Overview of AIT Technologies 39 human-readable. part. numbers.. The. pharmaceuticals. industry. uses. a. variation. of. OCR. called.
optical.character.verification.(OCV).to.assure.that.critical.human-readable.lot.and.date.numbers.
cannot.be.misread.
4.2.1.10.1 Optical Mark Recognition
Optical.Mark.Recognition.(OMR).is.used.for.standardized.testing.as.well.as.course.enrollment.and.
attendance.in.education..Human.resource.departments.across.industries.use.OMR.for.applications.
such.as.benefits.enrollment,.employee.testing,.change.of.employee.status,.payroll.deductions,.and.
user.training..Healthcare.providers.use.the.technology.for.registration.and.surveys,.and.medical.
labs.for.patient.evaluations.and.tracking.supply.orders.and.lab.services..OMR.is.also.used.for.time.
and.attendance,.labor.tracking,.inventory.management,.voting.applications,.exit.surveys,.polling,.
and.all.manner.of.questionnaires.and.evaluation.studies..Because.it.is.easy.to.use.and.cost-effective.
for.opinion.tracking,.the.technology.has.become.a.tool.for.on-location.and.direct-mail.marketing.
4.2.1.10.2 Machine Vision
Traditional.machine.vision.systems.continue.to.be.used.for.quality.inspection,.gauging,.and.robotic.
assembly.in.the.automotive,.electronics,.aerospace,.healthcare,.and.metal.industries.among.others..
These.systems.may.also.incorporate.bar.code.reading..The.next.generation.of.2D-dedicated.vision- based.scanners.is.being.used.for.quality.control,.WIP,.and.high-speed.sortation.in.industries.such.as.
electronics,.automotive,.and.mail.and.package.delivery..The.pharmaceutical.industry.is.also.using.
2D.scanning.systems.to.reconcile.packaging,.inserts,.and.labels.on.their.packaging.lines.in.order.to.
satisfy.the.FDA’s.current.good.manufacturing.practice.regulations.
4.2.1.10.3 Voice
Voice. recognition. is. commonly. used. in. the. automotive. industry. for. various. manufacturing. and.
inspection.applications..It.is.also.used.in.warehousing.and.distribution.to.track.material.movement.
in.real.time,.in.the.transportation.industry.for.receiving.and.transporting.shipments,.in.laboratory.
work,.and.in.inspection.and.quality.control.applications.across.all.industries.
4.2.1.10.4 Magnetic Ink Character Recognition
Magnetic.ink.character.recognition.(MICR).is.most.commonly.used.to.encode.and.read.information.
on.checks.and.bank.drafts.to.speed.clearing.and.sorting..It.is.also.effective.for.uncovering.fraud,.
such.as.color.copies.of.payroll.checks.or.hand-altered.characters.on.a.check,.both.of.which.are.eas- ily.detected.by.the.absence.of.magnetic.ink..Fast.clearing.and.sorting,.as.well.as.fraud.detection,.
benefits.customers,.financial.institutions,.and.retail.establishments.
Though.this.is.a.long.list.of.AITs,.it.is.not.comprehensive.due.to.the.fact.that.other.technolo- gies.are.becoming.available.as.this.book.is.being.published.and.distributed..For.this.book’s.pur- poses,.we.focus.upon.three.main.technologies:.bar.codes,.RFID/RTLS.technologies,.and.satellite.
technologies.
Flint.was.a.main.supporter.of.bar.code.standardization.efforts.that.led.to.the.UPC..Several.code.
formats.were.developed.in.the.1940s,.1950s,.and.1960s,.including.a.bull’s-eye.code,.numeral.codes,.
and.various.formats.of.bar.codes.
The.modern.day.bar.code.originated.in.1949.when.Norman.Woodland.and.Bernard.Silver,.an.
instructor. and. student. at. Drexel. Technical. Institute,. respectively. began. investigating. capturing.
product. information. automatically. at. checkout.. The. story. mentions. that. Woodland. while. at. the.
beach.came.up.with.the.idea.to.use.Morse.code.and.its.dots.and.dashes.to.send.information.elec- tronically.and.capture.information.on.grocery.products.that.could.be.communicated.electronically..
Woodland.started.to.draw.dots.and.dashes.in.the.sand.to.simulate.Morse.code,.and.then.extended.
them.downward.with.his.fingers,.creating.thin.lines.resulting.from.the.dots.and.thick.lines.from.the.
dashes.resulting.into.2D.Morse.code..Three.years.later,.Silver.and.Woodland.received.a.patent.on.
what.began.as.lines.in.the.sand,.and.the.linear.bar.code.was.created..Bar.codes.were.not.initially.
successful.because.the.industry.did.not.originally.accept.this.auto.ID.
