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MIT About To Unveil A Barcode Alternative: The Bokode

Written by Evan Schuman
July 26th, 2009
MIT’s Media Lab is readying the next technology that will try and challenge the barcode. It's a 3-millimeter optical tag called a Bokode that can store roughly a million times more data than today's typical barcode (at the same size) and it claims some key advantages compared with RFID tags.

This technique of analyzing the light-reflection has a few potential advantages, such as bokodes are much more difficult to fabricate, meaning it will be much more difficult for thieves to use consumer-grade printers to make fake stickers or to print bogus codes on product containers. Also, it can trump RFID tags in a few ways, both for security and supply-chain efficiency.

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Posted in In-Store, Payment Systems, Premium Content, RFID, Security/Fraud, Supply Chain
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One Comment | Read MIT About To Unveil A Barcode Alternative: The Bokode

  1. Chris Kapsambelis Says:
    July 31st, 2009 at 8:00 am

    Like RFID, this is just another ill-conceived idea from MIT.

    The Achilles’ Heel of this technology is that a fly speck would render any bokode symbol useless.

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