Barcoding News

Great Barcode Scanning applications are already on the Android Market – nod to ShopSavvy – but Google has just added that function to their own stable of services within Google Product Search. A post published on the Official Google Mobile Blog highlights the addition.

Google Shopping suffers from the same issues as apps like ShopSavvy – it usually only works with certain types of products and Google acknowledges this:

Today, barcode scanning works best for products like electronics, books, movies or video games, but we’re working on adding more barcodes for other items. Of course, if your scan does not return a result, you can always type in the product name just as before.

This is pretty awesome if you ask me and an obvious next step for Google. Although I feel kind of bad for ShopSavvy who seem to be getting cornered out of the market, everything is free game and I’m sure that ShopSavvy will have its fair share of users stick around.

It is interesting to note that Jeffrey Sharkey, an Android Developer Challenge 1 Winner, was the developer behind a barcode scanning/shopping application called Compare Everywhere and he is now a Google employee working on the Google Android Team. However, he didn’t know about this new feature until I told him! Jeffrey informed me that he has been extremely busy with other fun stuff like widgets, for example.

Be warned, this is only available in the US and UK on Android Phones.

(Original article: http://phandroid.com/2009/05/14/barcode-scanning-with-google-product-search/)

One of the reasons we haven’t seen an accurate barcode scanner for the iPhone is due to its lack of a decent lens with auto focus. Some developers have tried work arounds, like ScanLife, which went out of its way to create its own proprietary simple codes the iPhone lens could actually scan, but this app doesn’t work with the standard UPC and EAN we see on almost every product in our local stores, thus pretty useless.

Occipital, a startup based out of Boulder, CO., today has released RedLaser, a new iPhone app that can scan standard UPC barcodes simply with an iPhone camera.

Here’s what it does – let’s say you find a DVD you’re interested in checking out prices of, turn it around and on the back you’ll find the UPC bar code. Yes, the one your friendly cashier usually scans. Load up your RedLaser app, carefully frame up the bar code, and scan. RedLaser then sends that information to Google product search and sends back results right to your iPhone. Simple as that. You can then click through to see Amazon results.

Jeffrey Powers, Co-Founder of Occipital explained the product works with basically any name-brand item including electronics, games, hardware and office supplies. Groceries scan well but aren’t usually in the database at this point. RedLaser will soon have support for books. I tried it on several of my DVD’s and CD’s and got 100% accuracy.

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Near Field Communication (NFC) is a short-range, high-frequency (13.56 MHz) wireless technology that allows for the exchange of data between two NFC-enabled devices, such as mobile phones, over a distance of a few centimeters. Among the applications enabled by NFC are contactless transactions for payment and transit ticketing, simple data transfers and access to online content. It’s one of the fastest-growing wireless technologies, and now a number of vendors are launching products that extend its capabilities.

In addition to mobile phones, a variety of devices and machines can be NFC-enabled, according to the NFC Forum, a Wakefield, Mass., organization formed in 2004 to advance the use of NFC technology, ensure interoperability among devices and services, and educate the market regarding NFC. These include cash registers or other point-of-sale (POS) equipment, vending machines, turnstiles, parking meters, ATMs and PCs. The technology can also be used with posters, street signs and other public points of interest, certificates, food packaging and other items.

The use of NFC technology is growing, says Peter Preuss, the NFC Forum’s marketing chair and a senior manager at Nokia. NFC devices are being used in more than 65 projects worldwide, he explains, enabling users to make payments and access bus gates. A 2008 study conducted by ABI Research found that more than 419 million NFC chipsets will be shipped by 2012, and that NFC chipset shipments and revenue will continue growing steadily over the next five years, as the market adapts to the new technology.

(Original article: http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/purchase/4784)

Addition of the Windows Mobile 6.1 Operating System Creates New Path for LXE and Software Application Use

ATLANTA – May 8, 2009 – LXE Inc., the rugged mobile computer business of EMS Technologies, Inc., announced today that the MX8 rugged handheld computer will include the Windows Mobile® 6.1 operating system. The MX8 is LXE’s ergonomic, lightweight, yet extremely rugged data-collection computer, ideal for use in a wide array of light industrial and supply chain environments.

“The MX8 handheld computer powered with Windows Mobile will extend LXE’s reach into new applications and markets,” states Steve Newell, LXE’s general manager. “We have seen growing sales of the product in the pharmaceutical and retail markets among others, due to its size, ergonomic design and voice capabilities. This computer was designed for scan-intensive or multi-modal voice applications. As such, we believe sales of the MX8 handheld computer will continue to increase with this expanded functionality,” Newell adds.

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Zebra‘s Z-Ultimate 2000T and Z-Ultimate 4000T label materials are similar to legacy Z-Ultimate 3000T label material in quality and performance, but offer additional savings.

