The prototype unit here in Germany was showcased alongside of the GP-1 GPS dongle and a BR-1 bar code scanning module, with the latter meant more for governments and enterprises.

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Joseph Woodland and Bernard Silver developed the very first bar code scanning system, in the late 1940s, after Woodland heard a food chain executive say he wished he had a way to capture product information at checkout.

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Using an instrument similar to the scanning bar-code guns at supermarket checkouts, this machine analyses black plastics with a laser.

ECONOMIST: Recycling

By scanning a bar code in the store, Amazon would give the customer a 5 percent discount, up to five dollars.

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Some of them rely on technology other than NFC, such as offering services that let people pay for purchases by sending text messages or by scanning product bar codes using a phone's QR-code reader.

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Along with Motorola, Connect Things and bar code giant Symbol Technologies, AirClic has raised half a billion dollars to form a company that will put scanning technology into wireless devices.

FORBES: Scanned Goods