Reading 2

Unit 7- Reading 2

Page 106

2-D bar codes

In 1974, the first bar code was scanned. It was printed on a pack of chewing gum. It was a significant event. Almost immediately, UPC bar codes began to appear on hundreds of other products.

Supermarkets and other large stores quickly installed machines to scan these bar codes. These machines were called scanners. They were linked to store computer systems. UPC and other bar code formats are one-dimensional. That is, the information coded in the black and white pattern of lines can be read in only one direction. There is a beginning to the pattern and an end to the pattern.

The information in the pattern identifies only the product and its manufacturer. After a while, companies wanted to find a way to include more information in the bar code.

A NEW KIND OF BAR CODE

This led to the Invention of 2-D or two-dimensional, bar codes in Japan. They were first used in the 1990s to track the production of automobiles.

A 2-D bar code consists of shapes in both a vertical and a horizontal pattern. Like 1-D bar codes, 2-D bar codes are black and white. Each shape or combination of shapes provides information. This allows a 2-D bar code to hold over a hundred times more information than a 1-D bar code. Like 1-D bar codes, each 2-D bar code is unique.

However, the complex pattern requires a powerful scanner to read and analyze the information. Modern smartphones and tablet computers can scan the bar codes and download the information.

Companies have found this technology very useful for advertising and selling their products. For example, a sportswear company might place an advertisement in a popular magazine. The advertisement shows a picture of happy people skiing down a mountain.

There is a 2-D bar code under the picture. A young man is looking through the magazine. First, the picture catches his eye. Then he notices the 2-D bar code. He scans it with his smartphone. A short video automatically appears on the screen of the phone.

The video shows people skiing. Then it shows many styles of ski clothes. He decides he needs a new ski jacket. He clicks a button on the phone and it links him to the company’s website. Within minutes, he purchases a ski jacket online.

USES FOR 2-D BAR CODES

Most 2-D bar codes appear in magazine or newspaper advertisements. When scanned, most provide information about Items in the advertisement. However, 2-D bar codes can be put almost anywhere, and they can be used for more than advertising. Giant bar codes on highway billboards give directions to rest stops. Smaller ones on the backs of stadium seats can show a team’s schedule of games.

A hardware store might attach a 2-D bar code to the tools it sells. Customers who buy a tool can watch a video on their smartphone screens to learn how to use the tool. A 2-D bar code might appear on a FOR RENT sign placed in the window of an empty apartment. Scanning the bar code will give people information about the apartment, such as the monthly rental fee.

Modern technology has provided us with an amazing tool.