Two Arylla founders, Ben Rasera (left) and Perry Everett, hold vials of their nano inks.
Last year, more than 60,000 counterfeit Canadian bank notes passed into circulation. But a new ink from the Velocity Science startup Arylla could change that.
Arylla spoke to the Waterloo Region Record about their innovation and were featured in the Saturday print edition.
Three nanotechnology engineering students, a shared program between the Faculties of Science and Engineering, developed a series of inks with unique optical signatures that can be easily viewed when scanned with a smartphone camera. A different series of coloured bars appear on the screen for each ink.
You are using your flash and the camera to activate the material," says co-founder Perry Everett. "When you take a picture it is processed using several different algorithms to extract the information."
The information that identifies a product as legitimate is embedded in the ink and decoded by a mobile app inside the smartphone.
The nano inks can be applied to just about anything from money to tiny microprocessors to handbags. Since the inks are also biocompatible and non-toxic they can be applied to pills and even liquids, such as pesticides.
Last month, the company (formerly known as Black Box Technologies) won $25,000 at the Spring Velocity Fund Final competition.
