Here comes the new era of retailing and inventory management with Acoustic tags

ToneTag, a proximity communication company and sound network, has worked closely with scientists from Indian Institute of Sciences to develop ingenious ‘Acoustic tags’ which are nanotech-enabled stickers with audio representations of data. It can be put on plastics, paper or any material and works as a tracking technology for products.

These tags emit a sound with product details that can be easily captured by any reader or even mobile phones, hence eliminating the need for expensive reader infrastructure which comes with RFID or magnetic tags. The ease of use and security features of Acoustic tags also keeps it ahead of other asset tracking solutions based on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and Ultra-wideband (UWB).

The Acoustic tags support high level of security where data can be encrypted and password protected. These tags can help retailers with effective pilferage management and getting product level as well as aisle level inventory details without individually scanning the products.

Retail customers can also experience the magic of Acoustic tags, as it enables faster checkouts and seamless shopping journey by completely eliminating the need for scanning each products barcode for billing.

Prof. Rudra Pratap, Centre for Nano Science & Engineering, IISc Bangalore, said, “Our partnership with ToneTag cements the belief that research and commercial applications go hand in hand. It also restates the fact that Indian companies, especially startups are capable of building world-class innovative products in India, eliminating the dependency on western countries for innovations. We believe that Acoustic tags will play an important role in addressing the inventory management and tracking issues faced by the retail sector globally. Apart from this, we are also exploring a lot of interesting use-cases of this technology for home automation and smart cities.”

“ToneTag technology and IISc expertise have resulted in the birth of much-needed technological innovation in retail since World War II, in the form of Acoustic tags. Without the need for investing in expensive readers, the Acoustic tags can automate the inventory and logistics management process through improved efficiency, automatic identification and quicker data capture, by providing quick access to information, while reducing operating and labour costs,” said Kumar Abhishek, Founder and CEO – ToneTag.