A technology has been developed by researchers that could identify fake products by just a simple scan with a smartphone app. Whether a luxury good or any space shuttle parts, this technology will not let inauthentic products fool us.
Professor Robert Young of Lancaster University said, “It is wonderful to be on the front line, using scientific discovery in such a positive way to wage war on a global epidemic such as counterfeiting, which ultimately costs both lives and livelihoods alike.”
This great invention got possible by working on thinnest, strongest and versatile material, Graphene. Graphene is one atom thick (called 2D material). It can emit light that can be measured by a camera. When light is shone on the 2D material, tiny imperfections shine causing the material to emit light.
This glow can be measured as a signal, unique only to that small section of material. The signal can then be turned into a number sequence which acts as a digital fingerprint. The small flakes which are invisible to the human eye and 1/1000th of a human hair can then be added to everyday items such as money, credit cards, passports and gig tickets.
A smartphone app can then read a photo to tell the unique signal from the flakes and detect whether the product is genuine or fake through the right fingerprint or wrong fingerprint. The customer will be able to scan the optical tag on a product with a smartphone, which will match the 2D tag with the manufacturer’s database, the researchers said.
This technology has potential to eradicate product counterfeiting of digital identities. Researchers also say that this is two of the costliest crimes in the world today. This technology is expected to be available in first half of 2018.
