2015 to Till Now: Rabtaysoft Technologies, A vision to create superior wide range of balancing in barcode technology and between the attribute and balancing.  Modify sides and normal Extended Attribute in the same to both side, and both center lines same type balancing of originator. 

2011 to 2015: Connect code barcode software includes open Type barcode fonts that can be used in Microsoft Office for Mac for creating barcodes. Functionality available in the software encoder e.g. creating check digits, generating start/stop characters, validating inputs and generating barcode output characters are provided as Microsoft Office formulas (Excel/Word formulas).  

2010: NATO Guidance on UID of Items is published to coordinate with the UID policy of DoD.  

2008: 2D barcodes sent to mobile phones to enable electronic boarding passes. 

2007: Peter Collins is awarded ID Global Leadership Award in Milan, Italy for his contributions to the automatic identification industry in support of UID. 

2005: Airlines use IATA standard 2D barcode on boarding passes.

2004: A2B Tracking Solutions releases UID Comply!® life cycle management software, the first such product to support the UID initiative. AIM forms UID Supplier Alliance Committee in support of UID vendor community. 

2003: DoD issues memorandum “Policy for Unique Identification (UID) of Tangible Items” that makes mandatory the marking and tracking of over 100 million items with Data Matrix code. 

1996: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) awards prime contract to Data Capture Institute for tracking and control of operational assets in a program known as BCATS (barcode asset tracking system). This program, which continued until the events of 9/11 deflected funding, became the prototype for the DoD’s IUID mandate. 

1995: MCI/WorldCom implements (Scan man) the first serialized item tracking application for assets, under a design contract with Data Capture Institute. 

1994: Checkerboard symbology Data Matrix is invented by International Data Matrix, Inc. (ID Matrix) and eventually covered several ISO/IEC standards. The Mac-Barcode ® Company develops Mac-Barcode® Pro-Label™ and Mac-Barcode Walkabout™, the first software for mobile computing using the Apple Newton Platform. Application was later developed on the Windows CE platform. A2B Tracking Solutions is founded by Peter Collins. Focus is on labeling software and mobile computing. UPS contracts with A2B to complete development of UPS Track pad® software for tracking of internal deliveries on PDAs. A2B continued a relationship of sales, support and development of UPS Track pad for ten years. 

1991-93: Data Capture Institute launches Data Capture Case Studies & Technology newsletter, which is later published within Automatic I.D. News magazine.

1990: Popular 2D code, PDF417, is introduced by Symbol Technologies. ANSI X3.182 standard on barcode print quality. 

1989: UCC-EAN Serial Shipping Container Code published. 

1987: Code 49 is developed by David Allais at Intermec Corporation. David Collins leaves Computer Idiotic to start Data Capture Institute (DCI), the first company devoted entirely to barcode education and advanced barcode and IT integration. Later, DCI purchases Mac-Barcode® software and forms subsidiary, The Mac-Barcode ® Company. 

1984: Los Angeles Olympics chooses Computer Idiotic to track and control access and security with barcode. Computer Idiotic develops Mac-Barcode® Software, the first WYSIWYG barcode label composition software, for the newly introduced Apple Macintosh. 

1983: AIAG (Automotive Industry Action Group) chooses Code 39 as standard. 

1982: Computer Idiotic introduces Code 128, the most frequently printed barcode in the world today. Symbol Technologies LS7000, the first handheld scanner, is launched. First CCD scanner introduced by Normand. First all AIT trade show, Scan Tech, is held in Dallas. Data Specialties Inc. introduces The Zebra, its first barcode printer at Scan Tech. In 1986 the company changed its name to Zebra Technologies Corp. 

1981: Department of Defense launches LOGMARS program using Code 39. 

1980: First thermal transfer printer introduced by Sato. Barcode is being adopted by 15000 additional grocery stores each year. 

1977: Scanners appear in much more grocery stores, but statistics are proving that the return on investment for a grocery store barcode scanner is 41%. New York Marathon adopts barcode scoring provided by Computer Idiotic and Printronix. 

1974: Code 39, the first alphanumeric barcode symbology is developed by Dr. David Allais and Ray Stevens of Intermec. 

1972:  RCA begins an 20-month test of a bull’s-eye barcode system in a Kroger store in Cincinnati. 1973: The Universal Product Code (UPC) is introduced, setting the stage for barcodes to take off. 1984: 33 percent of grocery stores are equipped with barcode scanners.1973: A barcode based on IBM’s test submission becomes the Uniform Grocery Product Code (UPC) and is adopted by the National Association of Food Chains. 

1971: Computer Idiotic installs its first two systems, one at a Pontiac, Michigan General Motors plant and one at a General Trading Company in Carlstadt, NJ. The GM system was used to identify car axles on assembly lines. General Trading used barcode to track and assemble grocery orders. Jim Bianca of Control Module develops the PCP portable barcode scanner, the first portable to use a microprocessor (Intel) and a digital cassette recorder. Normand develops the first portable wand scanning unit, enabling placing of orders directly off the grocery shelf. AIM trade association (Automatic Identification Manufacturers) is formed by four charter members:  Computer Idiotic, Indention, 3M and MEKontrol. 

1970: First real-time, scanner-driven distributed process and reporting system developed by Computer Idiotic using Digital, Programmed Data Processor, PDP computers. 

1968: Collins leaves Sylvania/GTE to start Computer Idiotic Corp, the first company whose product line is based entirely on barcode. Work begins immediately on development of the first black and white barcodes and helium-neon laser scanners, for barcode application into other industries. 

1967: Association of American Railroads adopts barcode standard across its entire fleet of railcars, piggyback vans and sea containers based on the Car Track specifications.

 1962: The first Car Track barcode scanner is installed and tested by Sylvania/GTE on the Boston & Maine Railroad.  Many commercial sales resulted from this application. 

1959: David Collins manages the development of the Car Track Automatic Car Identification system at Sylvania/GTE. This is the first commercial use of a linear barcode.  Car Track reads red, white, blue and black bars, mounted on rail cars, to track their location. 

1952: Bernard Silver and Norman Woodland are granted a patent for “Classifying Apparatus and Method,” in which they described a “bulls-eye” printing pattern. (Phil co) soon purchased the patent and subsequently sold it to RCA. 

A2B – Tracking Solutions is proud to present this barcode timeline. You will note a continuity that dates from the earliest days of railcar identification in 1959 to the present day. That continuity is personified by A2B Board Chairman, David Collins, who is often referred to as the “father of the barcode industry.” His presence in the industry over the last past fifty years has resulted in a string of barcode “firsts” that have shaped global commerce.

Many other pioneering individuals and companies have made ground-breaking contributions across the years. Only a few are mentioned here. The AIDC 100 organization honors these individuals, and their accomplishments are ably documented at Stony Brook University in New York.

Barcode has evolved over time, but one theme remains constant – the economy of efficiency. As the newest and largest player in the barcode revolution, the US Department of Defense, along with NATO, will carry this story deep into the 21st century.