QR Code - an open source barcode format easy scanned with a cell phone camera
I first heard about this technology in connection with Semapedia.org, which allows you to generate QR codes that point to entries on Wikipedia.org. The idea is that, using Semapedia.org, people will "hyperlink" objects in the real word by placing QR code stickers on them that reference their entry on Wikipedia. For example, if you were walking by a dumpster and saw a QR code on it, you could scan it with your cell phone and link directly through to Wikipedia's treatise on dumpsters.
The reason this technology really floats my boat is that it's unbelievably easy to set up and use and its application is totally open ended. You need a web-enabled cell phone equipped with a camera, a QR Reader application loaded onto your phone, and a website that allows you to create QR codes.
I downloaded the i-nigma reader, which seems to support the widest range of phones (most Nokia, Sony Ericsson, and Motorola phones, among others). Then I clicked over to i-nigma's Create Codes page and made a couple QR codes to try out.
Using the site, you can encode a URL, contact information, or up to 4,296 characters of alphanumeric text which are output as an image. I made a QR code for the URL to the Hoole Intelligence Report. Launching the i-nigma reader on my phone automatically triggered the camera, which I pointed toward the center of the QR code. It locked on to the barcode and asked if I wanted to go to the web. I hit the select button and there I was at my blog. Super!
QR codes are the rage in Japan, where they can be found on products in grocery stores, in magazines, and on flyers. Also, it's common for Japanese business cards to be printed with a QR code, so that contact information can be easily input into a phone's address book via the onboard camera. I created an address book code for myself, scanned it with my phone, hit the select button, and voila -- the tel., e-mail address, and name were entered into my Outlook address book!
Even if a better technology eventually comes along and surpasses QR codes, what you've got here is a taste of the future. Unlike most gee-wiz technologies it's easy to set up and use. It took me less than five minutes to download the necessary software, make my own code, and scan it. QR codes get extra points for robustness (up to 30% of the code can be obscured and it will still be read accurately) and for being a flexible, do-it-yourself technology. The Hoole Intelligence Report heartily endorses QR codes.
