The Invention of the Barcode (1974)
This description covers the invention of the barcode in 1974. The barcode is a system of lines and numbers that is used to identify and track products in stores and warehouses. It was invented by Norman Joseph Woodland and Bernard Silver, two inventors from the United States. The barcode
A barcode or bar code is a method of representing data in a visual, machine-readable symbolic form. Initially, barcodes represented data by varying the widths, spacings and sizes of parallel lines. These barcodes, commonly referred to as linear or one-dimensional (1D), can be scanned by optical scanners known as barcode readers. Later, two-dimensional (2D) variants were developed, using rectangles, dots, hexagons and other patterns, called matrix codes or 2D barcodes. Despite being often included as barcodes, these do not use bars as linear barcodes do. These can be read using purpose-built 2D optical scanners.