ECONOMY & WORK
MONEY 101
NEWS
PERSONAL FINANCE
NET WORTH
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use DMCA Opt-out of personalized ads
© Copyright 2023 Market Realist. Market Realist is a registered trademark. All Rights Reserved. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.
MARKETREALIST.COM / ECONOMY & WORK

What does QR code stand for? Its incredible history goes back further than you'd think

Initially, the standard QR code could store "up to 7,089 numeric characters, 4,296 alphanumeric characters, 2,953 binary bytes"
UPDATED AUG 12, 2024
Representative image | Unsplash | Photo by Mitya Ivanov
Representative image | Unsplash | Photo by Mitya Ivanov

What was invented for labeling automobile parts has become one of the essential things of the modern world. The importance of the QR code is often overlooked due to its abundance, especially in the post-Covid era. While QR has become a staple for "contactless" transactions of information and money, many don't know what the initials stand for, how it works, or who invented it. 

Representative image | Unsplash | Photo by Vizito Visitor Management
Representative image | Unsplash | Photo by Vizito Visitor Management

QR stands for “quick response” code. Essentially, it works like a barcode but it is much more capable. Barcodes only store information horizontally whereas a QR code stores information on both axes, vertical and horizontal. This enables the QR to hold over a hundred times more information than a simple barcode, as per Govtech Singapore. 

Representative image | Unsplash | Photo by Vizito Visitor Management
Representative image | Unsplash | Photo by Vizito Visitor Management

The two-dimensional matrix code was developed by Japanese engineer Mashiro Hara, who worked for DENSO, a Japanese manufacturer which contributed to the creation of the bar code. 

Hara and his team came up with the QR code in 1994 when the company was approached by automakers who needed something better than barcodes. Their clients complained that the barcodes were no longer capable enough to cater to their needs as they could hold only 20 characters of information each.

According to IFLScience, the automakers were thus, forced to use numerous bar codes on their boxes as their inventories grew. They argued that scanning multiple barcodes was highly inefficient for its workforce, and they needed something better. 



 

Thus, Hara and his team got to work. During the development process, an epiphany came when Hara, looked at a board of the strategic game "Go". Looking at the checkered matrix, it struck him that the arrangement could become a large mass of information, Hara told The Guardian in 2020. 

When they came up with the standard QR code, it could store "up to 7,089 numeric characters, 4,296 alphanumeric characters, 2,953 binary bytes," which was significantly more than a simple barcode.

Furthermore, it turned out to be extremely durable as it could be read by scanners even when the code was distorted or obscured.

The QR codes proved to be a huge success at Japanese car factories. However, their application went beyond and found a place in almost every industry, from finance and hospitality to tracking vaccinations during the pandemic. 

Photo illustration of the My Vaccine Pass QR code in Auckland | Getty Images | Photo Illustration by Phil Walter
Getty Images | Photo Illustration by Phil Walter

“I’m really pleased that it’s been used to help improve people’s safety. Back in 1994, we were focused on its use in the economy … we never thought it would be used for something like this,” Hara added in the Guardian report.  Now, Hara is set to take the QR code to another level. 

On his maiden visit to India last year, Hara revealed that he was working on the next version of the QR code. Speaking to reporters at the Ahmedabad Design Week 4.0, Hara said the new code will be called QR 2.0 and it will be very different from the present one. 

He said that, unlike decades-old black-and-white designs, QR 2.0 would have more colors and may even come in a rectangular shape. Hara said that the new code will also be able to store much more information than the standard QR, CNBC reported.

MORE ON MARKET REALIST
The guest said that it was left to her by her grandmother who passed at the age of 102.
14 hours ago
The host was quick to latch on to his way of speaking and made a mockery of it on TV.
15 hours ago
The contestant was clearly just happy to win the chance of being on the same stage as Drew Carey.
16 hours ago
The player, Thomas Russo, nearly put all of his strength into spinning the wheel.
18 hours ago
Things took a turn for the better with the shark as far as the entrepreneurs were concerned.
1 day ago
The expert pointed out the intricate details on the item and said it was a personal item of the royals.
1 day ago
The expert said that if the signature was on a letterhead when Garfield was President, it would be worth more.
1 day ago
Had the contestants not gotten their gamble right, they would have lost everything they'd earned.
2 days ago
The revelation came thanks to a fan who asked the question during a "Jeopardy!" taping.
2 days ago
The entrepreneurs' decision came as a big shock to the sharks, and they did not hide it.
2 days ago
Tina double-guessed her third answer, "Does April have 31 days?" Harvey gave her the stink eye.
2 days ago
All the theatrics didn't work when sharks started scrutinizing profit margins.
2 days ago
"Can I stop at any time?" the player nervously inquired. "You can stop any time you want, yes," Carey assured.
2 days ago
Guests on the show would run with it if they ever got that kind of money on Pawn Stars.
3 days ago
The guest even said to keep the kids in the dark about how valuable these items were.
3 days ago
The company had fantastic sales but a crushing debt with a high interest rate that the sharks hated.
3 days ago
It was only Carey's second season in the show and he could have been part of a massive scandal.
4 days ago
“I won’t say anything, and you know why,” he said, with a gesture to zip his lips.
4 days ago
The ring was rescued by the guest's mother thanks to a stranger early in the morning.
4 days ago
"She blanked out. It happens to the best of us," a fan sympathized with the player.
4 days ago