Mobile Barcodes 101: Understanding Mobile Barcodes
Mobile Barcodes 101: Understanding Mobile Barcodes (sponsored by NeoMedia Technologies)
Mobile barcodes are on the verge of becoming a global phenomenon, but what exactly are they, what do they do, and for whom? We became familiar with the original, linear barcodes (or 1D), from our supermarket shopping in the 1980’s (although the technology was patented in the 1950’s). They comprise a series of vertical black lines and white spaces of variable width, representing numbers, which are read (or decoded) by a barcode reader to extract the information they bear.
However, as barcodes were used in an ever greater variety of environments beyond straightforward stock control, they became longer and longer as people tried to pack more information onto them. A new generation of barcodes was devised in the 1990’s, usually referred to as 2D or matrix codes. They are formed by patterns of black and white squares arranged on a (usually) square grid and can encode thousands of alphanumeric and other characters in virtually any language. Immediately the size and capacity problem was solved, opening the way for applications that had never been considered.
Another radical and exciting advancement in barcode reader technology allowed the camera in a mobile phone to act as a reader. Mobile phones can now be enabled to read a variety of 2D mobile barcodes. These include QR codes, Data Matrix, Cool-Data-Matrix, Aztec, Upcode, Trillcode, Quickmark, shotcode, mCode and Beetagg.
The vast majority of symbologies are in the public domain, which means they can be used by anyone without restriction and without payment of a fee or royalty. This public approach gives rise to internationally recognised standards, global interoperability, and creates an economy of scale. This is a great boon for advertisers and consumers (both of whom are the mobile operators’ customers) because only one software client is required to read any code. For the operators, this translates to greater choice and more competitively priced equipment.
Unfortunately, some barcode developers have chosen the proprietary route, which means they keep control of their own codes, the information that is permitted to be encoded and charge a fee or royalty for their use. These issues and the lack of interoperability usually means that proprietary barcodes tend to be used in controlled, closed environments, rather than in open, public systems around the world.
The most common use of mobile barcodes is to request information or a service or content from a Web site. It might be details of a promotion, or a discount voucher via SMS or MMS, or to activate a download such as a ringtone, music track or game, or click to call an IVR or human agent, or buy a travel or concert ticket. The advertiser pays the set-up costs as well as its operator partner on a per-click, download, view, redeemed coupon, ticket sale or call, depending on the campaign.
The key is that mobile barcodes are a pull technology, a permission-based way for a consumer to engage with an advertiser or medium. This is a very important attribute since there is a great deal of consumer angst and regulatory concern about intrusive mobile marketing: mobile barcodes are a world away from pushing unsolicited spam via SMS or MMS. Big brands are understandably wary of engaging in any advertising activity that compromises their reputation by alienating their customers and have stayed away from these kinds of push campaigns.
The pull of mobile barcodes overcome these issues and offer a direct, accountable way of connecting with consumers. However, if mobile barcodes are to succeed as an advertising medium, a high level of back-office integration is necessary, which reinforces the importance of open standards for processes and interfaces. Operators will need to demonstrate to the world’s biggest brands that the barcode scanning transactions are accurate, reliable and defendable because they are going to charge that brand for every click.
The precedent is there: Google has built a multi-billion dollar, online business on this per click or interaction model with its Google AdWord/AdSense, which provides advertisers with reliable, accountable records of their users’ transaction history and an accurate invoice, plus timely and granular revenue share payments to other parts of the ecosystem. In mobile, unlike online, there is the additional challenge that these mechanisms have to work across carriers, across countries and across currencies.
So the stage is set. With 2D barcode scanning, advertisers have a reliable, permission-based mobile channel open to them. Consumers love them as an easy way of using mobile technology to engage with services and media they are interested in, as has been demonstrated in spades in Japan, where mobile barcodes are part of everyday life. This is because Japan is unusual in having a very dominant operator, NTT DoCoMo, which decided to endorse QR codes and ensured that all new handsets had QR code client software embedded in them. The rest is history, but this approach is not applicable to markets in most other countries, which typically have four or five operators competing against each other.
The challenge now is to ensure that any brand advertiser can run the same ad campaign in Singapore, London and Seattle instead of having to produce and run different campaigns in each country and for every operator. The inability to do this has been another big inhibitor to mobile advertising. Mobile barcodes have the potential to overcome these issues and become the mainstream, global phenomenon that they could and should be. However to attain this goal, the various parties that make up the ecosystem and the various warring factions within the mobile barcode industry need to come together and work on common standards* that will be to everyone’s advantage.
