Android Scan Mobile Barcode Service wins Google Challenge

1D codes, Ok on a PC with webcam in the Video but I can’t wait to see how it works on a camera phone with Android. I wait and see with great interest and don’t get too exited before I am convinced because the application showed here is the killer app.

Hi Ben,
Reading barcodes is not about resolution only its about processing power, algoritms and focus. Guess the industry now sees the camera as a camera for making pictures and film and not as an input device, this means that focus is fixed for long distance. Only high end models like the Nokia N95 has advanced focus options possibly also there is an api to control this focus. Its only when mobile push barcodes are serious business, phone manufacturers change their camera specs.

When this 1D scanning is mastered traditional retail -don’t forget existing retail datbases need to be connected- and mobile are touching eachother and all sorts of freaky services can be created or …. when you scan and compare prices online you’ll get kicked out of a shop or can negotiate prices That would be fun …

Hi Bena, its Phil,

It does not seem to me that there is any kind of disagreement here between Ron and Ben. Both agree indeed on the issue of making it possible to decode barcode information IRL (in real life), WRP (with a real phone).

Maybe Ron thought Ben was thinking low resolution, nevetheless he showed he is thinking rather “fixed focus”.
Besides, Ben did just mention actually “optics quality issue”, so I don’t understand your statement about 1D vs. 2D…

The truth is, more and more people want this “phone as a data scanner” story to happen, while we in the industry know that it will be the case only if most camera phones are capable of scanning those product codes.

We also know, as Ben thought, and as Ron evidenced, that the major hurdle here is fixed focus, which results in blurry, unreadable images when you try to shoot barcodes. And that autofocus will not spread fast into every handset for cost and complexity reasons.

Now the good news : it seems that Ben has found a way to overcome this fixed focus issue, whithout any hardware add-on.

Hope this clarifies,

–/phil

PS: I have the pleasure to work with Ben…

@Rob: great find, allmypapers. You are right, the location / clean up / etc is an important part of the process and they seem to be doing it right. However camera phone images are different from fixed-camera images. As @ron put it, there is the issue of focus (which induces blur) when shooting bar codes at a close range. I do not see that the guys at allmypapers solve this.

@bena: thanks agin Bena for hosting this discussion. It is not about 1D vs 2D, not at all. 2D codes are great for certain applications when it is OK to take the time to put your codes on a support, then get this support in front of your audience for them to scan. Works great for ticketing, certain promotions, access to extended content, etc. Especially since you can embed a URL in a 2D code. 1D (bar) codes are great because they are already present on gazillions of products. They are a unique handle on these products. The ability to scan 1D bar codes from a camera phone opens up the “Internet of things”: you can search info on a product in one click from inside the food store; you can self-check out of that store; you can do all the things Android Scan does; and much much more. That is, IF you can read the code. As @ron put it, “Its only when mobile push barcodes are serious business, phone manufacturers change their camera specs.” Or when someone comes up with a solution to read 1D bar codes IN SPITE OF the focus / blur issue. Only then can this become mass market. Today, only a few phones combining AF and/or macro can read 1D bar codes, with readers developed by good companies who often use tricks like forced zooming (or a back-attached macro lens!) which make the application work in certain cases, but at the cost of usability and user experience.

My 2 cents, I hope it clarifies the issue.

@Ben..Well I guess its what takes part in the clean up process..I get what you are both you and Ron are saying and I understand the point I assure you ..Im just thinking on my feet about solutions..lol

I see Ben you are already involved in this area..and Phil hinted that you had a solution..care to share..lol or at least give us an idea!!!

Thanks for that Ron, reminds me of my days in CD manufacturing..lol

BTW… I would like to say thanks to all the contributors to this discussion, personally I think its been invaluable and something we at GoMo love to see