March 101 ultracode—a new symbology

Ultracode—a New Symbology

Meet Ultracode…

New Barcode Evolution

• Starts with research and standardization by a trade association

Ultracode is currently being tested by the Association for Automatic Identification and Mobility (AIM)

New Barcode Evolution

This is the same path that launched:

– UPC

– Code 39

– Code 128

– PDF417

– Data Matrix

– QR Code

Why “Evolution”?

Because technology is a developmental process…

• It almost starts with a problem or an opportunity

• A solution is created to respond

• Which others discover, adapt and adopt to solve their own problem

The Ultracode Opportunity

• The largest selling scanner in the world is not a scanner—it’s a smart phone

• Smart phone cameras are better than most industrial scanners

– They can scan 2D symbols (laser scanners can’t)

– They can resolve color (many scanners can’t)

– They are data carriers (scanners aren’t)

Ultracode: Beyond Printing

• Best suited for non-printed applications

• Utilizes color as an encodation medium

• Higher data capacity than Data Matrix or QR Code symbols of comparable size

• Greater error correction capability than DM or QR Codes of comparable size

Ultracode vs QR Code

The QR Code and Ultracode below both encode https://aimglobal.org/jcrv3tX

Ultracode: the next step

Ultracode is not the final word in barcodes;

It is the next step.

• A draft of the International technical specification is completed.

• Public review concluded last year

• The AIM Board will vote on publication of the Ultracode Specification at the April 2015 Summit in San Diego