Ideas for the Future of QR Codes

The latest episode of Thinking and Driving had me pondering other possibilities for QR codes. For those who don’t know, a QR code is like a barcode that can be read by smart-phones and QR code scanners. The QR code can contain and initiate text, contact information, or most importantly, website URLs. Let’s dive in to some ideas.

I have included thought experiments into some of my ideas to help realize and further illustrate my point.

Business/Restaurant Check-Ins

Basically, you show up at a restaurant or business and on the door, menu, or bill there is a QR code that works with an API to check you in to that location. This is an idea I had but then while researching further, I learned that Foursquare and other companies are already starting something like this.

Thought Experiment: You just had a fabulous lunch at the new deli by your work. You notice a QR code on your bill that works with the yelp.com API to automatically check you in and let you write a review of your meal. It could even give you 5$ off your meal for a check-in. You type in, “Best french dip in Denver!!!!”

E-Ticket QR Codes

We see this starting already with plane tickets. Although on the flight I am waiting for right now out of D.C., I was unable to figure out how to actually get an e-ticket. This could easily be done with concerts, sporting events, and movies too.

Thought Experiment: During dinner with your girlfriend in Chinatown, you both decide to check out the movie Inception. You immediately open your phone, and using the Moviefone app you find the closest theater, and the best time. You are able to purchase 2 e-tickets and it gives you a QR code reciept. Now you simply walk right to the theater, skipping the ticket lines, and let the ticket greeter scan your QR code. “Auditorium 10, to your left, that movie’s crazy,” she says.

Tracking Product Origins

Companies like FedEx and Toyota use QR code variations and RFID tags to track packages and parts across the country and on assembly lines. It would be great to be able to tap into some of this information to see the origin of our products (food especially).

Thought Experiment: You are standing in front of the eggs at the grocery store trying to decide which brand to buy. You whip out your phone and start scanning the QR codes on each box. You are able to see that Farmer John’s eggs were made outside of Brevard, North Carolina a week ago, boarded a truck for a factory in Charlotte, and were then flown to Atlanta, Georgia, before boarding another truck to the grocery store. Farmer John’s eggs might not be the most sustainable choice.

Vehicle Health Monitor

QR codes were created by the Denso Corporation, a subsidiary of Toyota, to track car parts along the assembly line. It’s not a far reach to imagine we could use QR codes to track your vehicle’s health.

Thought Experiment: You are driving across the country when you realize that you are overdue for an oil change. You pull in to Joe’s Oil Express, he scans the QR code on your front windshield to see when your last oil change was, what tire pressure you need, and the age of your air filter. Once he finishes topping off your fluids he checks back in with your QR code, updating it with the latest information on your vehicle. You can always go online with the same QR code to see the complete history of your vehicle.

QR Code Integrated Photo Software

The biggest hurdle with QR codes right now is the multi-step process involved in accessing content. To cut out on some of the technical hurdles, every smart-phone needs to recognize QR codes, and every application (iPhoto, Flickr, Facebook, etc.) needs to acknowledge them as well.

Thought Experiment: You are taking a picture of your friend in Times Square. In the background of the frame is a billboard with a QR code. After snapping the photo you check to see if his eyes were closed. Your phone recognizes the QR code, points it out for you in the frame, and asks you if you would like to view it’s contents (which happens to be a petition for the oil spill). You click yes, and it takes you to the petition to learn more info. When you get home you upload the photo to Facebook, and when your friends click to see John in Times Square, Facebook recognizes the QR code, and makes it clickable to the same oil spill petition.

Band Posters

You no longer need to judge a band by it’s poster. Even though designers love the freedom and experimentation involved in creating band posters, music lovers don’t really get a sense of what the band sounds like form the poster alone.

Thought Experiment: You are waiting a while for a friend outside of the music venue, so you start to browse the posters plastered outside. One catches your eye because it has a picture of a three-headed lion sitting inside a prism, and in the background is a beautiful fractal made out of mountain ridges. This seems like a band you would want to check out, so you scan the QR code, which is tattooed on the lion’s bicep. Your phone takes you to the band’s MySpace page and instantly starts playing their music, or to YouTube which begins streaming the band’s latest homemade music video. The aural landscape hypnotizes you, while the african rhythm makes your head bop up and down. You make a note to download Elemental Harmonics on iTunes that night.

Crossword Puzzle

The QR code already looks like a crossword puzzle. It would be a great gimmick for the New York Times or Wired Magazine to encrypt the answers, or a secret message, into the crossword using a QR codes.

City & Mall Maps

Checking in doesn’t have to be just for businesses and restaurants. There are plenty of times where you would benefit from using your phone’s built in GPS. City maps and mall maps could have QR codes directing you to your location on a google map, or a proprietary map technology.

Trailhead Logs

Trailheads could be equipped with QR codes directing you to a site where you check-in how many people are in your party, where you plan on going, and for how long. It could then give you a topographic map of the area.

Wine Labels

This is my favorite idea other than the practical nature of the e-tickets, and the fun potential of the band posters. On the back of every wine label, or prominently displayed on the front, could reside a QR code. When you scan it, you could see detailed information about the wine, recipes, food pairings, or even videos of the sunset at the vineyard right there in the wine isle. I have so many ideas with this one, I am going to have to dedicate an entire blog post to it in the near future, and maybe pair it with a few design comps.

I hope you enjoyed imagining some of these ideas with me. If you have any thoughts on them, want to take one of them further, or something sparked a new QR code idea in your head, please leave a comment below!

Edit (1/23/12) - Check out my latest article on QR codes - The only way QR codes are going to survive, One App.

Tagged as: band poster, checking in, city map, crossword, e-ticket, idea, integrated, mall map, qr, qr code, restaurant, tracking, trailhead, vehicle, wine label