SmartCode
The Smart-Market project will store expiration date for every product in the market. On each product in the market will be placed (by the worker) a SmartCode. The SmartCode will include the barcode and the expiration date of the product.
A code consisting of a group of printed and variously patterned bars and spaces and sometimes numerals that is designed to be scanned and read into computer memory and that contains information (as identification) about the object it labels.
A barcode is an optical, machine-readable, representation of data; the data usually describes something about the object that carries the barcode. Originally barcodes systematically represented data by varying the widths and spacing of parallel lines, and may be referred to as linear or one-dimensional (1D). Later two-dimensional (2D) codes were developed, using rectangles, dots, hexagons and other geometric patterns in two dimensions, usually called barcodes although they do not use bars as such. Barcodes originally were scanned by special optical scanners called barcode readers. Later applications software became available for devices that could read images, such as smartphones with cameras.
For more information about barcode please click here.
If like want to read about the barcode specification please click here.
The manufacturer choose the identification number and put it on the product. But... how does the manufacturer knows that the barcode he selected is unique? Well the answer the GS1 Organization. The GS1 organization is responsible to split the barcodes between the manufacturers. Each company gets it's unique prefix barcode. The rest of the barcode number identifies the product itself, which is chose by the product manufacturer. In Israel there is GS1 Israel Organization. This organization is synchronized with the global GS1 organization and split the manufacturer prefixes in Israel.
The regular (universal) barcode which is used nowadays doesn't have enough digits to store the ID of the product and its expiration code.
The smart will be made according to GS1 Barcode Format. This format allows the supermarket owner (and of course, the product manufacturer), to put the product ID and its expiration date in the same sticker.
GS1 Format:
- We get to have a barcode that stores all the information which is needed - one scan and the application gets all the information to load the product specification - fast and easy.
- The SmartCode is written in well-known barcode format all over the world and can be supported by many barcodes scanners.
- The GS1 format can include much information than just expiration date, and there is no real reason to use the old, universal barcode format.