Researchers develop crypto ID tag to spot counterfeits

Supply chain counterfeiting costs companies billions of dollars annually. Now, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a cryptographic ID tag that can identify a product's authenticity without being bulky.

The novel ID tag is millimetre-sized and runs on low levels of power by photovoltaic diodes. It uses power-free 'backscatter technique' to transmit data at far ranges, the official blog explains.

To build the 'tag of everything', as the researchers call it, a system integration method was used that enabled putting everything on a monolithic silicon chip. An array of small antennas transmit the data back and forth.

The current signal range is around five centimetres, which is considered a far-field range. However, researchers plan on advancing the tech to push the range further.