Performance Key:

*** Excellent
** Very Good
* Fair
NR—Not Recommended

Given some of the negative news this year related to the use of radio frequency identification, as well as the decline in capital spending by most businesses, some had predicted the industry might have suffered a devastating blow from which it could not recover. I doubt anyone who attended last week’s RFID Journal LIVE! event in Orlando, Fla., would reach that conclusion today.

Our seventh annual conference and exhibition attracted 2,400 people, which was down a bit from last year’s total of a little more than 3,000. But many people, including exhibitors, feared attendance would be a lot lower, given that many trade shows have been down 50 percent or more due to the challenging economic conditions. They were pleased to see the aisles filled, but they were absolutely thrilled as they engaged in conversations with attendees. Most end users at the event were focused on specific projects with budgets and timelines. They are investing in RFID technology.

Last week, I said I thought RFID had crossed the chasm (see RFID Crosses the Chasm), and LIVE! 2009 confirmed that to be true. Those who attended this year were not visionaries dreaming about how RFID would one day transform the global supply chain. They were businesspeople from a wide range of industries and countries, seeking solutions to common business problems—lost and misplaced assets, inventory inaccuracy, shipping and receiving problems, and so forth.

I spoke to several end users during the free consultations we offered at the event. All had a solid understanding of RFID, and knew it could help them. They sought insights regarding which solution would be best, and wanted to know which vendors they should talk to.

Most applications being considered by attendees were closed-loop. That’s not surprising. Many companies have issues stretching across the supply chain, but it makes sense to tackle issues within their own control. They also seek solutions that can deliver a fast return on investment. Still, these early deployments will lead to additional projects down the road. At a private lunch hosted by ADT, one gentleman told me, “I got all the information I need to move ahead with my project, but I got five or six other ideas of how RFID could really help us.”

The attendees with whom I spoke impressed with the quality of the RFID products being exhibited. Hardware and software products are getting less expensive and easier to deploy. Motorola’s new reader is a case in point—it’s half the size and cost of its predecessor, but also has some great new features, such as built-in indicator lights and power-over-Ethernet, so you don’t have to run power cables to every location in which you want to place a reader.

ODIN Technologies, winner of our second Best in Show award at this year’s RFID Journal Awards ceremony (see Voegele, Vail, FOCUS and ODIN Technologies Win RFID Journal Awards), introduced a very cool self-contained, mobile RFID portal that can be installed in any ISO-standard shipping container in less than a minute. The unit comes with magnets enabling it to be popped into place, and also offers Wi-Fi, cellular and satellite communications capabilities to transmit the RFID data it captures.

In some ways, I think this event was critical to the RFID industry’s continued growth. The business that exhibitors get from attendees will enable them to continue investing in new products and services; without that continued innovation, the industry would stagnate. Next year, I predict that we’ll see even more attendees ready to invest, and I’m sure we’ll also see exhibitors with new, innovative products.

(Original article: http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/view/4841)

BarcodesInc announced today it has achieved Select Certification from Cisco®. The Select Certification recognizes Cisco resale channel partners whose primary focus is on the small and medium-sized business (SMB) market with fewer than 250 employees.

“This partnership offers both Cisco and BarcodesInc an excellent opportunity for growth. We believe that Cisco’s product suite combined with our expertise and customer focus will lead to a more comprehensive offering and improved customer experience for both companies’ clients.” – Amanda Healy Collins, Director of Sales, BarcodesInc

“The Cisco Select Certification was created in response to customer demand for channel partners to be capable of designing and implementing SMB-specific Cisco solutions,” said Surinder Brar, senior director of worldwide channels at Cisco. “With the Select Certification, BarcodesInc has made an investment in obtaining the training, skills and knowledge necessary to play a pivotal role in meeting this increasing demand.”

To earn Select Certification, BarcodesInc fulfilled the training and exam requirements for the SMB Specialization. BarcodesInc also met the personnel, training, and post-sales support requirements set forth by Cisco.

The Cisco Resale Channel Program provides partners with the training required to build sales, technical and Cisco Lifecycle Services skills. Cisco resale partner certifications—Select, Premier, Silver and Gold—represent an increasing breadth of skills across key technologies and a partner’s ability to deliver integrated networking solutions. Cisco resale partner specializations—Entry, Express, Advanced and Master—reflect an increasing depth of sales, technical and service expertise in particular technologies.

About BarcodesInc
BarcodesInc is North America’s leading provider of barcoding, mobile computing, and RFID solutions. Over the past fifteen years, we have worked hard to earn a reputation for being dedicated, reliable, and customer-oriented. Additionally, we are product experts with deep experience in field mobility, inventory and point-of-sale solutions.

Cisco, Cisco Systems and the Cisco logo are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems Inc. in the United States and certain other countries.

