What is a QR code?
QR code (abbreviated from Quick Response Code) is the trademark for a type of matrix barcode (or two-dimensional barcode) first designed for the automotive industry in Japan
History
The QR code system was invented in 1994 by Denso Wave. Its purpose was to track vehicles during manufacture; it was designed to allow high-speed component scanning
Uses
Originally designed for industrial uses, QR codes have become common in consumer advertising.
Typically, a smartphone is used as a QR code scanner, displaying the code and converting it to some useful form .
A QR Code can contain :
URL for a website which can open on a smartphone browser (no need for a user to type it into a web browser.
phone number
SMS message
V-Card data
plain alphanumeric text
Design
A QR code uses four standardized encoding modes (numeric, alphanumeric, byte / binary, and kanji) to efficiently store data; extensions may also be used.
A QR code consists of black modules (square dots) arranged in a square grid on a white background, which can be read by an imaging device (such as a camera) and processed using Reed–Solomon error correction until the image can be appropriately interpreted; data is then extracted from patterns present in both horizontal and vertical components of the image
Unlike the older, one-dimensional barcode that was designed to be mechanically scanned by a narrow beam of light, a QR code is detected by a 2-dimensional digital image sensor and then digitally analyzed by a programmed processor. The processor locates the three distinctive squares at the corners of the QR code image, using a smaller square (or multiple squares) near the fourth corner to normalize the image for size, orientation, and angle of viewing. The small dots throughout the QR code are then converted to binary numbers and validated with an error-correcting code,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.
Licence
The use of QR codes is free of any license. The QR code is clearly defined and published as an ISO standard.
Denso Wave owns the patent rights on QR codes, but has chosen not to exercise them.
The word QR code itself is a registered trademark of Denso Wave Incorporated.
QR code (abbreviated from Quick Response Code) is the trademark for a type of matrix barcode (or two-dimensional barcode) first designed for the automotive industry in Japan
History
The QR code system was invented in 1994 by Denso Wave. Its purpose was to track vehicles during manufacture; it was designed to allow high-speed component scanning
Uses
Originally designed for industrial uses, QR codes have become common in consumer advertising.
Typically, a smartphone is used as a QR code scanner, displaying the code and converting it to some useful form .
A QR Code can contain :
URL for a website which can open on a smartphone browser (no need for a user to type it into a web browser.
phone number
SMS message
V-Card data
plain alphanumeric text
Design
A QR code uses four standardized encoding modes (numeric, alphanumeric, byte / binary, and kanji) to efficiently store data; extensions may also be used.
A QR code consists of black modules (square dots) arranged in a square grid on a white background, which can be read by an imaging device (such as a camera) and processed using Reed–Solomon error correction until the image can be appropriately interpreted; data is then extracted from patterns present in both horizontal and vertical components of the image
Unlike the older, one-dimensional barcode that was designed to be mechanically scanned by a narrow beam of light, a QR code is detected by a 2-dimensional digital image sensor and then digitally analyzed by a programmed processor. The processor locates the three distinctive squares at the corners of the QR code image, using a smaller square (or multiple squares) near the fourth corner to normalize the image for size, orientation, and angle of viewing. The small dots throughout the QR code are then converted to binary numbers and validated with an error-correcting code,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.
Licence
The use of QR codes is free of any license. The QR code is clearly defined and published as an ISO standard.
Denso Wave owns the patent rights on QR codes, but has chosen not to exercise them.
The word QR code itself is a registered trademark of Denso Wave Incorporated.