Say you have a 3D-printed item you’re selling. Maybe you slap a barcode on it that identifies what it is, where it came from, and how much it costs. However, Microsoft has developed a new technology called InfaStructs that offers a better alternative. With it, you could embed information directly inside of an item.
InfaStructs is a passive, material-based tag that can be identified using Terahertz imaging. Terahertz imaging is sort of like X-ray vision, and it’s often used in biomedical or aerospace fields for quality control. With InfaStructs, it can see through an item and immediately pick up all kinds of data. InfaStructs could be embedded in even very small items. It could be used for inventory control, interactive gaming, or pretty much anything you’d need to link an object to. You can see how it works in the demo above. And maybe it’s our future without sticky labels and price tags or awkward QR codes. [Karl D. Willis, TG Daily]