Robots Label Australian Cars With Microdots

How do you mark every car in the country with permanent traceable microdot identifiers?
You train robots to do the job, of course.

Datadot Technology DDT microdot labels have been used on cars for a few years. They are microdots engraved with the car VIN and painted invisibly on the car. They can be found with a UV light then read with a magnifier.
Until now the datadots have added $150 to the cost of the vehicle because they take up to 7 minutes to apply by hand during the assembly of the vehicle.

But they are about to get much cheaper. With a $1.5 million AusIndustry grant and another $500,000 from National Motor Vehicle Theft Reduction Council, Datadot will install robots in automaker production lines to paint the dots for less than $20 in under 40 seconds.

Datadot also plans to get in on the business in New Zealand where they are about to require every car sold, new or used, up to 15 years old, to be marked with microdots.

Next step? They will probably let robots roam the streets to read the dots and keep track of the cars.

Automotive editorial - News