Bosch Launches Origify Fingerprinting Technology for Products

German multinational engineering and technology company Bosch has entered the brand protection arena with Origify, a solution that optically captures a product’s unique ‘fingerprint’ in order to authenticate and trace it through the supply chain.

This fingerprint comprises the natural surface patterns and imperfections of otherwise identical items.

‘Every single product, even in an industrially manufactured series – in the case of a watch, the dial or the movement, and in the case of a handbag or shoes, the leather and surface structure – has unique features on its surface that are not repeated in the series, which we can capture with Origify,’ explained Oliver Steinbis, inventor and project lead for Origify at Bosch.

The solution works as follows:

A manufacturer captures and registers each product using the stand-alone

camera Desk Device, produced by Bosch and installed at the production site. The Desk Device needs to capture the finished surface of the product and must therefore be the last step in the manufacturing process.

The camera captures the unique natural surface features in a specific area (which must be no less than 5mm²) of each individual product and transforms these features into a pattern signature, which is stored in the Bosch Cloud.

The manufacturer is able to record and secure several different areas on a single unit, which can then be linked together. This is useful, for example, when a manufacturer requires a publicly available pattern for general use and a second, covert pattern for selected use.

By default, a timestamp, the signature of the respective camera Desk Device as well as the location are saved.

Additionally, brand, model name, and a model image can be uploaded.

Verification of the pattern is carried out by means of a simple Bosch smartphone application that can be used by any stakeholder. Since there is no additional marking, such as a QR code, applied to the product, the user is guided towards the area of the product that has been captured and registered, such as the inner sole of a shoe, which they are then instructed to take a picture of. This mark-free approach helps prevent manipulation and tampering of the authentication elements, including cloning of the code.

Many of the most common smartphones now have very good cameras with macro function, which are suitable for capturing the pattern. The user can also activate their phone’s flashlight through the app during the capturing process and track the image quality in real time.

The captured patterns are then compared to the patterns previously stored in the Bosch Cloud in order to find an identical match. This real-time process can also be conducted using a Bosch-supplied camera Desk Device in a large-scale industrial setting.

If a product has not already been registered at the production site, subsequent registration in service centres or repair shops can also be implemented. This applies in particular to the business models operated in the jewellery and watch industry by manufacturers, large jewellers or online retailers. Pre-owned luxury products can also be reworked and captured via Origify.

In principle, a range of products with different surfaces are compatible with the solution, including metals, ceramics, coarse-grained plastics, natural materials such as wood or gemstone, and leather. Unstable materials and glass are, however, out of scope.

The technology is robust against light scratches, but only up to a degree. If the surface is completely worn away, the information will also become unreadable, just as with a QR code. This can be counteracted by, for example, updating the image a few times in a product’s life cycle.

‘In extensive feasibility studies, we have already been able to prove the functionality for a wide range of luxury products – watches, jewellery, eyewear, shoes, leather goods and much more. Origify offers a reliable solution for capture, storage and subsequent verification that is available to brand manufacturers on a turnkey basis,’ said Oliver Steinbis.