These TruTags are the size of a speck of dust (a gram contains over 12 million unique tags), and they can be scanned to authenticate a product.
TruTags are made entirely of silicon dioxide, also called silica, a compound that is inert, edible, and incredibly durable (with an infinite shelf life and the ability to survive temperatures up to 1,000C).
Counterfeit goods siphon off $1 trillion annually from the global economy, according to the International Chamber of Commerce. Counterfeit drugs alone generated an estimated $75 billion in revenue in 2010.
The technology was partly funded by the U.S. military. The company is in discussion with several corporations, including pharmaceutical manufacturers.
But the ultimate goal is to make TruTag available at the consumer level. If they could actually incorporate the technology into a smartphone, any consumer could authenticate their own drugs or baby milk powder by themselves.
Image: Taki Steve via Flickr
This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com