One thing I’ve learned from developing this is how complex barcodes can be. It’s crazy how much data is on the barcodes on our driver’s licenses and not all barcodes are created equal. The barcode you see at the grocery store is a 2D barcode and after COVID, I’m sure all of us are familiar with QR codes because restaurants wanted you to scan one to see the menu.

For example, on your driver’s license the barcode type is called PDF417 which is more similar to the restaurant QR code than the grocery store barcode example I gave. A PDF417 also coincidentally happens to be the same barcode type on a Mexican ID but… the data stored is completely different and reads differently when scanned.

It was a little tricky figuring it out but I used something called regex to read the different types of barcodes. I’d working on it off and on all summer and that sigh of relief and feeling of accomplishment when you finally figure it in programming is pretty hard to match.

All this to say that starting today, Nodo Tech now has the ability to scan Mexican IDs! I’m happy to add this feature especially since it was requested by a client on the Texas Gulf Coast.

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Let me know what you think and if you would like a demo.

Nodo Tech’s only getting better!

Jordan