As technology advances at a more rapid pace than ever before, many innovations that were once considered to be on the cutting edge of technology are quickly outmoded by even newer technologies. The hot air balloon is an interesting case study of just such technological development. For the vast majority of human history, human flight was considered the stuff of mythology. Outside of the notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, perhaps, few humans considered that human flight would one day become commonplace.
When the hot air balloon was first beginning to be used in the 19th century it was considered the future of human travel through the air. Not having the context we do now, people assumed that the hot air balloon would remain the pinnacle of technology that allowed humans to travel through the air. People were planning on traveling from city to city in routine fashion in hot air balloons! Of course, we now understand that the hot air balloon was quickly outmoded by the airplane within a century as the future of human flight. While we still use hot air balloons for sightseeing and recreational purposes, they are no longer considered
The only way for a technology to survive in this age of rapid innovation is for humans to continually find new innovative uses for the technology. One example of a technology for which we are continuing to find new uses is the barcode. The barcode started out as a simple way to electronically track inventory. Rather than remaining in this relatively specialized area of human life, the barcode has sprawled out to become increasingly useful to many different aspects of human life. Here is a look at a few ways the barcode is proving to be a durable innovation.
Inventory
While barcodes have always been used for inventory, the way in which they contribute to inventory management is more innovative than ever. Today, many barcode scanners are able to link a physical barcode electronically with inventory management software. Now, not only is the data associated with barcodes stored electronically, but this software allows users to perform a variety of complex data analysis tasks with the data. A barcode scanner rental company, for example, may provide a company with both barcode equipment and software that allows the company not only to track its inventory electronically but also to have its inventory replenished automatically based on inventory fluctuation.
QR Codes
QR codes are another example of how barcode technology has merged with other technologies, in this case smart phone technology, to produce innovative results. For a variety of reasons, companies are including QR codes, a form of barcode, onto physical advertisements of all kinds. Newspaper advertisements, flyers and any form of media imaginable are all being outfitted with these QR codes. The QR codes are intended to be scanned using a smart phone app. Those who have scanned the QR codes with their phones are then taken to a page with more information about the product or event, or perhaps a page where a discount on a certain item may be obtained. In this way, barcodes are helping to bridge the gap between old and new media.
Health
One of the newest applications of barcode technology is in the healthcare field. A city in Japan, for example, is beginning the practice of outfitting patients suffering from dementia with barcoded tags. While this may seem like a frightening scenario for some, it may lead to an increased ability to track missing people who suffer from diseases like dementia.