Cambridge, MA and Cambridge, England--Cambridge Consultants and Ingenia Technology (London, England) have co-developed a high-speed laser scanner that records a unique fingerprint of an object's surface based on the particular microstructure of each area of surface it sees.
The scanner, which is typically fitted above a production line, is intended for use in brand protection, product authentication, and "track and trace" applications. The two companies say their scanner can operate on very fast production lines that move at up to 10 m/s and carry up to 50 items per second.
Brand-protection company Ingenia Technology created the scanning technology (called laser surface authentication, or LSA)—and decided that a high-speed and sensitive scanner was needed; Cambridge Consultants worked with Ingenia in a 12-month project to develop the next generation of the technology.
The project brought together experts in precision optics, ultra-low-noise electronic design, thermal management, and sensing and instrumentation techniques for difficult industrial environments. The rate of data captured and processed every second by the scanner is equivalent to that from playing about 140 CDs simultaneously, says Cambridge Consultants.
Products that can be monitored and their "fingerprints" recorded for purposes of traceability, safety, and reliability include electronic components used in medical devices, mechanical subassemblies for aircraft, secure documents, and medicines.
For more information, see: www.cambridgeconsultants.com
