InkSure launches mobile authentication app for holograms

Security taggant specialist InkSure Technologies has launched a new smartphone app that can be used to authenticate holograms.

The platform - called SmartSure - takes the form of a downloadable app that can be used to authenticate holograms with a single click and without training, making it suitable for use by the general public.

The app detects the presence of TagSure optical taggants that are introduced into the hologram base foils, but does not require any modification to existing hologram production processes, according to InkSure.

The app uses spectral analysis (via InkSure algorithms that measure the energy of signal for different wavelengths) to determine whether the taggants are present.

The spectral fingerprint is authenticated via a cloud-based platform that can also be linked to additional track-and-trace data and provide management reports and real-time warnings to brand owners.

The platform helps support customers by allowing them to check that the goods they are buying are in fact genuine and safe, while brand owners can build customer goodwill and also take a "crowdsourcing" approach to monitoring the trade in counterfeit versions of their products.

"People are worried about counterfeit products and would like to ensure that they are buying genuine goods," said InkSure, adding this is particularly true of goods that pose an immediate danger to health, such as pharmaceuticals, alcohol, tobacco and baby products.

A presentation on SmartSure can be viewed here. Meanwhile, the company has developed a video demonstrating the system that can be viewed below.