You might have first seen it on Esquire's augmented reality special issue or maybe in a Ford Figo ad in the newspaper. Some people, now, sport it on their business cards, resumes and even the t-shirts they wear to conferences. I'm talking about QR codes – the black and white chequered squares that are on their way to becoming a rather common sight worldwide.
As opposed to barcodes and RFID tags, which respectively decode embedded content to tag and track products, Quick Response (QR) codes can be put to as many uses as your imagination will allow.
Till now, these visual hyperlinks have mostly been put to use for marketing and advertising products. However, their potential use remains vastly untapped. Recently, I happened to attend a conference by a leading printer manufacturer. Among the usual bits about their new products in the market, it was the way they had put QR codes to use that caught my attention. The company supplies its own cartridges and had included a QR code on every new pack, which you could scan to check if the cartridge was an original.
Company officials had said that this proved to be of immense help to their customers who otherwise wouldn't be able to tell if the cartridge they were buying was counterfeit or not. In a market where pirated goods seamlessly merge with the originals on shop shelves, QR codes have huge potential ground to cover. Tourism, which is one of the largest growing industries in the country, could also use that little extra edge with QR codes. Imagine being able to do away with pestering guides, with a quick QR scan at the entrance of the Konark Sun Temple or the Taj Mahal, one could get a quick history lesson or a map to follow.
The last idea might take its own time to be implemented, if ever. However, it's worth considering. QR codes cannot only help companies to advertise their products, but also sell them where it's either impossible or inconvenient for them to set up stores. Some months ago, Tesco Homeplus in South Korea, lined a subway wall with posters of what their original shelf stores look like. Each produce on the virtual display had a QR code next to it. Commuters walking by could scan items, add them to their shopping list and make the payment for a home delivery through their mobile phones.
Can you imagine how blissful it'd be not to drag yourself to the department store and lug the grocery bags back each time the missus wants stuff? Just do it while you are waiting for your local back home or over drinks with your buddies at the pub!