Start Scanning Barcodes with Your Raspberry Pi Pico

Barcodes are all around us, but are generally thought of as entities to be scanned at a checkout counter. In reality, these codes can be used for much more. This could mean tracking on a personal level to organize your book collection, or even how much of items x, y, and z that you have left, or in industrial processes, where an item may need to go through several tracked steps in order to be considered complete.

While you could purchase a ready-made scanner, if you’d like a way to experiment with the technology, then the Pico Barcode HAT and the breakout board look like interesting options. These devices use an optical sensor to read both 1D and 2D barcodes, and can interpret over 20 different code symbologies.

The DE2120 scanning device found on the HAT/breakout features two LEDs. One illuminates the code for reading, and another produces a red line, similar to what appears when using a laser scanner – likely quite be helpful when aiming. Both include a scan button, as well as a Micro-USB port. The HAT device also has a 1.14” LCD screen for user feedback.

The scanners are currently crowdfunding on Kickstarter at a reward pledge level of $48 USD for the breakout, and $54 for the Pico HAT (including the actual Pico board itself).