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You see this recent innovation everywhere: when you’re shopping at the mall, reading

post-COVID menus in a restaurant, or scanning these to learn about public art installations.

These have spread all over the world, and now there is no day when you don't see at least one. A

single Japanese engineer's desire was the origin of the spread of this technology, wanting to

create something simple and useful to everyone. Masahiro Hara is the inventor of the Quick

Response Codes, better known as QR Codes (Denso). Masahiro should be more well-known to

the public for his outstanding invention, challenges, and his special qualities as an inventor.

One reason people should know about Masahiro is that he invented the QR Code, which

not only changed the label industry but changed how the world exchanges information. First of

all, QR codes have revolutionized the way businesses interact with customers and consumers

(Blue). His invention made it possible for large data/information to be scanned fast with a

camera system (Denso). This evidence shows that his invention made a change in the world for

the better. In addition, his ideas changed the way we use mobile devices. Even in high school a

student might use the QR code to link to a survey for a project, joining a Google Classroom,

sharing social media links, and much more. This shows that Masahiro’s contribution to the

development of mobile technology is significant, as he helped to create a new way of interacting

with smartphones and other mobile devices through quick and easy scanning. A third example of

Masahiro’s importance as an inventor is that his invention is recognized and used all over the

world. As noted in a research article, “QR codes are ubiquitous and have become an integral part

of our daily lives” (Blue). The explosion of QR codes for so many purposes shows that this

technology is important and useful.

Masahiro Hara was able to make a world impacting invention with only a few resources,

and some challenges. The road into developing something new is not something that is so easily
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achievable. Even with so many resources you may not be able to make something new and

impactful. Masahiro struggled many times but was able to strike through them and achieved

what people thought was impossible. Before QR Codes were invented, the label industry had to

use barcodes. Masahiro worked at Denso (a large autoparts manufacturing company) in the

software development department (Gyoten 1). He and his colleague had many customer

complaints in barcode scanning errors, and about too-small quantities of data storage (1). From

these events Masahiro was able to catch on to the inconsistencies of barcodes and strive to find a

new label that can hold more information, be consistent, and can be scanned swiftly (Denso).

From these findings he began to brainstorm new patterns that can pave a path to a new code. To

add more data onto a code he needed to make a two-dimensional code. What is the difference

between a one-dimensional code and a two-dimensional code anyway? In the case of barcodes

information can be encoded only in the transverse direction (one dimension), while in the case of

2D codes, information can be encoded in both the transverse and the longitudinal directions (two

dimensions). By using 2D codes, the range of information content that can be encoded is

dramatically increased (Denso). His company only let him and his junior Watanabe to work on

the project for two years with limited money. With only these few resources, he was able to

achieve what was thought beyond achievable.

A third reason people should know about and respect the contributions of Masahira Hara

are his qualities as a person and as an inventor: conscious, creative, and knowledgeable. He was

able to realize the hints around his surroundings that led to his creative thinking of a new and

innovative perspective. Masahiro also was able to answer and meet the expectations of his

company and peers, which shows his great knowledge that he was able to achieve through heavy

research and creative thinking. Even though Masahiro was able to take the patent for the QR
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code for himself he did not make any additional money from his invention. He mentioned in an

interview, “The first thing we thought of was to make a good code that would contain a lot of

information, and can be used for a variety of purposes. We really thought that it would become

more popular than barcodes. We proceeded with development with the idea that people around

the world would use it comfortably and that it would spread” (Gyoten). His company chose to

open an OpenSource, which is a license in which the copyright holder grants users the rights to

use, study, change, and distribute to anyone and for any purpose. They made this heavy decision

because at that time in America other companies also made two-dimensional codes, but because

they held the patent and charged a fee for its use, those codes weren’t spread out throughout the

world. But for Masahiro, he wanted everyone to be able to use his invention, even if it meant him

not receiving patent fee money. This all started from this single Japanese Engineer’s desire for

his invention to be of help and used by people all over the world.

In conclusion, Masahiro should be further known by people for his world-impactful

invention, challenges he went through and overcame, and his outstanding characteristics that

paved the way for him. There are small daily objects, such as rubber bands and paper clips, that

seem like they have always been in existence, and their uses are many. The QR code is destined

to fit into such a category because it has become such a necessity in ways that even Masahiro

couldn’t have imagined.

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Works Cited

Blue, Shannon. “Not Your Father’s QR Code: How QR Codes Are Revolutionizing Brand

Engagement.” SGK INC, 2023,

sgkinc.com/en/insights/single-insight/not-your-fathers-qr-code-how-qr-codes-are-revoluti

/.

Wave, Denso. “What Is a 2D Code?｜technical Information of Automatic Identification｜denso

Wave.” バーコード、QRコードやRFID、産業用ロボットのことならデンソーウェーブ,

www.denso-wave.com/en/adcd/fundamental/2dcode/2dcode/index.html#:~:text=In%20th

e%20case%20of%20barcodes,longitudinal%20directions%20(two%20dimensions).

Accessed 22 May 2023.

世界仰天. “奇跡体験！アンビリバボー 2020年05月21日 【今夜も新作！世界を変えたスゴイ日

本人ＳＰ】.” YouTube, 12 Apr. 2023,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9St1KQ9AhSM&t=2005s.

QR Code development story｜Technologies｜DENSO WAVE. (n.d.). QR Code Development

Story,Technologies,DENSO WAVE.

https://www.denso-wave.com/en/technology/vol1.html