Systems and methods for tracking the sales of products and presence of advertising materials within a physical store are provided. According to certain aspects, a sensor component disposed within the physical store may detect light emitted by a unique product identifier (UPI) affixed to a product. A processor of the sensor component may analyze the detected light to determine the UPIs, generate a digital representation of the UPIs within a field of view, and transmit at least a portion of the digital representation to a server computer. A plurality of sensor components may track the movement and sales of various products and presence of advertising materials in the physical store, and the server computer may analyze the resulting data to improve merchandising and the sales experience for customers, among other benefits.

The invention provides a method for acquiring an image of a target code, which allows the CMOS sensor, after the reader has been triggered to acquire a target code, to rapidly determine, and internally, a desirable exposure-time value Topt for the image capture of this code. When it is triggered, the sensor activates a measuring mode Mode_MES with a rapid acquisition of image data for k different exposure-time values Ti, i=1 to k, k being at least equal to 2, and this acquisition is employed only by the sensor and to rapidly define a desirable exposure-time value on the basis of histograms H(Ti) calculated with the image data acquired with the various exposure times; this value is stored in the register of image-capture parameters, and the sensor then activates a nominal image-acquiring mode Mode_ACQ, which applies this desirable exposure-time value delivered by the registered to all the pixels of the matrix array, and the obtained image DATA-OUT is the image delivered as output by the sensor, for recognition/decoding of the code by an external system.

A device (12, 312, 494) operates to cause financial transfers responsive to data read from data bearing records. The device includes a reader (20, 314) that is usable to read check data from financial checks. The reader is also usable to read record document data associated with goods provided to a purchaser. At least one circuit (54, 332) of the device is operative to cause a determination to be made that check data and/or record document data corresponds to stored data. Responsive to the determination, check data and record data are made available to a payee terminal (346).

The invention provides a method for acquiring an image of a target code, which allows the CMOS sensor, after the reader has been triggered to acquire a target code, to rapidly determine, and internally, a desirable exposure-time value Topt for the image capture of this code. When it is triggered, the sensor activates a measuring mode Mode_MES with a rapid acquisition of image data for k different exposure-time values Ti, i=1 to k, k being at least equal to 2, and this acquisition is employed only by the sensor and to rapidly define a desirable exposure-time value on the basis of histograms H(Ti) calculated with the image data acquired with the various exposure times; this value is stored in the register of image-capture parameters, and the sensor then activates a nominal image-acquiring mode Mode_ACQ, which applies this desirable exposure-time value delivered by the registered to all the pixels of the matrix array, and the obtained image DATA-OUT is the image delivered as output by the sensor, for recognition/decoding of the code by an external system.

A display apparatus includes a sensor layer including sensors; a pixel layer disposed on the sensor layer and including pixel areas and pixels in the pixel areas; and an opaque layer disposed between the sensor layer and the pixel layer and having holes corresponding to light-transmitting areas of pixel areas in which pixels that emit light of a specific color are disposed.

A barcode-reading enhancement accessory for a mobile device having a barcode-reading capability may include an outer case and an inner carriage. A mobile device may be encased in the inner carriage, and the combination of the inner carriage and the mobile device may be accommodated in the outer case. The inner carriage may be configured to accommodate a mobile device of a particular size such that a mobile device of a different size may be accommodated in the outer case using a different inner carriage. The accessory may also include an optic system to fold an optical path of a field of illumination of a light source of the mobile device and/or a field of view of a camera of the mobile device.

The present invention is a mixed-reality system including a server and a portable terminal device, the portable terminal device having a display for displaying a virtual object to a user present in a predetermined real space and having a photographing device that photographs the real space, the mixed-reality system serving to display, on the display, a mixed-reality image in which the virtual object is superimposed on a photographed image of the real space, wherein, at each of one or more predefined positions on a real object present in the predetermined space, an MR marker constituted of an identification code containing position information corresponding to that position and an alignment marker having a polygonal shape is disposed. The server includes a virtual-space-data storage unit and an application storage unit, and the portable terminal device includes a browser unit, a marker recognition unit, a position determination unit, and an image generation unit.

An improved system and method for reading an upconversion response from nanoparticle inks is provided. A is adapted to direct a near-infrared excitation wavelength at a readable indicia, resulting in a near-infrared emission wavelength created by the upconverting nanoparticle inks. A short pass filter may filter the near-infrared excitation wavelength. A camera is in operable communication with the short pass filter and receives the near-infrared emission wavelength of the readable indicia. The system may further include an integrated circuit adapted to receive the near-infrared emission wavelength from the camera and generate a corresponding signal. A readable application may be in operable communication with the integrated circuit. The readable application receives the corresponding signal, manipulates the signal, decodes the signal into an output, and displays and/or stores the output.

The invention relates to a code reading apparatus for detecting an at least one-dimensional optoelectronic code, said code reading apparatus comprising an illumination device that is configured to transmit a transmission light beam for generating a transmission light spot on the optoelectronic code to be detected; a scanning apparatus that comprises an oscillating mirror that is pivotable in an oscillating manner at least about a first pivot axis and that is configured to sequentially scan the optoelectronic code with the transmission light spot in at least a first scanning direction by deflecting the transmission light beam; an optoelectronic sensor that is configured to detect transmission light remitted by the optoelectronic code and to convert it into electrical reception signals; and a control device that cooperates with the optoelectronic sensor and the scanning apparatus to control the scanning apparatus and to generate an electronic code from the reception signals that comprises information encoded in the optoelectronic code.

Apparatuses, systems, and methods for providing an indicia aimer laser with a preheat bias current for low temperature operation. For example, an indicia reader utilizing a visible laser diode may operate in an environment with temperatures lower than the operational temperature range of the visible light diode. The indicia reader may utilize a preheat current to raise the temperature of the visible light diode into the operational temperature range.