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Researchers Debut Barcode Replacement

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the i'm-still-not-used-to-the-square-ones dept.

eldavojohn writes "MIT Researchers have unveiled a new potential replacement for barcodes. Using an LED covered with a tiny mask and a lens, these new bokodes can be processed by a standard mobile phone camera and can encode thousands of times more information than your average barcode. New applications are being dreamed up by the team. Dr. Mohan of MIT said, 'Let's say you're standing in a library with 20 shelves in front of you and thousands of books. You could take a picture and you'd immediately know where the book you're looking for is.'"

2 of 185 comments (clear)

  1. More throw away packing by Foofoobar · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Oh yay. Lets fill our landfills with more useless crap. Why the hell do I need LED's and battery is PACKAGING? They go into the trash! We as a society are trying to move towards LESS PACKAGING and recyclable packaging not MORE packaging. Is the consumer expected to rip out that LED and battery and recycle that separate for ever single ceral box they purchase?

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  2. Price? by Hythlodaeus · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If printing the code isn't effectively free, and a device to read it is more than $5, its not a replacement for bar codes.

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