QR code

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A QR code (quick-response code)[1] is a type of two-dimensional matrix barcode, invented in 1994, by Japanese company Denso Wave for labelling automobile parts.[2][3] It features black squares on a white background with fiducial markers, readable by imaging devices like cameras, and processed using Reed–Solomon error correction until the image can be appropriately interpreted. The required data is then extracted from patterns that are present in both the horizontal and the vertical components of the QR image.[4]

Whereas a barcode is a machine-readable optical image that contains information specific to the labeled item, the QR code contains the data for a locator, an identifier, and web-tracking. To store data efficiently, QR codes use four standardized modes of encoding:

(1) numeric,
(2) alphanumeric,
(3) byte or binary, and
(4) kanji.[5]

Compared to standard UPC barcodes, the QR labeling system was applied beyond the automobile industry because of faster reading of the optical image and greater data-storage capacity in applications such as product tracking, item identification, time tracking, document management, and general marketing.[4]

  1. ^ Hara, Masahiro (1 October 2024). "I used to hate QR codes. But they're actually genius" (Interview). Interviewed by Muller, Derek. 34:09. Retrieved 1 October 2024. The biggest feature of QR codes is that they can be read quickly. It's called Quick Response because it reacts quickly.
  2. ^ Hung, Shih-Hsuan; Yao, Chih-Yuan; Fang, Yu-Jen; Tan, Ping; Lee, RuenRone; Sheffer, Alla; Chu, Hung-Kuo (1 September 2020). "Micrography QR Codes". IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics. 26 (9): 2834–2847. doi:10.1109/TVCG.2019.2896895. ISSN 1077-2626. PMID 30716038. S2CID 73433883. Archived from the original on 21 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  3. ^ Chen, Rongjun; Yu, Yongxing; Xu, Xiansheng; Wang, Leijun; Zhao, Huimin; Tan, Hong-Zhou (11 December 2019). "Adaptive Binarization of QR Code Images for Fast Automatic Sorting in Warehouse Systems". Sensors. 19 (24): 5466. Bibcode:2019Senso..19.5466C. doi:10.3390/s19245466. PMC 6960674. PMID 31835866.
  4. ^ a b "QR Code Essentials". Denso ADC. 2011. Archived from the original on 12 May 2013. Retrieved 12 March 2013.
  5. ^ "QR Code features". Denso-Wave. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2011.