Image used with permission of the copyright holder Have you bought a shiny new handbag, but have a nagging doubt in the back of your mind: is it the real thing or a very convincing fake? Finding out suddenly became much more technologically advanced and more practical, after the manufacturers of luxury handbags Maria&Donato decided to integrate special NFC tags in their bags that provide confirmation of authenticity.
Maria&Donato collaborated on the project with a technology company called Thin Film, using its SpeedTap NFC tag. Made from a very thin, fully flexible material, the tags become part of the bag’s label and can be read using an NFC-equipped smartphone or a dedicated reader. NFC tags are easy to use and only need a touch to communicate with your phone, so there’s no need to start squinting at long serial numbers on a sticker inside a dark bag, ready to be typed into a website.
Once alive, the SpeedTap tag will send an authentication message to your phone, along with special Maria&Donato content. All luxury brands suffer at the hands of counterfeiters, but this is a particular concern for Maria&Donato, as all its products are limited to 999 items, which must never be reproduced. The exclusivity and value of the bags comes from the knowledge that they are original — something that the NFC tag will quickly and easily prove.
It’s something the company has been concerned about for some time, and last year it started embedding microchips in its products to prevent counterfeiting, but it required special readers to decipher; An NFC tag is a more user-friendly option, as all that is required is a smartphone and a dedicated company app. Well, provided you don’t own an iPhone, that is, because it doesn’t have NFC-reading capabilities. Apple phone owners will have to settle for using the serial number to authenticate their bag.
Categories: GAMING
Source: newstars.edu.vn