This led them to choose the iconic square shape that is still used today.ĭenso Wave made their QR code publicly available and declared they would not exercise their patent rights. They also wanted it to have a distinctive design to make it easy to identify. The development team behind the QR code wanted to make the code easy to scan so that operatives did not waste time getting it at the right angle. Link directly to download an app on the Apple App Store or Google Play.Īuthenticate online accounts and verify login details.Īccess Wi-Fi by storing encryption details such as SSID, password, and encryption type.Īnd much more – a company in the UK called QR Memories even creates QR codes for use on gravestones, allowing people to scan the code to read more about that deceased person’s life (if they have an obituary or news story relating to them online). The data stored in a QR code can include website URLs, phone numbers, or up to 4,000 characters of text. This allows it to house significantly more data. But a QR code is read in two directions – top to bottom and right to left. That means they can only store a small amount of information, usually in an alphanumeric format. Standard barcodes can only be read in one direction – top to bottom. To achieve this, they developed a type of barcode that could encode kanji, kana, and alphanumeric characters. They needed a more accurate way to track vehicles and parts during the manufacturing process. The first QR code system was invented in 1994 by the Japanese company Denso Wave, a Toyota subsidiary. More recently, they have played a key role in helping to trace coronavirus exposure and slow the spread of the virus.Ĭheck out this video on YouTube how to recognize malicious QR codes and protect yourself: QR codes are frequently used to track information about products in a supply chain and – because many smartphones have built-in QR readers – they are often used in marketing and advertising campaigns. What are QR codes?Ī QR code is a type of barcode that can be read easily by a digital device and which stores information as a series of pixels in a square-shaped grid.

But no matter how much they contain, when scanned, the QR code should allow the user to access information instantly – hence why it’s called a Quick Response code. While they may look simple, QR codes are capable of storing lots of data.

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