hat people get rid of the complicated statistical identification work, the traditional bar code, two-dimensional bar code, radio frequency identification technology has come out. Although they have their own characteristics, but no matter which technology is in order to timely access to a variety of information and items for fast and accurate processing.
The traditional bar code (also known as one-dimensional bar code) technology is relatively mature, can be seen everywhere in social life, and has been widely used in the world. As a means of computerized data collection, it has rapidly entered into various fields such as commodity circulation, automatic control, and file management with many advantages such as fast, accurate, and low cost, and it is also a kind of bar code most used in our country at present. However, because the traditional bar code is one-dimensional, it does not carry any information in the vertical direction, low information density, and not able to display Chinese characters, easy to be refused to read because of wear and tear or wrinkles, which to a large extent restricts the scope of application of the traditional bar code.
1. Narrow one-dimensional space
Traditional barcode consists of a set of bar and empty symbols arranged according to certain coding rules, which represent certain characters, numbers and symbols information. Barcode system is an automatic identification system composed of barcode symbol design, barcode production and scanning and reading, which is one of the most widely used automatic identification technologies so far.
So far, there are more than twenty kinds of common bar code systems, including EAN code, Code39 code, cross 25 code, UPC code, 128 code, Code93 code, and CODABAR code, etc. The different code systems have different characteristics. Different code systems have different characteristics, suitable for specific applications, the following is an introduction to some of the typical code system:1.1 UPC code (Uniform Product Code)
UPC code was implemented by the American Supermarket Union in 1973, which is the first commercial bar code system in the world, mainly used in the U.S. and Canada. UPC code includes UPC-A and UPC-E two kinds of systems, UPC only provides digital codes, limits the number of bits (12 bits and 7 bits), needs to check the code, allows two-way scanning, and is mainly used in supermarkets and department stores.
1.2 EAN Code (European Merchandise Barcode)
In 1977, 12 European industrialized countries signed a draft agreement in Belgium and established the International Commodity Barcode Association (ICBA), with reference to the UPC code, which is compatible with EAN code, EAN code only has a digital number, usually 13 digits, allowing two-way scanning, and the shortened code is an 8-digit code, which is also mainly used in the supermarket and department store industries.
1.3 ITF25 Code (Cross 25 Code)
The barcode length of ITF25 code is not limited, but its digital information must be even digits, allowing bidirectional scanning.ITF25 code is more used in logistics management, mainly used in packaging, transportation, international aviation system of air ticket sequential numbering, automotive industry and retail industry.
1.4 Code39
Among the 9 code elements of Code39, there must be 3 code elements with thick lines, so Code39 is also known as “three-nine code”. In addition to the numbers 0-9, Code39 also provides the English letters A-Z and special symbols, it allows bidirectional scanning, supports 44 groups of barcodes, mainly used in industrial products, business information, libraries and other places.
1.5CODABAR code (Kudbar code)
This code system can support numbers, special symbols and 4 alphabets, and there is no need to check the code because the barcode itself has the function of detection. It is mainly used in factory inventory management, blood bank management, library lending books and photo developing industry.
1.6 ISBN Code (International Standard Book Number)
ISBN is a set of internationally standardized coding system due to the needs of book publishing and management as well as to facilitate the exchange of publications and statistics among the international community. Each ISBN code consists of a set of ten digits with an “ISBN” code, which is used to identify the country and region to which the publication belongs, the publishing organization, the title of the book, the edition and the binding method. This set of numbers can also be said to be the representative number of the book, most of which are used in the publishing house book management system.
1.7 Code128
Code128 code is currently a customized code system within Chinese enterprises, which can determine the length and information of the barcode as needed. The information contained in this kind of code can be numeric or alphabetic, and it is mainly applied in the field of industrial production line, book management and so on.
1.8 Code93
This code system is similar to Code39 code, but its density is higher and can replace Code39 code.
The great changes brought by barcode technology to people’s work and life are obvious to all. However, due to the relatively small information capacity of one-dimensional barcode, for example, the barcode on the commodity can only accommodate a few or dozens of Arabic numerals or letters, so the one-dimensional barcode can only identify a class of commodities, but does not contain a description of the relevant commodity. Only with the aid of a database can people get a description of the product through the barcode. In other words, without the pre-established database, the information contained in the 1D barcode will be greatly reduced. For this reason, the use of 1D barcode is quite limited where there is no database support or where networking is not convenient.
