Why should we look at the QR-codes in 2019
Technologies / / December 19, 2019
What is a QR-Code
QR-code, or quick response code, literally translated as "code for a quick response." In fact, this two-dimensional matrix code, which consists of an alternation of painted elements and voids. In each element of the encrypted information. There is even a white frame - with the help of her scanner "sees" the code boundaries.
As with any code, QR is not intended for use by people. He only helps us to speak with a computer on his tongue. Therefore, this code can be called intermediary between online and offline spheres.
The closest relative of the QR - barcode. It also consists of a sequence of different width lines and spaces identical. The technology resembles more capacious Morse code: the code placed in the same all the seller about a specific product data.
QR-code same holds much more information: 7089 digits or 4296 characters (about 4 pages of text). Add to it can also be a long link, email, SMS, image, information on a plane ticket, a unique promotional offer meme to a friend and any other data that are difficult to remember and accurately convey.
How has technology
QR-coding technology was introduced in Japan more than 25 years ago. It was developed by Denso and was originally designed for the automotive industry.
Due to the nature of the language system Asian QR-code turned out to be very convenient for perception and quickly gained popularity there. And in a variety of areas: trade and logistics, manufacturing, medicine, marketing.
However, the use of QR-codes were not always so simple. So, 10 years ago, the payment of purchase with them took up to 17 seconds. And it was difficult to imagine that the technology is so slow it will be possible every day to effectively use mobile devices.
Everything changed in 2003 when the Chinese company Inspiry It invented a faster mechanism reading of QR-codes. Under the leadership of its founder Wang Yue developers to promote the technology in China at the state level.
In 2005 Inspiry registered national standard code, and released the first mass application to read it. And yet three years later came the first portable scanner that identified the development of a revolutionary technology in China.
In 2014, with the growing popularity of WeChat QR-codes have become the main method of online payment for the residents of that State.
According to the Internet WorldStatTop 20 countries with the highest number of internet users, In 2017 China ranked first in the world in terms of Internet audience. And 100% of the last use QR-code. According to iResearchChina's Third Party Online Payment GMV Soared 62.2% in 2016, The volume of mobile market of payments China already in 2016 was $ 8 trillion. This is 50 times higher than in North America.
The bulk of payments flows through multifunction WeChat app today. With the help of the Chinese purchase of movie tickets, bicycle rental, pay for travel and even buy vegetables from street vendors.
The payment procedure is simple: to photograph the QR-code is quite a seller's market or a similar code directly at the box office, and money instantly deducted from a linked bank account to the application. Safe operation is guaranteed at the national level.
Two years ago, The Beijinger wroteSight of Guests Being Advised to Give Cash via Alipay at Beijing Wedding Reception Sparks Backlash Beijing about an unusual wedding where the bride's girlfriend wore a badge with a QR-code. With it, visitors could send money through WeChat. She explained that she decided to spare guests withdraw cash as needed.
What in Asia are using QR-code
1. government operations
In South-East and South Asia, the spread of QR-payments fundamentally changed the economy and industry. The Chinese government, for example, almost 10 years using QR-code at the state level and plans to replace them all official documents - birth certificates, visa, Identity card. Since 2010, guarantees the safety of using QR PBOC.
2. ID confirmation
In 2017, the owners opened Taobao tao Cafe - self-service shop without cash. To access it, the buyer need to scan QR-Code with Taobao account data. At the exit of the store, the system automatically calculates the cost of selected goods and withdraws the required amount from the account. The operation takes a few seconds.
Beijing hospital doctors using QR-code to identify the elderly. Patients are issued a badge with a code, in which encrypted their personal data, including medical records. The technology helps to quickly identify the identity of the person who is in the hospital unconscious and reduce the chance of misdiagnosis. Apply it not only to the elderly, even though they are the target audience of technology. After all, many of them memory problems.
3. Advertising campaigns
A few years ago as part of an advertising campaign about the Korean supermarket Emart installed unusual installation. At lunchtime, the last cast shadows that turned into a QR-code. Shoppers scan it and receive a discount of $ 12. As a result, this action has helped to boost sales shop in a quiet lunch hours by 25%.
