Communications of the ACM
Barcodes Help Objects Tell Their Stories
Five U.K. academic institutions have collaborated to create the Tales of Things, a website based on the concept of the Internet of things that enables users to create online entries for physical objects. A basic entry features an image and associated text, but also can include audio, video, and other content. The Tales of Things site then generates a unique two-dimensional barcode, called a QR code, for the user to print out and attach to the object. Other users can scan the code with a Web-enabled device to view the object's online entry.
The researchers have developed scanning software for the iPhone and devices running the Android operating system. Linking objects with people's memories of those items could be one of the most interesting uses for the site, says University College London's Andrew Hudson-Smith. The possibility of linking an object's entry to its owner's Facebook profile or Flickr images of the item also could draw users to the site, Hudson-Smith says.
From New Scientist
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