Data capture: Automated Data Entry

It's more reliable to get a machine to enter data because machines rarely make mistakes.
Common methods of automated data entry include the following:

- Chip and PIN: the smart card is read by machine to identify the card.
- OMR: used for lottery ticket entry and examination answer sheets.
- Bar codes: used to identify many items such as supermarket goods.
- Magnetic stripe cards: used on bank and credit cards as on train and parking tickets.
- Voice recognition: still in its early stages because of difficulties with the accents and data inpùt speeds, but there are automated telephone systems that can respond to a limited range of voice inputs.
- Biometrics: measurements are taken of some physical feature of a person, such as the distance between points on the face. This can be used to authenticate people at airports.
- RAD tags: used to identify items in shops and are also useful on electronic travel tickets such as the London Oyster Card.