Star Trek-style transporter comes closer to reality

German scientists have invented a Star Trek-style transporter that can scan an object and 'beam' it to another location.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. 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".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. A detailed model is then encrypted and digitally transmitted over the internet to a second machine which reconstructs it with a 3D printer.The user only has to place an object into the sender unit, name a recipient and press the 'relocate' button, The Telegraph reported.Its creators, from the Hasso Plattner Institute in Germany, said that the machine effectively "relocates physical objects across distances"."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.PTI