QR Code Turns 30: How a Car Parts Tracker Became a Global Standard
The QR code was invented in 1994 by engineer Masahiro Hara and his team at Denso Wave, a Toyota subsidiary in Japan, to solve the inefficiency of scanning multiple barcodes on automotive assembly lines. Unlike traditional one-dimensional barcodes limited to about 20 characters, the two-dimensional QR code stores thousands of characters across a grid of black and white squares, enabling much faster data retrieval. Hara reportedly drew inspiration from the board game Go, while his team engineered three corner markers that allow scanners to instantly locate and orient the code regardless of its angle. Denso Wave patented the technology but chose not to enforce the patent, making QR codes open and royalty-free — a decision that fueled their worldwide adoption once smartphones became commonplace. Today, QR codes are widely used for payments, restaurant menus, smart-device setup, and industrial asset tracking, underpinned by built-in error correction that keeps them readable even when partially damaged.
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