Researchers Moot "Teleportation" Via Destructive 3D Printing

ErnieKey writes Researchers from German-based Hasso Plattner Institute have come up with a process that may make teleportation a reality — at least in some respects. Their 'Scotty' device utilizes destructive scanning, encryption, and 3D printing to destroy the original object so that only the received, new object exists in that form, pretty much 'teleporting' the object from point A to point B. Scotty is based on an off-the-shelf 3D printer modified with a 3-axis milling machine, camera, and microcontroller for encryption, using Raspberry Pi and Arduino technologies." This sounds like an interesting idea, but mostly as an art project illustrating the dangers of DRM. Can you think of an instance where you would actually want the capabilities this machine claims to offer?

Comments

Useless Art Project

[lbenes]

Why was this posted? It's not good art and has no real life applications.

Re:Useless Art Project

[Threni]

The rites of spring by stravinsky has no "real life applications" other than the usual art stuff. You know, making life bearable in a pointless, hateful world where the best thing you can say about it is that you're going to die eventually, and beyond that everything in the universe is going to ultimately run out of energy and go dark and cold for ever and ever and ever. I mean, you're right; it would have been better had it improved the speed of an internet search or something practical like that, but sadly, no. Just pointless art.

Prototyping security?

[The Rizz]

The only situations I can see this having any use in is some sort of security model where you make an object that for some security reason isn't supposed to exist in more than one place. I can see this for the whole "only this key can open the briefcase with the documents/money/etc." situation, for example.

Re:Prototyping security?

[LifesABeach]

My thought was, "what could possibly go wrong?" and then the idea formed, "the recieving maching broke half way through the process."

Re:Prototyping security?

[fractoid]

Hint: Don't put your p-

I thought this post was going somewhere much more worrying than "et hamster".

Could be useful in certain rare cases

[c0d3g33k]

Can you think of an instance where you would actually want the capabilities this machine claims to offer?

In situations where moving the original object physically to its destination is difficult or cost prohibitive, and there is no further need of the original at the source (maybe it only has utility at the destination). The most obvious case would be from Earth to space, either to a location in orbit, or eventually another planet.

Re:Could be useful in certain rare cases

[aardvarkjoe]

In situations where moving the original object physically to its destination is difficult or cost prohibitive, and there is no further need of the original at the source (maybe it only has utility at the destination). The most obvious case would be from Earth to space, either to a location in orbit, or eventually another planet.

I would think that a trash can next to the scanner would probably do this particular job just as well.

Simpson's did it!!!

[the_skywise]

That was an Outer Limits episode...

"BALANCE THE EQUATION!!!!"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T...

Yes

[Jaime2]

Their method of destructive scanning allows for internal detail to be accurately reproduced. They aren't destroying it for the fun of it, they're destroying it to see it's internal structure. The DRM-like behavior is just a side-effect.

Re:Yes

[Lab Rat Jason]

It depresses me that it took this long for someone to come up with a sensible answer... I read the article and immediately thought of pump impellers, but everyone above here is still stuck on derezzing.

moot teleportation?

[Anonymous Coward]

First moot retires, and now they want to destructively teleport him?

Yes

[Harlequin80]

Any situation where you don't have the details of what is inside the object but you want them.

Take a step away from the "teleportation" aspect and put the sender and receiver right next to each other. One disassembles the item while the other recreates it. At the end of the process you have the replacement item to stick back into where ever you took it from AND a scan of all the layers inside allowing you to produce more should you so desire.

this is why teleportation never made sense

[circletimessquare]

it's duplication

which is great!

but why destroy the original? just to call it teleportation? seems ridiculous

Hmmmm

[fyngyrz]

Can you think of an instance where you would actually want the capabilities this machine claims to offer?

Yes. Yes, I can. Let's use this as the new transport mechanism for congresspersons. What a problem-solver!

Re:Isn't that how the transporter works?

[Megahard]

No, the transporter works by first filming with the actor, then without the actor, and combining the shots post-production with added glitter.

shredder fax

[millette]

Is attaching a FAX to a paper shredder considered prior art?