QR code

QR codes are everywhere nowadays, but they don’t have to be. MIT scientists have developed an invisible tagging system called BrightMarker, which embeds fluorescent tags into objects that can be viewed and tracked through an infrared camera.

Scientists have developed a new method of providing information on 3D-printed foods, by printing a QR code within the food itself. Doing so doesn't affect the taste or outward appearance of the food, nor does it require the use of any labels.

​As more and more products are manufactured via 3D printing, the potential for 3D-printed counterfeit versions rises accordingly. With that in mind, scientists have devised a method of ensuring that a printed item is the real thing, by building an "exploded" QR code into it.

High-profile Dutch firm MVRDV has unveiled its design for an eye-catching new office building in Germany. Named Milestone, the building will sport a large hole in it that will serve as a public space, and will feature both photovoltaic cells and QR codes integrated into its facade.

Most QR codes do the same thing – when a smartphone scans them with its camera, they trigger that phone's web browser to navigate to a given website. In the near future, however, they may be used to securely display 3D images on the user's phone, without even involving the internet.

While many of us worry about the ways in which Google Glass could be used to infringe on peoples' privacy, scientists in Germany have instead developed a process in which the high-tech eyewear could be used to keep shady characters from obtaining your PIN while you used an automated teller.

Although email has decimated snail mail, this Christmas is likely to be another bumper year for presents being sent in the mail. Australia Post is providing gift-givers with the ability to attach a video message to their parcels.

A researcher at the University of Twente in the Netherlands has developed a new optical memory disc out of tungsten and silicon nitride that he says could store data safely for extremely long periods of time – up to a billion years.

The Smart Diaper uses several reactive agents and an app to monitor irregularities in an infant's urine over time and alert parents if they should take their little one to a doctor.

Mercedes-Benz plans to use QR codes on all its future cars to help rescuers reach victims quickly and safely.

Sharetapes is a new Australian company that is attempting to recapture the age of the physical mixtape by launching a line of NFC and QR enabled mixtape cards.

Scientists have created invisible QR codes, which could be applied to things such as bank notes to foil counterfeiters.