Cameras have replaced lasers as the scanner of choice for high-speed material handling applications. Cameras provide higher read rates on 1D codes, especially on damaged labels and, unlike laser scanners, read all common 2D codes, such as PDF-417.

Advances in camera and illumination technology have made cameras as easy to install and maintain as laser scanners. The bright, high-pressure sodium lamps are gone, replaced by LEDs. LEDs, with an already efficient energy conversion process, continue to increase in output power and, today, have a lifetime of over 50,000 hours. CMOS sensors will become more mainstream, eventually replacing the more expensive CCD sensors. Advancements in microprocessor technology will allow for higher data throughput and increased performance.

Due to improved technology and higher volumes, the costs for camera components such as sensors, LEDs, and microprocessors/memory will continue to decline, making camera-based Automatic ID solutions a better choice from both a performance and economic standpoint.

Cameras go "beyond bar code" as well. Today, cameras can capture full resolution images, such as no-reads, and transmit them via gigabit Ethernet to an image server. Cameras can dimension a box as it moves under the camera; important for revenue recovery or pallet/trailer-loading applications. Cameras can also automatically detect material handling faults such as a side-by-side (i.e. non-singulated) condition. Finally, the same cameras that read bar codes are now being used for OCR and videocoding for applications such as high-speed image capture and decoding of address labels on parcels.