A REVOLUTIONARY new Australian technology – known as – is leading the way in the secure authentication and identification of commercial and bulk products.
DataTraceDNA is an entirely new identifying technology which incorporates unique patterns of indelible microparticles into the molecular structure of materials and products. The microparticles, invisible to the naked eye, can be easily read like a chemical barcode with a hand-held portable field reader.
The chemical barcode is enormously complex, making it extremely difficult for counterfeiters to reproduce. Additionally, as the technology is incorporated into the materials and products, it cannot be removed, masked or altered.
Developed by and , DataTraceDNA has applications in process and logistics control, inventory control, quality control, and for establishing the authenticity of products and materials.
The technology has proved so promising that CSIRO and DataDot Technologies have formed a 50/50 joint venture company, DataTraceDNA, to market and further develop DataTraceDNA.
The new company is initially focusing on incorporating the technology into cement, timber, explosives, adhesives, paint, packaging, polymers, chemicals and pharmaceutical packaging.
“The enormous advantage of DataTraceDNA over currently available products is that it is chemically inert, tough enough to survive harsh environmental conditions and can be easily read without requiring chemical reactions,” CSIRO Molecular and Health Technologies’ commercial manager Dr Geoff Houston,.
“By infusing DataTraceDNA into explosives for example, individual batches can be identified and their movement can be tracked.”
Chief Executive Officer of DataDot Technologies Ian Allen says, “This new technology will not only be invaluable for the tracking and monitoring of bulk goods but also has very practical applications in authentication. Alarmingly, counterfeiting is increasing at a rate of 10 to 15 per cent a year. However with DataTraceDNA valuable items such as electronics, CDs, clothing, jewellery, and watches can all be uniquely marked to distinguish genuine from counterfeit products.”
DataDot Technologies is best known for the DataDotDNA marking technology it supplies to the car industry, which uses millions of identifier ‘dots’ sprayed across vehicle parts to label parts and discourage theft.
CSIRO has a strong track record in the area of security and authentication research, most notably the development of the polymer banknote armed with highly sophisticated overt and covert security features – presenting a major barrier to the counterfeiter.