Aztec code
The Aztec Code (Engl. Aztec Code ) was from 1995 Andy Longacre at the company Welch Allyn developed in the USA. It is a freely available 2D code with US patent no. 5591956. It is standardized under ISO / IEC 24778. The name Aztec Code is derived from the high culture of the Aztecs in central Mexico and their step pyramids : If you look at a step pyramid from a bird's eye view, it is very similar to the squares that can be recognized directly in the center of the code, which are centered around a single point.
structure
In the center of the code is the search element, which consists of several nested squares. The symbol elements are also square. Small (from 12 characters) to large amounts of data (currently over 3000 characters) can currently be encoded . The content can be divided into several symbols. The Reed-Solomon - error correction supported user-specific up to 32 levels of security. The reconstruction of the data content is still possible even if up to 25% (with small codes even up to 40%) of the code has been destroyed. In contrast to all other codes, no quiet zones are required. The code can be placed anywhere.
The core of a great Aztec code. The areas hatched in red or blue here must be displayed in white, the green area contains information about the size of the structure. The actual data area is outside of the core shown here.
Position of the reference marks with a large code
Example of a large code. The structure shown on the left can be seen as the core.
application
The International Union of Railways (UIC) has defined the Aztec code as the standard for tickets , implemented by the members Deutsche Bahn , Nederlandse Spoorwegen , Austrian Federal Railways , SNCF , Czech Railways , Trenitalia , Swiss Federal Railways and Rail Delivery Group . The Wiener Linien , Graz lines and the Association of German Transport Companies also use this coding method for their online tickets .
This is also used by many airlines.
literature
- Bernhard Lenk: manual of automatic identification. Volume 2: 2D codes, matrix codes, stacked codes, composite codes, dot codes. Monika Lenk Fachbuchverlag, Kirchheim unter Teck 2002, ISBN 3-935551-01-0 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Patent US5591956 : Two dimensional data encoding structure and symbology for use with optical readers. Published January 7, 1997 , Inventor: Andy Longacre.
- ↑ ISO: ISO / IEC 24778: 2008 [ISO / IEC 24778: 2008] Information technology - Automatic identification and data capture techniques - Aztec Code bar code symbology specification. ISO / IEC, February 2008, accessed March 29, 2020 .
