Do you have a Blackberry, IPhone, Droid or another smartphone? Have you ever heard of Quick Response (QR) Codes? A QR Code is an image that resembles a barcode at your local grocery store. However, it can store much more data and its uses are endless. Several options exist, but most QR Codes have a URL (web address) stored within the image.
If you have downloaded one of the many free barcode reader apps, or if one comes standard on your smartphone, you can scan a QR Code through this barcode reader and your phone will automatically fetch the embedded URL! The days of searching through layers and layers of a website, or having to enter long URLs into your mobile phone’s browser are coming to an end.
So how can Lee County and the City of Sanford use this technology. Easy. Let’s say you’re at one of the events in Depot Park and are curious as to what is happening next week or next month. Before you leave the park you can walk over to the QR Code sign, take about 15 seconds to open your barcode reader application and scan the code, and you are instantly connected to an event schedule for Depot Park. Another example: you’re out walking along the new Greenway and (1) you come to the Endor Iron Furnace and want to know its history, (2) you want to see a menu for a restaurant without having to search and search or (3) you want to see a how the Greenway will look once all phases are complete, then you can pull out your phone and quickly scan our QR Code for instant information.
Here are some resources for finding a free barcode reader for your specific phone. We have only tried two types of phones thus far.
Droid - Android Market
We have tested “Barcode Scanner” from the Android Market and found it to outperform several other readers and work across all types of QR Codes.
Blackberry
Some Blackberry models have a “Scan a Group Barcode” in Blackberry Messenger. Other options with Blackberry include, Beetag and Neotag. If you find a great app for Blackberry, please let us know.
Others
For Razr, Nokia, Sony Ericson and a few others visit Kaywa Readers and see if your phone is supported. More than likely a quick Google search will illuminate several good barcode readers for your Smartphone.
As anyone can see, a plethora of opportunities exist with QR Codes. This is the future. Imagine yourself sitting at a stoplight one day and scanning a QR Code on the business truck in front of you. You would be instantly connected with the businesses website and could see hours of operation, rates and other information. Some businesses have switched from their company name on a sign to having a QR Code on their building. Realtors may get use out of these codes and supplement or replace paper flyers on "For Sale" signs.
We are not aware of this technology being used by any other local government in North Carolina, but this will catch on quickly. It’s free to generate a QR Code and it’s free to download a barcode reader app to your smartphone, but having such easy access to information with capitalizing on technology is priceless.
Currently we have two temporary signs in the county. They both are in Depot Park. One links to the Depot Park event calendar. The other is in the water fountain area and links to hours of operation and the seasonal schedule of the fountain. When you are at Depot Park the next time, try our QR Codes there. We’ll have many more signs coming, and I’m sure you’ll see more and more use of these codes in the business sector.
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