On the other hand, 1D barcodes cannot represent Chinese characters or image information. Therefore, in some occasions where Chinese characters and images are required to be applied, 1D barcodes are inconvenient. Moreover, even if we establish a corresponding database to store the information of Chinese characters and images of the related products, such a large amount of information requires a very long bar code for identification. And this long bar code will take up a large printing area, thus creating insurmountable difficulties for printing and packaging. Therefore, people hope that the bar code contains all kinds of information related to the product directly, without the need to query the information again from the database according to the bar code.
Based on all the reasons mentioned above, the realistic application requires a new code system, which should have the advantages of large information capacity, high reliability and strong confidentiality and anti-counterfeiting in addition to the advantages of 1D barcode.
In the 1970s, two-dimensional bar code technology appeared in the field of computer automatic identification, which is a coding technology developed on the basis of the traditional bar code, which extends the information space of the bar code from linear one-dimensional to planar two-dimensional, with large information capacity, low cost, high accuracy, flexible coding, strong confidentiality and many other advantages. Therefore, since 1990, 2D barcode technology has been widely used in the world, and after several years of efforts, it has been applied in the fields of national defense, public security, transportation, health care, industry, commerce, finance, customs and government management.
2. The Leap from “Line” to “Surface”
2.1 D barcode vs. traditional barcode
With one-dimensional bar code can only read data from a different direction, two-dimensional bar code can be from the horizontal and vertical direction to obtain information, therefore, the amount of information contained in the bar code is much larger than one-dimensional bar code, and also has a self-correcting function. However, the working principle of the two-dimensional bar code is similar to that of the one-dimensional bar code. When carrying out the identification, the two-dimensional bar code is printed on a paper tape, and the information contained in the bar code symbols is read, which requires a scanning device and a decoding device collectively referred to as a reader. The function of the reader is to convert spatial signals such as bar code symbol widths and intervals into different output signals and to convert the signals into computer-recognizable binary codes for input to the computer. Scanner, also known as photoelectric reader, which is equipped with a light source and photoelectric detection devices to be read bar code, and can receive the bar code of the reflected light, when the scanner issued by the light shines on the paper tape, each photocell according to the paper tape on the bar code or not to the output of a different pattern from the combination of the various photocells of the pattern, resulting in a high-density information pattern, amplified, quantized and then sent to the decoder processing. The decoder stores the barcode coding program database and decoding algorithms that need to be decoded and read. In the early identification equipment, scanners and decoders are separate, most of the current equipment has been synthesized into one.
2.2 Two-dimensional bar codes have the following characteristics
Large storage capacity. Two-dimensional bar code can store 1100 words, compared with one-dimensional bar code of 15 words, the storage capacity is greatly increased, and can store the Chinese language, its information can not only be applied to the English language, numbers, Chinese characters, marks, etc., and even blanks can be dealt with, and the size of the free choice, which is one-dimensional bar code can not do.
Strong damage resistance. Two-dimensional bar code using fault correction technology, suffered pollution and damage can be restored, even if the bar code is damaged up to 50%, still be able to decipher the original data, misreading rate of 61 millionths.
High security. Encryption technology is used in 2D barcodes, so security is greatly improved.
Faxable and photocopiable. Two-dimensional barcodes can still be used after faxing and photocopying, while one-dimensional barcodes cannot be read by machines after faxing and photocopying.
Printing versatility. For two-dimensional bar code, it can not only print black characters on white paper, but also color printing, and printing machines and printing objects are not restricted, printing is very convenient.
Strong anti-interference ability. Compared with magnetic card and IC card, 2D barcode has strong anti-magnetic and anti-static ability due to its own characteristics.
More abundant code system
2D barcode can be directly printed on the scanned items or printed on labels, which can be specially printed by suppliers or printed on site. All barcodes have some similar components; they all have a blank area, called the quiet zone, located on the outside of the edges of the start and end portions of the barcode. The check digit is also required in some code systems to mathematically check the barcode to ensure that the information in the decoded code is correct. Like 1D barcodes, 2D barcodes have many different encoding methods. According to these encoding principles, 2D barcodes can be categorized into the following three types:
One is the linear stacked 2D code. That is, on the basis of the one-dimensional bar code, reduce the height of the bar code rows, arrange a narrow and long bar code row with a large aspect ratio, and stack the rows on top of each other, and each row is separated by a thick black bar with a module width. Typical linear stacked 2D codes are Code 16K, Code 49, PDF417 and so on.
Next is the matrix type QR code. It is using a combination of uniform black and white squares, rather than a combination of different widths of bars and blanks, which can provide higher information density and store more information. At the same time, matrix barcodes have a higher automatic error correction capability than stacked ones, and are more suitable for occasions where barcodes are susceptible to damage. Matrix symbols do not have start and stop modules, but they do have special “locators” that contain information about the size and orientation of the symbol. Matrix 2D barcodes and the new stacked 2D barcodes are able to recover data from damaged barcode symbologies using advanced mathematical algorithms. Typical matrix 2D barcodes are Aztec, Maxi Code, QR Code, Data Matrix and others.
