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QR Codes (Quick Response codes), those abstract looking and square graphics that you can find in goods, products and tags, are alternatives or replacements to bar codes. QR codes were invented by the Japanese company Denso Wave - a subsidiary of Toyota. The men behind the QR code invention were Takayuki Nagaya and Masahiro Hara - both from DENSO wave. Today, QR codes are used everywhere in food product packaging, clothing, bottles, canned goods, documents, and books. They can be read using a QR code app installed in a smartphone.

QR codes can be read anywhere and anytime using a smartphone camera which is a common gadget today. They are versatile as they can store:

 * Contact data such as email address, website or URL, person's name
 * Calendar data
 * Phone number
 * SMS
 * Geological location
 * Plain texts - QR Codes can store texts for up to 7, 089 characters (numerical data) and 4, 296 characters (alphanumerical data) while iQR codes can store 40, 000 characters.

Parts of the QR Code

* Data in Modules - Helps the scanner identify or decode the data made the maker
* Format- Helps the scanner to identify the content type such as text, URL, etc
* Position Marker - Aids the scanner in identifying the QR code edges
* Version number - Aids the scanner to identify the version of the code version

Additional facts:

* Three large squares in the corner - Helps the scanner align the target
* The bottom at the lower right corner is used to normalize the angle and size of the scanner.
* The  blocs or pattern in the middle holds the data

Advantages over the Bar code

* Are two-dimensional codes that can store data vertically and horizontally
* can hold 7100 characters
* supports 360-degree high-speed reading
* Durable against soil and damage by recovering up to 30% of damaged codewords
* Can encode Japanese characters

Tags: QR codes, technology, japanese inventions, denso wave, toyota subsidiary, data devices, data codes