Masahiro Hara, a Japanese engineer invented the QR code or quick response code. He did so while working for a Japanese automotive technology company Denso. To begin with, the company used the invention for inventory management. Although Hara retained the patent for the code, he did not exercise his rights as a patent owner. He wanted the code to be used by as many people as possible. The usage did not attract any charges. The code thus became popular all over the world.

In 2002, the code gained acceptance across industries in Japan, and since then it has spread all over the world.

The information carried by the code was initially read by an electronic reader. Later, dedicated apps downloaded on devices could read the code. The reading became a child’s play with mobile cameras scanned and read the code. During the pandemic, it provided a convenient mode for payment. Post-pandemic the use increased many fold as it was convenient, contactless payments payment mode.

QR code is now combined with AI. It makes it more useful and easy to adopt. AI makes it secure and improves images. It can personalise codes.

Smart computer vision (CV) algorithms help to identify and locate a QR code within a larger image.

In retail, healthcare, consumer goods, it has emerged as a convenient mode of payment.

In India, the National Payments corporation of India in collaboration with International Card Schemes (ICS) has developed a common standard to launch Bharat QR. This is a digital payment mechanism used by merchants and e-commerce portals. QR code is likely to evolve further. Security aspects will be addressed. There could be micro-codes in future not visible to the human eye. There could be addition of colours to accommodate more data.