Probe - Definition and Overview

Probe is a generic term used to refer to a device used to gather information.

• A robotic probe is a device that uses onboard instruments to gather and relay a variety of telemetry to controllers from remote, hazardous or otherwise difficult to reach locations. Probes may return their data over radio links or be physically tethered to controllers or another device, or to collect and return physical samples.
• Robotic probes operating in space are known as space probes.
• The word probe is also used to descibe medical instruments, such as a laparoscope, a device that assists with surgery on the human body by allowing doctors to see and manipulate organs without making large incisions.
• A probe can also decribe a scientific instrument such as a Langmuir probe, an electrode inserted into a plasma to determine temperature and density.

The Ford Probe was a car produced by the Ford Motor Company between 1989 and 1997 for European and North American markets.

See Also

• Space probe
• Surgical instruments

External links

• NASA JPL's Deep sea probe (http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/releases/99/monterey.html)
• A news article on an unnamed Japanese magma probe (http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/news/archive/200407/04/20040704p2a00m0dm007002c.html)