10/27/09

POC: online barcode qrcode scan with webcam

This is proof of concept(POC). The idea is to scan rebates, coupons, tickets etc. in the forms of barcode and qr-code using your web-cam.

Such an idea is really nothing new. With cellphone, you can now scan the barcode when you pick up an item in store, and get price information on whether it is cheaper at nearby stores or online. Also barcodes on cellphone can now be used for mobile ticketing.

But I have not heard a lot about scanning rebates/coupons/tickets with webcam online. So I created this POC project.
Screenshot:


It somewhat works. QR-code works consistently but most of times the program can not read UPC and code 128. I am sure with some added backend photo processing, I can improve the result, but I doubt it will help a lot. Two of my 3 webcams have a focal length that make it impossible to snap a clear code image, unless of course the image is real large like 400x400 or 500x500px. So I guesstimate most webcams are not suited code scanning?

Here's actual page in a iframe:


The frontend is build with Flex SDK. The webcam code come straight from here.
The backend is using Zxing.
The QRcode test sample is generated from here with google chart api.