On 20 March, the IBM showcase introduced the Crypto Anchor, a small PC no bigger than a grain of salt, which IBM hopes to use to prevent fraud in the supply chain industry.
It was introduced at the “5 in 5″ technologies summit was held in Las Vegas at the Think 2018 by Andreas Kind, head of the project, “Industry Platform and Blockchain” Zurich-based team.
IMB used bio-science linked with artificial intelligence (AI) to invent this highly sophisticated creation which can be embedded into vaccines or is already ingrained into the product. A grain of rice, for example, has its unique code DNA & RNA. Using a solution and some innovative AI technology to confirm if this signature is correct, it can show if the product is genuine and viable.
These digital fingerprints or “cryptographic anchors” will be used to authenticate shipments. The Crypto Anchors hope to create a verified ledger of transactions upon their blockchain.
“Almost everything has been copied, from cinnamon, boiled eggs to Gucci bags and cars,” said Kind.
These secure cryptographic ledgers have initially been developed for business purposes but there is nothing stopping them from reaching a public adoption phase.
IBM states that these Crypto Anchors will be rolled out for business adoption within the next 18 months, and hope within five years with the exponential technological advancements, users could obtain them for commercialization:
“They’ll be used in tandem with blockchain’s distributed ledger technology to ensure an object’s authenticity from its point of origin to when it reaches the hands of the customer.”
Tech Specs
Used alongside the Crypto anchor, these tiny chips, no bigger than a grain of salt, are able to play the 1990’s vintage game DOOM. Powered by one small integrated solar panel and communicates via a LED unit, this chip is to be embedded in products or packaging to serve as a tracker during shipment. IBM price forecasts that it will cost less than 10 cents to manufacture each chip.
IBM SVP of Hybrid cloud, Arvind Krishna states: “They’ll be used in tandem with blockchain’s distributed ledger technology to ensure an object’s authenticity from its point of origin to when it reaches the hands of the customer.”
