QR Code or Quick Response Code is a two-dimensional barcode originally devised for the automotive production of Toyota Group, that can be decoded to act as an opening of a webpage on a browser. It was actually ‘discovered’ in 1994 for tracking fast-moving vehicles by using an imaging device like the camera. Further development of QR Code are micro QR Code, Secure QR Code (SQRC) and IQR Code. With time, QRCode has crossed the limit of its usage for vehicle tracking and has extended to bizarre applications like printing on a T-shirt, possibly due to QR Code’s attractive and mystical pattern.
Basics of QR Code
QR code is a square matrix of black and white dots, which represents the encoded data in binary. A specific mark in three of the four corners of the square represents the orientation. The data in the QR code is protected by an error-correcting code. Characteristically, loss due to distortion of up to 30% of the code can still be decoded. Several standards describe the coding of QR codes, like :
- October 1997 – AIM (Association for Automatic Identification and Mobility)
- January 1999 – JIS X 0510
- June 2000 – ISO / IEC 18004:2000; withdrawn, Defines QR Code Model 1 and Model 2 QR code
- November 2004 – Extension of the JIS X 0510 for Micro QR Code
- First September 2006 – ISO / IEC 18004:2006; Defines QR code 2005, an extension of the second QR-code-model.
In the QR Code, there is the (1) version information and (2) the used data format. The data portion (3) contains the coded data in a redundant form. To the boundary, the QR code contains only three of its corners a particular pattern (4). Due to the lack of pattern in the fourth corner, the reader recognizes the orientation. With the increasing size of the code further samples (5) are added, to make the orientation of the code more visible. Between the three main position markers, there is a line (6) of a sequence of strictly alternating bits that defines the matrix.
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Usages and Other Notes on QR Code
In addition to its original purpose; which is the use of production logistics, QR code is now used in many other applications: for example, a timetable and navigation aid at stops of any public transport, as a guide for the shopping list or even as a mobile business card. In advertising QR codes hold quickly additional information, such as product videos or access to websites with or without competition or even directly to the App Store link with the ability to download programs. In museums in Canada, the QR code is used to allow visitors to get more information via the internet. Previously we published a guide on create a QR code (Quick Response) for your blog or Facebook page.
