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The barcode dates back to 1948 when two innovative students at Drexel University saw issues with how the supermarket industry managed inventory and customer check-out. Since then, it has been a staple organized labeling. Now, according to a recent CNET article, Amazon, the world’s biggest retailer is planning to eliminate barcodes. As the ecommerce giant becomes more dependent on automated robotic processes, it is realizing that new technology isn’t as compatible with the old. For example, barcodes can be difficult to locate on oddly-shaped items, and robots don’t have an efficient way to troubleshoot that.
