SmartComm Electronics launches IoT solution for product authentication

Source: SmartComm.

SmartComm Electronics is launching ProTagtion to counter the retail of fake products in any industry with a solution that combines anti-counterfeit security features found in paper money with Internet of Things (IoT) technology.

Toon Wee, Director, SmartComm, explained that fake goods can affect brand reputations and even lives. “It's about the use of technology to better our lives. Not to destroy it,” he said. “When we first came across the human catastrophies caused by the consumption of fake food, we believed that given sufficient time and thought into this matter, these issues could be addressed with use of the right technologies."

Wee pointed out that paper money has been made increasingly secure over many years. "Paper money has been a constant target for counterfeiters and mints have had a long history in 

addressing the problem," he said. "It was logical to try and combine the best of technologies used to secure paper money with the latest in IoT to come up with a workable, economically viable and highly secured solution. Together with socially-responsible companies like Toppan Japan, we did.

"By combining the best technologies available today in lithography, photomasking and IoT we came up with ProTagtion.”

ProTagtion tags are applied onto products as a guarantee that they are genuine. Each tag has a QR code that can be checked by anyone with a connected device and a QR reader app.

In situations where there is no connectivity, purchasers can also tilt the tag to authenticate the product. The colour and graphics on the tag will change when it is viewed at different angles, similar to the colour transformations seen on paper money when it is treated in a similar way. SmartComm Electronics says the techniques are "impossible to copy" as its partner Toppan Japan creates e-holograms for the tags with equipment valued at US$10 million, and which is typically stored in highly restricted areas.

The tags are single-use as well. Any attempt to remove the tag will tear the tag, SmartComm said.

SmartComm has also created retail and loyalty tracking systems around the tags to gather information for data mining. Scanning the QR code on a tag authenticates the product with a manufacturer database, providing the potential customer with key information such as the date of manufacture, shelf life, what the item is made of, and dimensions of the product. It also logs each time a product is scanned to gauge consumer purchase interest.

Customers are also encouraged to scan a separate QR inside the packaging to join a loyalty programme and register the product, potentially yielding additional customer information for analytics.

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