barcode scanner

technology
Also known as: bar code scanner

Learn about this topic in these articles:

laser applications

  • laser components: cutaway view
    In laser: Laser scanners

    …detect light reflected from striped bar codes on packages, decode the symbol, and relay the information to a computer so that it can add the price to the bill.

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usage in retailing

  • bar code (Universal Product Code)
    In barcode

    The numbers represented by a barcode are also printed out at its base.

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  • A laptop computer
    In computer science: Social and professional issues

    …most checkout counters include a bar-code scanner, which reads into the computer the Universal Product Code (UPC) printed on each package. Cash register receipts then include brief descriptions of the items purchased (by fetching them from the computer database), and the purchase information is also relayed back to the computer…

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pattern recognition, in computer science, the imposition of identity on input data, such as speech, images, or a stream of text, by the recognition and delineation of patterns it contains and their relationships. Stages in pattern recognition may involve measurement of the object to identify distinguishing attributes, extraction of features for the defining attributes, and comparison with known patterns to determine a match or mismatch. Pattern recognition has extensive application in astronomy, medicine, robotics, and remote sensing by satellites. See also speech recognition.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Erik Gregersen.