Barcode scanning technology is crucial for many enterprises, such as those in the supermarket, logistics, and warehousing industries. The data obtained from scanning barcodes is used to track inventory, manage orders, and process payments. Handheld barcode scanners are widely used as peripheral devices in these industries. However, traditional handheld laser barcode scanners can only detect one-dimensional codes, while more expensive scanners with an embedded camera are needed to detect two-dimensional codes like QR codes. Smartphones with built-in cameras can detect both one-dimensional and two-dimensional codes. Nowadays, smartphones have become ubiquitous. Everyone has at least one smartphone in their pocket. If a smartphone can do the same job as a handheld barcode scanner, no additional hardware is needed. This article presents a solution that combines technologies like Flutter, Python, Bonjour, web sockets, PyAutoGUI, and Dynamsoft Barcode Reader SDK to help enterprises save costs by using smartphones instead of barcode scanners.
Supported Platforms
- Android
- iOS
Demo Video: Smartphone as a Peripheral Keyboard and Barcode Scanner
The demo shows how to input text from an Android phone to Windows notepad and macOS notes simultaneously.