This paper was written independently but sponsored by NeoMedia Technologies
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19 Responses to “Mobile Barcodes 101: Understanding Mobile Barcodes”
Thanks, excellent summary of the 2D code status.
About the evolution of 2dCodes, especially in advertisement applications, I would like to point out a new development which allows to have “branded” codes: http://www.skuair.com . 2D barcodes are machine readable only, image codes are also human readable ; )
Comment made on February 22nd, 2008 at 2:49 amThe technology looks great. It shall assist everyone linked to it i guess. Atleast one do not need to bother abt. multiple ads for different locations.
Comment made on February 22nd, 2008 at 2:49 amHi Mondine and Faheem, thank you for your really nice comments. The branded codes look very interesting - perhaps we can chat about them! Bena
Comment made on February 22nd, 2008 at 5:05 amIn Europe it seems like they use the excisting 1D barcode for these solutions. Pfizer are developing a mobile solution for their consumer goods right now together with GS1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=at60XvqatLc
Comment made on February 22nd, 2008 at 6:26 amBena I second Mondine’s comment, an excellent summary indeed.
I particularly like the paper pointing out Google’s precedent-setting multi-billion dollar businesses, hopefully we will soon begin to see a similar ecosystem in the mobile advertising arena.
re: “This paper was written independently but sponsored by NeoMedia Technologies”
Did someone (Mr. William Hoffman) from NeoMedia write this, Bena?
Thanks again. -jonesie
Comment made on February 22nd, 2008 at 8:55 amHi Bena, back from Barcelona I read your post and I must admit it is very clearly setting the stage.
The picture you describe looks to me slightly incomplete though, as it omits one of the purposes of the 2D barcode (whatever the flavour), which was robustness - more redundant information to enable dedoding by a camera phone.
Now what if camera phones were actually capable of also decoding those 1D barcodes ? All of a sudden, we would have not only access to the permission marketing tool you describe, but would be able then to leverage the billions of 1D barcodes already available on billions of products. Health information, price comparison, am I purchasing something that I already have, you name it.
Good news is, the “what if” part of the story is about to be answered as we have found a way to dramatically enhance 1D barcode decoding on any camera phone.
More available at :
http://blog.qipit.com/2008/01/25/realeyes3d-cracks-1d-barcode-scanning-for-camera-phones/
–/phil
Comment made on February 22nd, 2008 at 9:17 amHi, I am so glad operators and manufacturers are taking part in the discussion!
But this article was sponsored by NeoMedia - they paid us to write it -but we wrote it independently.
We heard what they said and put it down. Many of you know now that BKI Media is dissolving, and we are focusing on consultancy - but this was commissioned for BKI Media - but I am publishing on GoMo News the indepenedent news channel.
GoMo News is indepenedent and we write what we believe and that is essential in today’s market.
But this was written after listening to Neom’s thoughts. They talked and we wrote.
I really appreciate your feedback.
Comment made on February 22nd, 2008 at 11:21 amPhilippe Dewost,
The NeoReader can easily decipher and decode 1D barcodes.
Based off the award winning Lavasphere technology developed in Germany by Gavitec, the NeoReader features NeoMedia’s patented resolution technology combined with Gavitec’s ultra-small footprint and platform independent algorithms. It is able to read and decipher all common non-proprietary 2D codes (Data Matrix, QR, Aztec, Maxi) as well as URL embedded 2D codes and all 1D UPC/EAN/Code 128 open source codes. The NeoReader supports direct and indirect code linking, which guarantees maximum interoperability with already existing platforms like 2D Data Matrix Semacodes, and Japanese QR links. This allows the user to click on a variety of codes with a single application installed on their mobile device.
The NeoReader ushers in and inaugurates a brand new era of innovative mobile enterprise and optical code reading solutions for the wireless industry. Visit get.neoreader.com to download the free application, and instantly transform your mobile phone into a universal code reader.
