High definition scans and image recognition are combined to produce a unique signature for any part:
Everything needed to trace, track or certify any individual manufactured part is already present on the part itself, according to Brian Crowley, CEO of Alitheon, a startup company focused on object traceability. The surface detail of a manufactured part is unique in the same way fingerprints are, he says. And, importantly, off-the-shelf imaging technology — notably including the cameras in our phones — is now capable of accurately capturing this distinctive surface-level detail. The result is a new possibility for identifying parts, arguably better and more reliable than serial numbers. Alitheon’s technology for using this surface detail for part ID is called “FeaturePrint.”
Sorry if this seems like a soylvertizement--I don't have any connection to the company, it just seemed like an interesting new technology, with wide-ranging consequences. While initially this might be used internal to factories that need to track every part of an assembly and avoid bad parts or counterfeits slipping into production, other applications seem possible. For example, there is no point in filing the serial number off that gun, unless you also deface all the surfaces on *all* the external and internal parts.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday June 10 2020, @01:48PM (2 children)
The whole thing about "rare old Ferraris" is that the accepted history is well documented and easily available.
If a "previously lost" serial number of a particular car shows up on the market, more likely than not there's documentation of what happened to that particular serial number and the current seller will have to explain how it transformed from a burning, twisted ball of metal into the thing that he is currently trying to sell. Sometimes just the "intellectual property" of a serial number carries some value, but usually the high dollar collectors like to know that they are sitting in the very car that Stirling Moss drove to victory yadda yadda.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2) by Rich on Wednesday June 10 2020, @03:07PM (1 child)
Yeah. You'd probably not want to claim it's a proper GTO, but hey, a 250 SWB messed up in in a bad attempt to look like a GTO in the early 80s, with an African paper trail of a 400i (with a legit 400i serial) would be good enough for single-figure-million entry level collectors. :)
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Wednesday June 10 2020, @05:37PM
If I'm going to spend US$150K+ on a custom car, I'd like it to look like a 250 - but I'd want it to drive a hell of a lot more modern than a "real" 250. My 100,000 miles in a 1980 Honda Civic was more than enough lo-tech driving thrill for me.
🌻🌻 [google.com]