A New Barcode

A new type of Barcode has been revealed replacing the old black and white striped barcodes which are used on nearly all shop purchases today.

The new barcode know as Bokodes is said to hold thousands more information than the standard barcode.

Bokodes has a 0.1 inch diameter, and because of its ability to hold more information, the new code could be used to hold information of food packaging, nutrition information, and special offers which could be read by a mobile phone.

These new Bokodes use an LED covered with a mask and lens. The Information within the Bokodes is encoded in light shinning through the mask.

The Bokodes are said to be easier to use than original Barcodes and can be read from a distance of 20m although so far have only proved to be read of up to 4m, but this is still a lot bigger than a standard barcode which needs to be read up to a distance of one foot.

‘We think that our technology will create a new way of tagging’ Dr Ankit Mohan told the BBC news, who is one of the researchers behind the work.

At the moment though Bokodes are expensive to make at about £3 each, but researchers believe that this new technology could be refined and that a reflective tag instead of a powered LED would reduce the cost dramatically making it cost very little.

The Bokodes will be shown of in a conference in New Orleans next week.

Source BBC Technology News