4.3.2 IndustRy AcceptAnce 4.3.2.1 Railroads
Initially,.bar.codes.were.introduced.as.a.means.for.tracking.rail.cars;.they.were.placed.on.the.sides.
of.railroad.freight.cars..As.the.freight.car.rolled.past.a.trackside.scanner,.the.car,.its.destination,.
and.cargo.were.identified..The.system.failed.due.to.the.fact.that.the.freight.cars.were.unstable.and.
bounced.as.they.passed.the.scanner..Consequently,.the.accuracy.of.the.scanning.was.poor.
4.3.2.2 Grocery Industry
The. complexity. of. the. grocery. business. in. the. early. twentieth. century. was. due. to. the. required.
stocking. and. inventorying. of. tens. of. thousands. of.items.in.various. types.and. sizes. of. products,.
including.perishable.items.from.many.suppliers..Perishable.items.required.additional.information.
needs.due.to.inventory.rotation.requirements..Since.many.errors.and.inefficiencies.were.created.
from.manual.process,.the.grocery.industry.sought.to.automate.data.capture.
4.3.3 unIveRsAL pRoduct code
The.best-known.and.most.widespread.use.of.bar.codes.has.been.on.consumer.products.used.by.
most.grocery.industries..In.the.late.1960s,.supermarkets.sought.to.automate.point-of-sale.informa- tion.and.testing.of.bar.code.technologies.became.paramount..For.instance,.in.1972,.a.Kroger.store.
in.Cincinnati.operated.using.a.bull’s-eye.code..The.need.for.standardization.led.to.the.forming.of.a.
committee.within.the.grocery.industry.to.select.a.standard.code.to.be.used.in.the.industry.
Supporters.such.as.Wallace.Flint,.believing.that.automating.the.grocery.checkout.process.could.
reduce.labor.costs,.improve.inventory.control,.speed.up.the.process,.and.improve.customer.service,.
pushed.for.a.bar.code.usage..Six.industry.associations,.representing.both.product.manufacturers.and.
supermarkets,.created.an.industry-wide.committee.of.industry.leaders.for.this.initiative..Proposals.
were.solicited.from.various.interested.parties,.and.on.April.3,.1973,.the.committee.selected.the.
Universal.Product.Code.or.the.UPC.symbol.(based.on.the.proposal.from.IBM).as.the.industry.stan- dard..The.success.of.the.system.since.then.has.spurred.on.the.development.of.other.coding.systems..
The.UPC.made.its.first.commercial.appearance.on.a.package.of.Wrigley’s.gum.sold.in.Marsh’s.
Supermarket.in.Troy,.Ohio.in.June.1974.
4.3.3.1 Economic Impact of the UPC
Economic. studies. conducted. for. the. grocery. industry. committee. projected. over. $40. million. in.
savings.to.the.industry.from.scanning.by.the.mid-1970s..Those.numbers.were.not.achieved.in.that.
time.frame.and.there.were.those.who.predicted.the.demise.of.bar.code.scanning..The.usefulness.
of.the.bar.code.required.the.adoption.of.expensive.scanners.by.a.critical.mass.of.retailers.while.
Overview of AIT Technologies 41 manufacturers.simultaneously.adopted.bar.code.labels..Neither.wanted. to. move.first.and. results.
looked.unpromising.for.the.first.couple.of.years,.with.Business.Week.eulogizing.“The.Supermarket.
Scanner.That.Failed.”
As.scanning.spread,.however,.the.$40.million.projection.began.to.look.very.small..A.1999.analy- sis.by.Price.Waterhouse.Coopers.estimates.the.U.P.C..represents.$17.billion.in.savings.to.the.grocery.
industry.annually..Even.more.astounding,.the.study.concludes.that.the.industry.has.not.yet.taken.
advantage.of.billions.of.dollars.of.potential.savings.that.could.be.derived.from.maximizing.the.use.
of.the.U.P.C..The.big.winners—as.one.should.have.expected.given.the.competitive.nature.of.the.
markets.involved—were.consumers,.since.U.P.C..scanning.generated.efficiencies.and.productivity.
improvements.that.led.to.lower.costs.and/or.greater.customer.service..Ironically,.consumer.advocates.
initially. resisted. the.innovation.and.jeopardized. its.success.by. insisting.that.retailers.forego. sub- stantial.cost.savings.by.continuing.to.mark.prices.on.individual.units..While.the.rise.of.bar-coding.
benefited.both.manufacturers.and.retailers,.it.was.the.retailer.who.benefited.the.most..In.addition.to.
the.labor.savings,.retailers.now.had.access.to.detailed.product.movement.data,.which.they.turned.into.
a.profit.center.by.selling.the.data.to.their.suppliers.
