The Origins of QR

From tracking car parts to connecting the physical and digital worlds.

1994: The Invention

Masahiro Hara and his team at Denso Wave needed a better way to track components.

The traditional barcode had reached its limit, holding only 20 characters. Hara looked at a game of Go and was inspired by the grid-like pattern. His goal was to create a code that was easy to scan from any angle and could store high amounts of data.

2000s: Going Global

In 2000, the QR code was approved as an International Standard (ISO/IEC 18004).

Denso Wave decided not to exercise its patent rights, allowing the world to use the technology for free. This open-source approach was critical to its global adoption. With the rise of smartphones in the late 2000s, anyone could suddenly carry a QR scanner in their pocket.

2020: The Boom

The COVID-19 pandemic turned QR codes from a 'cool feature' into a necessity.

As the world shifted toward contactless interactions, QR codes became the standard for menus, check-ins, and health certificates. This period marked a permanent change in consumer behavior, making QR codes a ubiquitous part of daily life.