Zahlen, bitte! 95 bits of information in a barcode
To this day, the barcode makes it possible to capture the entire world of goods with a swipe of a scanner and simplifies logistics enormously.
The barcode is still indispensable for global goods logistics today. Some time ago we published an article on this subject, "Numbers, please!", which was much discussed in the forum. As the importance of barcodes continues to increase despite all the digitalization, we have taken the liberty of updating the article and reopening it as "Numbers, please! Classic". Enjoy reading it.
Simply scan with the scanner: The barcode makes the whole world of goods quickly identifiable and makes work in logistics right up to the supermarket checkout much easier.
The idea behind it is amazingly simple: a binary code is assigned once per production run and attached to the packaging. This means that an item marked in this way can be scanned globally in all compatible merchandise management systems without any further effort.
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This simplifies pricing at the checkout and item management enormously, as there is no need to label prices. And it is also possible to track exactly which goods are sold and how often. In short: a huge time and cost saving.
13-digit binary code
A Global Trade Item Number (European Article Number EAN is a more common name) is a 13-digit number; it is represented in 95 light or dark bar areas: two edge bars of 3 bits each, a center marker of 5 bits each, 12 digits of 7 bits each (results in the sum: 2Â Ă—Â 3Â +Â 5Â +Â 12Â Ă—Â 7Â =Â 95).
The GTIN or EAN is divided into a seven- to nine-digit basic number on one side, which is made up of the three-digit country code (e.g. 400 to 440 for Germany) and the four- to seven-digit company number and, depending on this, the three- to five-digit article number on the other side plus a check number. This binary code is assigned only once almost worldwide by the Global Standards One Group (GS1). In addition to EAN-13, there are other digit lengths in circulation: The shorter EAN-8 is intended for very small products. Twelve or fourteen-digit number strings are also commonly used as GTINs.
From an idea to a patent
It all started with an idea. Bernard Silver, who had just completed his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering at the Drexel Institute of Technology in 1948, overheard a conversation between a chain store owner and the local dean. The latter wanted a system for simple automatic goods recording via the cash register for his stores and asked about its feasibility, which the dean did not initially consider to be conceivable.
Silver told his student friend Norman Joseph Woodland about this conversation; both were fascinated by the idea and began to look for a solution.
(Image:Â CC BY-SA 4.0, GS1 - GS!)
After rather unsatisfactory attempts with fluorescent ink, Woodland came up with the ground-breaking solution while walking on the beach: inspired by Morse code, he drew lines in the sand, which gave him the inspiration for bars of different thicknesses that only needed to be scanned. In the same year, they developed a patent from this, which was approved in 1952 as US patent 2,612,994, at that time still in the form of bar circles.
State of the art throws a spanner in the works
The theory sounded good, but the state of the art did not yet allow it to be realized. Both quickly realized this and sold the patent in the same year for 15,000 dollars. The principle worked better on a larger scale: in the mid-1960s, the KarTrak system was a similar beam system that could already be used to scan railroad cars.
The idea only gained further momentum after the patent expired in 1969. IBM, where Woodland had worked since 1952, was in a race with RCA as the last patent holder to develop the first practicable system, which led to delays due to technical difficulties. In 1973, the Uniform Product Code (UPC), a twelve-digit standardized code system, was published.
Chewing gum proves ready for the market
At 8:01 a.m. on June 26, 1974, the time had come: in a supermarket in Troy (Ohio), saleswoman Sharon Buchanan swiped a 10-pack of chewing gum over the scanner: the cash register correctly displayed 67 US cents. With this first successful transaction, the creators proved that the system was in principle suitable for the market. In 1977, Europe developed a largely compatible system with the European Article Number, which, however, had one more digit than the US UPC counterpart.
(Image:Â Wrigley's/GS1)
Nevertheless, the system was slow to catch on: On the one hand because the first scanners were still costly and vulnerable; on the other hand because such a changeover was very demanding at the time. However, as the advantages far outweighed the expense, the triumph of the barcode was only a matter of time.
Nowadays, no one can avoid barcodes: whether you are shopping, borrowing a book from the library, handing in empties at a vending machine or registering at a hospital: There is always a barcode somewhere. It is estimated that over 90 percent of the world's goods are barcoded, according to EAN/UPC.
Bernard Silver did not live to see the triumph of the barcode. He died in a traffic accident in 1963. Norman Joseph Woodland, on the other hand, lived to see the development into old age: the barcode pioneer died in 2012 at the age of 91. Both were inducted into the exclusive US National Inventors Hall of Fame for their revolutionary system.
Barcodes, please!
The barcode was also immortalized in pop culture: in 1991, the Barcode Battler was released, a type of handheld that had a special feature: a barcode reader that could be used to recharge your own fighter's strengths via barcodes for battles against other players – both via the cards supplied and via any other barcodes.
While the Barcode Battler was a surprise success in Japan, it later lost out hopelessly in Europe in the battle for the young end customer against Gameboy and Game Gear due to its primitive LCD graphics and beepy sound. The compatibility with individual Super Nintendo games via an adapter did nothing to change this later on.
What remains is a gaming device with the charm of a mixture of "Inventory meets Pokémon Go" (only without graphics). The legend that the device is said to have caused enormous hamster purchases by young people in Japan for a certain instant soup, as the barcode on the packaging supposedly generated a particularly strong fighting value.
(Image: CC BY-SA 2.1 jp, Kay Körner, Dresden / Bearbeitung: Markus Will)
There are even two conspiracy theories surrounding the barcode: On the one hand, it is claimed in relevant circles that the three character separators in each barcode each generate a 6 and thus together form the diabolical number 666. However, this is contradicted by the fact that these are different characters that only have one separator function (and only with imagination could one interpret the right-hand character as a 6 according to EAN).
Even wilder is the theory that the barcode receives, emits or bundles some kind of radiation and thus impairs the quality of the products. But there is a remedy: the professional conspiracy theorist simply crosses out the barcode. That's what it says on the Internet. On the Internet! Then it must be true1!1!eleven Even some companies (who are probably counting on a corresponding clientele and give quite interesting reasons) stick crossed-out barcodes on their products.
Logistics can no longer be imagined without them
Other variants of barcodes (e.g. Code 93 or Code 128) are used in the manufacturing industry as well as by logistics service providers and many other companies that often have to record goods with a lot of information.
The QR code is a further development that can be used to register a concert ticket, supermarket bonus program or access a web link via a cell phone. A 2D barcode is scanned and processed using the smartphone camera. It was developed in the mid-1990s for warehouse logistics in the automotive industry. There are now also variants in 3D and even in 4D as animated barcodes.
Another further development of the barcode principle is the RFID chip. This allows much more data to be stored and the entire path of the marked article to be tracked individually, which offers new opportunities in logistics, but also makes data protectionists throw up their hands in disbelief. In addition, the RFID chip is still considerably pricier than a simple code imprint due to the integrated technology, which makes it more suitable for high-priced goods.
The classic barcode is therefore likely to remain in use for a long time to come.
(mawi)
