NaviLens Barcode Helps People with Limited Vision Shop for Food
In an article by Dougal Shaw at BBC News, a new, colorful barcode technology is being adopted for the first time in food packaging in the UK. NaviLens, a Spanish firm, says this new technology aims to help blind and partially-sighted people identify products in shops, and access health and safety information about food.
Barcode Technology
Normal barcodes, or QR codes, can be challenging for blind and partially-sighted people, because it takes a lot of dexterity to focus and frame them correctly, at close range, on a phone's camera. The graphic on the right shows a comparison of conventional black-and-white barcodes on the left and the new colored barcodes on the right.
Cereal manufacturer Kellogg's has been testing out these colorful barcodes on its packaging that mobile phone cameras using an app can easily detect at a distance of up to three meters, and in low-light conditions. All Kellogg's cereal packets will eventually display the code, starting with Special K cereal in January.
Because the NaviLens digital codes can trigger audio notes, the amount of information that can be conveyed is potentially limitless. In addition to allergy warnings - like traces of nuts and the presence of gluten - the full range of information about ingredients, like fat and glucose composition, for example, can also be offered.
For now, those who download the NaviLens app will find it only helps them fill a small but important part of their shopping basket - breakfast. Hopefully this new NaviLens technology for barcodes will catch on with other food and product manufacturers to provide widespread shopping assistance for individuals living with limited vision.
Thank you,
Richard Acree
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