Barcodes, QR Codes, and RFID Tags Have All Evolved Through Time

The barcode was created as a result of research done by two Drexel University students who wanted to improve grocery store inventory management and the checkout experience for customers.

As a result, the pea bag now had a name that could be read by a barcode scanner. 

Oops, back then, there really wasn't one that could genuinely function in the way that a circular barcode's design might assist a supermarket in setting up a self-checkout line.

Since the invention of the familiar vertical UPC code in the 1970s, oscillating mirror lasers have been able to read barcodes and connect with inventory systems.

In 1974, a gum pack received its first scanning. 

The product code was what the checkout system needed to know since it was stored in a database and allowed access to the pricing and other details associated with that pack of gum.

Evolving from Barcodes to RFID Tags

With the addition of alphanumeric data that may be read, quick-response (QR) codes are a development of barcode technology. 

When using a smartphone to scan a URL at a restaurant to access a webpage on the internet so you can view the menu, this will come in extremely helpful.

This code was developed in 1974, but in 1999, Japan invented the QR code that is still in use today.

In that they identify, radio-frequency identification (RFID) technologies are comparable to barcodes. 

In the present day, that bag of peas may really include or be attached with an RFID tag. 

Devices that use radio frequency identification are available in both passive and active varieties.

In contrast to RFID tags, barcodes employ non-destructive programming, whereas barcodes require destructive programming. 

Further, RFID tags make it easier to distinguish between two things that are identical. 

When a barcode scanner only picked up one kind, it could, for instance, tell the difference between a bag of tiny and big peas.

Read more: GS1 UK Tests New QR Codes in Retail