1.

INTRODUCTION
1.1 Problem Definition

Barcodes provide a simple and inexpensive method

of encoding text information that is easily read by
inexpensive electronic readers. There are various
barcode detection devices which use different
methods to recognise the barcode. Due to the
problems associated with the currently available
barcode readers, the need for a sophisticated
barcode reader is evident.

In this project, we make use of the image based

(camera based) barcode detection method. An image
of the area containing a valid barcode will be
captured and transferred to the computer using any
transmission. We propose to build an application
which will take the input as the image stored in the
computer and give barcode in the image as the
output.

1.2 Scope

Our main goal is to build an application capable of

identifying any barcode irrespective of its orientation
and background, making it an entirely autonomous
system.

1. The image must be captured by a high resolution

camera .The application accepts a static image as
input. The image must be stored on the hard disk
of the computer. Also, the image should be in ‘.jpg’
format.

1
2. The application can decode barcodes which make
use of the following symbologies :

a. Code 39
b. Code 128
i. Code 128 – A
ii. Code 128 – B
iii. Code 128 – C
c. Universal Product Code – A

3. The output contains the alphanumeric string

encoded in the barcode.

2
 2. PROJECT DESCRIPTION

2.1 Barcode

A barcode is an optical machine-readable representation

of data which consists of a series of lines of varying
thicknesses printed in a parallel sequence, with numeric
code above or below the lines. Barcodes are printed onto
paper or embedded into a product, and can only be read
by a scanner or barcode reader.
Originally, barcodes represented data in the widths (lines)
and the spacing of parallel lines, and may be referred to
as linear or 1D (1 dimensional) barcodes or symbologies.
They also come in patterns of squares, dots, hexagons and
other geometric patterns within images termed 2D (2
dimensional) matrix codes or symbologies. Although 2D
systems use symbols other than bars, they are generally
referred to as barcodes as well.

The basic structure of a bar code consists of a leading and

trailing quiet zone, a start pattern, one or more data
characters, optionally one or two check characters and a
stop pattern.

There are a variety of different types of bar code encoding

schemes or "symbologies", each of which were originally
developed to fulfil a specific need in a specific industry.

3
2.2 Barcode Symbologies

The mapping between messages and barcodes is called a

symbology. The specification of a symbology includes the
encoding of the single digits/characters of the message as
well as the start and stop markers into bars and space, the
size of the quiet zone required to be before and after the
barcode as well as the computation of a checksum.

The following is a detailed description of the most

commonly used bar code symbologies. All of the following
types of bar codes are fully supported by our application.

2.2.1 Code 39

The Normal CODE 39 is a variable length symbology that

can encode the following 44
characters:1234567890ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
-. *$/+%. Code 39 is the most popular symbology in the
non-retail world and is used extensively in manufacturing,
military, and health applications. Each Code 39 bar code is
framed by a start/stop character represented by an
asterisk (*). The Asterisk is reserved for this purpose and
may not be used in the body of a message.

Code 39 optionally allows for a (modulo 43) check

character in cases where data security is important. The
health care industry has adopted the use of this check
character for health care applications.

4
2.2.2 Code 128

Code 128 is a variable length, high density, alphanumeric

symbology. Code 128 has 106 different bar and space
patterns and each pattern can have one of three different
meanings, depending on which of three different character
sets is employed. Special start characters tell the reader
which of the character sets is initially being used and
three special shift codes permit changing character sets
inside a symbol. One character sets encodes all upper
case and ASCII control characters, another encodes all
upper and lower case characters and the third set encodes
numeric digit pairs 00 through 99. This third character set
effectively doubles the code density when printing
numeric data. Code 128 also employs a check digit for
data security.

Code 128 actually includes 107 symbols: 103 data

symbols, 3 start codes, and 1 stop code. To represent all
128 ASCII values, there are actually three subcodes, which
can be mixed within a single barcode:

1. 128A - ASCII characters 00 to 95 (0-9, A-Z and control

codes) and special characters.
2. 128B - ASCII characters 32 to 127 (0-9, A-Z, a-z) and
special characters.
3. 128C - 00-99 (double density encoding of numeric only
data) and FNC1.

5
2.2.3 Universal Product Code – A

The "UPC-A bar code" is by far the most common and well-
known symbology, at least in the United States. An UPC-A
bar code is the bar code you will find on virtually every
consumer good on the shelves of your local supermarket,
as well as books, magazines, and newspapers. It is
commonly called simply a "UPC bar code" or "UPC
Symbol." This isn't entirely accurate since there are a
number of other UPC formats (UPC-E, UPC 2-Digit
Supplement, UPC 5-Digit Supplement).
UPC-A encodes 11 digits of numeric (0 through 9)
message data along with a trailing check digit, for a total
of 12 digits of bar code data.

