Microchips implanted in clothes stop fakes
(Shanghai Daily)
Updated: 2014-04-07 09:40
Researchers at Shanghai’s Donghua University have created a microchip that can be put into clothes to prevent brandname garments from being counterfeited, university officials revealed yesterday.
The invention was unveiled at the opening of the 2014 International Conference on Intelligent Systems and Knowledge Engineering yesterday.
More than 200 scholars in the field of intelligent control from home and abroad will take part in the event.
Garment manufacturers can input a special product code into the Donghua chip before it is inserted into clothing. Chips can be sewn into a shirt collar, or placed in a button.
When consumers buy clothes, a salesperson can scan the chip with a decoding machine at the store to ensure that the garment is genuine, researchers said.
“The ‘eye spy’ is able to immediately detect whether the famous brand clothing is genuine or not, no matter how similar the brand logo seems to be,” said Ding Yongsheng, deputy dean of Donghua’s college of information science and technology.
Ding said the chip is much tougher to fake than current laser labels used on clothing to prevent counterfeits. The State Intellectual Property Office has already awarded a patent for the chip.
Several garment factories have contacted the research team and showed interest to the invention, but some are worried that the additional cost – about 10 yuan (US$1.23) is too high for manufacturers.
“It’s not necessary for ordinary factories to take special anti-fake measures. But 10-yuan extra cost for each piece of clothing is a considerable expense for both factories and consumers,” said Fan Pingsheng, general manager of a local garment company.
