New Supermarket Scanner Banishes Bar Codes

Bar codes are so 2011. At least that's what the Toshiba Tec's newest supermarket scanner is aiming for.

The scanner, rather than using a laser to scan a bar code on a product, uses camera-based technology to recognize objects streaming from cart to bag. The Toshiba Tec product, says Diginfo, eliminates the need for a store employee to manually input the bar code on, say, an apple, speeding up the line and getting you out the door. While the scanner can still recognize packaged products, fresh fruits and veggies sans-bar codes will no longer hold up the line — finally!

How technologically advanced is this scanner? So advanced that it can tell the difference between a Fuji, Junogold, and Matsu apple. However, it may not appear in stores as fast as you think; in order to work with a multitude of products, a database has to be created for the machine to recognize them. Toshiba will develop such a database to send to grocery stores, says Mobile magazine. Watch the magic happen and get a taste of the future.