How the Authenticity of Things (AoT) standard unlocks real traceability for all industries and consumer goods
People are increasingly interested in knowing as much as possible about the brands they are buying from. Most importantly, consumers crave authenticity, transparency, and confirmation that the product they buy is, in fact, authentic.
This topic has spread across industries from pharmaceutics and luxury goods to arts and collectibles and more. Is there a way for consumers to know where their orders and products are coming from?
Current measures
As industries’ reputations are on the line, it’s no surprise that many are working hard to guarantee authentic products and a transparent supply chain by implementing tracking technologies into their own items.
For example, IBM, KPMG, Merck and Walmart are partnering with the US Food and Drug Administration and the US Drug Supply Chain Security Act to create a blockchain network to identify and trade the distribution of prescription drugs.
Individually, however, Walmart is in the process of implementing the technology across its food supply chain while IBM has already applied blockchain technology in various supply chain scenarios including shipping, food, banking, and hard drives.
Companies in the apparel industry have begun implementing tracking systems via the tech company EVRYTHNG — allowing brands’ consumers to check the authenticity of the products they’re buying by scanning QR code labels with their smartphones.
As shown on the step-by-step overview below:
Almost, but not quite
All these solutions share the same goal while utilizing blockchain to secure products’ data by making them immutable. They also apply the same methods of attaching traceable labels to the products.
But this is where the solution becomes faulty—it’s the label that’s being traced, not the actual product.
However, with our solution, we remove this drawback for good and work to establish the new, Authenticity of Things standard.
Introducing the Authenticity of Things standard (AoT)
AoT allows anyone to track an item’s lifecycle and determine if the product at hand is real or fake. Applying this standard across industries and brands will not only build and restore trust in goods and brands but also combat the world of counterfeits.
Here’s what the procedure looks like with Veracity Protocol:
The first accurate AoT tech solution
Veracity Protocol’s AoT solution allows anyone to scan a physical item at hand with just a smartphone. We leave no room for the tracking process to be manipulated or tampered with.
Instead, we recognize and register the material structure of the item itself (as every item is already unique).
How the world looks like with AoT
Veracity Protocol’s AoT standard can be applied to all industries and many use cases focused on tracking and authenticating products within the supply chain while providing complete transparency.
The idea behind traceability and transparency in the supply chain allows consumers to see the entire lifecycle of a brand’s products, increasing trust and restoring reputation while combating counterfeits and securing the intellectual property.
A few examples of what the standard would look like in various industries:
👜 Luxury goods
You go into your favorite brand’s store and pick out the item of your choice, whether it’s a Rolex watch, a Louis Vuitton bag or an Armani suit. You’ll simply scan the item itself with your smartphone with the Veracity app.
You then get informed about your item’s history in the supply chain starting from its raw materials all the way to its shipment delivery to the physical store you are in.
🖼 Art & Collectibles
You’re at an art auction and you’re willing to invest $1 million in a fantastic and supposedly authentic original painting. And obviously, you want to have proof.
You scan the artwork with the Veracity app on your smartphone and instantly pull all its information, data and history, allowing you to know for sure if this was in fact the real original and worth the $1 million.
💊 Pharmaceuticals
You’re in a foreign country and need to take some medication since you’ve gotten ill. You get some meds but never heard of the brand before.
You need to be sure it’s safe to use. You then take out your smartphone and scan the pills themselves with the Veracity app. You’re then informed about the pills provenance, manufacturer, ingredients and even the dosing instructions.
A real future with AoT
This is not a concept of the future.
This isn’t about what things could possibly be.
We’ve already successfully implemented this solution with a number of our partners. You can read about how we went to the NFLPA Rookie Premiere to protect over 1,200 collectibles.
With a bulletproof AoT standard in place, security can finally rise to the next level. Industries can adopt this standard and successfully close the gap to mishaps and counterfeits by tracking items via the item itself — making labels and embedded elements a thing of the past.
Consumers can begin to build trust in the brands they love and ultimately feel secure in finally knowing what they’re buying and where it comes from.
Veracity Protocol
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Veracity Protocol brings a new security standard to combat counterfeits and fraud by fingerprinting physical objects — bridging the physical and digital world. We use computer vision and machine learning to create an immutable digital fingerprint of any physical object based on its unique material structure.
Anyone can then verify the authenticity in (sub)seconds with a smartphone or regular industrial camera as no proprietary hardware is required.
See our demo video and presentation for more information.
