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9, December 2006 Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.
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The increasing number of companies in fast-growing sectors like aviation, pharmaceuticals and manufacturing, with supply chains that usually tend to be geographically disconnected, is heightening the requirement for enhanced information flow to accompany individual items during transit. This need for improved data density capability is compelling them to naturally progress from one-dimensional (1D) barcodes to two-dimensional (2D) barcodes. The prime benefits here include better storage capacity than one-dimensional barcodes and economics than the RFID. To take a look at some of the takers, one can begin with a modest reason like security, a concern among the airlines. Singapore Airlines, which has recently added self-printed 2D boarding passes in its service bouquet, aims to strengthen its security circle with these passes. Though the driving force behind its decision is IATA’s target for all airports to be 2D barcode compliant by 2008, the carrier suggests the switchover to be also due to some other intellectual motives. With the 2D boarding passes, the check-in process has moved away from the airport to a site that is most accessible and convenient to the customer. Now, they can check-in and choose their seats via company’s website. This has increased convenience to customers and meant an improvement in our service standards. These passes also bring us one step closer to increasing paperless transactions, and help reduce the cost incurred by the airline (as compared to when boarding passes are printed out on tickets with magnetic strips),” says Foo ChaiWoo, general manager, India, Singapore Airlines. For Maruti Udyog, it’s the capacity to hold more which matters. As the auto-data capturing (ADC) technologies are critical in company’s operations, a 2D barcode is one of its picked technologies for over six years. The auto manufacturer uses the same to help in areas where a large amount of information needs to be captured. “Moreover, it is readable in rough conditions,” says Rajesh Uppal, chief general manager, IT, Maruti Udyog. He adds: “The technology has improved company’s efficiencies by reducing its turnaround time by capturing a large data in a single code. Currently, we are using 1D, 2D barcodes and RFID depending upon the requirement. As the 2D barcode is a matured technology, it along with RFID has become our choice in some operational areas.” To detail you further, a 2D barcode can hold more information than a conventional barcode or the magnetic strip. Unlike a conventional barcode that stores information in a single line, a 2D barcode stores information in multiple lines hence increasing its capacity. In the latter, data are encoded in both the height and width of the symbol. In fact, over thousands alphanumeric characters can potentially be placed in a single symbol of the size of a large postage stamp! The technology can even be used for tax return, driver’s license and patient record, amongst others. Among few of the 2D stacked symbologies available, one has PDF417—a high-capacity 2D bar code developed by Symbol Technologies, Inc—which can hold approximately 2,000 characters of information, much more than a traditional linear bar code which has difficulty holding more than 30 characters. In case of matrix symbologies, DataMatrix, MaxiCode and QR Code are the technologies that are available. Obviously, the main advantage of using these codes is that possibly a large amount of easily and accurately read data can ‘ride’ with the item to which it is attached. And, here we find companies like Maruti, Hero Honda and ABB opting it over traditional coding and expensive RFID. Looking at the response, the manufacturers and facilitators of barcodes are gearing to cater to the increased sales. “Now, there are new applications being created for 2D bar code technology every day. One of the amazing and beneficial aspects of these symbols is their potential durability. Moreover, to sabotage the readability of a conventional 1D symbol, one only has to add another bar to the beginning or end of the symbol or draw a line through the symbol, parallel to the stripes. This throws off the checks and a balance built into the decoding algorithms of a 1D bar code decoder and makes the symbol unreadable,” says Praveen Kishore of Bar Code India. He adds: “By comparison, many degrees of redundancy can be built into a 2D symbol. While it makes the symbol somewhat larger, the remaining symbol is remarkably secure. We have experimented with vandalising 2D symbols with holes, black marker and tearing. The symbol has remained readable through all of this abuse.” Keen to cash in on the opportunity, G Sathiyakumar, area sales manager, India and Sri Lanka, Symbol Technologies Asia, says, “The market is growing and we expect the growth to continue in the next several years. The advantage of 2D barcoding is that it is very inexpensive as the printing cost is next to nil. Thanks to the interest and increased manufacture, the 2D scanners are also very affordable now.” One has to admit that 2D scanners were far more expensive than 1D scanners when introduced. However, recent microprocessor developments have brought the cost of these scanners down to about 125% of the cost of a comparable 1D scanner, says Sathiyakumar. “Also, advancing decoding algorithms have made scanning quicker, easier and more readable. However, when analysing any potential data collection system, the advantages must be weighed over the added costs. 2D bar code technology should be thought of as one that is complementary to the traditional 1D scanning technology, not its replacement,” Kishore says. So with things changing for good, it’s time that we jot down the fine details of right coding.
Date: 08-Jan-2007
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