The Invasion of the QR Codes

When something designed with a specific purpose finds an application in a totally unrelated field, we can be sure that it is the result of inspired innovation. A case in point is the strange places that QR codes have migrated to, and that too with admirable results.

QR code on Rio street

The latest news is that city officials in Rio de Janeiro, the city of carnivals and beaches, have begun embedding QR codes into pavements that provide guidance and details to smart phone toting tourists. The hi-tech black and white mosaic patterns easily blend with the more traditional decorative mosaic designs, and the city has plans to make around 30 locations, including historic sites, more visitor friendly by providing instant access to information and a range of services via connected smart phones and tablets. This is not a first as there have been such innovative use of the QR codes in places like Portugal, Gibralter and Wales.

QR codes became familiar to the lay public with comparatively recent trend of using them in print advertisements. The small, square pattern of black and white tiles, when photographed using a smart phone's camera and after being processed by a free 'app', gave a lot of details and links to the website of the company and the product. This was perhaps the first time that a direct 'bridge' was offered between print and digital media.

A typical QR code

Originally designed by the Toyota company in Japan in 1994 to track vehicles during manufacture, QR (Quick Response)  code is an optical machine-readable code like the more familiar product bar code. But the standard QR code can store more than 1,800 characters of text information. Though patented initially, the technology was later released for free use, and today it has found many applications in diverse fields mainly on account of its easy and fast readability and sizeable capacity.  The black and white chequer pattern, after being photographed (or scanned) is analysed by an 'app', the data extracted and error-correction applied, following which the information is made available to the user. Often a printed QR code in an ad will lead the consumer directly to the product's website. The advantage here is the 'instant linking' that QR codes offer, in contrast to the usual practice of a consumer having to type in a  URL after reading a print ad if s/he wishes to visit a company's website.

Today anybody with a camera phone and a suitable (free) app, can 'shoot' the QR code and in a few seconds can have on tap text, contact info, directions and direct links to 'rich media' interactive sites. For example the QR code at Arpoador in Rio tells the tourist the origin of the place name and also gives detailed information and even maps with GPS data. This type linking from physical objects is termed 'hard linking' or 'object hyper linking'.

There have been many innovative applications of the QR code. The Philippines National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is known to use them to store personal data -- documents issues by NBI carry QR codes that embed the information about the holder. To celebrate its centennial, the Royal Dutch Mint issued the world's first coin with a QR code in June 2011. Many universities have found unique applications for the QR code. Heritage buildings in the campus sport QR codes in their facades which could give the visitor their background. Innovative notice boards often carry QR codes that take students directly to sites with resources for study. In libraries, QR codes stuck to books direct the reader to related sites. QR codes on a visiting card can embed all the information about the person, the company and its products. Museum exhibits carry QR codes that lead patrons to additional information, photos etc.

In short, the versatility of the QR code and its application seem to be limited only by your imagination. Think of it like this -- wherever you would like to provide a 'hot' link from a physical object to a website with added, 'rich' content, the easiest way to do that is to generate and print a QR code and stick that to the object. The rest, as they say, is easy!

Learn more from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_code
http://www.forbes.com/sites/alextaub/2012/12/06/qr-codes-are-dead-long-live-qr-codes-a-conversation-with-scans-founder-garrett-gee/
http://www.teachthought.com/technology/18-innovative-uses-of-qr-codes/
http://onebiginternet.com/2011/02/the-complete-guide-to-qr-code-technology/

Want to generate QR codes? Visit:
http://qrcode.kaywa.com/
http://zxing.appspot.com/generator/