Introduced in the early 1970s and substantially unchanged since then, bar code appears timeless, almost style-free. The Universal Product Code organizes all consumables into an exhaustive digital hierarchy that interfaces seamlessly with an ever-growing network of computer systems that can track everything from vast warehoused inventories to the minutiae of individual consumers' choices and whims. Like any technology, bar code can be enlisted for other, less practical purposes. Misusing something that is normally in the service of control and authority holds the potential to reveal other, less constrictive scenarios. Of course, the ominous overtones of its intended use remain at least faintly audible.
Bar code represents an early attempt to bridge the gap between the physical world and the computer.
In fact, this very obviousness became its appeal to me. Bar code makes no attempt to disguise its sole function as an extension of the domain of the digital computer. As my ideas developed, I started to think of using bar code technology as a kind of caricature of a more conventional virtual reality apparatus. The bar code wands were a kind of cheap substitute for a data glove. Finally, I decided to incorporate 3D projection, necessitating 3D glasses as a surrogate for the inevitable head-mounted display.