Barcode turns 50 but its days might be numbered

The patch of irregular vertical lines that revolutionized checking out at the supermarket and facilitated the globalization of retail is turning 50.

But as the barcode celebrates its birthday today, its days might be numbered as it faces competition from the younger QR code, the information-filled squares used in smartphones.

The trademark beep as a product is scanned is heard about 6 billion times per day across the world as around 70,000 items are sold each second.

It has become so integrated in the shopping experience that it is easy to forget how much the technology revolutionized retail by speeding up the checkout process and giving retailers the ability to trace products and better manage inventory.

The barcode not only identifies a product, but "gives professionals in stores access to other functionalities," said Laurence Vallana, head of France de SES-Imagotag, a company that specializes in electronic tagging.

Barcodes were initially patented by Norman Joseph Woodland and Bernard Silver in the United States in 1952.

But it wasn't until nearly two decades later, in 1971, that U.S. engineer George Laurer perfected the technology and moves towards its commercialization began.

On April 3, 1973 the standard to identify products was agreed by a number of large retailers and food companies. It later became known as EAN-13, which stands for European Article Number and the number of digits in the barcode.

The following year, on June 26 in the U.S. state of Ohio, the first product was scanned: A pack of chewing gum that is now in the National Museum of American History in Washington.

Today, the non-governmental organization Global Standard 1 manages the barcode system and counts about 2 million firms as...