Scouter

      

“	To commemorate my inauguration, I've brought a new battle item for you all. It's a brand-new invention called a 'Scouter'. It's like the 'scout-scopes' you've used for reconnaissance, but compact and designed to be worn, and they can be used for communication too.	”
—Freeza explaining the Scouter to the Saiyans, Dragon Ball Super: Broly

Scouter
Kanji	スカウター
Rōmaji	Sukautā
Debut
Manga Debut	Chapter 195
Anime Debut	DBK001, DBZ001
Movie Debut	Movie 4
OVA Debut	OVA 1
Game Debut	Dragon Ball Z III: Ressen Jinzōningen
Data
Inventor/Creator	Tsufruians
Affiliation	Freeza's Army
Related tool(s)
Meter (Movie only) Scout-Scope (Movie only)
User(s)
Bulma Freeza Presumed all members of Freeza's Army

The Scouter (スカウター, Sukautā) is a technological device created by Kikono.

History

The Scouter was a device created by Kikono for the Freeza army, either shortly before or after the retirement of the King, Cold. Freeza presented the Scouters to the Saiyans as a welcoming gift for his inauguration, claiming that they were superior devices to the Scout-Scopes used by the Saiyans previously. He demonstrates their effectiveness by killing three snipers after detecting their Fighting Strength.

Appearance

Bulma tinkering with a scouter in the manga.

The Scouter's appearance is similar to a semi-monocle that covers the left eye. The Scouter comes in many colors such as blue, red, and purple with the most frequently occurring color being green. Various models possess minor updates on the ear-piece. The latest model of the scouter is a visor-model used by Tagoma.

The Scouter taken from Raditz and later modified and used by Bulma is referred to as a Converted Scouter. The Scouter used by Freeza and his men on Namek are referred to as the New Model Scouter and the Scouters brought by the Ginyū Special Squad are the Newest Model Scouters.

Abilities

The Scouter's main ability can calculate individual battle power or ki concentration of biological characters by converting the readings into numbers. Scouters also serve the function of gathering information about soldiers wearing it and for interstellar communication. However, the scouter's reading takes time. If a person can minimize their power level and raise only for the instants they land attacks, they can fool the enemy into lowering their guards. As a result, the scouter is relatively useless when compared to ki sensing, which can detect power levels at any given time.

Creation and Conception

Akira Toriyama based the design of Saiyan scouters on Mitsuteru Yokoyama's 1956 manga Tetsujin 28-go. An antagonist character named Alberto had lost his right eye, and wore a metal patch that somewhat resembles the scouter in appearance, and also acted like a tracking and communication device. Toriyama mentioned that, despite being the author, he is not sure how the Scouter attaches to the ear, even while drawing it, and the best explanation is that its "alien technology". He also mentioned a desire to increase the capabilities of the scouter, by having it display the form or location of the enemy in video, but this would be difficult to portray in a manga.

Trivia

• The highest battle power calculated by a scouter in the manga belongs to Gokū at 180,000 after powering up using the Kaiōken.
• Originally, the Scouter was stated to be a device pioneered by the Tsufruians, the race that originally lived on Vegeta before the Saiyans migrated there from their original planet. The original purpose of the device was for defense; guarding against enemies and beasts. However, Gichamu, a highly skilled engineer in Freeza's Army, made modifications to the Scouter. This enabled it to read battle power, and carry out communications over long distances. With these updates, the device became a standard piece of material in Freeza's Army.