Why Is QR Code Used In Digital Payments On the night of April 15, 1912, a wireless code was sent from a giant ship named ‘The Unsinkable’. That code was three dots (…), three dashes (—), and three dots (…). This means SOS stands for Request for Emergency Assistance.
The name of that ship is ‘Titanic’. The ship sank after hitting a large piece of ice. Many people were killed in this incident, and some survived. The wireless code mentioned above had the most important role in the survival of these people.
The wireless code sent by that ship was received by other vessels in the vicinity. And went to the Titanic to help. Some people managed to survive with the help of those ships. Such a code consisting of dots, dashes, and spaces is called Morse code.
This is not the first time Morse code has been used for emergency assistance. It was widely used in the events of World War before and after that. Few imagined that this code, used to send messages in an emergency, could also be used in the economy.
In 1952, Norman Joseph Udland invented the bar code using Morse code. This is a code made by combining 10 thick, thin lines. Each product is given a unique code of 10 digits. Product information can be found with the help of that code.
In the following days, the development and internationalization of technology continued. The number of products in the market of countries with large populations increased from millions to billions. The Bar code was not enough for product information. In 1994, this method was made more standard. The technology we have in front of us today is the QR code.
How does QR code work?
Short for Quick Response Code, QR Code. In Nepali, the code for immediate response. QR technology mainly has two parts. The first is its structure.
Imagine a chessboard with 64 boxes. You can name each box from ‘1’ to ’64’. Or, you can identify each vertical line with a number and the horizontal line with a letter. This creates a unique name for each board, like ‘a1’, ‘a2’…etc. In practice, the most commonly used names are a1 and a2.
For example, suppose you are playing chess with your friend. The game is going in a very exciting mode, but you have to go out for a while now. However, in the era of smartphones, it is enough to take a photo to find out which box is in which box of the board.
Data coding and decoding scanning
Now, let’s go back to the earlier story where you were out playing chess with your friend. To start the game again, you arrange the balls according to the unique position of the balls you noted on the paper.
Yes, the QR code works in the same way. The structure of each QR code and the position of the line are determined. Data is encoded in it. By scanning this pattern, the data is decoded.
The QR code is scanned in two ways. The first method is ‘laser,’ which is mostly used at the billing counter. If the red light emitted by the laser is applied to the QR code, a sound will be heard. Another method is the camera app.
Difference between QR Code and Barcode
The biggest difference between QR codes and barcodes is in their structure. The QR code is square, while the barcode has only lines. The difference in this structure is seen in the way they work and functionality.
First of all, the method of decoding these two codes is different. Barcodes can only be read from left to right. However, the QR code can be read from any direction. That is, it can be decoded even when scanning from the right, left, bottom, or top. By scanning from anywhere, the data or information can be found easily.
Security issues with QR codes
The first problem that can be caused by QR codes is phishing. It is a type of cyber attack in which a person is given false assurances and is duped. A person is taken to a fake website or downloads a harmful app by asking them to scan a QR code through a fake advertisement or website.
Incidents of data theft using QR codes are also increasing. Therefore, cyber security experts suggest not to scan any QR code without understanding it.
