Technology Description

Inspired by nature, made possible by technology

Drawing inspiration from the captivating aurora borealis that creates unique patterns in the polar sky, the technology running behind AURORA generates a unique, inimitable signature for each registered product in your portfolio. Our unique system developed in cooperation by Bosch Secure Authentication GmbH and ANY Security Printing Company PLC’s Innovation Hub takes advantage of inherent surface variations in different manufacturing materials to create a fingerprint-like security feature that is impossible to duplicate or predict. This natural uniqueness identified by Origify algorithm, combined with the state of the art VLQR code technology creates a multi-level authentication system.

Together, these elements provide unparalleled security and easy smartphone verification, making counterfeiting virtually impossible. This innovative approach ensures that each product carries its own unique, verifiable identity, similar to nature's inimitable play of light.

Disrupting the market of security printing

Protecting printed products against counterfeiting used to depend heavily on expensive materials such as special substrates, sophisticated inks and complex security additives, which were only available from dedicated suppliers with limited production capacity and long lead times. These limitations significantly increased production costs, even without taking into account the specialized machinery, work force and storage required for the manufacturing and product handling processes. This traditional approach imposed a significant cost burden on both manufacturers and their customers/end-users, while not guaranteeing infallible safety, as all such solutions were assumed to be safe unless proven otherwise. We do not claim that physical products are unnecessary in certain cases; however, we firmly believe in the importance of shifting towards digital protection, and the AURORA solution is designed to support this transition.

Leveraging on existing infrastructure for enhanced compliance

Based on our observations nicotine product manufacturers are already employing 2D barcode systems to track batch codes on product packaging. This existing infrastructure shows that a transition to an upgraded coding system that retains present functionality while adding new capabilities may be a viable option for these businesses. Similarly, our research of importers highlighted that worldwide providers already need to comply with various regulatory frameworks in numerous countries. Given their previous experience with various national requirements, these providers should have the systems and processes in place to efficiently separate products meant for the market from those destined for other regions. This established capacity will make the implementation of any kind of specific traceability standards more achievable. An operational capacity and technical knowledge base will greatly simplify the transition to innovative and specific traceability and tracking requirements, reducing implementation challenges and associated costs while avoiding the need to invest in new, expensive machinery and storage costs to apply traditional tax stamp labels.

Shaped to resonate with any brand

lthough AURORA only requires a secure QR code printed to function properly, the solution provides exceptional customization and branding opportunities. In this particular implementation, the manufacturer can define their own unique, branded QR code appearance (along specific guidelines) that ideally fits their well-established and identifiable brand identity. It is worth noting that despite the fact that the corporate logo occupies some extra space inside the code and the standard square modules (black blocks) appearance was changed to represent horizontal lines for the sake of this example, the code is still legible and functional.

Layered authentication system

All citizens should be able to verify the legitimacy and tax compliance of any nicotine-containing product they purchase. This verification method has two vital functions. The first is to safeguard consumers from potentially dangerous black market products that may include harmful compounds or uncontrolled ingredients. Second, it establishes an informal network of citizen inspectors who, via their voluntary inspection activities, contribute to the responsibility of sellers and distributors.

The monitoring system that underpins the verification process is divided into two major components. This two-part structure provides complete monitoring and control capabilities across the supply chain:

• Citizen level authentication
  Seamless verification experience ensuring brand protection with a rapid authentication process that provides comprehensive data gathering for Track & Trace functionality.
• Inspector / Revenue agent verification
  Restricted for authorized personnel only. This advanced authentication process encompasses all standard Citizen level checks while simultaneously validating the existence of an AURORA record in the system database for comprehensive security clearance and tax payment control.

Citizen level authentication

A person can perform two distinct types of validation to verify a product’s authenticity:

• High-level product verification
  Without opening the product's packaging, the consumer can scan the QR code printed directly on the packaging just by pulling it off the shelves. At this level of verification, a simple web application reveals the intended position of the manufacturer's emblem within the code. If the code is a counterfeit (does not include the intended concealed information) or has a questionable Track & Trace history, a warning message is displayed.

• Verification after purchase
  Customers can complete an extended verification process after purchasing the goods. As part of the anti-counterfeiting concept, a variable distinctive graphical pattern is integrated into the packaging inside.

This distinguishing visual aspect is concealed until the consumer tears open the packaging. Once revealed, this changeable design feature allows a full visual authentication check to ensure the product's legitimacy.