Original advertising using a QR-code and have come up with in the South Korean dermatology clinic Regen Clinic. At public transport stops placed posters on which was a picture of a girl with a problem skin. But the man who came to the poster closer, I saw instead of pimples QR-code to share: Free consultation on Regen Clinic Skin Care.
The Chinese have a tradition - to give money for the holidays in a red envelope. WeChat sponsored campaign Red Packets, and now instead of cash people are happy to use the translation.
4. Quality control
QR-code to help solve one of the major problems in China - control over the quality of goods. Now stands in supermarkets print QR-code, which contains information about product supplies. With it, customers will learn how a farm and when it was brought fruits and vegetables.
So come and winemakers: on the bottle printed code that validates drink. There, the buyer learns the date of harvest, grape and guidance products that this wine will do.
5. Donations
The problem that triggered the popularity of mobile payments - digital panhandling. Chinese beggars begging on the streets and in the transitions, but do not take cash. Those who want to donate some money, it is necessary to scan the badge with the QR-code, which is linked to a mobile wallet beggars.
Even the church tithe collected via QR-code.
In the temple, Hangzhou, for example, instead of cash collection in plastic boxes offer to scan QR-code and send donations to the account of the church.
6. Track attendance
QR-code - the modern way to keep track of attendance in a Chinese university. During class code appears on the board, which the students have to scan through WeChat, to confirm its presence. Ingenious system, but it's not very efficient: truant scanned photo QR-code received from classmates.
Why QR-code is not as popular in other countries
IN book «Alibaba. The history of the world of climbing in the first person, "describe the case of the biography of Jack Ma, founder of AliExpress and Taobao. Speaking to the Chinese audience, Jack often operates with stories of his favorite books about martial arts or appeals to the Chinese revolutionary history.
American colleague once asked Jack about his references to Mao in his speeches in China. Jack explained it this way: "To be interested in you, I will talk about George Washington and the cherry tree."
Whatever may be the innovative technology of one state, it may not be useful in another country. Thus, the major Western players came to the Chinese market and defeated, because not well understood local conditions.
In anthropology, even a term for it - cultural references. It means that the perception of the world is determined by the cultural characteristics of the environment in which man develops.
Therefore, in the creation of any product - especially when it comes to technology - it is important to take into account the cultural dimension. And to see the differences, it suffices to compare the typical sites car rental - American and Chinese:
Once eBay in China claimed to be the with what eventually became Alibaba and Taobao, but the buyers failed to take "Western vision." Store seemed empty, uninteresting and a stranger.
But Taobao, a modified clone of the US trading platform, created by the Chinese for the Chinese people, met with enthusiasm: the volume of its transactions in the year exceeds $ 400 billion. This is a third more than the Amazon and eBay.
The same situation and with computer technology that came from the West. They are not too simplified the lives of Asians: the keyboard every character typed a few characters and develops in one word using tooltips.
Before the advent of the mobile touch-enabled devices have been even more difficult: because of the small number of buttons and without time-consuming set of characters turns into a nightmare.
Well, we QR-code reminiscent of Sudoku - Japanese Crossword, familiar to any Asian. However, the person who uses the Latin alphabet or the Cyrillic alphabet, use a graphic symbol in the daily activities difficult.
Where to use QR-code in the western world
In 2013, the US smartphone owners askedData Dive: QR CodesWhether they had ever scan the QR-code, and only a fifth of the respondents answered in the affirmative.
A year earlier, the company comScore released a studyQR Codes? Do not Bother. 5 Reasons: Almost one hundred percent of buyers online stores in the US do not know how to use QR.
Despite the proliferation of smartphones and mobile payments, in the West and in the CIS technology is still unpopular. And it is quite difficult to imagine that we have to pay for coffee with the QR-code. However, in some areas, this technology still managed to find a decent application.
1. Receipts and tickets
Most often we see the QR-code in receipts from the store. Their use is regulated by law: the code must contain the information about the payment (a unique ID, the amount and time of payment) and the data of the buyer, if he pays the card.
The law applies to tickets for: both air and rail. Those who travels frequently and is Aeroexpress used to scan a QR-code on the ticket at the entrance to an airport.
