The Benefits of Omni-Directional Imaging Scanning ... - ScanSource

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(or one plane) and part of the label with anotherand combine or “stitch” the label fragmentstogether to decode the entire label.Imaging scanners operate somewhat like acamera. They capture a “picture” of the label,and unlike laser scanners have no movingparts (motors or mirrors). Imagers are primarilyavailable in two types. The first type, linearimagers, capture a “picture” using a single rowof pixels and then use a processor to decodethe label “picture” and transmit the decoded barFigure 3: Magellan ® 1000i Presentation Scannercode data to the host terminal. Linear imagersmust be aligned along the perpendicular axis ofthe bar code, a characteristic that has mostly limited their use to handheld scanners.Array imagers, the second type, are even more like a camera. The array imager captures a picture of the entire barcode, in any orientation, and its processor re-orients the data picture and decodes the label. Array imagers usuallyhave the additional ability to decode 2D bar codes. Array imagers are typically more expensive than linear imagersand are primarily used in handheld scanners. Like cameras, imagers need a light source to illuminate the bar code.These light sources are usually Light Emitting Diodes (LED’s). Also, like cameras, imagers are more susceptible tomotion (which can blur the image) than lasers are. Therefore, imagers have traditionally been used in handheldscanners where the scanner is brought to the bar code to minimize relative motion between the bar code and thescanner.Presentation ScannersIn addition to handheld, single plane, and bi-optic scanners,there is another type: the presentation scanner. Presentationscanners are typically used in retail checkout environments thathave a relatively small number of items per transaction such asconvenience stores, drug stores, and certain specialty stores.The distinguishing characteristic of these environments aretransactions that are made up of mostly small to medium-sizeditems where the most operationally efficient method of scanningis to bring (or present) the item to the scanner. It is also requiredFigure 4: Magellan ® 1400i Presentation Scannerin these environments that the operator need not orient the barcode to align with the scan pattern, hence the term, omni-directional scanner.Page – Datalogic Scanning, Inc. White Paper
Because these environments occasionally sell large, heavy, or bulky items, it is necessary that the presentationscanner also have a size and shape that is ergonomically capable of being picked up and used as a handheldscanner.The Concept behind Datalogic’s Omni-Directional ImagingScannersThe Datalogic Magellan ® 1000i and Magellan ® 1400i scanners are the market’s first omni-directional imagingpresentation scanners. Before the technology behind these innovative scanners became available, the ability toscan a bar code in any orientation was limited to either a laser using a series of mirrors that created a pattern ofintersecting scan lines or an array imager that captured a picture of the entire bar code.The Magellan presentation scanners have all the benefits of a laser-based presentation scanner without the movingparts required to create a pattern of scan lines. Essentially the Magellan presentation scanners take a “picture” ofthe label with a digital scan pattern having lines that are one pixel wide. This vastly reduces the processing requiredversus that needed to decode a full two-dimensional image. Imagine looking at an object through a picket fence.Without seeing the entire object your mind is still able to recognize and identify the object.Virtual Scan LinesThe Magellan 1000i and Magellan 1400i scanners usethese virtual scan lines, which accurately, aren’t lines at allbut “pictures” taken along the lines. The combined patternof these virtual scan lines is actually formed by cyclingthrough four differently positioned pattern layouts every100 milliseconds. A single pattern from the Magellan 1000iis depicted in Figure 5. The complete composite pattern forthe Magellan 1000i, which scans approximately ten times asecond is depicted in Figure 6.Figure 5: Omni-Directional Imaging Pattern OneAs soon as the Magellan omni-directional presentationscanners have captured enough of the bar code, they decodeand send the data to the host terminal. That recognition mayoccur during the first, second, third, or fourth pattern. Barcodes are viewed using a lens, designed for extended depthof-fieldand efficient light collection.Figure 6: Combined Omni-Directional Imaging PatternThe Benefits of Omni-Directional Imaging Scanning Technology in Retail Point-of-Sale ApplicationsPage –
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