The human-readable digits are printed for the benefit of us

lowly humans only. Obviously, the scanner doesn't pay
any attention to them whatsoever and a bar code that is
printed without these numbers will work just as well as
one that includes them.

2.3 Barcode Scanner

A Barcode Scanner is an input device used to capture
information using CCD, laser o imager technology that
read information on printed barcodes for products
identification. Barcode Scanner are perfect choice to
increase throughput at retail, warehouse management for
assets tracking, manufacturing centre for distribution
control, checkout counter for assets, inventory tracking,
6
hospital control medications and patients at the
pharmacy, Access control, commercial and industrial
applications. Barcode is a technology for automatic
identification that allows collecting data accurately.

A Barcode Scanner can use different technologies for data

acquisition, for lights and heavy data input. Barcode
Scanner types include:

• CCD Barcode Scanner

• Laser Barcode Scanner
• Camera based Barcode Scanner
• Omni-Directional Barcode Scanner

In our project we have made use of the camera based

scanning technique.

2.3.1 Camera based Barcode Scanner

The latest in barcode scanner technology, camera type
scanners, or 2D imaging scanners, utilize a small video
camera to record an image of a barcode and then image is
then converted into digital information. These are actually
quite similar to LED or CCD barcode scanners in that 2D
imaging scanners use hundreds of tiny little light sensors
to capture ambient light and then measure it, and decode
it. The difference is that instead of a single row of little
tiny light sensors, imaging scanners have hundreds of
rows of little lights arranged in such a way that an image
can be captured.

Camera based barcode readers, or 2D imaging scanners,

are rarely used in the supermarkets these days. Chances
are that you haven't heard very much about them. They
are capable of scanning very quickly, so fast in fact, that
they can also often read barcode labels that have been
wrinkled or dirtied. Imaging scanners are commonly used
in the mail order business for parcel sorting.

A lot of camera-based barcode scanners are capable of

scanning barcode labels which are moving on a conveyor
belt at speeds of around 600 fps (feet per second). And
7
depending on the software used in conjunction with an
imaging scanner, important diagnostic information can be
obtained such as carton spacing, a parcel's position on the
belt, and even changes in lighting or power supply. Many
handheld imaging scanners now come in wireless or
cordless models, which makes scanning in a warehouse
that much easier. The battery life on such scanners is
surprisingly efficient.

And again, like most of the technologies used in barcode

scanning, camera based barcode readers (or 2d imaging
readers) can be housed in both handheld casing and
larger stationary cases. Although there are handheld
camera based scanners, there aren't used nearly as much
as the stationary versions which are used in wholesale or
retail distribution.

So as you can see, there is a lot to think about in respect

to camera based scanners. With more advanced
technology comes more device capability. And as always,
if you are in the market for a barcode scanner, it is
important to think about the circumstances under which
you'll be using your scanner; an industrial, office, or retail
environment, hot or cold, etc. some readers now even
come in special housings that allow disinfectants to be
used on them without damaging the electronics.

8
 4. PROJECT DESIGN
3.1 Technologies used :

3.1.1 Java
Java is a programming language originally
developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems
and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun
Microsystems’ Java Platform. The language derives
much of its syntax from C or C++ but as a simpler
object model and fewer low-level facilities. Java
applications are typically compiled to bytecode
( class file ) that can run on any Java Virtual
Machine ( JVM ) regardless of computer
architecture. Java is general-purpose, concurrent,
class-based, and object-oriented, and specifically
designed to have as few implementation
dependencies as possible. It is intended to let
application developers “write-once run anywhere”.

Java was built almost exclusively as an object

oriented language. All code is written inside a class
and everything is an object, with the exception of
the intrinsic data types (ordinal and real numbers,
boolean values, and characters), which are not
classes for performance reasons.

Java suppresses several features (such as operator

overloading and multiple inheritance) for classes in
order to simplify the language and to prevent
possible errors and anti-pattern design.

3.1.2 Java Swing

Swing is a widget toolkit for Java. It is part of Sun
Microsystems' Java Foundation Classes (JFC) — an
API for providing a graphical user interface (GUI)
for Java programs.

Swing was developed to provide a more

sophisticated set of GUI components than the
9
 earlier Abstract Window Toolkit. Swing provides a
native look and feel that emulates the look and
feel of several platforms, and also supports a
pluggable look and feel that allows applications to
have a look and feel unrelated to the underlying
platform.

Swing is a platform-independent, Model-View-

Controller GUI framework for Java. It follows a
single-threaded programming model.

3.1.3 DTK Barcode Reader Developer

Library
DTK Barcode Reader is a highly accurate and
powerful developer library which recognises 1-D
and 2-D barcodes from digital images and
bitmaps. Using this library one can integrate
barcode recognition functionality, Windows
applications, embedded systems Windows CE,
Pocket PC, Smartphone) and web services. The
unique and fast barcode recognition algorithm
searches for barcodes in any position and
orientation from your images.

