How the QR Code Was Invented to Track Car Parts

In 1994, a Japanese engineer at Denso Wave created the QR code to solve a simple problem on the factory floor: standard barcodes couldn't hold enough data to track car parts efficiently. Masahiro Hara and his team designed a two-dimensional matrix code that could be scanned from any angle, store thousands of characters, and survive damage thanks to error correction. What started as an internal logistics tool became an open standard, powering mobile payments, menus, and billions of scans worldwide. This episode explores the invention, the decision to keep it patent-free, and how a smarter square changed the world. #QRCode #MasahiroHara #DensoWave #Toyota #Invention #Barcode #ErrorCorrection #OpenStandard #Logistics #MobilePayments #Technology #TechHistory #SiliconValley #Innovation #Japan #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #IndustrialDesign Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo