What Is A Barcode: Definition, History, and Development

Simply explained, a barcode is an automatic identification system that allows data to be captured about people, materials, methods, machines, measurements, and environments. Barcodes can be found in a wide variety of industries including retail, manufacturing, distribution, healthcare, finance, and the military. Common applications include inventory, Work in Progress (WIP), shipping & receiving, quality assurance, asset tracking, patient wristbands, patient labels, laboratory labeling, and more.

The first patent for a barcode was filed in 1949 for a concept that would automatically capture product data at grocery stores, via patterns of ink read by a scanning device. From this idea, the technology was developed using a laser beam moving across the ink patterns - the black stripes of the bar code would be absorbed and the white reflected, allowing the code to be read. In 1974, a pack of chewing gum was the first retail product sold with the help of the Universal Product Code (UPC) barcode and scanner.