<p>German scientists have invented a Star Trek-style transporter that can scan an object and 'beam' it to another location.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The new machine scans a physical object, destroys it in the process, transmits it over the internet and re-builds it using a 3D printer in a new location.<br /><br />Since it is effectively an early prototype for a Star Trek teleportation machine its creators have named it "Scotty" after the chief engineer on the Starship Enterprise, who Captain Kirk was regularly seen to order: "beam me up".<br /><br />The machine scans small objects with a camera layer-by-layer, as a milling machine slowly destroys it. By slicing the object into layers it is possible to get a detailed view of the object, even including any hollow cavities.<br /><br />A detailed model is then encrypted and digitally transmitted over the internet to a second machine which reconstructs it with a 3D printer.<br /><br />The user only has to place an object into the sender unit, name a recipient and press the 'relocate' button, 'The Telegraph' reported.<br /><br />Its creators, from the Hasso Plattner Institute in Germany, said that the machine effectively "relocates physical objects across distances."<br /><br />"Scotty guarantees that a personal, handmade gift remains unique when sent across distances, ie that there is no other copy - an important aspect that emphasises the intimate relationship between sender and receiver," researchers said. <br /></p>
<p>German scientists have invented a Star Trek-style transporter that can scan an object and 'beam' it to another location.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The new machine scans a physical object, destroys it in the process, transmits it over the internet and re-builds it using a 3D printer in a new location.<br /><br />Since it is effectively an early prototype for a Star Trek teleportation machine its creators have named it "Scotty" after the chief engineer on the Starship Enterprise, who Captain Kirk was regularly seen to order: "beam me up".<br /><br />The machine scans small objects with a camera layer-by-layer, as a milling machine slowly destroys it. By slicing the object into layers it is possible to get a detailed view of the object, even including any hollow cavities.<br /><br />A detailed model is then encrypted and digitally transmitted over the internet to a second machine which reconstructs it with a 3D printer.<br /><br />The user only has to place an object into the sender unit, name a recipient and press the 'relocate' button, 'The Telegraph' reported.<br /><br />Its creators, from the Hasso Plattner Institute in Germany, said that the machine effectively "relocates physical objects across distances."<br /><br />"Scotty guarantees that a personal, handmade gift remains unique when sent across distances, ie that there is no other copy - an important aspect that emphasises the intimate relationship between sender and receiver," researchers said. <br /></p>