Bokode

A bokode is a new type of technology that was developed by a team at the MIT media lab. A bokode is a digital tag that, like a barcode, can be used to hold information. However, unlike a barcode, a bokode can hold thousands of times of more information than a barcode and can be much smaller than a barcode. A bokode is circular in shape with a diameter of about 3mm. In other words, it is an incredibly small blip that holds considerable amounts of information that the team at MIT believe could be the future of digital tagging.

What is a Bokode?

The name comes from bokeh which is a photographic term and barcode which is its predecessor. Combine the two together and you get bokode. Bok and ode. Unlike the much larger barcode, a bokode is very small and circular. It consists of an LED that is covered with a mask and a lens. This allows for it to be read from all different angles and distances. Unlike a barcode which requires one to be within a foot of the object, a bokode can be read from as far as 4 meters away by an SLR camera.

Advantages of Bokode

The most important advantage of this tiling of Data Matrix codes is the fact that it can hold so much information without taking up so much space. This, along with its ability to be read from an incredible distance gives the Bokode a serious advantage over barcodes.

Another big advantage of the bokode is the fact that it can be covered up while radio-frequency identification tags cannot. This means that RFI tags can be read no matter what, but if one covers the bokode up, no information can be stolen from it. That results in a considerable amount of privacy. So, more data can be stored on it and, by simply covering it up, it can be kept secure.

Disadvantages of Bokode

The single most frustrating disadvantage of the Bokode is that it is expensive to make. The reason for this is because the LED requires power to run and therefore, the power source must be made incredibly small. However, because the team at MIT realized this disadvantage, there have been prototypes created that rely entirely on reflected light. Therefore, there is no need for a power source and the Bokode can drop in price tremendously because of it. The ultimate question is: when are we going to see Bokode used more regularly?