4.3.4 technoLogyBehIndthe BAR code
A.linear.bar.code.is.a.binary.code.(1s.and.0s)..The.lines.and.spaces.are.of.varying.thicknesses.and.
printed. in. different. combinations.. To.be. scanned,. there. must.be. accurate. printing. and. adequate.
contrast.between.the.bars.and.spaces..Scanners.employ.various.technologies.to.“read”.codes..The.
two.most.common.are.lasers.and.cameras..Scanners.may.be.fixed.position,.like.most.supermarket.
checkout.scanners,.or.hand-held.devices,.often.used.for.the.taking.of.inventories..There.is.a.distinc- tion.between.the.code.and.the.machine-readable.representation.of.the.code..The.code.is.text.that.can.
be.translated.into.a.multiplicity.of.languages.and/or.symbols..One.of.the.first.successful.bar.codes,.
Code.39.developed.by.Dr..David.Allais,.is.widely.used.in.logistical.and.defense.applications..Code.39.
is.still.in.use.today,.although.it.is.less.sophisticated.than.some.of.the.newer.bar.codes..Code.128.and.
interleaved.2.of.5.are.other.codes.that.attained.some.success.in.niche.markets.
Because. the. UPC. was. the.first. bar.code. symbology. widely. adopted,. foreign. interest. in. UPC.
led.to.the.adoption.of.the.European.Article.Numbering.(EAN).code.format,.similar.to.UPC,.in.
December.1976..The.2005.Sunrise.and.the.Global.Trade.Item.Number.initiatives.from.the.Uniform.
Code.Council.(UCC).began.on.January.1,.2005..This.is.known.as.the.“14-digit.U.P.C.”.For.a.manu- facturer.of.a.product.that.has.an.existing.8-.or.12-digit.UPC.bar.code,.there.was.no.effect;.however,.
retailers.or.wholesalers.with.scanners.had.to.ensure.that.scanners.are.able.to.decode.8-,.12-,.13-,.and.
14-digit.bar.codes.and.that.database.systems.can.handle.the.extra.digits..There.is.a.white.paper.by.
in.the.appendices.(Sunrise.GTIN).detailed.the.changes.
The.most.common.UPC.formats.are.the.five.versions.of.UPC.and.two.versions.of.EAN..The.
Japanese.Article.Numbering.(JAN).code.has.a.single.version.identical.to.one.of.the.EAN.versions.
with.the.flag.characters.set.to.“49.”.UPC.and.EAN.symbols.are.fixed.in.length,.can.only.encode.
numbers,.and.are.continuous.symbologies.using.four.element.widths..Figure.4.2.illustrates.a.variety.
of.common.bar.codes.
UPC.version.A.symbols.have.10.digits.plus.2.overhead.digits.while.EAN.symbols.have.12.digits.
and.1.overhead.digit..The.first.overhead.digit.of.a.UPC.version.A.symbol.is.a.number.related.to.
the.type.of.product.while.an.EAN.symbol.uses.the.first.two.characters.to.designate.the.country.
of.the.EAN.International.organization.issuing.the.number..UPC.is,.in.fact,.a.subset.of.the.more.
general. EAN. code.. Scanners. equipped. to. read. EAN. symbols. can. read. UPC. symbols. as. well..
However,.UPC.scanners.will.not.necessarily.read.EAN.symbols.
The.UPC.symbology.was.designed.to.make.it.ideal.for.coding.products..UPC.can.be.printed.on.
packages.using.a.variety.of.printing.processes..The.format.allows.the.symbol.to.be.scanned.with.
any.package. orientation..Omnidirectional.scanning.allows.any.package.orientation.provided.the.
symbol.faces.the.scanner..The.UPC.format.can.be.scanned.by.hand-held.wands.and.can.be.printed.
by.equipment.in.the.store..Version.A.of.the.symbology.has.a.first-pass.read.rate.of.99%.using.a.
fixed.laser.scanner.and.has.a.substitution.error.rate.of.less.than.1.error.in.10,000.scanned.symbols.
Nominal.X.dimension.is.13.mils..A.magnification.factor.of.0.8–2.0.is.allowed.and,.as.a.result,.
makes.a.printable.range.of.X.dimension.values.of.10.4–24.mils..In.other.words,.the.nominal.size.
of.a.UPC.symbol.is.1.469.in..wide.×.1.02.in..high..The.minimum.recommended.size.is.80%.of.the.
nominal.size.or.1.175.in..wide.×.0.816.in..high..The.maximum.recommended.size.is.200%.of.
the.nominal.size.or.2.938.in..wide.×.2.04.in..high..Larger.UPCs.scan.better..Smaller.UPCs.do.not.
scan.as.well.or.not.at.all.
