Exocomp Exocomps were artificial lifeform s designed by the Tyran Doctor Farallon that had gained sentience . Origins . Farallon began working on an exocomp prototype several year s prior to 2369 when she had three working units in operation at the Particle Fountain Project for maintenance purposes . The exocomp was not intended to be sentient , but due to the adaptive nature of its design it evolved , gaining sentience . The basis of the exocomp was an industrial servo mechanism which had been in common use on Tyrus VIIa for many years . This basic design was extended by Dr . Farallon who named them ' exocomps ' . The main design goal was to make the exocomp a problem - solver . Design . The exocomp consisted of a micro - replicator , a boridium power converter and axionic chip network . This axionic network gave the exocomp formidable computational power . The micro - replicator not only created tools which the exocomp could use to solve problems but also created new circuit pathways in the exocomps memory when it performed new tasks . This mechanism gave the exocomp the ability to learn . The more tasks it had to perform , the more pathways were formed in its memory . Problems to be solved could be entered through a command - pad , after which the exocomp decided what kind of tool it had to use and then replicated that tool . Recognition of sentience . Lieutenant Commander Data was testing an exocomp on the particle fountain and had completed nineteen separate tests when the device was sent into an access tunnel to seal a plasma conduit . The exocomp returned without finishing its task . When Dr . Farallon tried to send it back into the access tunnel by overriding the exocomp ' s commands , her control pad overloaded . A few seconds later the plasma conduit exploded . If the exocomp had returned to the access tunnel , it would have been destroyed . When Data brought the exocomp back to the for analysis , it was found that the exocomp had shut down and that the interface circuitry which connected the exocomp to the control pad was completely burned out . Further investigation revealed that the number of new circuit pathways had increased by 632 percent . Dr . Farallon explained that sometimes an exocomp randomly generated large numbers of new pathways , which ultimately led to a total shutdown . When this happened the exocomp became totally useless and had to be erased and reprogrammed all over again . Data mentioned that the new pathways did not appear to interfere with the original circuitry . This led Lieutenant Commander La Forge to comment that somehow the exocomp knew that the conduit would explode and therefore it had to leave the access tunnel . Because this remark would imply some form of self - preservation , Data took it upon himself to perform a level one diagnostic on the exocomp . The diagnostic Data performed revealed that the command module was working normally . When checking the exocomp ' s sensor log s it turned out that the exocomp had burned out its own command interface circuitry , and then ran a self - repair program on the same circuitry two hours later . In a short briefing it was decided to test whether the exocomp possessed a survival instinct or not . A test was created where an exocomp had to repair a small conduit breach in a Jefferies tube in which a plasma cascade failure was simulated by means of a transient overload signal . The exocomp performed the repair and was returned after the plasma overload simulation would have destroyed it . Data performed thirty - four additional tests and all tests had the same outcome . Every single time the exocomp would complete the repairs . Because Doctor Crusher distracted Data from his latest test , the exocomp returned automatically and Data noticed it had a different tool than when it entered the tube . In the previous tests the exocomp was recalled when the simulated plasma overload would have occurred . When Data checked the sensor logs he discovered that the exocomp had deactivated the overload signal . It had not failed the test ; it had seen right through it . When the situation on the particle fountain went critical the decision was made to reconfigure the exocomps so their power cells would explode when beamed into the particle matter stream , but because of their survival instincts their command pathways would have to be disconnected . Data locked out the transporter controls preventing the exocomps from being transported because he did not believe that it was justified to sacrifice one lifeform for another . Commander Riker proposed to ask the exocomps if they were willing to perform this mission . When their command pathways were reconnected they reprogrammed the commands Data had entered and altered the transporter coordinates to send them inside the station core , instead of into the matter stream . They solved the problem by distorting the particle stream frequency . Unfortunately , one of the exocomps did not survive , as it had to stay behind to disrupt the particle stream so the other two could safely be beamed back to the " Enterprise " . At last report , Dr . Farallon was trying to find out what the exocomps really were without treating them as simple tools . ( ) Appendices . Background information . In early drafts of , exocomps were known as " metacomps " , but the name was changed when the staff discovered that a company with the same name existed . ( " " 3rd ed . p . 227 ) The exocomps were originally intended to be simple wall terminals and household appliances . Writer Naren Shankar envisioned them as a modular device that would be added to existing tools , " like a high - tech Transformer toy , " and above all , that would be alien in appearance and easily overlooked . In addition , he hoped that the eventual look of the exocomps would not be the " cute type , " referencing the " " films . He further commented , " " As long as they ' re cute and fuzzy people respond , but if it ' s a nasty , ugly - looking thing they won ' t save it . " " ( " " 3rd ed . p . 227 ) Senior illustrator and technical consultant Rick Sternbach designed the exocomps , but the episode budget allowed only two to be built . In " The Quality of Life " , three exocomps can be seen ; the third was digitally inserted in post - production . Their motion was supplied with control rods by puppeteer Kevin D . Carlson , who was also " painted out " later . ( " " 3rd ed . p . 227 ) Sternbach loosely based their design on the character Nanmo from the animated series " The Dirty Pair " . ( ) The first edition of the " Star Trek Encyclopedia " ( p . 96 ) mistakenly referred to the character of " Mugi " . On the It ' s A Wrap ! sale and auction , lots of this model sold for US $ 2 , 705 . 55 and US $ 1 , 541 . 00 . An additional lot of an individual exocomp component sold for US $ 800 ( $ 960 with premium ) . In the episode , the exocomp casing was used as a medical prop to heal Malcolm Reed ' s leg . One of the tools of the exocomp later re - appeared as the hand - held tool of the Sikarian atmospheric sensor in the first season episode . It was later sold off on the " Profiles in History " auction . Apocrypha . The exocomps are referenced by Counselor Troi in the " " novel " Synthesis " . In " Star Trek Online " Exocomps appear to have become at least partially affiliated with Starfleet , where they have become sentient and are a member of the Federation . They can be found as player - owned pets ( in combat and non - combat versions ) , or in the game ' s Duty Officer system as members of the player ' s crew .