the science console display for the science officer.
Sensor systems can be disrupted due both internal and external factors. In combat, damage to the ship’s internal computer network can disrupt the flow of information from the sensor systems. Data processing and information relay can be slowed or even halted until new pathways are mapped through the ship’s network, or damaged pathways are replaced and repaired by damage control teams. The sensor arrays along the outer hull can also be damaged or disrupted due to combat or other damaging phenomena. Impacts against the hull can cause the sensor systems to become misaligned, requiring a recalibration to ensure data collected is accurate. Destruction of an array can also disrupt systems until other sensor arrays are configured to compensate for the damage. Due to their importance to the ship and its ability to detect everything around it, there are multiple back-up systems that can be deployed to compensate for damage to the systems. These include secondary arrays which can be activated to replace destroyed arrays.
External factors can occur that temporarily disrupt sensor systems. Though the sensor arrays themselves are fully functional, strong electromagnetic interference, heavy spacial radiation or other spacial phenomena can overload the data or confuse the signals. This often results in a limited sensor range.