Teleporting objects or people
Quantum teleportation moves the state of particles, not matter, and the original state is destroyed. Teleporting a person would mean capturing the full quantum state of about 7×10^27 atoms, sending it and rebuilding the body, which would need capabilities many orders of magnitude beyond today's. It also raises the question whether the copy is the same person. So far the largest systems to receive a teleported state are single vibrations of a diamond crystal and of nanomechanical resonators.
Open in the interactive tree →Quantum teleportation moves the state of particles, not matter: the receiver needs its own matter to take on the state, and the original state is destroyed (no-cloning theorem). A human body has about 7×10^27 atoms; capturing the full quantum state of all of them, sending it and rebuilding the body atom by atom would need capabilities many orders of magnitude beyond today's. It also raises the question whether the copy is the same person.
As of now
The largest systems that have received a teleported state are the vibrations of a diamond crystal (2016) and of a pair of nanomechanical resonators (2021): one vibration, not the whole object. Teleportation over networks is advancing: between non-neighbouring nodes (Delft 2022), over fibre carrying internet traffic (Northwestern 2024) and of logic gates between quantum computer modules (Oxford 2025). No research programme aims at teleporting objects or people.
What is missing
- A way to capture the full quantum state of a macroscopic object
- Links and memory for an astronomical amount of quantum information
- Assembly of matter atom by atom at the receiver
- An answer to whether a rebuilt copy is the same person
Becomes possible once solved
- Transport of goods and people at the speed of a data link
- Travel without vehicles
Open steps
- Teleporting larger quantum systems Medium AI leverageTeleport the full state of ever larger systems: from single particles and single vibrations to whole molecules and nanoparticles.
- Capturing an object's full state Low AI leverageFind out whether and how the complete quantum state of a macroscopic object could be measured, which would destroy the original.
- Data volume and bandwidth Low AI leverageEstimate and reduce the information needed: about 10^28 atoms, each with many quantum degrees of freedom, far beyond any link or memory.
- Rebuilding matter atom by atom Medium AI leverageAssemble an object at the receiver atom by atom, with exactly the structure of the original.
Where today's AI could help
Low AI leverage. The obstacles are measurement, data volume and assembly at the scale of atoms. AI can help design experiments and plan assembly, but it cannot get around the physics.
- Design quantum-optics and network experiments automatically
- Optimise error correction and repeaters for teleportation over long distances
- Estimate the data and energy budget for teleporting larger systems
Shown so far
- In 2016 Krenn, Malik, Fickler, Lapkiewicz and Zeilinger reported the algorithm Melvin, which found new optical setups for creating and manipulating complex entangled states, including the first high-dimensional GHZ state realised in the lab. source