breaking the code
Posted on 26. Apr, 2011 by Carrie in op-ed
words > DANIEL TILLER
You many have noticed a funky jacked-up UPC code on the back of last month’s issue of Naked City Magazine. This isn’t actually a UPC code – it’s a QR code. A QR (Quick Response) code is a specific two-dimensional, or matrix code, developed in Japan to alleviate the need to type long URLs into phones and other devices.
I sat down with Troy Griggs, Co-Founder of ScanICT and ICTLive, to discuss QR codes and what they could mean for Wichita. “QR codes are a gateway to the internet and additional information. They remove the need for paper and pen,” Griggs says.
He sees a future where they will be on posters, business cards, signs and even vehicles. Currently they are on sanitation trucks in NYC so people can scan the code to watch instructional videos on recycling. Another application for the code on commercial vehicles is a replacement of the “How am I driving?” phone number. Now you can just scan the code and it calls the number for you.
Imagine seeing a poster for a band you want to see. With a QR code on the corner of the poster, you can just scan the code and it takes you online to purchase the tickets. You will notice this on promotional flyers for events at NakedCity and even alongside articles that have something more to show you.
Griggs says, “The codes will be the new way to spread information.” Last month in NakedCity Gallery, QR codes were placed beside the works of art. These codes took the viewer to additional information about the artist or to a video of the artist speaking about the work.
The only thing you need to begin using QR codes is a smart phone. The iPhone and Android phones each have free downloadable QR code reader apps–Shop Savvy and Barcode Scanner respectively.
QR codes have been taking off in Asia and in Europe and they’ve starting making an impact here in the states. Imagine, one day we may have QR codes on gravestones. Scan the code and you can read even more information about the life or ancestry of the deceased, or even watch a video of them during a happy time in their life. Scoff if you want, but they are already doing this in Japan.
