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A UPC-A barcode symbol

A barcode (also spelled bar code) is a method of representing data in a visual, machine-readable form. Initially, barcodes represented data by varying the widths and spacings of parallel lines. These barcodes, now commonly referred to as linear or one-dimensional (1D), can be scanned by special optical scanners, called barcode readers. Later, two-dimensional (2D) variants were developed, using rectangles, dots, hexagons and other geometric patterns, called matrix codes or 2D barcodes, although they do not use bars as such. 2D barcodes can be read or deconstructed using application software on mobile devices with inbuilt cameras, such as smartphones.

The barcode was invented by Norman Joseph Woodland and Bernard Silver and patented in the US in 1951.[1] The invention was based on Morse code[2] that was extended to thin and thick bars. However, it took over twenty years before this invention became commercially successful. An early use of one type of barcode in an industrial context was sponsored by the Association of American Railroads in the late 1960s. Developed by General Telephone and Electronics (GTE) and called KarTrak ACI (Automatic Car Identification), this scheme involved placing colored stripes in various combinations on steel plates which were affixed to the sides of railroad rolling stock. Two plates were used per car, one on each side, with the arrangement of the colored stripes encoding information such as ownership, type of equipment, and identification number.[3] The plates were read by a trackside scanner, located for instance, at the entrance to a classification yard, while the car was moving past.[4] The project was abandoned after about ten years because the system proved unreliable after long-term use.[3]

Barcodes became commercially successful when they were used to automate supermarket checkout systems, a task for which they have become almost universal. The Uniform Grocery Product Code Council had chosen, in 1973, the barcode design developed by George Laurer. Laurer's barcode, with vertical bars, printed better than the circular barcode developed by Woodland and Silver.[5] Their use has spread to many other tasks that are generically referred to as automatic identification and data capture (AIDC). The very first scanning of the now-ubiquitous Universal Product Code (UPC) barcode was on a pack of Wrigley Company chewing gum in June 1974 at a Marsh supermarket in Troy, Ohio.[6] [5]QR codes, a specific type of 2D barcode, have recently become very popular.[7]

Other systems have made inroads in the AIDC market, but the simplicity, universality and low cost of barcodes has limited the role of these other systems, particularly before technologies such as radio-frequency identification (RFID) became available after 1995.

Learning Task

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  • (Product ID) Explain why the concept of a machine readable unique identifier can be used to create a bill at a supermarket. It is possible to encode a price of the product in the BarCode? Why is BarCode not used for encoding the price of a product in the barcode?
  • (Comparison QR-Code) Explore the concept of an QR Code and compare the features of an QR code with the features of a BarCode. What are the differences and similarities of QR Code and BarCode?
  • (Create your own BarCodes) Create your own barcodes with Javascript libraries in a Web interface e.g. with Johan Lindells Javascript library JsBarcode[8]
  • (Barcodes in Learning Resources)
  • (Optical Mark Recognition - OMR) Explore the concept of optical mark recognition (OMR) program with the Open Source Software SDAPS[9]. SDAPS is written in python and it is able to use barcodes on the paper and pencil questionnaire that is scanned later and automatically processed the answers of the students. Explain how barcodes can be used to create an individual test for all students that is processed with an integrated workflow from creating tailored questionnaires for all students and automated assessment for the answers e.g. in a spreadshet program or with R. How can you use KnitR for an individual report for all students?
  • (Learner Analytics) Explain how a barcode can be used for individualized learner analytics by provision of
    • individualized tasks,
    • individualized helps,
    • individualized reports,
    • ...
Is it possible to assure privacy of learner analytics data with a randomly assigned unique barcode to learners with providing the identity of the learner? (e.g. learner 8129387198312 is back in the learning enviroment, provide the missing task X and provide help Y to the learner because he/she responded well to previous support settings)

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ US patent 2612994 
  2. ↑ "How Barcodes Work". Stuff You Should Know. 4 June 2019. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Cranstone, Ian. "A guide to ACI (Automatic Car Identification)/KarTrak". Canadian Freight Cars A resource page for the Canadian Freight Car Enthusiast. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  4. ↑ Keyes, John (22 August 2003). "KarTrak". John Keyes Boston photoblogger. Images from Boston, New England, and beyond. John Keyes. Archived from the original on 10 March 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Roberts, Sam (11 December 2019). "George Laurer, Who Developed the Bar Code, Is Dead at 94". New York Times. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  6. ↑ Fox, Margalit (15 June 2011). "Alan Haberman, Who Ushered in the Bar Code, Dies at 81". New York Times.
  7. ↑ G. F. (2 November 2017). "Why QR codes are on the rise". The Economist. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  8. ↑ JS Barcode GitHub Library (2018) Johan Lindell - URL: https://github.com/lindell/JsBarcode (accessed 2019/12/26)
  9. ↑ SDAPS - Optical Mark Recognition (2019) Benjamin Berg - URL: https://www.sdaps.org - (assessed 2019/12/26)

Further reading

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  • Automating Management Information Systems: Barcode Engineering and Implementation – Harry E. Burke, Thomson Learning, ISBN 0-442-20712-3
  • Automating Management Information Systems: Principles of Barcode Applications – Harry E. Burke, Thomson Learning, ISBN 0-442-20667-4
  • The Bar Code Book – Roger C. Palmer, Helmers Publishing, ISBN 0-911261-09-5, 386 pages
  • The Bar Code Manual – Eugene F. Brighan, Thompson Learning, ISBN 0-03-016173-8
  • Handbook of Bar Coding Systems – Harry E. Burke, Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, ISBN 978-0-442-21430-2, 219 pages
  • Information Technology for Retail:Automatic Identification & Data Capture Systems – Girdhar Joshi, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-569796-0, 416 pages
  • Lines of Communication – Craig K. Harmon, Helmers Publishing, ISBN 0-911261-07-9, 425 pages
  • Punched Cards to Bar Codes – Benjamin Nelson, Helmers Publishing, ISBN 0-911261-12-5, 434 pages
  • Revolution at the Checkout Counter: The Explosion of the Bar Code – Stephen A. Brown, Harvard University Press, ISBN 0-674-76720-9
  • Reading Between The Lines – Craig K. Harmon and Russ Adams, Helmers Publishing, ISBN 0-911261-00-1, 297 pages
  • The Black and White Solution: Bar Code and the IBM PC – Russ Adams and Joyce Lane, Helmers Publishing, ISBN 0-911261-01-X, 169 pages
  • Sourcebook of Automatic Identification and Data Collection – Russ Adams, Van Nostrand Reinhold, ISBN 0-442-31850-2, 298 pages
  • Inside Out: The Wonders of Modern Technology – Carol J. Amato, Smithmark Pub, ISBN 0831746572, 1993

See also

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Page Information

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