Comment made on February 22nd, 2008 at 12:50 pmIn 2006 CamClic had a full functional Java application for recognition/decoding of 1D GS1 standard barcodes in standard mobile phones. Since 2007 customers have been start using this solution in Sweden to be used on consumer goods using the product 1D barcode.
http://www.camclic.com
Comment made on February 22nd, 2008 at 12:58 pmhttp://www.camclic.blogspot.com
Streets,
Neoreader can only decipher 1D barcodes with those cameraphones which have autofocus(N95) or they require special lens attachment to do so..I was told this at CTIA..
Cheers
Comment made on February 22nd, 2008 at 1:19 pmPatric,
As you know CamClic uses the indirect encoding method for 1D UPC/EAN barcode resolution.
Indirect encoding (patented by NeoMedia) is the process of linking the target information to an index (364528 for example) and putting that unique identifier into a 1D UPC/EAN barcode. The code reader on the mobile phone reads the barcode and sends the code data over the Internet to a central resolution server that will tell the mobile phone what action is associated with the index, i.e. access a URL, download media, initiate a phone call, ect.
With NeoMedia’s patents covering Sweden and the entire European Union, how does CamClic feel about infringing on NeoMedia’s patents?
Does CamClic plan on licensing NeoMedia’s patents as opposed to continue to infringe on them?
Comment made on February 23rd, 2008 at 9:04 pmWhen readers will encode 1D barcodes easy the biggest challenge will be to pursue retailers to open up their databases. In online price comparing services online retailers open up their databases and compete on services like kelkoo but oldfashioned retailers want to protect their database. It might be interesting to compare prices in a shop -seeing it in front of you- and online in “one scan”.
Comment made on February 24th, 2008 at 11:57 amNeomedia and Gavitec have recently partnered with GS1 Austria.
“Therefore not GS1 Austria is interested in 2D codes, but GS1 is interested gobally.”
http://www.gs1.org/productssolutions/mobile/
Can Scanlife(Hotscan), Connexto, Quickmark, i-nigma, Shotcode, Beeetag, Upcode, Mobiletag, CamClic, Kaywa, Imatrix, Jaxa,…be able to read GS1 standard 1D and 2D codes?
Recommendations:
Comment made on February 25th, 2008 at 6:41 amhttp://www.gs1.org/docs/mobile/GS1_Mobile_Com_Whitepaper.pdf
“4. Mobile phones should be able to read GS1 standard 1D and 2D bar codes out of the box
By creating mobile phones that are natively able to scan GS1 standard 1D and 2D bar codes, mobile phone manufacturers will remove one of the main existing barriers for the application described in this white paper to be adopted by large numbers of consumers globally. As a minimum requirement, mobile phones should be able to read EAN/UPC, GS1 DataBar and GS1 DataMatrix (ECC 200) bar code.”
Dlethe,
Personally I would not get too exited with the GS1 getting involved. My guess is they are trying to get back into a space they did not take serious for a long time. All suggested 2D standards are in the public domain and GS1’s main focus is the 1D UPC and EAN standards. In the begin 2000-s they tried to push their own RSS14 2D standard and later they merged with MIT’s Auto-ID center trying to push the EPC RFID standard.
What do exites me is a visit to the Euroshop Fair in Dusseldorf today. Part of this fair is focussing on retail technology and I was exited and have to nuance my earlyer reply a bit. Begin 2000 I started to discuss pull barcoding services with retailers, POS integrators, etc and found a lot of obstacles in opening up their databases to integrate the mobile channel. Today I was exited to see how the backend of modern multi channel retailing is really nearing that tipping point Bena is pointing out.
Yet the availability of 1D enabled camera phones will take a while because its more complex to read 1D codes and encode them with medium resolution fixed long distance focus (with or without lens) camera phones.
Cheers, Ron
Comment made on February 25th, 2008 at 12:18 pmAttention, bar code warriors!
Challenge: who can decode (encode?) the image on this link? http://tinyurl.com/33b9ja
(”Download High-Res” on the right)
This was shot with high-end phones (Nokia, SE) with high-resolution camera, autofocus… but no macro mode.
The key challenge: it is rather easy to read 1D or 2D bar codes — as long as the image is reasonably good. But this ain’t the case for most camera phones out there on the market. (@Ron: you are spot on with your comment on 1D bar codes)
Good news: we can decode it. Let me know if you can (one-click, of course!
Anybody interested (and in a good spirit), write to us at info@qipit.com.
Footnote: patent trolls, if you are reading this, please stay away and don’t waste (y)our time, we are not getting in that battle. All we do is enable you and them to fight for a larger market!