The third type is the postal code. It is encoded by bars of different lengths and is mainly used for mail encoding, such as Postnet, BPO 4-State and so on.
Among the two-dimensional bar codes introduced above, PDF417 code is more widely used because the decoding rules are more open and commoditized, which is the abbreviation of Portable Data File, meaning that the bar code can be regarded as an archive, which is capable of storing a relatively large amount of information and can be carried around. It was formally launched in 1992, in 1995, the American Electronic Industries Association Bar Code Committee in the American National Standards Institute under the sponsorship of the completion of the draft two-dimensional bar code standards, as the production and marketing processes of electronic products using two-dimensional bar code standards. PDF417 code is a multi-line structure, the number of symbols of each line of data the same line with the left and right alignment of the line of direct articulation, the minimum number of rows of 3 lines, the maximum number of rows for the 90 lines. Data Matrix code is mainly used in the electronics industry for small parts of the logo, such as Intel Pentium processor on the back of the printed code.Maxi Code is developed by the United Parcel Service for parcel sorting and tracking.Aztec is introduced by the U.S. Weylin company, up to 3832 numbers, 3067 letters or 1914 bytes of of data.
In addition, there are a number of emerging 2D barcode systems. Including by the UPS company Figrare lla et al. developed for the distribution of the environment of the characteristics of the movement of the UPS Code, this two-dimensional bar code is more suitable for automatic classification applications. And the United States Veritec company proposed a new two-dimensional bar code – Veritec Symbol, is used for micro-small products on the binary data coding system, its matrix symbol format and image processing system has been awarded a U.S. patent, this two-dimensional code has a higher accuracy and repeatability. In addition, Philips Research Laboratory’s WILJ WAN GILS et al. also proposed a new type of two-dimensional code program, that is, using the standard geometric form of dots to form the automatic production line product identification mark of the dot matrix two-dimensional code representation. This scheme consists of two main parts, a source coding system for converting the code of the identification mark into a communication information word, and a channel coding system for error detection and correction of random mis-codes. There is also a two-dimensional bar code called dot matrix code, which in addition to having a high density of information features, but also to facilitate the use of engraving corrosion plate process to point code printed on mechanical parts, with camera equipment reading and image processing systems to identify, which is also a two-dimensional coding program with greater application potential.
The development of two-dimensional bar code technology is mainly manifested in three trends: First, the emergence of a more information-intensive coding program to enhance the function of the bar code technology information input; second is the development of a small, miniature, high-quality hardware and software, so that the practicality of bar code technology is stronger, expanding the field of application; third is interpenetration and mutual reinforcement of other technologies, which will change the structure and performance of the traditional products and extend the The function of barcode system.
2.3 Two-dimensional bar code reader
In the two-dimensional bar code reader there are several important parameters: resolution, scanning background, scanning width, scanning speed, a recognition rate, error rate, the choice of time for different applications depending on the situation. Ordinary bar code reader usually use the following three technologies: light pen, CCD, laser, they have their own advantages and disadvantages, no one reader can be advantageous in all aspects.
Light pen is the first to appear in a hand-held contact bar code reader, the use of the operator needs to contact the light pen to the surface of the bar code, through the lens of the light pen to send a very small point of light, when this point of light from left to right across the bar code, in the “empty” part of the light is reflected, the “bar” part, the light will be absorbed, so in the light of the pen within a change in the voltage, the voltage through the amplification, shaping used for Translation.
CCD is an electronically coupled device, more suitable for close and contact reading, it uses one or more LEDs, the light emitted can cover the entire barcode, it is not concerned about each “bar” or “empty”, but the barcode as a whole, and will be converted into electrical signals that can be decoded.
The laser scanner is non-contact, in the reading distance of more than 30cm laser reader is the only choice. It has a high first-reading recognition success rate, recognition speed relative to the light pen and CCD faster, and the printing quality is not good or fuzzy bar code recognition effect is good.
Radio frequency identification technology to change the bar code technology relies on “tangible” one-dimensional or two-dimensional geometric pattern to provide information, through the chip to provide a greater number of storage in which the “invisible” information. It first appeared in the 1980s, initially used in some can not use the bar code tracking technology of special industrial occasions, for example, in some industries and companies, this technology is used for targeting, identity confirmation and tracking inventory products. Radio frequency identification technology started late, so far there is no unified international standards, but the introduction of radio frequency identification technology is not only the information capacity of the promotion, it is a revolution in terms of automatic identification technology for the computer, it has a strong advantage will greatly improve the efficiency and accuracy of information processing.
