beep! beep! beep! That familiar sound from a cash register barcode scanner. It brought me back to my first paid job at the supermarket checkout. I can't wait to get my groceries and scan them through the scanner.
Things have changed a lot since then, when the cashier had to move everything to the scanner. Today, we can scan our own shopping with wireless barcode scanners or USB handheld scanners. In fact, I'm not sure what we would have done without this wonderful invention. So, who came up with it? How exactly do the little things with zebra stripes work?
barcode
Barcodes are everywhere. These days, they're on just about every grocery item in the store. Well, maybe not just eating loose fruits and vegetables. However, many supermarkets have their "weigh and print" barcode sticker manufacturers. Barcodes are great because they allow store owners to keep track of everything people buy. Then it's easy to know how much to charge customers and know when inventory is running low. It also lets shopkeepers know if someone has stolen something, if they have less on the shelf than they should be when they take inventory. Not only that, but barcodes allow stores to change prices at any time without having to replace those little sticky labels we've all seen in the past.
Barcode Invention
Bar codes were first proposed by Bernard Silver and Norman Joseph Woodland and were patented in the United States as early as 1952. It was originally based on the same idea as Morse code, but expanded to thick and thin bars. It took another two decades before it became a commercially successful idea. The first scan of a real barcode was on a pack of Wrigley gum in 1974.
How do barcodes work?
Barcodes essentially represent the numbers 0-9. You might be wondering why we don't scan the actual numbers ourselves. This actually leads to more confusion due to the ambiguous nature of some fonts, the fact that if the numbers have slight typographical errors and the fact that they can be misinterpreted upside down. Barcodes solve all these problems.
The barcode structure is simple and divided into three parts. The first part lets the computer know the issuing country. The second part is the manufacturer's code and the last part identifies what the product is, even multiple packs of the same item have different final parts. They also come with a digital bar in case the barcode is damaged and cannot be scanned.
Barcode scanner
Barcodes are useless if we don't have barcode scanners. There are many different types of barcode scanners. In most stores, you'll find: checkout barcode scanners, wireless barcode scanners, 2D wireless barcode scanners, USB handheld scanners, and even scanners with Wi-Fi. Barcode scanners feed information to checkout terminals or computers, which identify products directly from a product database.
Types of Barcode Scanners
Depending on the store, you can find different types of barcode scanners. There are simple handheld devices like barcode reading wands or oversized razors. The wand shines a red LED light onto the barcode's black-and-white bar and reads it with a string of light-sensitive cells. Some may be like pen scanners that have to operate on barcodes as if you were drawing a line with a marker.
A store may have several different types of barcode scanners. In a busy big box store, you're more likely to find a variety of sophisticated scanners. They may have USB handheld scanners or 2D wireless barcode scanners for bulky items that don't fit on the checkout counter or conveyor belt, as well as regular cash register barcode scanners. Some stores have a scanner with Wi-Fi that you can carry around the store to "scan while shopping." Your items are then sent wirelessly to checkout so you can pay for them. Some stores even have smartphone apps that take photos of barcodes in the same way 2D wireless barcode scanners do so you can scan them while shopping to save you time at checkout.
Interestingly, however, the most common barcode scanners are not wireless barcode scanners at all. Most stores have wired handheld scanners at checkout, and sources say as many as 96% of stores use one of these!
The future of barcode scanning
Since most stores currently use wired barcode scanners, it can be assumed that more stores will start using 2D wireless scanners with Wi-Fi in the future. Having said that, checkout bar barcode scanners built into checkout counters are by far the most sophisticated and fastest, so they will obviously remain prolific in stores as well.
Many stores are also starting to use QR codes on their products to provide more information, even things like recipe ideas you can make with the item. QR codes are definitely going to get bigger and bigger in the consumer society we live in now. Not only do they allow companies to provide information virtually, but they also allow them to advertise other products. It's not unreasonable to expect that QR codes will also become an important part of the shopping experience. The same goes for augmented reality and virtual reality.
Imagine the scenario: you pick up an item and scan the QR code on the package. This will give you a recipe idea. The augmented reality map then guides you to the location of other items in the store. This makes it easy to find everything you need for a meal. It sounds like science fiction, but we've come a long way from the first barcode scanners in the 1970s, so we can expect this market to explode as well. One thing's for sure, you can expect to hear a reassuring "beep beep" for years to come.
