Will there be Barcodes after RFID ?

Barcode , that small sticker on the book consisting of small lines has helped Librarians over many years . Every time it would save typing at least 7 to 8 keystrokes of the accession number and the best part was the accuracy is almost 100 % . It may not read the barcode sometimes but it will never read it wrong. Normally costing about a rupee or so it is a technology which is simple , cheap and efficient.

RFID is the new technology. It is suppose to be directionless which means you really do not have to show the RFID tag (sticker) to the reader , once the reader is around 2 to 15 cms (depending upon the type of tag) , the accession number is automatically read ! Amazing technology.

So the obvious question is will there be Barcode 20 years from now ....

I think YES .

The reason for the same is very simple , first of all Barcode is nothing but Another font , that's it. So if you can print your library name on the RFID tag , you can also print a barcode on the tag. Now if the effective cost is so low then why one should remove barcodes ? Besides Barcode can always serve as plan B. What if your RFID readers fail ?

But that is not only the reason. RFID is more efficient depending upon how many SKU you are reading. SKU is Stock Keeping Unit. If you are reading one book at a time then the time taken for a RFID tagged book and Barcode are not drastically different. So if you are issuing/returning multiple books in one GO then RFID would be more efficient. But again there are issues here , RFID has a limitation which in technical terms called as "Anti Collision" , ie the ability to read multiple tags in one go. And higher the number of tags it can read in one go, higher is the cost of the reader !

Well barcode may not be that efficient in theft detection but especially in Indian scenario , I saw a Library where the peon at the exit gate will scan the barcode and will know if the book is really issued or not ! This is as efficient as RFID. ( Go to Big bazar and the security guard would check if your bills is paid or not ! ) . I think "IHOIN - It happens only in India" kind of technology is bound to be seen in the Libraries as well.

ITC is one the most successful and probably the only RFID solution implemented in Retail. The Wills brand apparels are 100 % RFID tagged. They have used UHF tags which are in fact more expensive but next time when you go the Wills showroom , check the tag - it has a barcode on it !

Now the interesting part - Toyota was one of the early adopters of RFID on thier shop floor. But after five years they have switched back to Barocdes for some their stores . They use two dimension instead of those vertical lined barcodes.

This reminds me of this interesting story about technology.

Around 20-25 years back when the first Digital Watch Pulsar was produced , everyone must have been amazed , here was a watch which could tell you the time in exact numbers which you and me can read. The earlier method of finding out time based on the angle of two hands of a watch is really a Rocket Science. Try writing a manual about how to figure out time using the angle between hands of a Analog watch.

I am sure at that time , there must have been some big discussion like this . Is it the end of Analog watches ? Will there be Analog watches after 20 years ? .........

What kind of watch you wear ? :)

Moral of the story is Barcodes are here to stay even for our grand children.