In addition, the technology of "Yandex» Smartpass helps to generate and read QR-code with the purchase of tickets to the cinema. After payment of an electronic ticket sent in the form of QR - enough to keep the code on the phone and at the entrance to the hall to bring it to the scanner.
2. Museums & Attractions
In 2019 nobody will be surprised description of the painting in a museum or historic building in the form of the QR-code, rather than text. Three years Grodno (Belarus) back to the sights were codes by which operates mobile guide.
Tourists take pictures of it, and the program tells the story of attractions, shows the photos and videos that recommends nearby objects.
QR-code can be seen in the Russian Museum. They were placed next to the hundreds of exhibits. With the application RM's Guide Visitors scan the code and get information about the history and content of the painting, its creator.
So, if you scan a picture of the code "Parade on the Empress meadow" Gregory Tchernetsoff, the program will talk about each of the 233 characters depicted on the canvas.
3. Social network
Technology, which works by QR, implemented and Instagram. It recently introduced a feature Nametag - cards, which work on the principle of QR-codes. To go to your profile, you just need to bring your phone's camera to any of them.
A good example of adaptation technologies under the western user: neat card with a nice design and Emoji are very different from the standard of QR-codes.
4. branded goods
Australian brand UGG, and the American company Sennheiser give customers the opportunity to check the originality of the goods on the QR-code which is placed inside the package. Buyer reads it after the purchase, and on the smartphone screen shows information on authentication. If the thing is a fake, it is possible to return to the store.
5. veterinary science
American clinic for animals to integrate QR tags and collars. In the code, except for the name and medical pet cards, is encrypted with the name and contact owner. The technology helps to identify the pet if it is lost, and return it to the owner.
QR-code is also considered as a universal replacement microchips. "Read" them can any man with a camera on a smartphone, while the information from the chip reads only buses in veterinary clinics.
6. Purses for cryptocurrency
Technology was a place in cryptocurrency. Instead of memorizing purse address of a dozen characters, it is possible to encrypt a QR-code. To do this, simply insert the Bitcoin address in the online generator. And to send a Bitcoin address is sufficient to scan the code.
True, QR do not solve the problem of security of conventional addresses. Several years ago, in a live TV channel Bloomberg stolen Bitcoins from the account, QR-address is a leading inadvertently shown in the frame.
In what other areas of QR-code can be useful
The development of the new - always stressful. Fresh technology should have clear advantages. It is unlikely that we will use QR-code on a par with Asians. But the areas in which we can quite successfully apply this technology, still there.
1. Simplification of complex structures
Codes can certainly be useful in the production, as well as in government operations. Two years ago, Russia adopted the standard for mobile applications that work with barcodes and QR. And it helped to simplify payment of taxes, Utilities and fines. Unfortunately, until now this technology few people use.
2. Mobile payments
The Norwegian payment system is now Vipps uses Alipay, the Chinese guests to be comfortable to pay in shops, restaurants and hotels. Payment QR Conduct is supported by several national systems. For example, Swish in Sweden and banking application in Denmark.
The Bank of Russia plans to develop a fast payment system for QR-code, and a number of major banks have already added this feature in mobile applications. The recipient enters the data transfer, the application generates a QR-code which scans the payer and the funds are transferred automatically.
3. Advertising
"MegaFon" was the first in Russia to use the QR-code in advertising, placing them on banners. Mobile operator was trying to promote a new technology for us, and has even developed an application for its subscribers to create and recognize codes. Despite this, in recent years, QR advertising still does not meet almost.
4. Production of goods
For example, the codes can be placed on food packages, clothing or in the interior and contain any information about the product. For example, last year the Nizhny Novgorod shops have joined the program of certification of products "Mercury", which helps control the quality of goods.
Promises that soon customers will be able to scan a QR-code of any product and see how it is safe. Unfortunately, throughout the system until it is used.
5. presentation of information
Business cards with QR instead of contact data, which, when scanning the code are automatically added to the address book, appeared eight years ago. They are out of date in 2019, but nothing prevents use the same principle to the site, business cards, in your presentation or advertisement.
These may well be presented in the form of a QR-code with full contact details of the company. So potential customers can quickly record the necessary data in a smartphone without errors.
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