Engineer who paved the way for the self-checkout dies at 94: George Laurer, co-inventor of the barcode and an ‘iconic IBM employee’ who could never quite believe his creation worked so well, passes away
- George Laurer, 94, died in his home in Wendell, North Carolina on Thursday
- He was electrical engineer with IBM in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park
- In the early 1970s, he spearheaded the development of the UPC or barcode
George Laurer, an engineer whose invention of the barcode transformed the world of retail, has died aged 94
George Laurer, an engineer whose invention of the barcode transformed the world of retail, has died aged 94.
Laurer was an electrical engineer with IBM in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park in the early 1970s, when he spearheaded the development of the Universal Product Code, or barcode.
The marking, composed of unique black bars and a 12-digit number, allowed retailers to identify products and their prices as they are scanned, usually at checkout.
Laurer died last Thursday at his home in Wendell, North Carolina, and his funeral was held on Monday. His cause of death is not known.
The idea for the UPC was initially introduced by his IBM colleague, but it took off after Laurer created a scanner which could digitally read codes, the BBC reported.
The electrical engineer was asked to fully develop the pattern used for the code while working for IBM in 1973. He later produced a patent for one of the first hand-held scanners for reading barcodes, according to an obituary provided by the funeral home.
At the time, he said, grocery stores were dealing with soaring costs and the labor-intensive requirements of putting price tags on all of their products.
Laurer was an electrical engineer with IBM in North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park in the early 1970s, when he spearheaded the development of the Universal Product Code, or barcode
The barcode led to fewer pricing errors and allowed retailers to keep better account of their inventory.
‘To me, it’s just absolutely amazing, because when we were doing this… I never expected it to be anything like this,’ Laurer told WRAL-TV in 2010.
A New York native, Laurer served in the Army during World War II and graduated from the University of Maryland in 1951, after which he worked for IBM for over three decades.
IBM identified him during the company’s 2011 centennial celebration as a contributor to one of the company’s 100 iconic moments.
Laurer told WRAL he was still in awe of the invention, which was celebrated on its 25th anniversary at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
‘When I watch these clerks zipping the stuff across the scanners and I keep thinking to myself… “It can’t work that well,”‘ he said.
He leaves behind four children, as well as several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.