Semacode tags can be quickly captured with a mobile phone's camera and decoded to obtain a Web site address. This address can then be accessed via the phone's web browser.

Semacode R&D efforts explore many potential uses of 2D barcodes that support and complement development of the concept of using mobile phones as devices for seamless information gathering and exchange.

Ubiquitous Computing is a futuristic model of computing where you have "a level of interaction with your environment where the computing disappears into the fabric of the environment, so that you only see the task." We believe that Semacode, and mobile barcodes more generally, is a important step towards this future.

Semacode assembles number of key pieces together to create a seamless system. 2D Barcodes, which use use dots rather than lines to store an enormous amount of information, up to thousands of characters. URLs can point to virtually any kind of digital media. And the mobile internet allows content producers to cater to small screen devices by adapting their existing infrastructure.

Semacode's mobile software uses image recognition techniques to scan the image that is being generated by the phone's internal camera. It uses custom "intelligent" algorithms to "see" if there is a barcode in the camera's range, and then if there is, identify the pattern of light and dark squares and convert them into a useful message. Then it acts on that message, for example by loading the URL stored in the barcode into your phone's web browser.

ConQwest, designed for Qwest Wireless in 2003, was the first ever use of semacode, optic codes scanned by phonecams. A city-wide treasure-hunt designed for high school students, players went through the city "shooting treasure" with Qwest phonecams and moving their totem pieces to capture territory. The winning team won a $5,000 scholarship for their school. Online, a web site showed the players' locations and game progress, turning it into a spectacular audience-facing event.

The game was designed to promote Qwest Wireless mobile phone offerings—and was wildly successful. Qwest extended it to 10 US cities, and made it an annual event. In its first year, it drew over 6.4 million earned-media impressions, often featured on the nightly news. It also won a Clio and many other awards.

Download the white paper: Choosing the best 2D barcode format for mobile apps