Radio Frequency Identification, which is better known as RFID, can be translated as the use of radio frequencies to read and transmit information through the use of small devices called tags. These are currently being used by healthcare organizations in order to tackle new challenges.

Such challenges are “operational efficiency, patient safety, and improvement of the business processes”, declares one of the TechNavio experts. In fact, healthcare providers and payers, including patients, “are transforming the usage of RFID from technology that is used to reduce costs to facilitating, automating, and streamlining identification processes.”

Healthcare organizations, including hospitals, nursing homes, home healthcare facilities, health maintenance organizations, laboratories, clinics, physician offices, and pharmacies situated within hospitals, form the cumulative healthcare industry in the report, which has recently been published by TechNavio Insights.

According to the report “RFID in Healthcare industry 2008-2012, by 2012”, “the market for RFID tags in healthcare industry is expected to reach $153.2 million driven by the development of lower cost tags and installed infrastructure, which will enable high volumes of articles to be tagged.”

(Original article: http://marketpublishers.com/lists/4538/news.html)

Microscan, a global technology leader for precision data acquisition and control solutions, announces the new Visionscape® Smart Camera that combines technologies from machine vision and auto ID into a singular PCB inspection solution that is powerful, low-cost, and easy to use.

The Visionscape® Smart Camera can perform as a cost-effective alternative for inspecting boards for misaligned or missing high-value components and connectors, such as heavy or odd-shaped connectors with a high misplacement rate. A single Visionscape® Smart Camera positioned over a conveyor or bench top can verify the accuracy of components and placement, or alternatively identify any errors prior to reflow. More cost-effective than AOI, this quick and simple quality inspection checkpoint enables savings, quality assurance, and line throughput.

The Visionscape® Smart Camera series combines a compact form factor with the broad applicability, versatility and proven performance of Visionscape® machine vision software. Designed for use in a range of applications, the Visionscape® Smart Camera provides a cost-effective, easily deployed solution for manufacturers to monitor quality, control processes, or identify and trace parts on production lines.

As a flexible solution, Visionscape ® Smart Cameras can be used for quality inspection, device metrology inspection, and full traceability. They stand alone in their support of Track, Trace, and Control processes with full blown optical character recognition (OCR), optical character verification (OCV), and full reading of any barcodes or 2D symbols including the most difficult direct part marks (DPM). The advanced technology used in this system includes high-end machine vision algorithms and state-of-the-art high-speed multi-core dual processor smart camera technology. This fast and powerful system is not only simple and easy to use, program, and operate, but also totally transportable across a wide variety of applications throughout the factory – all at a fraction of the cost of traditional AOI solutions.

As a portable one-piece unit, the Visionscape® Smart Camera is easy to handle for placement and install in over-the-belt or bench top inspection applications. Any job changeovers can be done quickly through user-friendly software. With a solid-state design and no moving parts, no maintenance is required.

Adding Track, Trace and Control can improve outbound product quality by several percentage points simply by catching potential problems before it is too late. The built-in communication protocols and I/O features make this system a snap to interface with any PLC, PC-based, or networked MES system currently in use within the factory.

When the new Dallas Cowboys football stadium opens in June, it may not only be the largest sports stadium in the world, but also the one with the most technological innovations.

Three million square feet is a lot of stadium, and 1.1 billion dollars is a lot of money, but part of what will make this new stadium shine is the technology that has been built into it. Jerry Jones, the owner of the team, is high on technology. Pete Walsh, head of technology for the Cowboys, says “I was given a blank sheet of paper and told to go create the future.”

Walsh took that directive literally and has created a tech marvel in the heart of Texas. When fans attend a game at the new stadium, they will be able to e-mail photos to friends, find lost children, cash in wireless coupons and watch customized content on the thousands of televisions, according to a Dallas News story. That’s a far cry from the limited technology that was available at the Cowboy’s previous, 37-year-old facility.

Walsh says, “Texas Stadium doesn’t have a whole lot of technology in it. Basically, you flip on the lights and roll out the football. In the new stadium, almost everything is tied to technology and to a computer.” Here are some of the innovations in the new stadium:

* The stadium will sport two 60 yard video monitors above the field.
* They will be among the 2800 monitors installed in the stadium, every one of which will have its own IP address.
* Stadium personnel can put any available video stream on any monitor at any time, via computer control.
* When complete, parents and stadium security will be able to track children via RFID.
* That same RFID system could help keep track of team property, and keep it from being removed from the stadium.
* Thirty antennae are spread throughout the stadium to insure good telephone and WiFi inside the facility.

Even if the team does not perform, the stadium will. Although most of us do not often think about it, there is a lot of technology packed into almost everything that is being built these days. There is no reason that stadiums should be any different. This new facility will give other team owners another way in which they need to keep up with the Jones’.