Startup develops a way to know the identity of every part

A machine-vision startup backed by BMW has developed a digital fingerprinting technology that allows automakers and suppliers to track and authenticate parts across supply chains and distribution systems.

Alitheon, of Bellevue, Wash., has developed a system to authenticate any product using the minute surface characteristics created during manufacturing.

Every physical object is different because the manufacturing process has built-in tolerances, Alitheon CEO Roei Ganzarski told Automotive News.

Alitheon's technology creates for products what fingerprints are for people — a unique identifier.

Once Alitheon's optical artificial intelligence system registers what's called a FeaturePrint, the item can be identified to verify authenticity, determine the place and time of origin, detect tampering, measure wear and identify counterfeit products.

Alitheon has raised $21 million, including an undisclosed amount from BMW's venture capital arm. The company's clients include two automakers and at least three Tier 1 suppliers, Ganzarski said.

The technology combines machine vision and "sophisticated math," he said.

It was developed by a team that invented mail reading machines that can convert handwritten addresses into bar codes for sorting.

BMW i Ventures partner Marcus Behrendt described Alitheon's technology as "groundbreaking."

It can bring a "new level of trust to supply chains that does not currently exist," Behrendt said in a statement.

The authentication process begins with an off-the-shelf camera or mobile phone taking a high-resolution photo of the product coming off the production line.

That information is converted into a digital fingerprint and registered in the company's database for a small fee.

Product verification is as simple as uploading a photo of the item to Alitheon's mobile app, then checking to see if the FeaturePrint is registered.

"We don't tell you if a part is real or not," Ganzarski said. "But we can tell if the part was registered an hour ago or a year ago."

Unlike product serial numbers and bar codes, the FeaturePrint is harder to tamper with.

"If I have your fingerprint on file, I don't need you to wear a badge to tell me who you are. I just need your fingerprint," Ganzarski said.

The software relies on 5,000 "points of interest" to create the FeaturePrint for a single brake pad.

"So even if I only have half a brake pad, or the wheel is hiding three-quarters of that brake pad, I have enough points of interest on what's left to authenticate and identify it," Ganzarski said.

The development could help solve an expensive problem — parts counterfeiting.

A study by Frontier Economics estimated that counterfeiting and piracy's total global economic value could reach $2.3 trillion this year.

"Assuring product authenticity and provenance is a global problem that is incredibly pervasive, from company supply chains to government entities, to individual consumers," Ganzarski said.

The technology also allows automakers to quickly identify which vehicles have faulty parts, helping reduce the cost and complexity of a safety recall.

"Imagine four machines making the same part, and you find out that one of the machines wasn't calibrated properly," Ganzarski said. "How do you know which parts came off of that machine, to recall only those cars?"

Alitheon's technology also allows service techs to quickly identify counterfeit parts before installing them on a vehicle.

"There's no way for the mechanic to know a brake pad is counterfeit from just a serial number," Ganzarski said.