Today, shopping without is unthinkable: The barcode sticks on every product. But in the future, the barcode could disappear.
Whether you buy a bag of pasta at the supermarket, grab chips for movie night, or order a new gaming mouse, all products have one thing in common: A barcode sticks to every package.
The so-called barcode consists of varying widths of lines and spaces arranged parallel to each other. Important information is stored here, which can be read by scanners and further processed. For example, the price, so you can quickly pay for the scanned goods.
On June 26, 1974, 50 years ago, the barcode turned 50 years old. But by now, new technologies are emerging that could soon replace the barcode.
Will the QR code soon replace the barcode?
What is being worked on? For some time now, various successors to the barcode have been in development. Because the barcode has a problem: the amount of information it can store is limited. And here, the advantage of the QR code comes into play:
- Barcodes can only store information horizontally.
- QR codes, however, can store information both horizontally and vertically.
Companies like Rentman.io explain that the amount of data that can be stored in a QR code can significantly increase: While a barcode can store 25 characters, a QR code can store up to 2,500 characters.
Additionally, this could save space on packages. Because things like allergy warnings, contests, or other notes could also be stored in the QR code.
Moreover, the QR code can be significantly smaller and still readable by cash register systems. Various companies are therefore actively promoting the QR code. According to Tagesschau, 80% of all cash and scanning systems are already prepared for a world after the barcode.
The barcode was invented back in 1949, but only used in 1974
When was the barcode invented? The inventors of the barcode are always mentioned as the Americans Joseph Woodland and Bernard Silver.
To be able to automatically read product information without numbers, the two students developed a concept in 1948 and 1949 and applied for a patent. They later sold their patent for $15,000.
However, the barcode was first used in 1974: On June 26, 1974, a pack of Wrigley’s gum was scanned with a special device in a Marsh supermarket in the US state of Ohio.
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