WHAT IS A QR CODE?
A QR Code (it stands for "Quick Response") is a mobile phone readable barcode that's been big in Japan forever, broke into Europe and China a while back, and in recent years has become popular in the US.
In its simplest sense think "print based hypertext link"
- simply encode a URL into the QR Code and then point a mobile phone or tablet
at it. If the device has a QR
Code decoding app installed on it and go straight to that URL.
But it doesn't stop there - a QR Code can also contain a phone
number, an SMS or email message, V-Card contact details or just plain
alphanumeric text, and the scanning device will respond by opening up the
correct application on the phone to handle the encoded data appropriately
courtesy of the FNC1 Application Identifiers that are embedded in the encoded
data.
The technical specifications for a QR Code are set down in the
ISO-18004 standard so they are the same all over the world, and the only
significant variations from one QR code to another (apart from the data it
contains) is the number of modules required to store the data. A Version 1 QR
Code is a 21x21 array of data elements with the array increasing in size by 4
modules for each increase in version number. The largest standard QR Code is a
Version 40 symbol that 177x177 modules in size and can hold up 4296 characters
of alphanumeric data (theoretically) compared to 25 characters for a Version 1
QR Code.
While there is still a bit of scope for improvement, the
resolution of average present-day camera-enabled smart phones is such that the
size of the data modules (dots) on a QR Code of Version 10 or above (57x57)
presents a real risk of incorrect decoding of the symbol by the device. When
creating a QR Code intended for use with mobile phones it's best to stick to
Version 7 (45x45 data modules) or lower, and a QR Code symbol of at least 2cm
(0.85inches) across.
To make things a bit more robust, the QR Code also contains its
own error correction data,
internal orientation calibration and self-alignment markers. In this way it
doesn't matter whether the QR code is upside down or wrapped around a curved
surface, the message will still get through.
HOW TO USE A
QR CODE:
The uses of QR codes
are as wide and varied as your imagination and are regularly used in sales,
marketing, advertising, education, business and technical communication, asset
management, and event management, with QR codes being added to brochures, signage,
documents, packaging, and products.
QR codes can be used for anything
conventional bar codes are, so right there you have many functionalities. But
there are a lot of things QR codes are capable of that conventional bar codes
are not, due to their limitations. So how is this reflected in its applications?
QR codes have come a long way since
their creation, having first been developed to help track parts in the
manufacturing process of vehicles. Today they have a number of purposes,
including transport ticketing, entertainment, commercial tracking, and product
labeling/marketing. You can find QR codes being used to
send audiences to a website for browsing, to bookmark a webpage, to initiate
phone calls, send short messages, send emails, produce links to web URL’s, connect to WI-FI networks, access
information, get coupons, view videos, purchase items, process orders,
advertise products, etc.
