Barcode

1. Barcode

2. Barcode • a machine-readable representation of information in a visual format on a surface. • stored data in the widths and spacings of printed parallel lines • today they also come in patterns of dots, concentric circles, and hidden in images. • read by optical scanners called barcode readers or scanned from an image by special software. • widely used to implement Auto ID Data Capture (AIDC) systems that improve the speed and accuracy of computer data entry.

3. Usage • barcodes -- especially the UPC code -- have slowly become an essential part of modern civilization. • usage is widespread, and the technology behind barcodes is constantly improving. • Some modern applications of barcodes include: • every item purchased from a grocery store, department store, and mass merchandiser has a barcode on it. • keeping track of the large number of items in a store and also reduces instances of shoplifting

4. Usage - industry • Rental car companies keep track of their cars by means of barcodes on the car bumper. • Airlines track passenger luggage with barcodes, reducing the chance of loss. • Recently, researchers have placed tiny barcodes on individual bees to track the insects' mating habits. • The movement of nuclear waste can be tracked easily with a bar-code inventory system.

5. UPC • Universal Product Code • The best-known and most widespread use of barcodes has been on consumer products • developed by the user community. Most technological innovations are first invented and then a need is found for the invention. • The U.P.C. is a response to a business need first identified by the US grocery industry in the early 1970s.

6. UPC • automating the grocery checkout process • reduce labor costs, improve inventory control, speed up the process, and improve customer service • The usefulness of the barcode required the adoption of expensive scanners by a critical mass of retailers while manufacturers simultaneously adopted barcode labels.

7. Scanner • The earliest, and still the cheapest, barcode scanners are built from a fixed light and a single photo sensor that is manually "scrubbed" across the barcode. • A later design, the "laser scanner," uses a polygonal mirror or galvanometer-mounted mirror to scan a laser across the barcode -- initially only in a straight line, but eventually in complicated patterns so the reader could read barcodes at any angle.

8. Scanner • In the 1990s some barcode reader manufacturers began working with digital cameras to capture barcodes, both linear and 2D. • That technology has since been perfected and now often surpasses laser scanners in performance and reliability. • More recently, off-the-shelf digital cameras now have enough resolution to capture both 1D and 2D barcodes. • Companies are looking to incorporate barcode scanning software into camera-phones. • However, the camera phone optics are not well suited for standard codes that were designed for industrial dedicated scanners. As a result, new codes are being designed for mobile use such as color code and mCode.

9. Mcode barcode • specifically designed to meet the needs of emerging mobile applications and mobile camera phone devices. • Extensive research and development went into creating a code format that would provide optimal usability for mobile devices, mobile users and mobile services. • Pick up an advertisement with Mcode logo and send out request SMS – message will return to you via email system

10. Color code