QR codes have become nearly inseparable from the mobile age, a remarkable portal that conveniently links the physical and digital world with a simple scan. However, the history of the QR Code, short for Quick Response Code, extends beyond the peripherals of our smartphone cameras. But where did the QR come from? And where is it going?
Origins – The Beginning of Brilliance
The genesis of the QR Code can be traced back to Japan in 1994, the same era that grunge music was in full swing and the internet was still in its fledgling stage. The initiators of this revolutionary concept were Denso Wave, a subsidiary of the Japanese automotive company, Denso Corporation. The use case for inventing QR codes was to track parts and manage inventory during vehicle manufacturing.
Now, inventory management is a problem going back to the industrial revolution at least, and there had been numerous revolutions in the process over the intervening years. Denso Wave’s problems in 1994 came from an inventory management system based on barcodes. Because a traditional barcode can only encode about 20 characters, and so much more information needed to be tracked on each item, employees were scanning multiple codes per package, and this was adversely affecting speed and productivity. Denso needed to be able to compress more information into each scan, and the QR code was their solution. With roughly 3,000 characters able to be encoded in a QR code, Denso Wave’s invention increased the efficiency of a single code scan by 150 times. That’s like jumping directly from the original 8-bit Super Mario Bros games directly to World of Warcraft. Sorry, Super Mario World- your time was over before it ever began.
Remarkably, Denso Wave decided against exercising their patent rights, intending the QR Code technology to be accepted and used worldwide without licensing fees. You might call this a departure from business norms, akin to when Radiohead released their album “In Rainbows” on a ‘pay-what-you-want’ model in 2007!
The Global QR Boom – Bust – Boom
After being initially adopted for industrial purposes, the QR code was applied to a myriad of non-industrial uses in Japan once its potential was realized. But here’s a fun fact – QR codes didn’t gain pronounced traction in western countries until the late 2010s, nearly 2 decades after their inception. The reason? The proliferating popularity of smartphones and the exponential growth of mobile internet. Dispersed populations with low access to mobile internet just couldn’t take advantage of web-based resources in the same way. Thankfully, we’re now firmly in the Internet Everywhere era
The widespread application of QR codes in wide-ranging sectors, including advertising, marketing, and retail, is a compelling testament to its wonderful adaptability.
The Digital Renaissance
The last decade was particularly notable for QR codes; they were in vogue, out of style, and then made a robust comeback in unexpected circumstances. The arrival of apps which easily read QR codes, and their integration later into the camera apps of smartphones, brought a resurgence in their usage in the mid-2010s. Much like the explosion of 80s fashion trends in the past decade—for both QR codes and mullets, what was once considered passé is new again.
The COVID-19 pandemic added another twist to the QR story. Health and safety protocols provided a new application field for QR Codes, allowing contactless interactions in restaurants, retail shops, and even in tracing contacts, exemplifying their efficiency and versatility.
Lasting Impact – The Modern-Day Currency of Convenience
Moving into the present, people around the globe are embracing the high-tech charm of QR code simplicity. They’ve become the currency of convenience, facilitating digital payments, encouraging customer engagement, and contributing to environmental sustainability by providing an alternative to paper-based methods. They’re as ubiquitous as the selfie, functionally woven into everyday life’s fabric.
The QR Code has traveled far from its humble beginnings in Japan’s automotive sector to conquering the global arena in less than three decades. As a seamless convergence of physical interaction with the digital world, there seem to be few limits on where we’ll see them in the years to come.
The Future of QR Codes: Predictions for the Next Decade
As we look towards the future, we anticipate the QR Code will evolve and grow in ways we can only imagine. Here are some cool emergent QR Code applications we think will pick up steam over the next decade.
Integration with Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR)
One of the most interesting potentials of QR Code technology lies in enhancing our interactions with AR and VR. QR codes can serve as portals to AR content, linking the physical and the virtual in a seamless blend. Right now, we’re seeing the early adoption of this trend, but as AR and VR technologies improve, expect to see QR codes used in increasingly innovative and immersive ways.
Advanced Personalization and Customer Interaction
We may see QR Codes becoming more personalized as businesses attempt to upgrade customer experiences. Customized QR Codes to cater unique promotions, personalized product recommendations or activating specific user preferences could become a widespread practice, advancing the dialogue between brands and consumers to an individual level. At Liiingo, we’re already using a patented content delivery process to ensure content is viewed in the user’s device language.
Enhanced Security Measures
With the increased adoption of QR codes for contactless payments, we will likely see a parallel trend in enhancing security to prevent fraudulent activity. This could mean the introduction of multi-layered QR Codes with additional encryption, making transactions safer and ensuring peace of mind for users. It could also mean using a phone’s unique identifying characteristics as a token to grant access to the encoded information.
Dynamic QR Codes as the Default
Unlike the static QR Codes we see today that lead to a single, unchangeable destination, dynamic QR Codes can be updated to redirect to different online locations. Think about redeeming rewards or accessing different digital platforms through a single scan. This adaptability will make QR codes an even more integral part of marketing and customer engagement strategies. Liiingo is proud to offer only dynamic QR codes with its QR code generation service.
Increased Use in IoT and Smart Tech
As the Internet of Things (IoT) expands, it’s likely that QR codes will be a primary connecting tool for online-enabled devices. Apple and other streaming platforms are already using QR codes to handle account linking verification for things like account setup. Soon, scanning a QR code on your air conditioner could allow your smartphone to control it, for example. The potential for QR codes to make our lives more interconnected is immense.
At Liiingo, we foresee QR codes becoming an even more significant player in the digital landscape over the next decade. Its confluence with AR, VR, IoT, smart tech, and improved security measures will push the humble QR Code to the forefront in revolutionizing how we interact with technology. Regardless of how they transform over time, one thing is certain: QR Codes are here to stay. We’re excited to follow this journey and continue to support our users with cutting-edge QR code generating solutions.