It started off as a price tag to help grocery workers compute the total cost of an individual’s purchase. But the barcode has become something more thanks to technology. Today, people use this invention in a number of interesting ways.
So, the next time you have your barcode scanner checked and replaced with Trimble repair parts, take a moment to reflect on how far barcode technology has come. And if you want to learn how the barcode is used in other applications, keep reading this article.
Movie, airline and event tickets
It is now possible for people to buy tickets to their favorite films in the cinema, or go to the theater without having to fall in line at the ticket booth. It’s because the internet has made it possible for us to make purchases online. After you’ve bought your ticket, you might not need to have it printed anymore, just present a simple image on your smartphone to be scanned at the theater entrance.
Now you can enter right away and find your seat, while the rest of the moviegoers outside are still waiting in line. It’s one of the most convenient ways to watch a movie and it’s not exclusive to movie theaters; airlines and event venues are already using this technology as well.
Pet tracker
Back then, if your cat left the house to hunt at night, it’s nearly impossible to track her whereabouts. All you can do is wait for her to come back, hoping that she didn’t fall off a tree, or worse, run over by a car.
These days, you don’t have to worry about your pet not finding its way home anymore. As long as you attach an RFID on your cat’s tag, anyone who finds her can scan that barcode to learn every detail about your pet, including your address. So, if your cat gets injured and someone with a smartphone finds her, there’s a good chance she’ll find her way back home.
Barcodes in business cards
If you’re a business owner and you often attend seminars and events, you would want to share as much information as you can with the people you meet. Unfortunately, your business card isn’t big enough to show people a lot of in-depth information about your company.
And once again, due to barcode technology, that problem is a thing of the past. If you attach a barcode in your business card that’s linked to your company’s website, all a person has to do is scan that barcode to view important information about you and your business.
Tracking your diet
With the help of barcodes, you no longer have to manually monitor your food intake. Keeping track of your blood sugar levels is simpler nowadays. All you need to do is download an app that can analyze the nutritional data of the food you’re eating after scanning the barcode on the container.
So, if you want to know the sugar content of a bottle of Smucker’s Strawberry Jam, just scan the barcode on the side with your smartphone. You’ll then find out if that strawberry jam is too sweet for you.
Barcodes have definitely come a long way from being a price tag. A lot of creative applications are being developed even as we speak, to help us in more ways than we can imagine.
