Denso Corporation, part of the Toyota group
involved in the evolution of bar coding technology has developed a newer
and more advanced technology called quick response (QR) codes or
two-dimensional barcodes . These have been approved and accepted by the
world regulatory bodies. The Bangalore-based Essae Technologys have a
strategic tie-up with Denso Corporation and now offers these
two-dimensional in India.
The two-dimensional barcodes can hold more information than a regular
barcode, in a much smaller area. These codes not only store more
information but they are encrypted as well. To the naked eyes it looks
garbled containing small dots and squares but when scanned using the
specialized scanner only then are the details revealed. Unlike normal
barcodes, which need to be scanned from a particular direction, these 2-D
codes can be read omnidirectionally and do not have any alphanumeric
characters printed.
The 2-D codes find its applications in Shipping, Freight,
Pharmaceutical, Networked transactions, and Inventory and Warehousing
sectors. Just by using a 2-D code, invoices, balance sheets and other
sensitive documents can be faxed in a networked multi-site/interoffice set
up eliminating security risks. For shipping and pharmaceuticals, packing
details, which would be quite elaborate, can be packed into a tiny 2-D
code. Purchase orders, production instructions, packing instructions can
be delivered to the assembly lines for efficiently executing complex
manufacturing processes.
These codes could be used as a substitute for text documents (say MS
Word 97) the text can be encrypted into 2-D codes and be carried instead
of all the actual documents print out. The scanners, which are compatible
with PCs or laptops can be used to reconvert the codes into text.
Typically a travelling executive could carry 5 sheets of 2-D print outs
instead of hundreds of sheets of paper.