QR codes (Quick Response code) work like the barcodes, but they carry much more information. The information provides a link to a website, video, picture or text. The QR codes are accessible through the smartphone by using the phone’s camera that can scan the symbol and convert it into for example contact details or discount vouchers. The barcode thus creates a link between paper, or any other offline medium, and the Internet.
The technology dates back to the 1990s, but it has become more and more popular since then. The company that invented the barcode, Denso Wave, a subsidiary of Toyota, never took out a patent on the technology so anybody can come up with new applications of it.
