qr code lost and found Archives ⋆ Mobile Commerce Press

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QR codes can help schools to keep property from going missing

Julie Campbell | December 16, 2013

These quick response codes can help items to find their way back to their owners.

A startup company called My Lost Property has now been created by the parents of a boy who needed a way to find items that had gone missing, using inexpensive QR codes to make sure that belongings didn’t have to be replaced.

The last straw occurred when the son of the creators – the Sheedy family – lost his school blazer that cost $250.

Spencer Sheedy and his wife Rita recognized that while it is frustrating that their own two kids always had their possessions go missing, their children were far from the only ones who had this happen. It was this realization that encouraged the couple to create My Lost Property. Though the concept is quite simple as it is based on the use of QR codes, it is more innovative than simply using stickers and iron-on labels.

These QR codes are each unique and are registered on a website so that when the item is found it can be returned.

QR Codes - Lost School Items A missing item’s quick response code can be scanned by someone who finds it. They can then enter the location of the item, which will be automatically texted to the parents so that a pick-up can be arranged. The original concept had involved only stickers for the Sheedy kids. However, it didn’t take long before they found themselves creating labels, keyrings, stickers, and other barcodes for friends. Soon, it became evident that they had a business.

Since then, Mr. Sheedy had brought his barcodes and My Lost Property idea to the local schools. He has managed to create a sponsorship arrangement through Schoolzine, which is an online company that produces bulk school newsletters. According to Sheedy, “Schools have been really responsive. They like the simplicity of it, and lost property is such a problem for them.” He explained that he just wants parents to be able to find out about it.

The Sheedy’s knew that they could solve a very expensive problem for many parents and children with the simplicity and ease of QR codes. “When that $250 blazer went missing, we thought we needed to do something more than just the hit-and-miss putting a name on there and hoping it will come back. This just gives you a bit more of a chance of it coming back,” said Mr. Sheedy.

QR codes on tags help travelers and luggage stay together

Julie Campbell | April 21, 2013

This smartphone friendly form of identification can help bags to be returned to their owners.

The travel industry has tried all sorts of different efforts to help to make sure that luggage that goes missing will eventually make its way back to its owner, and QR codes are the latest of these attempts, playing on the common use of smartphones and other mobile devices.

By adding these barcodes to luggage tags, someone who finds misplaced baggage can contact its owner.

This effort is being spearheaded by GoCodes, a company that will have unique QR codes generated for travelers, so that if the luggage doesn’t arrive in its intended destination, the barcode can be scanned with a smartphone to reveal the contact information of the individual that has been waiting for a long time at the baggage carousel.

In theory, an airport employee or good Samaritan will scan the QR codes so that the owner can be contacted.

From that point, arrangements can be made to ensure that the baggage with the QR codes will be returned to its owner. Through the GoCodes service, there are a number of different features available in terms of various forms of barcodes and contact options. At the ground floor, it costs approximately $10 for the most basic tag.

Many upgrades are also available in order to branch out the service to individuals other than travelers. For instance, the company also has QR codes on stickers that can be added to a smartphone, tablet, mp3 player, headphones, wallet, or virtually anything else. This can help someone with good intentions to make sure that the missing item is returned to its owner.

Though the QR codes don’t guarantee that the missing possessions will be returned to their owners – as this still relies on the concept that the item will be found, scanned, and that contact will be made – they do provide an extra means for someone who has found the item to be able to find out to whom it belongs. When it comes to having belongings go missing, every little bit can help to increase the odds that it will be found again.