Yes, barcodes can be read from images without using OCR (Optical Character Recognition). Barcode decoding typically involves analyzing the patterns of light and dark bars, which encode the information, using image processing techniques.
Libraries like ZBar and OpenCV provide functions to detect and decode barcodes directly from images. These tools locate the barcode region, process the image to enhance readability, and extract the encoded data without relying on text recognition.
This approach works well for standard barcodes, QR codes, and other 2D codes, making it highly efficient for inventory systems, mobile apps, and other applications that require quick data extraction from images.