electronrun.com

Modern cellphones sport an outstanding array of functions that could not even be imagined a decade ago. Now their use is extended beyond voice and data to special two dimensional barcodes that can replace paper boarding passes. Continental Airlines is currently offering that functionality to its US customers and is a step ahead of electronic ticket booths that eventually print out a paper boarding pass.

Two dimensional barcodes are an evolution of the familiar patterns we now see in all products. Instead of the linear array, here we have vertical and horizontal patterns that offer many more combinations and appear as incomprehensible dot graphics on the cellphone screen. A special reader at the airport reads the code and can verify whether it has been illegally changed from its initial form. Identification with a photo is the second necessary ingredient and the passenger travels without much hassle. Much preferable to the uncertainty of RFID technology, don’t you think?

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced a two-dimensional barcode standard last October and predicts that everybody will be using this technology within two years’ time. About the later, we cannot be certain. But what is definite is that soon it will be impossible to travel without a working telephone, a backup battery and a charger…

Link: New York Times