Why We Don't Barcode People (But Could)

From the very first day barcodes were introduced, conspiracy theorists have publically worried about a future where every individual is marked with a barcode which is encoded with identifying data, bank account numbers, sensitive records, or any other valuable piece of information. Many of them have also theorized that the barcode creators went so far as to embed “666” into the barcode structure – a theory that has been repeatedly and thoroughly debunked.

The concept of barcoding humans – considered a workplace’s most valuable asset – certainly makes a very interesting science fiction story, but the reality of that scenario is that it wouldn’t be an optimal way to ‘mark’ a human.  For starters, barcoded data is very static, so anything you encode originally will be what is encoded forever. You couldn’t account for new medical situations, life changes, or ID updates with a static barcode tattooed to your wrist.

In theory, you could use a 2D barcode to provide access to a specific URL where content would be kept up-to-date. 2D barcodes also have an ‘error correction’ ability which means tarnished barcode tattoos could potentially still be read.

A more likely scenario would be to install a microscopic GPS or RFID transmitter underneath a human’s skin, done in a way that is discreet and non intrusive with regular motion.  This would allow the chips to send the human’s current data to receivers who can use it to access records, accounts, updates and more.

Regardless of what type of asset you have - human or fixed - Fulcrum Technologies can give you visibility, insight, and control over it through every possible lifecycle stage.   We've done it around the world with millions of assets - saving our customers millions of dollars.