Substrate with electrically conductive pads that are readable by touchscreen device

An object, comprising:

• a non-conductive substrate that comprises an external surface;
• a plurality of conductive pads that are disposed on the external surface of the non-conductive substrate;
• and
• a plurality of conductive lines that are disposed at the opposite side of the external surface,
• wherein each conductive line comprises two ends, and each end of the conductive line is connected with one conductive pad so that each conductive pad is electrically interconnected with one another,
• wherein each conductive pad is capable of triggering a touch event when the external surface of the non-conductive substrate is placed in proximity to a touch surface such that a geometric pattern formed by the geometric arrangement of all conductive pads can be identified based on the coordinates of the conductive pads on the touch surface.

A method executed by a reader to identify an object wherein the object comprises a non-conductive substrate that has an external surface, comprising:

• determining, by the reader, coordinates of a plurality of conductive pads disposed on the external surface of the non-conductive substrate when the external surface is placed in proximity to the surface of the touch screen display of the reader;
• extracting, by the reader, a geometric pattern formed by the geometric arrangement of the plurality of conductive pads on the external surface of the non-conductive substrate;
• and
• determining, by the reader, information stored in the object based on the geometric pattern;
• wherein each conductive pad in the object is connected to one or more conductive lines disposed on the second surface through a conductive via that extends from the first surface to the second surface.