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Modern Machine Shop https://www.mmsonline.com/blog/post/traceability-without-serial-numbers-vision-technology-makes-every-part-its-own-identifier [mmsonline.com]

High def 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.”

Editors--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.

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