Smartrac Technology Group today announced an expansion of its recently introduced CIRCUS PRO series. The NFC product series is now also available with a white label chip called Smartrac OTP. Developed and manufactured by one of the leading global IC vendors, this Smartrac-exclusive chip provides a very cost-effective option for secure product authentication in areas such as premium consumer packaged goods (CPG), industrial components, retail, cosmetics and healthcare, as well as branded pharmaceutical products.

By embedding any of Smartrac’s CIRCUS PRO NFC inlays or tags into physical products or packaging, customers such as brand owners and branded product manufacturers can turn their products into highly secure digital platforms. All CIRCUS PRO family members provide real-time tag and message authentication based on state-of-the-art cryptographic algorithms which result in superior security. Smartrac’s new OTP IC generates one-time password values based on HMAC (Hash-based Message Authentication Codes) as published by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF RFC 4226). To comply with the greatest possible array of individual customer requirements, the new chip supports a choice of digital verification services for secure product authentication and the delivery of exclusive digital content.

Counterfeit protection and consumer engagement for a broader range of products

Fully leveraging Smartrac’s IoT solutions portfolio, all CIRCUS PRO inlays and tags enable customers not only to easily and securely verify product authenticity with their smartphones, but also to enhance consumer loyalty and satisfaction. The introduction of this new CIRCUS PRO product with the OTP chip increases the business case viability for these capabilities in many more applications and for a broader range of branded products that are prone to counterfeiting.

“Only a couple of weeks after its introduction, Smartrac’s CIRCUS PRO series has now been expanded in terms of both its cryptographic characteristics and its scope of applications. With the new IC option available for many of our PRO inlays and tags, customers have access to the market’s most relevant and broadest portfolio of NFC products, which are reshaping the market with their superior security, quality and ability to provide consumers with highly secure product authentication and exclusive, dynamic digital content,” says Matti Tavilampi, Director Product Management at Smartrac.

Smartrac’s CIRCUS PRO NFC inlays and tags and CIRCUS PRO FLEX wet inlays with OTP ICs are available in high quantities as of now.

As regards its physical and performance characteristics, the new CIRCUS PRO series falls within the highly successful product line that features CIRCUS DURA, CIRCUS FLEX, CIRCUS ON-METAL and CIRCUS TAMPER LOOP NFC inlays and tags, which all combine small size, cost-effectiveness and superior performance.