5 ms·

Can these not be scanned using a laser as opposed to a fully fledged video camera?

by galleywest200 3y ago

woleium 3y ago
cots tablets have cameras that are adequate for barcode reading, why increase the bom needlessly?
- mistrial9 3y ago
  because a super-obvious spy move is to use something ordinary but also add surveillance to it? if you have been to a secure Amazon facility you know that there are cameras in every room and in every hall and at every point of entry and exit. Management appears to make no excuses about using those for every possible purpose. The people that work there seem in "constant compliance" mode, and there are more than a few wrecked individuals "just making a living" .. is this a social pattern for the most successful companies to emulate? It seems to be much more like the Ottoman Empire than any Western thing I know of..
shagie 3y ago
The regular UPC style linear barcodes ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcode#Linear_barcodes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcode#Linear_barcodes ) can be read with a laser. You can do neat things with spinning mirrors to handle orientation changes (supermarket checkout scanner). However, they can't handle the information density of a 2d barcode and the transformations needed to scan a 2d barcode at an arbitrary orientation and reconstruct the original information are more finicky than including what is now a cheap digital camera. The difference between a digital still camera and a digital video is how often you read it out. You can get a camera for under $10 ( https://www.adafruit.com/product/5733 https://www.adafruit.com/product/5733 ) and the ease of using that in combination with a library that can handle 2d barcodes in any orientation is much less work to use than trying to make a scanning laser system to read a 2d barcode.
neckro23 3y ago
I imagine in modern devices adding a "fully fledged video camera" is a lot simpler than adding a laser that has moving parts and regulatory baggage.

Can these not be scanned using a laser as opposed to a fully fledged video camera?

woleium 3y ago

cots tablets have cameras that are adequate for barcode reading, why increase the bom needlessly?

mistrial9 3y ago
because a super-obvious spy move is to use something ordinary but also add surveillance to it? if you have been to a secure Amazon facility you know that there are cameras in every room and in every hall and at every point of entry and exit. Management appears to make no excuses about using those for every possible purpose. The people that work there seem in "constant compliance" mode, and there are more than a few wrecked individuals "just making a living" .. is this a social pattern for the most successful companies to emulate? It seems to be much more like the Ottoman Empire than any Western thing I know of..

shagie 3y ago

The regular UPC style linear barcodes ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcode#Linear_barcodes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcode#Linear_barcodes ) can be read with a laser. You can do neat things with spinning mirrors to handle orientation changes (supermarket checkout scanner). However, they can't handle the information density of a 2d barcode and the transformations needed to scan a 2d barcode at an arbitrary orientation and reconstruct the original information are more finicky than including what is now a cheap digital camera. The difference between a digital still camera and a digital video is how often you read it out. You can get a camera for under $10 ( https://www.adafruit.com/product/5733 https://www.adafruit.com/product/5733 ) and the ease of using that in combination with a library that can handle 2d barcodes in any orientation is much less work to use than trying to make a scanning laser system to read a 2d barcode.

neckro23 3y ago

I imagine in modern devices adding a "fully fledged video camera" is a lot simpler than adding a laser that has moving parts and regulatory baggage.