The.UPC.format.can.be.printed.using.a.variety.of.printing.techniques.because.it.allows.for.dif- ferent.ink.spreading..The.amount.of.ink.spreading.depends.on.printing.press.conditions,.amount.
and.viscosity.of.ink,.and.other.factors.that.are.difficult.to.precisely.control..The.UPC.symbol.is.
decoded.by.measuring.the.distance.from.leading.edges.to.leading.edge.of.bars,.trailing.edge.to.
trailing.edge.of.bars,.and.leading.edge.to.leading.edge.of.characters..Since.relative.distances.are.
measured.for.decoding,.uniform.ink.spread.will.not.affect.the.symbol’s.readability..However,.exces- sive.ink.spread.will.make.the.spaces.very.small.to.the.point.that.the.reader.will.be.unable.to.resolve.
them..Since.UPC.is.a.continuous.code.with.exacting.tolerances,.it.is.more.difficult.to.print.on.any.
equipment.except.printing.presses.
4.3.5 cuRRent LeveLof use
Because. computing. technologies. have. become. more. efficient. over. the. last. several. decades,. the.
development.of.applications.that.can.utilize.bar.codes.has.increased,.leading.to.bar.codes.becoming.
more.prevalent.in.our.society..Bar.codes.are.currently.utilized.in.many.retail.stores.such.as.super- markets.and.hardware.stores,.as.well.as.many.industrial.and.military.applications.such.as.manu- facturing,.warehousing,.and.transportation.operations..With.ever-increasing.use,.many.companies.
have. developed. software. to. generate. and. manipulate. bar. codes.. Some. pundits. believe. as. newer.
technologies.such.as.RFID.are.developed,.we.may.eventually.see.a.disappearance.of.bar.codes.as.
we.know.them.today.
FIGURE 4.2 Common.bar.codes.
Overview of AIT Technologies 43 The.developers.of.the.UPC.believed.that.there.would.be.fewer.than.10,000.companies.in.the.
U.S..grocery.industry,.which.would.use.the.UPC..To.the.contrary,.currently.there.are.over.1.million.
companies.in.more.than.100.countries.in.over.20.different.industry.sectors.enjoying.the.benefits.of.
scanning.because.of.the.UPC..UPC.symbols.are.everywhere.in.the.retail.environment..They.can.
also.be.found.in.industries.as.diverse.as.construction,.utilities,.and.cosmetics..The.UPC.is.exten- sively.used.in.the.supply.chain.by.the.suppliers.of.raw.materials,.manufacturers,.and.distributors..At.
the.dawn.of.the.twenty-first.century,.the.Uniform.Code.Council,.Inc.,.the.administrator.of.the.UPC,.
estimates.that.the.U.P.C..symbol.was.being.scanned.over.5.billion.times.a.day.
The.linear.bar.code.continues.to.evolve..Today,.there.are.2D.bar.codes.such.as.PDF.417.and.
MaxiCode.capable.of.incorporating.the.Gettysburg.Address.in.a.symbol.one-quarter.of.an.inch.
square..RSS.and.Composite.symbologies.will.enable.the.bar.code.identification.of.very.small.items.
such.as.individual.pills.or.a.single.strawberry..Rental.car.companies.keep.track.of.their.fleet.by.
means.of.bar.codes.on.the.car.bumper..Airlines.track.passenger.luggage,.reducing.the.chance.of.
loss..Researchers.have.placed.tiny.bar.codes.on.individual.bees.to.track.the.insects’.mating.habits..
NASA.relies.on.bar.codes.to.monitor.the.thousands.of.heat.tiles.that.need.to.be.replaced.after.every.
space.shuttle.trip,.and.the.movement.of.nuclear.waste.is.tracked.with.a.bar.code.inventory.system..
In.the.fashion.world,.designers.stamp.bar.codes.on.their.models.to.help.coordinate.fashion.shows..
The.codes.store.information.about.what.outfits.each.model.should.be.wearing.and.when.they.are.
due.on.the.runway.
4.3.6 futuRe uses
The.future.of.auto.ID,.however,.is.probably.in.radio.frequency.(RFID)..Tiny.transmitters.embed- ded.in.items.do.not.require.a.LOS.to.the.scanner,.nor.are.they.subject.to.degradation.by.exposure..
Already. in. use. in. retail.stores.to. help.prevent. shoplifting.and. on. toll.roads. to. speed.traffic,. the.
primary.deterrent.to.wider.use.of.RFID.has.been.the.cost.of.the.silicon.chips.required..Today,.the.
5-cent.chip.is.close.at.hand..If.the.cost.can.be.reduced.to.less.than.1.cent.a.chip,.in.the.future.your.
breakfast.cereal.box.will.be.a.radio.transmitter.