QR Codes For Hua-Lien Organic Products

User scans an official QR Code label issued by the Council of Agriculture

Not only are QR Codes for food traceability promoted by at the national level in Taiwan, I also recently noticed that it is being implemented at a more regional/local level as well. The Hua-Lien Shien Bureau of Agriculture also have their own system for certifying organic agriculture products from Hua-Lien using QR Codes.

QR Code label by Hua-Lien Shien Bureau of Agriculture

The Hua-Lien Shien stickers are noticeably larger and seems to have more information, even including a photo of the producer. However, scanning the QR Code takes you to a web page with pretty much the same information (link). Therefore the enlarged label is probably taking into consideration that most people are still not equipped with mobile barcode readers.

If you are into organic products, Hua-Lien Shien has setup an online shop for these products, check it out.

Related links (Chinese): Taiwanese farmers with cutting edge technology, Technology and tradition

Student Vlog Explains 2D Barcodes

A video by Ming Chuan University students (most likely as an assignment) explaining the benefits of 2D barcodes as opposed to the traditional 1D barcodes. Part of the video was taken during a computer expo in May 2007, featuring QuickMark and 2D barcodes that integrate with map softwares to provide GPS navigational services. The video demonstrates those features using the ETEN glofiish, but they are actually available for all QuickMark supported Windows Mobile devices (version 3.3 and above). To use the navigational functions, one needs to either have PaPaGo! (Taiwanese map software) or Garmin Mobile XT installed.


The i'm TV website that hosts the vlog is also catering to the mobile users and has a page explaining how to use QR Codes for quicker access to their contents.

Looking For A House? Scan A QR

A full page newspaper ad featuring several QR Codes by GigaHouse (a real estate company in Taiwan) was spotted at the end of last year. The ad announced that the real estate company is working with operators to provide mobile search services for real estate items and placed a QR Code for each of their featured items. And apparently, their agents will be printing contact info 2D barcodes on their business cards as well.

The contents of the barcodes are web links that take users to a mobile web page with some additional information regarding the item. The unfortunate thing is that once again, the 2D barcodes are printed with a rather small module size that is not easily recognizable by the average camera phone.

More related links: GigaHouse on emome, GigaHouse with Taiwan Mobile

Random Useless Observations About ZXing

Just noticed how similar the logo of Google's ZXing project is to the logo of Sourforge's Zebra Barcode Reader. I think both are cool logo ideas. If somebody is trying to come up with a logo for a similar project in the future, I would suggest trying animals such as the cheetah, leopard, or giraffe (I think they all have dots), it should be a lot of fun.

The other random observation is that I spotted a link to the ZXing project in the Google's Sponsored Links area while performing searchs for the phrases "2D barcode reader" and "1D barcode reader". I am not sure what Google's algorithm is for displaying those links, perhaps my personal search history is part of the equation or maybe they do this for every Google project? But if I am not mistaken, companies pay Google on a per click basis for those ads. So I guess it at least shows that they are very supportive of their own projects.

Billboard Promotes QR Food Traceability

The billboard pictured above was spotted last month at the Nan-Jing East Road Station of Taipei's Metro Rapid Transport. The purpose of the QR Codes are for food traceability, as mentioned in an earlier post. The sole entrance/exit of this station is just to the left of the billboard, so it is in a perfect spot to attract eyeballs. Unfortunately, due to the limited space, the billboard only tells the viewer that there is a new certification label for agricultural products. Meaning that those foreign to 2D barcodes will still not understand what those squarely dots stand for. Nonetheless, more people are paying attention to this and I also found the following video from the Taiwan Public Television about the importance of food traceability:




(Link to the article accompanying the video)

QR-Kill Game

Just read about the QR-Kill game and it really sounds like fun! I think I would enjoy running around chasing people with my QuickMark decoder.

The basic rules are as follows:

1. A QR with your name and phone (SMS format) will be printed in a 20cm minimum width sheet of white paper. It will be reinforced by a hard cardboard and stuck to the back using american tape.

2. The QR must be visible at all times. It cannot be covered by any means, wall, floor, etc…

3. Once you receive the deathly SMS you must leave the scenario right away.

4. When team playing, members can only communicate by using same phone they use as a weapon.

5. Disguising is allowed as along as the QR is visible.

6. Unless playing “sniper mode” no extra devices can be used to capture the QR-Codes (E.g. zoom photo cameras, videocams, etc…)

7. If there is a conflict deciding who killed first, SMS time will decide (we recommend synchronizing watches before the game starts)

8. No one can assist you to kill the enemy with your phone. However you can hire spies, etc…