10: QR Coding

The internet is undoubtedly the most phenomenal creation in our era. It is continual and changes within a blink of our eyes. I believe many of you have heard of what QR coding is, and that is what I will be talking about today because it really interests me that technology has indeed come this far.

Just last week during our com125 presentation, one of our group members mentioned about a korean supermarket giant named Tesco who actually utilised this QR coding app and pasted posters of products encoded with a QR code each on various subway stations. Customers who owned a smartphone and downloaded this application called QR Codereader would be able to purchase products on the spot while waiting for the subway without having the hassle to head down to the supermarket. Below is an example of the video that our group has shown during the com125 presentation:

What is QR Coding?

A QR code (abbreviated from Quick Response code) is a type of matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code) first designed for the automotive industry. More recently, the system has become popular outside of the industry due to its fast readability and comparatively large storage capacity. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background.

An example of what a QR code is

Created by Toyota subsidiary Denso Wave in 1994 to track vehicles during the manufacturing process, the QR code is one of the most popular types of two-dimensional barcodes. It was designed to allow its contents to be decoded at high speed.

I foresee that QR coding will now play a big role in our lives as it encompasses the availability of smartphones and most of us here (just in Singapore alone) do own a smartphone, be it blackberry, iphone or even an android phone. Now that supermarkets utilise this phenomenal trend, I believe that in the future, other than the automobile and groceries market, many more businesses of different spheres will utilize them as well. Why is this so? As our society becomes increasingly fast-paced, we are too busy with our own personal lives and work. Most of us would not be bothered to do simple chores such as shopping for groceries, much less going out to the malls to shop. QR coding brings about convenience to potential customers without them having to enter the mall itself. Basically, it is just like an online retail store without the hosting of a website domain.

One downside of this trend is that shops that operates in shopping malls now may lose their business and face reduction in sales. Due to the success of this application, many more people are embracing this miracle, and as time goes by, we are reluctant to head down to the malls to purchase products. Like our lecturer once mentioned, there are both good and bad sides to any founded technology. Maybe that is why technology is never stagnant. Oh how complicated it is.