This is being seen as an important milestone in enabling the creation of secure digital twins of physical products while ensuring their authenticity throughout their lifecycle.
“We are committed to empowering companies to fully leverage the advantages of the Industrial Internet of Things and develop digital twins of single objects they can really trust. Our solution, in collaboration with p-Chip, comprises a comprehensive combination of both software and hardware elements. This integrated approach enables our customers to effortlessly develop their individual digital applications, tailored to their unique requirements,” explained Thomas Endress, Executive Director of EMD Digital at Merck. “By offering a secure and user-friendly platform, our solution ensures seamless interoperability while providing the flexibility and ease of integration that our customers demand.”
Joe Wagner, CEO at p-Chip, added, “We are pleased that the powerful innovations planned through this strategic cooperation are coming to fruition. pChip micro-transponders play an integral role in Merck’s digital solution. As industries leverage blockchain, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to solve complex challenges, p-Chip's digital twin enabling technology delivers the visibility, traceability, and security needed for companies to achieve dramatic operational efficiencies and brand security.”
The cyber-physical trust framework solution aims to enable companies to harness the advantages of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) with much greater levels of confidence.
It securely anchors physical objects to their digital identities, providing a reliable platform for product authentication and trust. The solution combines software and hardware components and integrates into existing workflows and processes.
Companies can build their applications on the robust software foundation of the solution which utilises multiple blockchain layers, crypto anchors, digital certificates, and smart contracts. By establishing a “single source of truth”, the cyber-physical trust framework facilitates seamless machine-to-machine communication, empowering ecosystem partners to achieve full traceability and digital trust while retaining control of their data.
Crypto anchors play a crucial role in securely identifying and authenticating physical objects within the cyber-physical trust framework.
As a crypto-anchor agnostic solution, various types of crypto anchors are deployed, from conventional QR codes to RFID and high-security options such as Merck’s Securalic security pigments. The latter are of particular importance in highly regulated industries where errors due to incorrect product attribution are a problem.
The addition of p-Chip micro-transponders offers a highly secure and durable option to address increased security needs. Designed with a small footprint of only 500x500x100 μm, p-Chip micro-transponders utilise a photocell for power and clock pulses, eliminating the need for induction coils or oscillators.
In addition, these micro-transponders offer the added advantage of usability in challenging environments where other solutions may be impractical, such as harsh environments that would damage or decompose other taggant solutions. They can be directly applied to products including metal, circumventing issues related to label detachment.
Together with p-Chip, wireless handheld readers have been developed that are designed for seamless integration into existing processes via Bluetooth connectivity enabling portable and hassle-free scanning.
The integration of these readers demonstrates that different crypto anchors with their respective advantages can be unified on a single technical platform, offering a harmonised user experience. As a result, customers can choose a combination of technologies that best suits their products and processes.
