Noninvasive-Interrogation Tamper-Detecting Secure Wrap System

To address the need for a robust and tamper-evident secure wrap for cargo, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes to develop a new Noninvasive-Interrogation Tamper-Detecting Secure Wrap (NITSEW) system based on resonating sensing patterns (RSP) and a handheld standoff interrogation transducer (SIT). The SIT delivers non-contact, ultra-low-resonance-energy excitation of standard stretch wrap modified with the addition of inexpensive, pattern metallized structures, and measures any changes in the response of the film due to tampering. NITSEW will detect tampering with palletized cargo and wrapped goods even inside cardboard boxes and thin-walled wooden crates. In Phase I POC will demonstrate the feasibility of NITSEW by testing pattern metallized films in realistic shipping scenarios. In Phase II we plan to apply mass production techniques to produce larger-area pattern-metallized secure film for testing on palletized cargo, and to reduce SIT electronics in size, for efficient and robust sensing elements.

The development of the NITSEW techology will increase the security of international shipping. As the shipping of palletized goods is a universal procedure, POCs novel secure wrap can be applied worldwide. Additionally, as this plastic sheeting is also used in food wrap, a sanitized tamper-evident version of NITSEW can be adopted by the food industry.