---
category: Research Methodology
created: 2025-07-23
description: The outbounder-beacon experiment was a remote viewing protocol developed
  at SRI where an experimenter would visit a target site while the psychic attempted
  to perceive their surroundings.
location: Stanford Research Institute, Menlo Park, California
start: 1972
summary: The Outbounder-Beacon Experiment was a Remote Viewing protocol developed
  by Hal Puthoff and Russell Targ at Stanford Research Institute for the Central Intelligence
  Agency's psychic research program.
tags:
- concept
- remoteviewing
- methodology
title: Outbounder-Beacon Experiment
updated: 2025-07-23
---

The [Outbounder-Beacon Experiment](/concepts/outbounder-beacon-experiment/) was a [Remote Viewing](/concepts/remote-viewing/) protocol developed by [Hal Puthoff](/people/hal-puthoff/) and [Russell Targ](/people/russell-targ/) at [SRI](/organizations/stanford-research-institute/) for the [CIA](/organizations/central-intelligence-agency/)'s psychic research program. In this experiment, two scientists or researchers, designated as the "outbounder team," would travel to a randomly selected target site. At a predetermined time, one of them would mentally survey the site, acting as a "beacon" for the psychic back at SRI.[^1]

The psychic, typically in a [Faraday Cage](/concepts/faraday-cage/), would then attempt to perceive and sketch what the outbounder was seeing and sending telepathically. This method allowed for richer feedback, as the psychic's impressions could be directly compared to the actual target site. The outbounder-beacon experiment was a key component in the early stages of the [Stargate Project](/programs/stargate-project/) and was used to test psychics like [Ingo Swann](/people/ingo-swann/) and [Pat Price](/people/pat-price/).[^1]

---

[^1]: Jacobsen, Annie. *Phenomena: The Secret History of the U.S. Government's Investigations into Extrasensory Perception and Psychokinesis*. Little, Brown and Company, 2017.