Barcode Scanner for Rails App

Question

So I'm building a Rails App for a client where they'll be receiving inbound shipments from customers. In order to streamline the process, the client would like to have a barcode system where they can just scan the incoming shipments that will automatically update statuses on a specific order within my app.

Here is my question. What I'd like to see happen is for the user to scan a barcode (using whatever hardware available) and that in turn populates an input field in my rails app. Ultimately, this would be a form and when submitted it will auto update a specific order.

Is there specific hardware that I'd need to get? Any kind of ruby gems that would be good for this?

Answer 1

Your usual bar code scanner acts as a keyboard. It reads the code and sends it to the computer followed by an enter. Maybe you want mobile devices to do the scanning, which might be a bit more involved.