Arthur Minasy (1925 – 9 May 1994) was an American inventor. His most famous invention was in 1966, when he invented
surveillance tags that could be attached to items in stores to prevent shoplifting.
The tag is removed by a
cashier
A retail cashier or simply a cashier is a person who handles the cash register at various locations such as the point of sale in a retail store. The most common use of the title is in the retail industry, but this job title is also used in the c ...
once it has been paid for. If the tag is not removed, an
alarm
ALARM (Air Launched Anti-Radiation Missile) is a British anti-radiation missile designed primarily to destroy enemy radars for the purpose of Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD). It was used by the Royal Air Force, RAF and is still used by ...
is set off when the person leaves the store.
Following the success of this, Minasy set up his own
security
Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercion). Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be persons and social groups, objects and institutions, ecosystems, or any other entity or ...
company, The Knogo Corporation, which has produced numerous other security related items.
Education
Minasy graduated from
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
with an engineering degree in 1949 and a master's degree in industrial engineering in 1952.
See also
*
Shop lifting
References
*
*Rachel Shteir's book The Steal, includes quite a few pages about Arthur John Minasy in chapter 3, pages 45–49.
*https://web.archive.org/web/20160304043207/http://www.buckens.com/Knogo/minasyen.htm is an obit for Arthur Minasy
1925 births
1994 deaths
Polytechnic Institute of New York University alumni
20th-century American engineers
American inventors
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