3 from “tangible” to “invisible” revolution
3.1 Huge advantages
Compared with the bar code recognition system, wireless radio frequency identification technology has many advantages: automatic identification of target objects through radio frequency signals, without the need for a visible light source; with penetration, you can read data directly through the external material, to protect the external packaging, saving time to open the box; radio frequency products can work in harsh environments, the environmental requirements of the low; read a long distance, no need to get in touch with the target to get the data; support for writing data, no need to make new tags; the use of anti-conflict technology, able to handle multiple RF tags at the same time, suitable for batch identification occasions; RFID tags can be attached to the object for tracking and positioning, providing location information.
Due to the advantages of RFID products, wireless radio frequency identification technology in foreign countries developed very quickly, it has been widely used in industrial automation, commercial automation, transportation control management and many other fields, such as automobiles or trains, such as traffic monitoring systems, highway automated toll collection systems, goods management, assembly line production automation, access control systems, financial transactions, warehousing management, animal husbandry management, vehicle anti-theft and so on. In Australia, RFID technology is used in the airport passenger luggage management, improve the efficiency of the airport to achieve the desired benefits; and on the other side of the globe, the European Community announced that in 1997 the production of new cars must be based on the RFID technology of the anti-theft system; Swiss National Railways will also be installed in all passenger trains in Switzerland RFID automatic identification system, the dispatcher can be a real-time Grasp the train running situation, not only benefit from the management, but also greatly reduce the possibility of accidents; Germany Lufthansa is trying to use RFID tags to replace the plane ticket, thus changing the traditional way of purchasing and selling air tickets. To this day, the new application of radio frequency identification technology is still endless.
Thanks to the miniaturization of RFID chips and the practicality of high-performance chips, RFID tags not only help managers in different fields to track the location and handling of items, but also report in real time on other information attached to the tag, such as temperature and pressure. RFID tags are connected to a data network through the reader to provide such information, so far RFID tags are mainly used as an extension of the bar code in factory automation or inventory management, but ultimately, the smaller size of the RFID tags will be used in more advanced areas. For example, radio frequency identification tags can promote the application of network appliances, home appliances, if the network has the ability to users even in the outdoors can control them, for example, can check the food in the refrigerator, to help the user to decide what needs to be purchased items, in the wireless operation of the terminal to choose the way the food cooking and so on. Currently, manufacturers of electrical equipment and home appliances have begun to develop common software and hardware, and are considering the development of radio frequency identification tags in a variety of different home appliances on the application of standards. RFID tags applied to hospitals can also bring benefits, the patient enters the hospital, he (she) in his (her) body to wear tags, tags containing the patient’s identification information, doctors and nurses can identify the patient’s identity through the data within the tags, to avoid the recognition of the wrong patient, tags and read-write also helps doctors and nurses to confirm the appropriateness of the medication used, thus avoiding the occurrence of medical errors.
4.RFID began to enter the practical stage
According to statistics, the world has installed about 5,000 radio frequency identification system, the actual annual sales of about 964 million U.S. dollars, but mainly for pets and wildlife tracking, highway and parking fees and other limited areas, and in fact, RFID is expected to make a big splash in more than these areas. There are already a number of companies experimenting with RFID in new areas.
Gillette is the world’s largest razor manufacturer, the company’s products because of the small size, high unit price and often by the thief’s “favor”. To this end, Gillette decided to use radio frequency identification technology to prevent product theft, set up by senior managers of the project executive committee and radio frequency identification project office, respectively, responsible for guiding and coordinating the day-to-day management of the project, and will be included in the relevant responsibilities of the staff target management performance assessment. Gillette will be divided into two stages of the project, from internal operations and retailer shelf management in two aspects of implementation: First, Gillette chose “Frontier 3” in a few places for shelf test, to be successful and then extended to all eight product lines; in the second stage, Gillette plans to integrate into the entire supply chain to achieve the product from the factory to the retailer’s distribution center, to the shelves and then to the hands of the final consumer of the whole process of seamless tracking and management. Seamless tracking and management.
Currently, Gillette has completed the first phase of trials with Walmart and Tesco in Boston, USA and Cambridge, UK respectively: Gillette will implant RFID tags into the packaging of “Frontier 3” and install readers on the shelves of retailers, and if a customer takes away more than one razor at a time, the system will remind the store staff to check whether the theft has occurred or not, and even take pictures of the records automatically, and when the number of stock on the shelves is reduced to a certain level, the system will be used to track the product. When the quantity of stock is reduced to a certain level, the system will send out a signal to replenish the stock, and the results of the trial are very satisfactory. It is said that the second phase of the trial will be officially launched soon. It is worth mentioning that Gillette has ordered a total of 500 million tags from Allen Technology, one of the RFID tag manufacturers, which is undoubtedly a significant milestone in the large-scale substantive commercialization of low-cost RFID tags.
