The Dutch company „Smartrac“ has presented its new NFC tags „Circus Tamper Loop“ presented. At the „NRF 2018 Retail's Big Show“ in New York City from 14 to 16 January 2018, the „digital seal“ for packaging labels in the consumer and industrial goods sector.
„Circus Tamper Loop“ have the same functional features as other products from Smartrac's „Circus“ product family. Among other things, they have very similar dimensions of 24 x 54 x 10 millimetres. In contrast to the previous antenna design, the developers at the Dutch RFID specialist have now integrated a „tamper loop“ into the tag. This is a special Current-carrying loop with integrated Break seal.
This loop makes it possible to easily check the integrity of packaging using Near Field Communication (NFC). In principle, a closed loop signals that the Product packaging and the goods inside are in order. If the loop is interrupted, this is interpreted as an indication that the packaging has been opened. Smartrac speaks of a „digital sealing function“ that serves to increase product safety.
NFC labels are also used to communicate with customers
This information can be read out with NFC-enabled devices and the appropriate Software. Smartphones with the corresponding apps are predestined for this. At every station of the Supply chain the digital identity of a product can be checked. Even if the tamper loop is interrupted, the transponder information can be read via NFC - including a message about the packaging having already been opened. Additional functions for communicating with consumers can also be integrated into the NFC loops. For example, vouchers or Product services or access to special social media channels.
„Circus Tamper Loop“ is available both as „Wet inlay“ as well as „Dry inlay“ are available. The „centrepiece“ in each case is an „NTAG 213 TT“ chip from NXP with an original NXP signature and optionally a brand-specific signature. To recognise tampering, the chip returns the „Once opened“ status if necessary. 144 bytes are available as user memory. The chip ID can be output as a coded URL address. The „NFC tap“ counter registers each individual use of the NFC function. This product feature can be used to track interactions with users, among other things.
