The QR code is the trademark for a type of matrix barcode (or two-dimensional barcode) which consists of black modules (square dots) arranged in a square grid on a white background. The arrangement of these points defines the information contained in the code.
QR (short for Quick Response) means that the content of the code can be decoded quickly after being read by a barcode scanner, a mobile phone or a smart phone. Its advantage is that it can contain more information than a traditional bar code, and especially data directly recognized by applications, making it easy to trigger actions.
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.
It is released in 1999: Denso-Wave publishes the QR Code under the license libre2; this has contributed to the dissemination of the code in Japan. Thereafter, it takes a real boom with the advent of smart phones. In the late 2000s, it became one of the most popular two-dimensional codes in the world, and applications that can read QR codes are often already installed by manufacturers in mobile phones. In Japan, the practice was already widespread in 2003.
In June 2014, the European Patent Office in Berlin celebrated the European inventors of the year. Nominees in the non-European countries’ category, the Japonese scholar Masahiro Hara and his team, inventors of the QR code have been awarded the public’s prize.
The advantage of the QR code is its ease and speed of use and creation. To read a QR code, just run the QR code reading application and aim the camera of the smartphone towards the QR code.
You can see below some examples of where the QR code is used and its use statistics.
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Introducing Rescue Assist℠ -- Mercedes-Benz USA.
It can be a dangerous situation when, at the scene of an accident, first responders don't have a vehicle's structural information readily available. With Rescue Assist℠, that's no longer an issue. They can scan a QR code in a Mercedes-Benz vehicle to quickly see where batteries, airbags and other structural elements are located to safely perform the rescue.
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CEEPO Emergency QR Code Sticker.
The CEEPO bike manufacturer specialises in high end triathlon bikes and they take triathletes’ and cyclists’ security at heart. Always in advance in innovating in their field, they associated themselves with 2BEID to create a QR code sticker that would make it easier to identify them.
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ER doctors use Google Glass and QR codes to identify patients.
Beth Israel has begun posting QR codes on the doorways to patients’ rooms. Each code is unique to that patient, linked to his records that are stored on the hospital’s electronic database. Before entering the room, the Beth Israel doctor can scan the QR code with his Glass, and the patient’s information is promptly displayed on the screen.
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QR codes on school buses at Forest Hills Public Schools Transportation in the United States.
From mid-September, anyone with a smartphone can scan the QR code on a school bus of the Forest Hills Public Schools Transportation in the United States. The purpose is to inform the police about the current state of inspection of the bus and of the neighborhood where it is assigned.
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Check your Loto-Quebec tickets at home with the QR code on each ticket.
A QR code is printed on the lottery tickets on terminal and Mise-o-jeu, next to the usual verification code. This code allows consumers to check their tickets from the mobile applications, Lotteries and Mise-o-jeu de Loto-Québec. These applications allow consumers to check their tickets at the time and place of their choice.
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Air Canada Electronic Boarding Pass with QR code.
Air Canada offers you the electronic boarding pass with QR code The Electronic Boarding Pass will enable you to pass through security and board your flight…paper free! Display your QR code with your flight details so that the gate agent can pass the optical drive and let you get on board the aircraft.
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The statistics of the usage of the QR code in Canada and North America.
According to a recent BrandSpark International study the percentage of smartphone users scanning QR codes has increased dramatically over the past year. In 2013 four out of ten Canadian smartphone owners (43%) reported they had scanned a QR code. Here is the report for usage of the QR codes in North America from the ScanLife company;
PDF.
