Book 3, Question 93
Why Do QR Codes Hold So Much?
A camera reads the pattern like a map. Three big finder squares in the corners tell the phone which way is up. Then software turns the grid back into letters or numbers.
From the book
Page from A Million Whys Book 3
More fun facts
- QR stands for quick response.
- QR codes were invented in Japan in the mid-1990s to keep track of parts in car factories.
- A QR code can hold up to 2,500 numbers, compared with about 43 for a regular barcode.
- A QR code is usually a square of black and white pixels that a smartphone camera can scan.
- QR codes, a technology from the 1990s, became very useful during the Covid pandemic.
- Scientists have printed invisible QR codes to help fight fake products.
Sources: BBC, BBC, Scientific American
Questions kids ask
Who invented QR codes?
They were invented in Japan in the mid-1990s to track parts in car making.