3.1.4 exe4j
exe4j is a Java .exe maker that helps you integrate
your Java applications into the Windows operating
evnvironment, whether they are service, GUI or
command line aplications. If you want your own
process name instead of Java.exe in the task
manager and a user-friendly task-bar grouping in
Windows XP exe4j does the job. Exe4j helps you
with starting your java applications in a safe way
displaying native splash screen,detecting or
distributing suitable JREs and JDKs, startup error
handling and much more.
10
11
3.2 Flowchart for detection

Start

Accept
Image

Select the area which

contains the barcode

Detect start and end

characters of the
barcode

Identify the
orientation of the
barcode

Interpret the parallel

lines based on the
barcode symbology
used

Generate the key

detected in the
earlier step

Display
Result

Stop

12
The barcode detection begins with acceptance of a static image
which has to be done by taking the input as the path to the
static image which is stored on the computer. To make the
input easy, instead of taking the path as string the user is
provided with an ‘Open’ Dialog Box . When the user clicks the
‘Select File’ option the dialog box prompts user to select the file
from file storage system. This can be implemented by using
‘JFileChooser’ class in java. JFileChooser provides the user a
simple mechanism to choose a file. It is done as follows :

JFileChooser fileChooser = new JFileChooser();

This creates an instance of the JFIleChooser class which opens

the dialog box.

int returnValue = fileChooser.showOpenDialog(null);

This is to check if the user has selected any option before

closing the dialog box. It will return a value if the user has
selected some file. If the user has selected some option then
we use the following code to retrieve the path given by the
user.

File selectedFile = fileChooser.getSelectedFile();

path = selectedFile.getAbsolutePath();

The File object is an abstract representation of file and

directory pathnames.
The method returns the absolute pathname string of this
abstract pathname.

Now the chosen image should be loaded into a BufferedImage

object which can be done as follows :

The BufferedImage subclass describes an image with an

accessible buffer of image data.

BufferedImage buffImage = ImageIO.read(selectedFile);

Thus, the ImageIO.read() method takes the input of the type

‘File’ and loads the image into ‘buffImage’ which is of the type
‘BufferedImage’.

13
Now, we need to set the environment for detection of the
barcodes by setting the types of barcodes which we want to
detect. To implement this, we create an object of the type
BarcodeReader which is defined in the library used.

BarcodeReader barReader = new BarcodeReader();

The BarcodeReader class has a method setBarcodeTypes()

where the barcode types are set to Code39,Code128 and UPC-
A.

We can also choose the number of barcodes we need to scan

from a single image. Here, we only detect one barcode at a
time from a given image.
Now, the scanning is done by the function ReadFromImage()
which returns a collection of barcodes which is stored in the
object ‘barcodes’.

BarcodeCollection barcodes =
barReader.ReadFromImage(buffImage);

We first check if there are any barcodes stored in the barcodes

by checking the length of the barcodes object. Since we are
detecting only one barcode it will always return either 1 or 0 as
the length.

To retrieve each barcode from the collection of barcodes, we

use the following code.

Barcode bar = barcodes.getItem(0);

Since we detect only one barcode at a time we retrieve only

first barcode from the collection.

The result of the barcode detection is stored in the Barcode

object in barcodeString attribute. So, we can extract the code
in the image by executing:

String barcodeStr = bar.barcodeString;

14
Thus, the barcode is retrieved from the image and displayed on
the screen.

15
 4. IMPLEMENTATION
4.1 Hardware requirements
1. Digital Camera ( 5 megapixel or higher).
2. A transfer medium such as USB connector.

4.2 Software Requirements

1. Java Development Kit (JDK) 1.5 or higher.

4.3 User Manual

1. Note the type of your barcode.

2. Switch on your camera.

3. Capture an image of your barcode from your camera.

4. Go to the icon of the software & Double click on the

icon.

5. Now, click on ‘Select File’ which opens a dialog file.

6. Select the file from memory.

7. The image along with result will be displayed as result.

16
4.4 Screenshots

Screenshot 1:

The above is the initial user screen which appears when

you double click on the ‘Barcode Reader’ icon. This screen
contains the option ‘Select File’ which allows user to open
the dialog box to select file.

17
Screenshot 2 :

This interface allows us to browse through the file system

and hence select the desired file for further detection.

18
Screenshot 3 :

Here is the output displayed after the required clipping,

orientation, and interpretation has been performed by the
program.

19
Screenshot 4 :

This is the screen which appears when user chooses an

image file that either does not contain a barcode or the
barcode present in the image is
not defined by the symbologies within our scope.

