Real-Time Information-Variable Invisible Barcode Comprising Freely Deformable Infrared-Emitting Yarns

ABSTRACT

Barcodes are utilized for product information management in shops, offices, hospitals, passenger facilities, and factoriesbecause they enable substantial amounts of data to be processed quicklyand accurately. However, a limited amount of information can be loadedon the currently used monochrome barcodes that are based on thin-filmcoatings. Therefore, these barcodes require constant replacement withnew barcodes to update the information; furthermore, they cannot beapplied to textile products. This study demonstrated the performance ofwearable invisible infrared (IR)-emitting barcodes by using twistedyarns that comprised five highly elastic/conductive spandex fibers. Thebarcode information can be actively updated via the selective IRemission from specific yarns of the barcode by controlling the appliedvoltage to the IR-emitting yarns. Therefore, the IR barcode required a relatively small number of bars to express a higher volume ofinformation compared to the existing monochrome barcodes. Because the emitted IR light from the yarns was invisible to the humaneye and was only recognized by an IR camera, the information-variable IR-emitting yarn-based barcode exhibited an aesthetic designand was composed of a sustainable fabric-type material that could be easily applied to clothes, bags, and shoes. It is expected that thefabricated barcode will be widely utilized as wearable invisible barcodes, whose information will remain invisible to humans and canbe updated in real time to ensure information fluidity.

논문정보

Authors: Sang-Mi Jeong, Jonguk Yang, Jeong Hyeok Pak, Keumyoung Seo, Taekyung Lim*, and Sanghyun Ju*

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.1c10052