Inspector / Revenue agent verification

The verification process consists of several important steps. First, it helps to identify at the proper positioning and validity of the manufacturer's emblem on the packaging. Second, it does a thorough assessment of all past Track & Trace records, confirming that the product's path through the supply chain is legal. Most significantly, the system does a comprehensive examination of the product's surface area surrounding the QR code, comparing it to the previously recorded AURORA fingerprint in the database, should one exists. This fingerprint is used as a virtual seal for product authentication.

If the system finds a disparity between the current product's surface fingerprint and the stored database record, or if the expected fingerprint record is completely absent, it raises a red alert. In such instances, the user can be confident that they are dealing with a counterfeit or a grey market item that does not meet the obligatory local taxation laws.

Key design and workflow takeaways

Every major nicotine product producer and distributor today uses a track & trace system that includes the operation of machinery eligible for printing QR codes or equivalent 2D barcodes. The proposed approach can replace or complement existing Track & Trace services while also providing improved brand security and tax payment verification via an unsuspicious printed code. This eliminates the need for additionally separated large design area, unlike traditional tax stamp solutions. Security mechanisms can be integrated into the product design without affecting operation, leaving enough space for important elements such as health warnings and other critical product information, including volume parameters.

One significant advantage of using this truly digital tax stamp solution instead of traditional labels is that AURORA eliminates the need for extra production steps of keeping in stock and applying the physical stamps. The only additional requirement compared to typical Track & Trace methods is the capture of each package's fingerprint with an in-line camera system. However, this process is completely automated, avoiding any significant time delays. Implementing a uniform tax stamp and Track & Trace system across the country can reduce a complicated mix of potentially incompatible procedures to a streamlined, one-step verification at each important stage of the process.

Revolutionizing tax payment

The elimination of traditional security printing features marks a substantial shift in label management and financial control. This current solution eliminates the need for security labels to be pre-purchased, warehoused, and transported in bulk. Instead, the technology allows for a more flexible, pay as you go payment approach.

The invisible impact

The administration of tax stamps in traditional government systems poses substantial security risks and requires extensive countermeasures. As traditional security printing processes lack dynamic protection features, anyone with malevolent intentions might obtain used tax stamps. The simplicity of standard security printing makes tax stamps vulnerable to tampering, as skilled individuals can easily remove and reapply stamps, resulting in widespread tax evasion.

However, the use of digital security printing in conjunction with Track & Trace technologies considerably improves protection against such fraudulent activity. The process of serializing stamps, including variable graphical components, and demanding that all supply chain participants execute scans provides two unavoidable security barriers:

• Counterfeiters confront significant hurdles in their activities
  Even if they devote significant time and money to perfecting physical reproductions of stamps and attempting to employ similar designs with different serial numbers, their efforts will be useless. The initial scan during application would quickly identify these ones as counterfeits. Counterfeiters cannot efficiently grow their illegal operations because the underlying serialization mechanism remains intellectually protected and inaccessible.

• When counterfeiters operate carelessly,
  They unintentionally supply important intelligence to governmental officials. The Track & Trace technology systematically saves all data points, allowing relevant government authorities to pinpoint the places where counterfeited stamps enter the distribution network and allows them to facilitate rapid enforcement measures.

The incorporation of this security strategy directly into product packaging, together with the connection of scannable secure QR codes to AURORA's fingerprinting technology, creates an even stronger security framework. If combined with a specially designed packaging which renders the fact of opening obvious (perforation along the lid), the technological sophistication of AURORA's capabilities establishes an unrivaled standard in security printing. The system's capacity to identify and validate packaging at material level establishes a barrier that current counterfeiting technologies cannot overcome. Even if future technical advances could theoretically match AURORA's level of detail in replication, the economic viability of such counterfeiting operations would be doubtful at best.

Summary

This complex security solution combines several innovative technologies to form an impenetrable barrier against counterfeiting and tax evasion. At its core, the system is based on the foundations of modern digital printing techniques combined with secure unique serialization codes for each product. The secure QR code’s compatibility with extensive Track & Trace functions enables real-time monitoring of things across the supply chain, while AURORA's cutting-edge authentication technology ensures quick verification of legitimate products.

These interwoven security layers work together to form major barriers for counterfeiters. Law enforcement organizations benefit from advanced investigation tools that allow them to quickly detect and investigate fraudulent acts. Due to the system’s sophisticated technological requirements it makes economically impossible for criminal groups to replicate even a single digital tax stamp, effectively discouraging organized counterfeiting operations this way and protecting legitimate company interests.

The AURORA solution significantly enhances and complements physical security elements with a robust digital platform when a physical seal is used. In cases where the end user prefers not to implement physical solutions, AURORA can serve as a full replacement, offering 100% ensured authenticity through its digital system.