Metrologic Instruments is an automated identification and data capture (AIDC) company headquartered in

Blackwood, New Jersey Blackwood is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Gloucester Township, in Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

bar code A barcode or bar code is a method of representing data in a visual, Machine-readable data, machine-readable form. Initially, barcodes represented data by varying the widths, spacings and sizes of parallel lines. These barcodes, now commonly ref ...

decoding hardware, adaptive optical solutions, and high-speed

image processing An image or picture is a visual representation. An image can be two-dimensional, such as a drawing, painting, or photograph, or three-dimensional, such as a carving or sculpture. Images may be displayed through other media, including a pr ...

software. Metrologic Instruments is a division of

Honeywell Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building automation, industrial automa ...

with more than 20 sales and manufacturing sites in North and South America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and Russia. Founded in 1968 by C. Harry Knowles, it initially concentrated on the manufacture of

helium–neon laser A helium–neon laser or He–Ne laser is a type of gas laser whose high energetic gain medium consists of a mixture of helium and neon (ratio between 5:1 and 10:1) at a total pressure of approximately 1 Torr (133.322 Pa) inside a small electr ...

kits for academic instruction. These kits were sold to

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

teachers throughout the United States. In 1975, after breakthroughs in bar coding technology, it developed the world's first hand-held helium–neon laser

bar code scanner A barcode reader or barcode scanner is an optical scanner that can read printed barcodes and send the data they contain to computer. Like a flatbed scanner, it consists of a light source, a lens, and a light sensor for translating optical impulse ...

. These bar code scanners use a broad array of technologies including

laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word ''laser'' originated as an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radi ...

holographic Holography is a technique that allows a wavefront to be recorded and later reconstructed. It is best known as a method of generating three-dimensional images, and has a wide range of other uses, including data storage, microscopy, and interfe ...

, vision-based, and

radio-frequency identification Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically Automatic identification system, identify and Tracking system, track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder called a tag, ...

(RFID). The scanners help merchants process bar-coded merchandise. Today, Metrologic Instruments manufactures over 40 different types of bar code scanners used by retailers, healthcare professionals, postal services, and distribution companies around the world. , Metrologic Instruments had over 350 registered

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...

s with approximately another 130 patents pending. Honeywell acquired Metrologic in July 2008.

Metrologic world-firsts

1969 Metrologic introduces helium–neon laser hobby kits 1975 Metrologic introduces hand-held retail laser scanner 1976 Metrologic introduces programmable bar code verifier 1982 Metrologic introduces hand-held laser scanner with built-in decoder 1990 Metrologic introduces triggerless hand-held laser scanner 1993 Metrologic introduces triggerless wearable laser scanner 1996 Metrologic uses holographic technology in industrial applications 2000 Metrologic introduces CodeGate data transmission technology 2002 Metrologic introduces laser-illuminated imaging

References

{{reflist Manufacturing companies based in New Jersey Companies based in Camden County, New Jersey