Good luck to all, I am looking forward to your comments.
Comment made on March 6th, 2008 at 3:14 pmHi Ben,
Comment made on March 6th, 2008 at 10:15 pmplease refrain from shameless self promotion on GoMo News - we are a very small business and if you would like publicity ythe best way is to advertise.
thanks
Bena
Bena,
It seem that I wasn’t able to press the Submit button correctly a few days ago, so here are my thoughts again, this time a tad more developed.
I am sorry that my post above could be perceived as “shameless self promotion”.
My intention was to bring to the attention of this group an element that (from the comments threads on GoMo News) only Ron seems to have noticed: only a very small number of camera phones that can produce images of a good enough quality for bar code decoding are available on the market, therefore reducing the short-term value of bar code based applications and limiting their potential. The whole domain will take off as a business when (almost) ANY user will be able to use his/her phone to scan a bar code. Not just us, lucky geeks with a hefty, N95-like budget for our phone.
When this issue is raised, companies which are active in that space often dismiss it with one of a few arguments:
- Resolution increases in phones will make the issue moot. WRONG. The problem is not the resolution, it is the out-of-focus blur stemming from those images being shot at close range, beyond the minimal focus distance of the camera. Increasing the resolution does not help in any way.
- Autofocus will soon be present on most phones and therefore bar codes will be easy to scan from the majority of phones. WRONG. Autofocus does not help either. Autofocus only operates within a certain range. When images are shot at a close range, it is a macro lens that is required, not an autofocus. Some camera phones ship with Autofocus AND macro (hence the frequent confusion). The BOM cost of macro systems, because they usually include an additional lens, will get in the way of their rapid dissemination.
The only way to quickly get a large number of camera phones to act as bar code decoders is to resolve the close range optical blur issue. By “large number of camera phones” I mean a number that is large enough so that a critical mass of phones is enabled. Short of this, applications will remain niche.
I suggest that people interested in this issue read the Google’s zxing discussion forum (http://groups.google.com/group/zxing). Have a look at the thread under issues 36 and 43: in addition to making bar code decoding open source (there is no magic and very limited IP that can be protected there), this discussion shows that the real issue — and the real value — is in getting images that are fit for decoding.
My precedent post was an attempt to raise this real issue in this interesting discussion. Although we are not going to give away the technology we’ve developed for free (in that sense you are right about the “shameless promotion”), I felt that it was important to let the industry know that something was being done about the blur issue, breaking the smokescreen of denial that has been surrounding this issue in recent years, and hopefully helping everybody out.
I hope this clarifies the intent of the “bar code challenge”!
Best,
Ben.
Comment made on March 14th, 2008 at 9:04 amBen, I have been doing some digging. So I have to say - I don’t get this. Are you saying that AutoFocus will not allow users to take pictures? The quality won’t be good enough? Or the pictures cannot be read properly.
I am not sure that I understand what the qipit differentiator is.
Comment made on March 16th, 2008 at 7:25 amBena
Bena,
Bar code decoders need a sharp (focussed) picture of the bar code so that they can “read” (= decode) the code or information that is coded in there.
As you can see by trying it out yourself, without a macro lens, it is impossible to shoot a sharp picture of something at close range, which is what you need to do when you shoot a bar code. Images are blurred. See such an image on http://tinyurl.com/33b9ja” this is “the challenge”. That image cannot be “read” by the decoders sold by most or all of the people selling bar code decoders. And it is the type of image that is produced by most phones.
So if we, as an industry, want to make bar code decoding available to as many people as possible, we need to find ways to decode such images by anybody.
One way is by having manufacturers improve the phones by adding a macro lens on most phones. Because of cost, this has been restricted to high-end phones and we foresee that this will remain the case in the mid-term.
Another way is to use an automatic de-blurring technology such as ours which can either reside on the phone or sit on a server (the blurred image is then sent by the user and decoded on the server).
Bena, I’d be glad to go over this on the phone with you. The issue is real as it is a key blocking point on the road to widespread adoption of bar code decoding by the mobile industry.
But, as you rightly pointed out, it is not an obvious one to grasp, except for people who are totally into bar code decoding such as Ron on this blog and the Google guys at zxing, and a few others.
Let me know if and when you’d like to talk.
Cheers!
Ben
Comment made on March 18th, 2008 at 3:57 amLeave a Comment