Scan Barcodes with ML Kit on iOS

You can use ML Kit to recognize and decode barcodes.

See the ML Kit quickstart sample on GitHub for an example of this API in use.

Before you begin

1. If you have not already added Firebase to your app, do so by following the steps in the getting started guide.
2. Include the ML Kit libraries in your Podfile:

   pod 'Firebase/Core'
   pod 'Firebase/MLVision'
   pod 'Firebase/MLVisionBarcodeModel'
   

   After you install or update your project's Pods, be sure to open your Xcode project using its .xcworkspace.
3. In your app, import Firebase:

   Swift

   import Firebase

   Objective-C

   @import Firebase;

Configure the barcode detector

For example, to detect only Aztec code and QR codes, build a VisionBarcodeDetectorOptions object as in the following example:

let format = VisionBarcodeFormat.all
let barcodeOptions = VisionBarcodeDetectorOptions(formats: format)
ViewController.swift

FIRVisionBarcodeDetectorOptions *options =
    [[FIRVisionBarcodeDetectorOptions alloc]
     initWithFormats: FIRVisionBarcodeFormatQRCode | FIRVisionBarcodeFormatAztec];

Run the barcode detector

1. Get an instance of VisionBarcodeDetector:

   Swift

   lazy var vision = Vision.vision()
   let barcodeDetector = vision.barcodeDetector(options: barcodeOptions)
   ViewController.swift
   

   Objective-C

   FIRVision *vision = [FIRVision vision];
   FIRVisionBarcodeDetector *barcodeDetector = [vision barcodeDetector];
   // Or, to change the default settings:
   // FIRVisionBarcodeDetector *barcodeDetector =
   //     [vision barcodeDetectorWithOptions:options];
   

2. Create a VisionImage object using a UIImage or a CMSampleBufferRef.

   To use a UIImage:

   1. If necessary, rotate the image so that its imageOrientation property is .up.
   2. Create a VisionImage object using the correctly-rotated UIImage. Do not specify any rotation metadata—the default value, .topLeft, must be used.

      Swift

      let image = VisionImage(image: uiImage)

      Objective-C

      FIRVisionImage *image = [[FIRVisionImage alloc] initWithImage:uiImage];
      

   To use a CMSampleBufferRef:

   1. Create a VisionImageMetadata object that specifies the orientation of the image data contained in the CMSampleBufferRef buffer.

      For example, if you are using image data captured from the device's back-facing camera:

      Swift

      let metadata = VisionImageMetadata()
      
      // Using back-facing camera
      let devicePosition: AVCaptureDevice.Position = .back
      
      let deviceOrientation = UIDevice.current.orientation
      switch deviceOrientation {
      case .portrait:
          metadata.orientation = devicePosition == .front ? .leftMirrored : .right
      case .landscapeLeft:
          metadata.orientation = devicePosition == .front ? .downMirrored : .up
      case .portraitUpsideDown:
          metadata.orientation = devicePosition == .front ? .rightMirrored : .left
      case .landscapeRight:
          metadata.orientation = devicePosition == .front ? .upMirrored : .down
      case .faceDown, .faceUp, .unknown:
          metadata.orientation = .up
      }
      

      Objective-C

      // Calculate the image orientation
      FIRVisionDetectorImageOrientation orientation;
      
      // Using front-facing camera
      AVCaptureDevicePosition devicePosition = AVCaptureDevicePositionFront;
      
      UIDeviceOrientation deviceOrientation = UIDevice.currentDevice.orientation;
      switch (deviceOrientation) {
          case UIDeviceOrientationPortrait:
              if (devicePosition == AVCaptureDevicePositionFront) {
                  orientation = FIRVisionDetectorImageOrientationLeftTop;
              } else {
                  orientation = FIRVisionDetectorImageOrientationRightTop;
              }
              break;
          case UIDeviceOrientationLandscapeLeft:
              if (devicePosition == AVCaptureDevicePositionFront) {
                  orientation = FIRVisionDetectorImageOrientationBottomLeft;
              } else {
                  orientation = FIRVisionDetectorImageOrientationTopLeft;
              }
              break;
          case UIDeviceOrientationPortraitUpsideDown:
              if (devicePosition == AVCaptureDevicePositionFront) {
                  orientation = FIRVisionDetectorImageOrientationRightBottom;
              } else {
                  orientation = FIRVisionDetectorImageOrientationLeftBottom;
              }
              break;
          case UIDeviceOrientationLandscapeRight:
              if (devicePosition == AVCaptureDevicePositionFront) {
                  orientation = FIRVisionDetectorImageOrientationTopRight;
              } else {
                  orientation = FIRVisionDetectorImageOrientationBottomRight;
              }
              break;
          default:
              orientation = FIRVisionDetectorImageOrientationTopLeft;
              break;
      }
      
      FIRVisionImageMetadata *metadata = [[FIRVisionImageMetadata alloc] init];
      metadata.orientation = orientation;
      

   2. Create a VisionImage object using the CMSampleBufferRef object and the rotation metadata:

      Swift

      let image = VisionImage(buffer: bufferRef)
      image.metadata = metadata
      

      Objective-C

      FIRVisionImage *image = [[FIRVisionImage alloc] initWithBuffer:buffer];
      image.metadata = metadata;
      

3. Then, pass the image to the detect(in:) method:

   Swift

   barcodeDetector.detect(in: visionImage) { features, error in
     guard error == nil, let features = features, !features.isEmpty else {
       // ...
       return
     }
   
     // ...
   }
   ViewController.swift
   

   Objective-C

   [barcodeDetector detectInImage:image
                       completion:^(NSArray<FIRVisionBarcode *> *barcodes,
                                    NSError *error) {
     if (error != nil) {
       return;
     } else if (barcodes != nil) {
       // Recognized barcodes
       // ...
     }
   }];
   

Get information from barcodes

For example:

for barcode in barcodes {
  let corners = barcode.cornerPoints

  let displayValue = barcode.displayValue
  let rawValue = barcode.rawValue

  let valueType = barcode.valueType
  switch valueType {
  case .wiFi:
    let ssid = barcode.wifi!.ssid
    let password = barcode.wifi!.password
    let encryptionType = barcode.wifi!.type
  case .URL:
    let title = barcode.url!.title
    let url = barcode.url!.url
  default:
    // See API reference for all supported value types
  }
}

 for (FIRVisionBarcode *barcode in barcodes) {
   NSArray *corners = barcode.cornerPoints;

   NSString *displayValue = barcode.displayValue;
   NSString *rawValue = barcode.rawValue;

   FIRVisionBarcodeValueType valueType = barcode.valueType;
   switch (valueType) {
     case FIRVisionBarcodeValueTypeWiFi:
       // ssid = barcode.wifi.ssid;
       // password = barcode.wifi.password;
       // encryptionType = barcode.wifi.type;
       break;
     case FIRVisionBarcodeValueTypeURL:
       // url = barcode.URL.url;
       // title = barcode.URL.title;
       break;
     // ...
     default:
       break;
   }
 }