QR Code

A QR code, short for quick-response code, is a type of two-dimensional matrix barcode made of black and white squares arranged in a grid with corner markers, readable by a camera and decoded using Reed-Solomon error correction so that the pattern can still be read even if part of it is damaged or obscured. The Japanese engineer Masahiro Hara of the automotive parts supplier Denso Wave invented the QR code in 1994 to label components on the factory floor, choosing a two-dimensional design specifically because it could hold far more data and be read far faster than a standard one-dimensional barcode. QR codes spread well beyond the automobile industry into product tracking, ticketing, payments and marketing, aided by the code's ability to store data in numeric, alphanumeric, byte and Japanese kanji formats.