Input Output Global, the development studio behind Cardano (ADA) blockchain, shared the details of its new product. It is set to address the problems of counterfeiting in FCMG leveraging blockchain instruments and micro chips.

Introducing Atala SCAN, a next-gen Cardano-based anti-counterfeit solution

Today, May 4, 2022, the IOG team published a blog post to cover the latest addition to its ecosystem of dApps, anti-counterfeit solution Atala SCAN.

Product authentication tech has numerous applications across multiple industries. A smart NTAG microchip linked to a blockchain can defeat counterfeiters. With the Atala SCAN app consumers will be able to look up a product on #Cardano & check if is genuine https://t.co/qhriWdsSG1

— Input Output (@InputOutputHK) May 4, 2022

The new protocol is built on top of “touch-chip” technology: it utilizes micro-chips as “smart seals” that verify the authenticity of this or that drug or spirit. Atala SCAN equips this seal with an auditable link that can display full information about the production and distribution cycle of the product.

Atala SCAN utilizes the largest Proof-of-Stake (PoS) network Cardano (ADA) as its technical platform; it guarantees the integrity and visibility of all data within the system. Per the statement, this design has a number of advantages over “seals, holograms and fancy packaging,” the previous generation of verification tools.

Juan Ignacio Sierra, the Atala SCAN project manager, is certain that the new platform will change the narrative in anti-counterfeit mechanisms:

Working with blockchain ensures the immutability of the product information, but if there’s no mechanism in place to securely link the information to the product itself, fake products can take advantage of the same blockchain information as the originals do. In Atala SCAN we use high security cryptographic hardware in the seal to ensure the security of the link between the blockchain information and the physical product.

One-stop solution for producers, merchants, consumers and regulators

Working with this system takes no special skills: the authenticity of a product can be checked through a smartphone in a couple of clicks. Thus, end users and watchdogs can start using it immediately upon mainnet launch.

Atala SCAN’s module is installed at the first point in the supply chain that delivers the product to the brand owner. The owner makes an entry about the product in its own register.

Then, a special trasaction for every item is created on the Cardano (ADA) blockchain. The brand owner can specify which information is disclosed to the end customer through the embedded smart chip.

Besides authenticity data, it might include information about the ongoing marketing campaign.