Hermes Award for ProteXXion® identification technology

The patron of the Hermes Award is Dr. Annette Schavan, German Federal Minister for Education and Research. She presented the prize to BTS at the opening of the Hannover Fair on April 15, 2007. Other dignitaries in attendance included German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister of Lower Saxony and co-patron of the Hermes Award Christian Wulff.
With a purse of 100,000 euros, the annual Hermes Award is among the most lucrative international technology prizes.

Unique process for the recognition of counterfeit products

Counterfeit products cause billions of euros of damage every year, and, in the case of drugs and medicines for example, can even be a health risk and put lives in danger. All previous strategies for identifying counterfeits have been based on overt or covert tagging of the products, but whether watermarks, barcodes, RFID tags, holograms or patterns applied by special printing inks, none of the markings or tags used so far offer 100 percent protection from unauthorized copying or replication.

In collaboration with Ingenia Technology Ltd., BTS now offers ProteXXion^®, a unique process for the identification and avoidance of counterfeit products. The products are automatically registered during production and can be unequivocally verified at any time in the downstream supply chain using mobile readers.

Fingerprint generated using Laser Surface Authentication technology

ProteXXion^® utilizes “Laser Surface Authentication” (LSA) technology. This records and later recognizes the individual fingerprint of an object, which is basically its natural surface structure. A special scanning process based on the laser speckle phenomenon records the microscopic surface structure by measuring the laser light diffusely scattered by the surface at various angles relative to the incident beam. The surface characteristics recorded by the scanner are unique – like a fingerprint or a DNA sequence. Recognition is not impaired by even moderate wear or alteration of the objects. The probability that two objects have the same “fingerprint” is between 1 in 10^-20 to 1 in 10^-100. The signal recorded by the scanner thus contains unequivocal information about the identity of the object. Due to their complex structure, the surface characteristics cannot be generated artificially.

Stored information accessible in seconds

All scanned information can be filed in a database and called up in a matter of seconds using search-and-compare software. The IT technology can be very flexibly scaled to the required number of objects and locations. With each scan requiring only 125 – 750 bytes of storage space, a typical hard drive can hold the data for many millions of products. With a static scanner capable of registering objects on production lines at speeds of up to 4 m/s, the use of ProteXXion® technology does not adversely impact the speed of the production process. Furthermore, only slight modifications to the packaging line are required.

ProteXXion^® - the complete solution for product protection

ProteXXion^® offers its users absolute protection against counterfeits at a low cost and the ability to verify the authenticity of registered products at any point along the supply chain. The operating costs of the technology are low since, in contrast to other methods, there are no manufacturing costs associated with the security features. Conventional brand protection technologies also require a secure supply chain for the security features. There is no such requirement if ProteXXion^® is used, since the security feature is the surface of the product packaging itself. The technology is suitable for all non-reflecting surfaces such as paper, board, cardboard, plastic and numerous metals.

ProteXXion^® is a complete product protection solution, comprising not just the actual authentication technology but also consulting and design, project management, modification of the packaging line and installation and service of the system.

Bayer Technology Services GmbH offers fully-integrated solutions along the life cycle of chemical/pharmaceutical plants – from development through engineering and construction to process optimization for existing plants. The Bayer subsidiary employs nearly 2,200 experts worldwide at its headquarters in Leverkusen and other German locations, as well as in regional offices in Baytown, Texas, USA; Antwerp, Belgium; Mexico City, Mexico; and Shanghai, People's Republic of China. 2006 sales totaled approx. EUR 380 million.
Additional information about Bayer Technology Services is available at www.bayertechnology.com.

More information can be found on the website of Hannover Messe.