STUTTGART, Germany — November 29, 2023 — Sneakers from various manufacturers are coveted collector’s items and investments. Certain models are even traded for five-figure sums. These expensive cult models have long been counterfeited on a massive scale – turning a supposedly good purchase into an expensive flop for some customers and damaging the image of the manufacturer. Even the authenticity features on the product or packaging are counterfeited and it can even take acknowledged experts a few minutes to authenticate a product such as a pair of rare and therefore valuable sneakers.
With Origify, Bosch offers a solution that provides luxury products with a digital fingerprint as early as the production or packaging phase. For this purpose, each individual product is optically recorded, i.e. photographed, in a standardized manner during production. The suitable areas of the product are defined when the technology is set up and are then automatically captured during production. The image is then converted into a binary and non-manipulable data record of just a few kilobytes, which is stored in a secure cloud.
Authenticity check via app
Once registered, these products, such as a pair of sneakers, can be checked in just a few seconds in future. All you need is a suitable smartphone and the Origify app or a manufacturer app that is connected to the Origify database via an interface or a software development kit. For a pair of shoes, the app provides a mask of the area to be photographed. If the cell phone is aligned accordingly, Origify’s technology can compare in a moment whether the features correspond to the data record stored during production.
This even works if small parts of the surface have changed due to storage or use. However, if a shoe or other product shows signs of heavy use that have affected the surface, the technology no longer enables reliable identification. “The core of our technology is an optical system that records unique distinguishing features that are imperceptible to the eye, even during ongoing mass production, converts them into a data set that cannot be manipulated and thus enables the identification and traceability of a product via an app. This is possible for many products from a wide range of sectors — shoes, glasses, watches, and jewelry and many more,” says Oliver Steinbis, who is responsible for the project within the Bosch Group.
Initial recording as part of quality assurance
Bosch offers its own Origify camera module for the initial recording of a product during production or packaging. Companies that already work with image-based processes in quality assurance can also use these systems for recording, depending on their requirements. It takes just a few seconds to convert the image into a binary data set, which is then automatically stored in the secure cloud. “For us as a Group, one of the development principles was that the technology can also be integrated into industrial processes in order to record products in large quantities in a cost-efficient manner.
Manufacturers benefit in several ways from the system, which does not require any intervention in the products, marking or the attachment of NFC chips. The app functionalities for authentication by retailers, customers or other authorized persons can be integrated into existing manufacturer apps for retailers or end customers via our software development kit,” says Oliver Steinbis, describing the features of Origify. The technology offers added security for end customers, retailers, and the manufacturers themselves – in addition to authentication, the supply chain or OEM producers who manufacture goods on behalf of a major brand can also be better monitored.
Posted: November 29, 2023
Source: Origify from Bosch
