Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Over the past decade, particularly during the last three years, we have seen exponential growth in using and creating QR Codes (QR Codes). We now see them almost everywhere: inside stores, restaurants, public places, in newspapers, on transportation, on billboards, on television etc. A great many users, however, despite the fact that they can intuit the benefits - given their rapid spread - still do not know what they are or have no idea how such tools work.
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QR Codes: The Origins
History
QR codes-in Italian, QR codes-are nothing more than two-dimensional codes whose abbreviation 'QR' stands for "Quick Response Codes." Although these are often confused as 'barcodes' having two dimensions - truth be told - such codes consist of 'pixels' instead of actual 'bars'. The origin of QR codes dates back to the now distant 1994 and their gradual spread is mainly due to their wide use in the automotive industry. The famous Toyota company, in fact, had at that time entrusted one of its divisions, the company Denso Wave, to implement and develop barcodes capable of identifying various components of motor vehicles in a simple and reliable manner.
Operation
For these purposes, these codes necessarily had to have certain characteristics. These had to be agile to handle and have the ability to be able to be quickly scanned, even if the surfaces were partially damaged. QR codes can also be read, in addition to using specific readers, by means of common tools capable of storing images, such as modern cameras. The image is processed thanks to software and can be 'decoded' thanks to a specific algorithm. Thus the data contained within it can be read. I QR codes - compared with other barcodes - due to their error-correcting properties and high data storage capacity, they have also found wide use outside the automotive industry.
QR Codes: Conclusion
In recent times, the spread of smartphones on a large scale has enabled more and more users to become acquainted with and use such tools. These will thus be able to take advantage of the many interesting features offered. If you are interested in learning more about the world of dynamic or static QR Codes, stay up to date by reading our blog articles!
Please note: 'QR Code' is a trademark of Denso Wave Inc.
