Father of the Barcode

December 9, 2012 - Norman Woodland died today after suffering the terrible effects of Alzheimer’s disease. He is most remembered for his role in helping develop the barcode and UPC systems that power worldwide commerce.

During World War II, Woodland worked as a technical assistant on the Manhattan Project, which developed the first atom bomb. In 1948 he was working as a lecturer at the Drexel Institute of Technology. It was here he learned that a supermarket executive had approached the University looking for a way to make retail checkout systems more efficient. One of Woodland’s peers, Bernard Silver, convinced him that they could develop a solution.

Woodland quit his job and devoted himself to the task. While sitting on a beach and contemplating the challenge, Woodland recalled from his Boy Scout days how the Morse Code uses symbols to simplify language and communication. After drawing some dots and dashes in the sand, Woodland dragged his fingers down and created the world’s first barcode.

Woodland and Silver further developed the concept and by 1949 they had secured a patent, but it would be over 20 years later that IBM hired Woodland to come up with a Universal Product Code (UPC) that effectively serves as a unique id for every product. Combined with the barcode and scanning functionality, the system would go on to revolutionize worldwide commerce.