Internationally renowned retailer – Metro Group also recently adopted RFID solutions in its business operations, this technology can help it to improve the efficiency of the supply chain in retail, while improving the consumer shopping experience. The RFID technology identifies products in real time, protects against thieves, tracks inventory, and checks the status of customer loyalty cards. The system, which operates at 13.56MHz with an effective identification range of 1.5 meters, is connected to the RFID Multimedia Studio, which simply scans a CD or DVD and allows consumers to see an introductory preview of the album or movie they are looking to purchase. Cosmetics and food are also labeled and placed on smart shelves, an application that provides real-time inventory and shelf-life control, timely sales data updates and detection of misplaced items.
Recently, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. also said that it will no longer purchase merchandise from suppliers that do not use RFID technology, which shook the application software industry to its core. Now, Sun is developing a corresponding middleware product to manage merchandise data obtained from RFID systems. The product is now in the testing phase, and is expected to be launched commercially this year. In addition, Sun is also developing information service software in line with the RFID industry standard EPC.
Once used for radio frequency identification of chips and tags introduced, the corresponding specialized software is needed to manage these data. Fortunately, many large software developers and systems integrators have begun to enter the field of radio frequency identification, SAP, Manhattan Associates, IBM, and a number of other companies will launch their own solutions. SAP has publicly stated that the company and Procter & Gamble are carrying out a series of technological innovations in cooperation with the RFID data will be merged into the SAP/R3 system. The system is called AutoID, which can protect the system to obtain only valuable data, avoiding the interference of erroneous data. In addition, IBM has been in Electronic Code Symposium demonstrated the company’s radio frequency identification system, the company can provide a complete solution for radio frequency identification, can not be used across the system, to achieve from the manufacturer, to the distributor, and then to the retailer of the full set of business processes. Integration remains challenging, though. According to the developer, the price tag is quite expensive, and it will be quite challenging to meet the January 2006 deadline for the launch of a complete RFID software system.
In addition, the label will also be a huge market, especially now that RFID tags are priced at a high of 20 cents to 30 cents, due to the current buyer in the market is in a dominant position, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. may require RFID tags to be priced at an acceptable level, but it is not yet known whether the supplier can provide the appropriate technology.
5. Conclusion
Traditional 2D barcodes (such as QR codes and Data Matrix) and RFID technology, as core tools for automatic identification and data capture, have demonstrated significant value in industries like retail, logistics, healthcare, and manufacturing. 2D barcodes, with their low cost, ease of generation, and broad compatibility, serve as a universal solution for information storage and sharing. Meanwhile, RFID technology stands out in scenarios requiring efficient real-time tracking due to its advantages in contactless reading, batch scanning, and dynamic data updates.
Although each technology has its own focus, the future trend leans toward their integration. For instance, combining the widespread adoption of QR codes with the automation capabilities of RFID can enhance supply chain transparency or improve smart city management. Furthermore, with advancements in the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial intelligence, these technologies will become more deeply embedded in intelligent systems, driving the adoption of data-driven decision-making.
When selecting a technology, businesses and organizations must consider factors such as cost, application requirements, and scalability. Regardless of the chosen solution, the core objective remains the same: improving efficiency, reducing errors, and providing reliable support for digital transformation.
6.Frequently Asked Questions
6.1 What are the main differences between 2D barcodes and RFID technology?
2D barcodes (e.g., QR codes) require optical scanning, are low-cost but need line-of-sight; RFID uses radio waves for contactless, batch scanning, though at a higher cost.
6.2 In which scenarios is RFID superior to 2D barcodes?
RFID excels in high-speed batch identification (e.g., warehouse inventory), contactless reading (e.g., toll collection), or dynamic data updates (e.g., asset tracking).
6.3 Will 2D barcodes be replaced by RFID?
No. 2D barcodes remain widely used in retail/payments due to low cost and ease of printing. Future trends favor integration, not replacement.
6.4 How to choose the right auto-ID technology for my business?
Consider budget (barcodes are cheaper), read range (RFID supports long-distance), environment (metal/liquid may interfere with RFID), and data capacity (QR codes have limits).
6.5 Is the cost of RFID tags decreasing?
Yes. Passive RFID tags now cost under $0.15, but active/special-material tags remain expensive.