720715Development of Prototype to respond to industry feedback requesting sequential covert marking techniques & methods of onsite verification and to raise the TRL of the SofMat product for investment & commercialisationClosedGRD Development of PrototypeInnovate UKThe problem of counterfeit products has been well documented in the press for a number of years. The most recent case of counterfeit cosmetics containing arsenic amongst other contaminants was reported in May 2015. The SofMat product allows for sequential covert marking of products to produce a unique code and the verification of authenticity throughout the supply chain. The product also links in with, and augments, the ‘Track and Trace’ technology that is currently being implemented by the pharmaceutical industry by adding an extra layer of security to the system. This technology adds an item specific code to each component marked that links with a master database for added security & ease verification by the client. The SofMat product can also be linked with any individual company marking system, again to increase security but also to make the product unique to that company. The use of the SofMat product is not limited to the cosmetic and pharmaceutical sectors although these are the initial target markets. The marking technology has had interest from the high value and medium value watch markets, producers of containers and closures, automotive, aerospace and drinks markets. The time for copying most existing anti-counterfeit technologies is less than 18 months. However the SofMat technology provides a greater degree of security by producing a larger number of variables, for example a 7.5mm and 0.5mm array can be used to mark and uniquely identify above 10 billion parts or components. The marking system is backed up with a bespoke hand held reader that can be tailored to be unique to each end user and allows confirmation of authenticity throughout the supply chain