Wireless or Ethernet QR code Scanner Solution
I had the opportunity to work on a project that required scanning QR codes generated by the web app that my team developed. Generating QR code is trivial, and there are plenty of web components in multiple programming languages that can assist.
What is less obvious, and it was a requirement for this project, is building also a kit with the actual scanner, install it at customer site, and connect it to the network for communication with our backend. Basically, end users will generate a QR code within the web app, a code that is unique to their identity and the activity that they are performing in that moment. They then scan the QR code at specific locations, using one of the scanner kits installed on site. The scanned code will be sent back to an API endpoint, bringing information about the user and the activity, for further processing.
We had some requirements on the type of connectivity that we could implement for the scanners:
- There’s no wifi connection on site, all scanners have to be wired to an internet router with an ethernet cable.
- We cannot install a wifi router or any other commercial device, such as a mini PC for example, for enabling internet connectivity.
The scanners, basically, had to be self sufficient in their ability to scan and send the code to an API endpoint over the HTTPS protocol, leveraging only the existing ethernet router.
After a search in the market, we ended up on the solution offered by RTscan Technology, a professional manufacturer and vendor of AIDC (Automatic Identification and Data Capture) devices. After a quick exchange with their amazing staff, and big call out to Merry and Justin, not two names of fantasy, but real people who helped us getting the correct solution in place, we opted for the combination of the embedded RT 870 scanner and the connection module RT001.
RT 870 is a barcode and QR code scanner powered by USB, with super fast response time. It comes with configuration software for most operating systems, easy to use and setup.
The scanner doesn’t have built-in connectivity, though. It needs to be connected to RT001, a wifi, ethernet and even bluetooth module that supports multiple protocols: TCP, HTTP/HTTPS, MQTT.
The configuration is as described in this post to create a fully connected scanner solution.
As opposite to the picture, we didn’t use an MQTT broken as an endpoint, but a simpler REST API over HTTPS. That made the integration straightforward, and in a matter of hours we were up and running, happily receiving codes from users!
