8-4 Industrial Communication Systems
To.facilitate.a.common.platform.for.national.trade.in.the.United.States,.the.Universal.Product.Code.
(UPC).was.adopted.in.1973.[9]..On.the.other.side.of.the.Atlantic.Ocean,.the.UPC.code.was.augmented.
to.form.the.European.Article.Numbering.Scheme.(EAN-13)..It.was.accepted.by.most.European.nations.
as.a.common.standard.in.1974..By.adding.an.extra.code.to.the.European.scheme,.an.international.
standard.(EAN-14).was.born.
8.3 Magnetic Stripes
Besides.coding.a.product,.a.bar.code.is.applicable.in.marking.a.pack.of.fresh.produce.and.identifying.a.
person..Strictly.speaking,.a.bar.code.cannot.be.treated.as.an.identity.because.a.code.is.usually.assigned.
to.a.line.of.products,.not.an.individual.item..In.the.existing.format,.it.has.no.information.on.its.owner,.
not.to.mention.when.and.where.the.product.was.made..Should.bar.code.be.used.to.specify.trillions.of.
items.sold.annually.all.over.the.world.uniquely,.it.must.be.substantially.elongated..Consequently,.at.
least.one.side.of.the.box.must.be.reserved.for.accommodating.its.code.of.more.than.a.hundred.digits..In.
fact,.a.bar.code.is.hardly.adequate.to.code.6.7.billion.men.and.women.on.earth..However,.for.a.simple.
stand-alone.case,.it.is.feasible.to.assign.every.person.in.a.specic.group.an.exclusive.bar.code,.such.as.
the.boarding.pass.for.a.given.air.ight.
However,
.with.industrialization.and.urbanization.come.the.inevitable.socioeconomic.changes,.struc-
turally
.and.nonstructurally..Similar.to.New.York,.Tokyo,.Sao.Paulo,.Mumbai,.Lagos,.Mexico.City,.and.
Shanghai,.more.and.more.metropolitan.areas.of.20.million.residents.are.emerging.fast.in.the.Eastern.
and.the.Western.worlds,.in.both.the.Northern.and.the.Southern.hemispheres..For.an.eective.popula-
tion
.control.and.better.town.planning,.a.simple.yet.ecient.scheme.for.authenticating.personal.identi-
ties
.is.needed.to.screen.out.illegal.immigrants.
It
.is.understood.that.personal.records.are.kept.in.the.government.archive.in.both.the.written.and.
electronic.formats..e.issue.on.hand.is.to.duplicate.an.abridged.version.and.store.it.on.a.portable.
device,.inexpensively..In.line.with.the.government.practice.of.recording.the.data.semipermanently.in.
decks.of.magnetic.tapes,.a.short.strip.of.magnetic.tape.is.cut.and.pasted.on.a.name-card.sized.paper.
or.polymer.card..is.is.called.the.magnetic.stripe.card.because.multiple.tracks.of.record.are.found.in.
a.strip..From.the.bar.code.to.the.magnetic.stripe,.the.trade-o.is.physical.contact.due.to.swiping.the.
magnetic.tape.over.a.ferromagnetic.head.as.wear.o.is.inevitable.
Unlike
.data.shown.in.a.bar.code,.the.magnetically.stored.data.could.be.rewritten.easily..Fortunately,.
a.magnetic.stripe.has.adequate.room.for.encrypting.the.sensible.data..With.data.encryption.and.other.
security.measures,.the.magnetic.stripe.card.is.now.used.extensively.as.a.prepaid.calling.card.or.a.debit.
card..It.is.also.used.in.access.control,.such.as.a.ticket.to.a.specied.movie.at.a.given.time.or.a.bus.ride.at.
a.given.time.(Figure.8.4).
(a) (b)
FIGURE 8.4 (a).A.cable.car.ticket.and.(b).magnetic.stripe.card.in.Hong.Kong.
© 2011 by Taylor and Francis Group, LLC