Apparatus for forming and reading an identification feature and method thereof

摘要

Embodiments of the invention provide a method of reading and verifying a tag based on inherent disorder during a manufacturing process. The method includes using a first reader to take a first reading of an inherent disorder feature of the tag, and using a second reader to take a second reading of the inherent disorder feature of the tag. The method further includes matching the first reading with the second reading, and determining one or more acceptance criteria, wherein at least one of the acceptance criteria is based on whether the first reading and the second reading match within a predetermined threshold. If the acceptance criteria are met, then the tag is accepted, and a fingerprint for the tag is recorded. The invention further provides a method of testing and characterizing a reader of inherent disorder tags during a manufacturing process. The method includes taking a reading of a known inherent disorder tag, using the reading to measure a characteristic of the reader, and storing the measured characteristic for use when reading inherent disorder tags.

主权项

1. A method comprising:
comparing a first reading from a first reader of an inherent disorder feature of a tag with at least a second reading from a second reader of the inherent disorder feature of the tag; comparing a third reading from a third reader of the inherent disorder feature of the tag with the first reading and the second reading; determining whether the tag can be read repeatably based on if the first reading and the second reading match within a predetermined threshold; accepting the tag upon determination that the tag can be read repeatably; and recording, in a database, a fingerprint characterizing the tag if the tag was accepted, varying the conditions for each of the first, second, and third readers, so that readings from each of the first, the second, and the third readers cover a range of conditions within predetermined thresholds.