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Matrix (2D) · since 1994
QR Code
Links, payments, tickets, Wi-Fi details, menus
Three square finder patterns let a camera find and straighten the code from any angle. Error correction means up to 30% of it can be damaged or covered and still read.
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At a glance
- Introduced
- 1994
- Created by
- Masahiro Hara at Denso Wave, for Toyota’s supply chain
- Characters
- Numeric, alphanumeric, bytes, kanji
- Length
- Versions 1–40 (21×21 to 177×177)
- Check
- Reed–Solomon, levels L, M, Q, H (7–30%)
- Capacity
- 7,089 digits or 2,953 bytes
Example: https://barcode.watkinsx.com
Anatomy of this QR Code · version 3 · 29×29 modules
- Finder patternsThe three big squares let a scanner find the code, measure its size and work out which way up it is.
- SeparatorsA one-module white border around each finder so it stands apart from the data.
- Timing patternsAlternating dark and light modules between the finders give the scanner the module grid.
- Alignment patternsSmaller squares (version 2 and up) that correct for curved or tilted surfaces.
- Format informationError-correction level and mask pattern, written twice for safety, protected by its own BCH code.
- Version informationFrom version 7 up, the version number is written twice near the corners.
- Dark moduleA single module that is always dark, beside the bottom-left finder.
- Data and error correctionEverything else: your message plus Reed–Solomon codewords that let a damaged code still read.
