QR Codes

The QR code, or Quick Response Code, has become a staple of modern consumerism and technology. Developed in the 1960s, the QR code was created as a way of overcoming the 20 or so character limitation of traditional, one-dimensional barcodes (Denso Wave Incorporated, n.d.). Denso Wave Incorporated, a division of Denso Corporation, created the QR code as a response to users’ requests for a barcode that could store not only more alphanumeric characters but Japanese characters as well (Denso Wave Incorporated, n.d.). The two-person development team at Denso Wave created a special two-dimensional code packed with information and special features to make scanning quick and easy.

Every QR Code contains a finder pattern, an arrangement of squares that help the scanner detect the size of the QR Code, the direction it's facing and even the angle at which the code is being scanned. Next, every QR Code contains an alignment pattern, another pattern of squares devised to help scanners determine if the 2-D bar code [sic] is distorted (perhaps it's placed on a round surface, for instance). QR Codes also have margins for error, meaning that even if part of the code is smudged or obscured, the code can often still be scanned (Atteberry, 2011, para. 3).

As intricate as QR codes are, they would mean nothing without the software used to decode them. According to Jonathan Atteberry, this special software works by

"calculating the ratio between the black and white areas of the code, it can quickly identify which squares are part of the alignment patterns and which squares contain actual data. Using the QR Code's built-in patterns and error correction, the software can also compensate for any distortion or obscured areas of the bar code. After the software has digitally 'reconstructed' the QR Code, it examines the jumble of black and white squares in the QR Code's data section and outputs the data contained within" (Atteberry, 2011, para. 4).

It was not until around 2002 that QR codes became popular as the scanners required to read QR codes were previously quite costly. However, as mobile devices began offering a way of scanning the two-dimensional code, its popularity boomed. In 2014, QR codes are everywhere. They are on our packages, our boarding passes, our passports, business cards, and even billboards. This staple of technological ingenuity has forever transformed the world we live in.

References

Atteberry, J. (2011, March 03). How 2-D Bar Codes Work. Retrieved March 22, 2014, from http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/repurposed-inventions/2d-barcodes1.htm

Denso Wave Incorporated. History of QR Code (n.d.). Retrieved March 22, 2014, from http://www.qrcode.com/en/history/
[How QR Codes Works]. Retrieved April 2, 2014 from
          http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/repurposed-inventions/2d-barcodes1.htm