In this lesson we’re going to talk a bit about what QR codes are and what they can do for your business.
QR codes – or quick response codes – are nothing more than fancy version of the bar code. The only difference between the two is that a QR code carries a lot more data than a traditional bar code.
The QR code was developed by Denso Wave, a subsidiary of Nippondenso, that is in turn owned by Toyota. The QR code was invented in order to improve the speed by which they assemble the cars in the factory according to the specific orders of each and every customer.
When you look closely, you will see that the average QR has multitudes of black dots inside a square. Just like how a barcode is computed, these dots represent either a 1 or a 0 (zero) in binary code and when combined in a series the dots and spaces make up what the QR code is saying.
Normally, the QR code is read starting from the bottom right corner going up to read the first line, then it shifts one row to the left and starts down again. This up and down reading method allows the data that is written inside the QR code to be electronically available by using a high definition camera and interpreted electronically.
The data that is derived from this code will then determine what kind of vehicle the assembly line is making now. When it was designed and perfected, the QR code was used to differentiate the different kinds of vehicles that were assembled in the different assembly lines of Toyota’s factories.
This kind of assembly system necessitated a different kind of identification that is to be used. Remember that during this time, Toyota was one of a very few car manufacturer’s that was assembling vehicles using the same systems or within a single factory. Normally, you needed a different set of robots, welders, computers and programs to assembly on that line of cars.
Since Toyota was using one factory to assemble different vehicles, they needed an effective way to identify which car needed what parts, painted in what color and received what tires. The QR code gave them the edge they needed to be able to integrate a whole lot of systems in order to assemble cars, vans, pickups and suv’s within the same factory using the different parts of these vehicles.
The QR code is very handy when it comes to having to put a lot of the things you want to say in a very small package. Since then, the QR code and its successors have been showing up more and more in all types of businesses. Unlike barcodes the QR code is mostly used in systems that need a lot of data in a limited printable area that you cannot do on a barcode.
There is also one other use of QR Codes in business, and that is embedded messages. The QR code is very handy to tell a message that can only be decoded by a mobile phone that has the necessary program to decode it, which is what makes them such a handy promotional tool.
We will spend some more time over the next few lessons on the topic of how QR Codes can help your business, so make sure you bookmark this article (or the site). We will be talking more about how QR codes function and how they compare to their counterpart, the barcode.