20
 5. APPENDIX
Source Code:
import java.awt.FlowLayout;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.io.File;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.imageio.ImageIO;
import java.awt.image.BufferedImage;
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.image.BufferedImage;
import java.io.File;
import java.io.IOException;
import javax.imageio.ImageIO;

import dtkbarcode.*;

public class Barcodereaderproject implements ActionListener

{
public String barcodestring;
JFrame frame;
JLabel label,barcode;
JButton button;
BufferedImage image;

public Barcodereaderproject()
{
JFrame.setDefaultLookAndFeelDecorated(true);
JDialog.setDefaultLookAndFeelDecorated(true);
frame = new JFrame("THE Barcode Detector");
frame.setLayout(new FlowLayout()) ;
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
button = new JButton("Select File");
barcode = new JLabel();
label = new JLabel();
frame.add(button);
frame.getContentPane().add(label);
frame.add(barcode);

frame.pack();
frame.setSize(500,500);
button.addActionListener(this);
frame.setVisible(true);

public static void main(String[] args)

{
Barcodereaderproject t = new Barcodereaderproject();
}
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public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent ae)
{
JFileChooser fileChooser = new JFileChooser();
String path;
int returnValue = fileChooser.showOpenDialog(null);
frame.getContentPane().remove(label);
frame.getContentPane().remove(barcode);

if (returnValue == JFileChooser.APPROVE_OPTION)
{
File selectedFile = fileChooser.getSelectedFile();
path = selectedFile.getAbsolutePath();
System.load("C:\\DTKBarReader.dll");
BarcodeReader barReader = new BarcodeReader();
String barcodeStr = new String();

BufferedImage buffImage = null;

try
{
buffImage = ImageIO.read(selectedFile);
}
catch (IOException e)
{
e.printStackTrace();
}
barReader.setBarcodeTypes(
BarcodeTypeEnum.BT_Code39.getValue()+
BarcodeTypeEnum.BT_Code128.getValue()+
BarcodeTypeEnum.BT_Inter2of5.getValue()+
BarcodeTypeEnum.BT_UPCA.getValue());
barReader.setBarcodesToRead(1);
barReader.setScanInterval(1);

barReader.setPDFReadingType(PDFReadingTypeEnum.PDF_Images);
barReader.setBarcodeOrientation(
BarcodeOrientationEnum.BO_LeftToRight.getValue() +
BarcodeOrientationEnum.BO_RightToLeft.getValue() );
BarcodeCollection barcodes =
barReader.ReadFromImage(buffImage);
if (barcodes.getCount() > 0)
{
Barcode bar = barcodes.getItem(0);
if (bar.barcodeString.length() > 0)
{
barcodeStr = bar.barcodeString;
System.out.println("Barcode: " + barcodeStr);
label=null;
if(barcodeStr.length()>0)
{
String p = "C:\\SEMINAR\\Images\\1.jpg";
File file = new File(path);
image = null;

22
 try
{
image = ImageIO.read(file);
}
catch(Exception e)
{}
label = new JLabel(new ImageIcon(image));
barcode.setText("The barcode in given image
is :"+barcodeStr);
}
frame.getContentPane().setLayout(new
GridLayout(3,1,10,10));
frame.getContentPane().add(label);
frame.add(barcode);
frame.setVisible(true);

}
else
{
frame.getContentPane().setLayout(new
GridLayout(3,1,10,10));
File file = new File(path);
image = null;
try
{
image = ImageIO.read(file);
}
catch(Exception e)
{}
label = new JLabel(new ImageIcon(image));
frame.getContentPane().add(label);
barcode = new JLabel("No valid barcode detected");
frame.add(barcode);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
}
}
}

23
 6. REFERENCES
Books:
Patrick Naughton and Herbert Schildt, Java Complete Reference.

Technical Papers:
1. Robert Adelmann, Marc Langheinrich, Christian
Flörkemeier, “Toolkit for Bar Code Recognition and
Resolving on Camera Phones – Jump Starting the
Internet of Things”.

2. Ruwan Janapriya, Lasantha Kularatne, Kosala

Pannipitiya, Anuruddha Gamakumara ,Chathura de
Silva, “A Low Cost Optical Barcode Reader Using A
Webcam”.

3. Steffen Wachenfeld, Sebastian Terlunen, Xiaoyi

Jiang,”Robust Recognition of 1-D Barcodes Using
Camera Phones”.

Websites:
1. www.dtksoft.com

2. www.wikipedia.com

3. www.barcodeisland.com

4. java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial

24
 7. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We would like to thank our guide and seminar project in-
charge, Mr.Aejazul Khan guiding us through our research
and the actual project implementation. Her expertise and
guidance have helped us immensely to understand the
topic well as well as implement it in the best way possible.

We also thank the Computers Department for providing us

with the facilities that helped us immensely to accomplish
the project in time. Last but not the least; we also thank
our classmates to give us constant support throughout the
academic year.

25