barcode-scan.MOV

60-second clip. I'm interested in the Internet of Things (IOT), particularly in identifying and tracking things for a consumer-focused inventory control website, not such a daft idea when one in five bags of food in the UK gets thrown away without being eaten. The clip shows a prototype home bar code scanning solution using a Welch-Allyn scanner with a PS/2 connection to an Arduino Duemilenove board. The demo shows a universal product code UPC) being scanned from a tin.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• arduino
• ps/2
• barcode
• upc
• scanner

[blissonwheels]

Signious - the barcode scanner returns a string identical to what you'd get from a keyboard, so it's just a matter of using a library - google for 'PS2 keyboard arduino'. The database of products is fun - each retail chain assigns a different barcode to products they package themselves, though, so you may have a 1:n relationship there.

[signious]

Hey - how does the arduino know how to translate from the UPC to text, do you have a source for your script, or is that taken care of in the UPC scanner itself (I am toying with the idea of making a small kitchen appliance which you scan a product, the UPC code is then referenced to a database of products, and adds the product to a printed out list from a thermal printer as a shopping list)