Barcode

In 1973, the "Universal Product Code" (UPC) has been introduced in the United States. Shortly after, countries of Europe have introduced the "European Article Number" (EAN), a coding which is compatible with the UPC and which ensures a worldwide, distinctive identification of trading goods. On the 26th of June 1974, a pack of chewing gum from Wrigley became the first article that was sold using a barcode scanner. Until today, the scanners have proven to be almost indispensable from our everyday life. However, it is expected that barcodes will soon become irrelevant, as modern scanners will be able to easily determine the price of a product by taking a picture of an item and by assigning it to a photo of an existing database.