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ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION  

Title
AIDC 100 Archive - David C. Allais Collection

Collection Number
SC 441

OCLC Number
In-process

Creator
David C. Allais

Provenance
Donated by David Allais in four accessions: 2006, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2014.

Extent,Scope, and Content Note 
The collection is comprised of 1.5 cubic feet of: documents, drafts meeting minutes, technical notes, newsletters, and artifacts pertaining to the Symbol Technical Advisory Committee, the Uniform Product Code, and the career of David Allais. The documents and artifacts date from 1975 to 2006.

Arrangement and Processing Note
The collection was processed by Kristen J. Nyitray, September 2012. Finding aid updated in April 2019 by Kristen J. Nyitray. Materials are arranged by format. Files were kept in the order they were received.
Series 1: Documents
Series 2: Artifacts 

Language
English

Restrictions on Access
The collection is open to researchers without restriction.

Rights and Permissions 

Stony Brook University Libraries' consent to access as the physical owner of the collection does not address copyright issues that may affect publication rights. It is the sole responsibility of the user of Special Collections and University Archives materials to investigate the copyright status of any given work and to seek and obtain permission where needed prior to publication.  

Citation 
[Item], [Box], David C. Allais Collection, Special Collections and University Archives, Stony Brook University Libraries.

Historical Note
David Allais (b. March 5, 1933) is an internationally recognized expert and inventor in the fields of bar coding and automatic identification and data capture. As vice president and later president and chief executive officer of Intermec, Inc. (NYSE:IN), he built the company from a small startup into the leading manufacturer of bar code and printing equipment. Prior to Allais' role at Intermec, he served as a manager for IBM. Most recently, Dr. Allais founded PathGuide Technologies, a Mukilteo, Washington-based developer of warehouse management systems for distributors.

Education
Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering, University of Arizona, 1954
Master of Science, Mechanical Engineering, University of Arizona, 1958
Master of Science, Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, 1962
Doctor of Philosophy, Stanford University, 1965

In 1988, Dr. Allais was awarded the Association for AutoMatic Identification and Mobility (AIM) Richard R. Dilling Award as a preeminent contributor to bar code technology and on October 16, 2009, Allais received the University of Arizona College of Engineering Lifetime Achievement Award. He is credited with creating five bar code symbologies: Code 39, Interleaved 2 of 5 (ITF), Code 11, Code 93 and Code 49. He is also named inventor on the following seven U.S. patents:

  • Patent # 3,001,369, Hydraulic System for Driving Several Actuators, 1962, Assigned to IBM.
  • Patent # 3,067,333, Motion Control Apparatus, Assigned to IBM.
  • Patent # 3,670,145, Tape Feed System, 1972, Assigned to Intermec Corporation.
  • Patent # 3,784,794, Electro-Optical Reader for Bar Codes, 1974, Assigned to National Bank Of Commerce of Seattle.
  • Patent # 3,844,210, Multi-Color (bar code) Printer, 1974, Assigned to Intermec Corporation.
  • Patent # 3,909,594, Circuit for Establishing a Reference Voltage in Bar Code Readers, 1975, Assigned to Intermec Corporation.
  • Patent # 4,794,239, Multi-Track Bar Code (Code 49), 1988, Assigned to Intermec Corporation. (source: entry for David Allais, Wikipedia)

Dr. Allais actively supports industry standards groups and trade associations, including GS1 and AIM.  He is currently Chairman of AIDC 100, an association of leaders in the field of bar coding and RFID.  He has authored numerous technical papers and given lectures at domestic and international conferences. 

Subjects
Automatic identification and data capture
Bar coding.
Bar coding -- Equipment and supplies.
System identification.  
Automatic data collection systems.

INVENTORY

Series 1: Documents

Box 1
UPC (Uniform Product Code) Guidelines (manuals): January 1975-March 1975
UPC Newsletter: September 1973-December 1977; published by Distribution Number Bank, Distribution Codes Inc., and Uniform Code Council (2 folders) note: STAC is the acronym for Symbol Technical Advisory Committee
STAC meeting minutes: September 11, 1975-November 11, 1981 (2 folders)
STAC subcommittee SC3 and SC4 documents: 1978-1984 (2 folders)

Box 2
STAC documents and minutes: 1985-1987 (3 folders)
STAC documents and drafts: 1987 (3 folders)
STAC meeting: May 6, 1986
STAC meeting: November 11, 1986 

Box 3
STAC documents: 1988-1993 (3 folders)
Memoir: prepared for the AIDC 100 Archives Memoir Project by David C. Allais, September 14, 2006

Series 2: Artifacts
Bar code label: NCR Colorbar retail labels, circa early 1970s
Bar code label: Plessey bar code labels printed by an Intermec impact printer, 1972
Bar code label: Codabar labels printed by an Intermec impact printer, 1973
Bar code label: UPC-A labels printed by an Intermec impact printer, 1974
Bar code label: Code 39 labels printed by and Intermec impact printer, circa 1975
Bar code label: OCR-A labels printed by an Intermec impact printer, circa 1979
Bar code label: produced for a Dick Butkus autographed 1963 game football, circa 1980
Advertisement: Axicon's "The Tornado Wand" (1 leaf)

Box 4
Intermec Bar Code Reader, Model 9300 and Operators Manual, April 1980

Box 5
Folder A-Some Reminiscing by Francis X Beck Jr. – work preceding selection of the UPC Symbol, 1965 through 1972
Folder B-Reflected Light from Printed Bar Code – experiments at RCA, January 1970
Folder C-Phase I Report, Grocery Industry Ad Hoc Committee, Universal Product Code, November 28, 1971
Folder D-PIDAS Results – Measurements of commercial printing of grocery packaging
Folder E-Executive Summary UPC’72 – R. Bert Gookin
Folder F-Codabar Universal product Code Symbol – submitted to the Ad Hoc Committee by Pitney Bowes
Folder G-Addendum to Codabar UPC
Folder H-Singer Five-Segment Wrap-Around Format – submitted to the Ad Hoc Committee
Folder I-Scanner, Inc. - submitted to the Ad Hoc Committee
Folder J-Scanner, Inc. Print Specification Supplement
Folder K-RCA Bulls Eye Symbol – Preliminary - submitted to the Ad Hoc Committee
Folder L-IBM Proposed UPC Symbol - submitted to the Ad Hoc Committee
Folder M-IBM Proposed UPC Symbol Revision 2 - submitted to the Ad Hoc Committee
Folder N-Litton Half Bulls Eye - submitted to the Ad Hoc Committee
Folder O-Press Release announcing the selection of the UPC Symbol – April 3, 1973
Folder P-"The Characteristics and Decodability of the UPC Symbol," David Savir and George Laurer, IBM Systems Journal 1975
Folder Q-"Cracking the Code," Marvin Mann for the 25 year anniversary of UPC.