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From a beep at the counter to something software can use.

Four layers. Some run in real stores today, and some don’t exist yet. Each one is labeled, so you can tell which is which.

In use todayIn developmentAhead of us

  1. 1Observe

    See what already happens at the counter.

    Hardware connects to a store’s existing barcode scanner. The scan reaches the register as it always did, and a copy becomes an observation.

    • In use today

      Scanner-connected hardware in independent liquor and convenience stores

    • In development

      A simpler device that replaces the scanner outright, and a receipt-printer connection

  2. 2Understand

    Turn a string of digits into a product.

    Real barcodes are messy. Scanners drop digits, and one product can carry several codes. We resolve each to a standard product record, with its place and time.

    • In use today

      Matching scanned barcodes to product records, and building a store’s catalog from them

  3. 3Infer

    Estimate, and say how sure you are.

    Observations over time, alongside restocking and other context, can support an estimate of what is probably on a shelf. An estimate should carry its uncertainty with it.

    • In development

      Availability and demand estimates with stated confidence

  4. 4Connect

    Make it useful to the people who need it.

    Authorized applications can act on the signal. Today that means helping keep a connected store’s delivery listings current. Tomorrow it could mean answering questions about a whole neighborhood.

    • In use today

      Scans that help restore an item on a connected store’s delivery listings

    • Ahead of us

      A way for partners and agents to ask the network directly

It sits beside the register, not in place of it.

Store’s scannerSame as todayCanter connectionSits in betweenA signalProduct, place, timeStore’s registerRings up as usual
The scanner and the register stay. The connection passes each scan through and keeps a copy.

It works with stores that scan barcodes over a USB scanner. Not every register or scanner has been tested, so we check a store’s setup before anything ships.

A scan is evidence, not inventory.

This is the distinction that matters most. Anyone who tells you barcode scans alone reveal exact on-hand inventory is wrong. Here’s what each kind of evidence can and can’t support.

  • A barcode scan

    What it supportsThis barcode was read at this counter at this time.

    What it doesn’t establishThat a sale finished. A scan can be a price check, a void or a return.

  • A scan, plus a record of the sale

    What it supportsA sale probably completed, for this product, around this price.

    What it doesn’t establishHow many are left.

  • Many scans, plus restocks and context

    What it supportsAn estimate that a product is probably on a shelf, with a confidence.

    What it doesn’t establishA guarantee. Someone may have just bought the last one.

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